L'Alpagueur is a film adaptation of the original scenario from Philippe Labro

Philippe Labro

Philippe Labro, is a French author, journalist and film director, born in Montauban on 27 August 1936. He has worked for RTL, Paris Match, TF1 and Antenne 2...

 directed by him and featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.-Career:Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football."Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long...

 in the title role and Bruno Cremer

Bruno Cremer

Bruno Jean Marie Crémer was a French actor born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, who spent a part of his career on stage, but who also found success in the cinema and on television.- Biography :...

 as L'Epervier.

Released in 1976 and considered as a typical French thriller from the 70's, it is one of many Belmondo's movie where he is playing the title role. Like in Le Magnifique

Le Magnifique

Le Magnifique is a French movie released in 1973, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Paul Belmondo.Le Magnifique is a slapstick spoof of B-series espionage movies and novels.-Synopsis:...

, L'Incorrigible or Le Marginal, Belmondo is the real star of the show, playing a solitary character and pursuing bad guys. The score from Michel Colombier

Michel Colombier

Michel Colombier was a French composer, songwriter, arranger, and conductor.- External links :*...

 is typical from this period, mixing piano, modern rhythms and brass instruments. The film was the 19th highest earning film of the year in France with 1,533,183 admissions.

Plot

As one of the character is saying at the beginning of the movie:

L'alpagueur c'est un chasseur de tête, c'est un mercenaire, un marginal. L'alpagueur c'est l'astuce qu'a trouvé un haut fonctionnaire pour passer au-dessus de la routine policière.

The alpagueur is a head hunter, a mercenary, a marginal. The alpagueur is a trick made up by a state employee to be above the cop's routine.

Originally a deer hunter, l'Alpagueur became a head hunter working for the police, paid by them with money stolen from criminals. The main plot revolves around l'Alpagueur's pursuit of l'Épervier, (sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk

The Eurasian Sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian Sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females and juveniles are brown above with brown barring below...

) a bank robber and an assassin, who kills whoever sees him commit a crime. His technique is to pay a young and naive man to be his accomplice and kill him right after. One of his accomplices, Costa Valdez, is only wounded during one of his hold ups, and with his help, l'Alpagueur manages to find l'Épervier at the end.

Cast

• Jean-Paul Belmondo
  Jean-Paul Belmondo
  Jean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.-Career:Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football."Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long...
  
   - Roger Pilard aka "l'Alpagueur"
• Bruno Cremer
  Bruno Cremer
  Bruno Jean Marie Crémer was a French actor born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, who spent a part of his career on stage, but who also found success in the cinema and on television.- Biography :...
  
   - Gilbert ala "L'Epervier"
• Claude Brosset - Granier
• Patrick Fierry - Costa Valdes
• Jean Negroni - Spitzer
• Victor Garrivier - Inspector Doumecq
• Jean-Pierre Jorris - Salicetti