The Brain

Directed by Gérard Oury, this 1969 French-Italian comedy takes its inspiration from the real Great Train Robbery of 1963 in England. When NATO moves its headquarters from Paris to Brussels, the secret transfer of the alliance's funds by train draws the attention of several rival gangs. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil play two small-time French crooks, David Niven plays a respectable British Army officer who is secretly the criminal genius nicknamed the Brain, and Eli Wallach plays a Sicilian mafioso, all racing one another to seize the money first. Made possible by the huge success of Oury's earlier hit La Grande Vadrouille, the picture was among the most expensive French productions of its era, filmed across France, England, the United States and Italy with spectacular set pieces including the liner France at Le Havre and a 13.5-metre replica of the Statue of Liberty. It drew over five million viewers in French cinemas.