Biarritz, 1933. Charm and talent assist small-time swindler Serge Alexandre, alias Stavisky, to bribe his way into the centre of French politics. But when his great scam involving millions is exposed, he brings the government to the verge of collapse and the country to the brink of civil war.
Direction
Resnais fractures time like a con artist fractures truth
Acting
Belmondo's charm weaponized, you root for the villain
Costume
Coco Chanel designed; fraud never looked this expensive
Director
Alain Resnais
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Serge Alexandre Stavisky
François Périer
Albert Borelli
Anny Duperey
Arlette
Michael Lonsdale
Docteur Mézy
Roberto Bisacco
Juan Montalvo de Montalbon
Claude Rich
Inspecteur Bonny
Charles Boyer
Le baron Jean Raoul
Pierre Vernier
Me Pierre Grammont
Marcel Cuvelier
Inspecteur Boussaud
Van Doude
Inspecteur principal Gardet
Jacques Spiesser
Michel Grandville
Michel Beaune
Le journaliste maître-chanteur
Maurice Jacquemont
Gauthier
Silvia Bădescu
Erna Wolfgang
Jacques Eyser
Véricourt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Resnais shot the film while personally grieving his producer's death; the funeral scene mirrors real events.
The real Stavisky scandal actually toppled a government in 1934—this isn't exaggeration, it's barely fiction.
FR
