Backfire (1964 film)

Backfire (Échappement libre, Scappamento aperto, A escape libre) is a 1964 French crime film directed by Jean Becker, which stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, reuniting for the first time since Breathless (1960).

Plot
A criminal organisation offers a Parisian man, David, $10,000 to transport a car across Europe. They tell him little about it except that drugs are not involved. He is accompanied by a photographer, Olga.

David discovers he is smuggling gold. The two travel to Beirut then Damascus. They fall in love and David wants the gold for himself.

Cast

 * Jean-Paul Belmondo as David Ladislas
 * Jean Seberg as Olga Celan
 * Enrico Maria Salerno as Mario
 * Gert Fröbe as Fehrman
 * Renate Ewert as Comtesse
 * Jean-Pierre Marielle as Van Houde
 * Diana Lorys as Rosetta
 * Fernando Rey as the Lebanese policeman
 * Wolfgang Preiss as Grenner
 * Michel Beaune as Daniel
 * Roberto Camardiel as Stephanidès
 * Fernando Sancho as Ylmaz
 * Giacomo Furia as Nino

Production
The film was made by the same team who had produced Banana Peel (1963).

It was to have starred Jean Louis Trintignant but he withdrew and was replaced by Belmondo.

Filming took place from February 10 to April 7, 1964. Costa-Gavras was an assistant director.

Reception
The film was the 19th most popular movie at the French box office in 1964.

In 2020 Fimink wrote "The film’s existence is ideal useless trivia to annoy people with now that the Jean Seberg biopic has come out."