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The Upper Hand

The Upper Hand

Drama · Thriller · Crime · 1966

In Paris, a gold smuggler is at war with other local gangsters who want piece of the action. Then the mob shows up and makes things worse. And an undercover US Treasury Department agent is trying to infiltrate the smuggling business.

Movie details

The Upper Hand

“He Followed a Trail of Flesh, Gold and Violence!”

1966 Drama · Thriller · Crime 1h 34m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

In Paris, a gold smuggler is at war with other local gangsters who want piece of the action. Then the mob shows up and makes things worse. And an undercover US Treasury Department agent is trying to infiltrate the smuggling business.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Upper Hand?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Denys de La Patellière

Written by

Denys de La Patellière

Jean Gabin

Jean Gabin

Paul Berger dit Paulo les Diam's

Gert Fröbe

Gert Fröbe

Walter

George Raft

George Raft

Charles Binnaggio

Claudio Brook

Claudio Brook

Mike Coppolano

Nadja Tiller

Nadja Tiller

Irène

Marcel Bozzuffi

Marcel Bozzuffi

Marque Mal

Mireille Darc

Mireille Darc

Lili Princesse

Court is in session

Put The Upper Hand on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.