IMDb RATING
6.4/10
2.7K
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European chefs are being killed in the same ways that their special dishes are prepared. Pastry chef Natasha O'Brien is suspected, as is her ex-husband Robby Ross, a fast-food franchiser loo... Read allEuropean chefs are being killed in the same ways that their special dishes are prepared. Pastry chef Natasha O'Brien is suspected, as is her ex-husband Robby Ross, a fast-food franchiser looking for chefs to endorse his omelet shops.European chefs are being killed in the same ways that their special dishes are prepared. Pastry chef Natasha O'Brien is suspected, as is her ex-husband Robby Ross, a fast-food franchiser looking for chefs to endorse his omelet shops.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations
Gigi Proietti
- Ravello
- (as Luigi Proietti)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe original novel revealed the murderer at the very beginning; the film opted to reveal it at the end. In addition, the film's killer in the film was not the same one as the novel.
- GoofsIn the final scene, the character of Robert Morley enumerates the three chefs that have been killed, saying "Kohner, Grandvilliers, Moulineau...", but the second chef murdered in the movie is the Italian Fausto Zoppi, not Grandvilliers, who had attempted suicide and survived. He should have said instead: "Kohner, Zoppi, Moulineau...".
Featured review
I once had a friend argue that a mystery was only good the first time, but a comedy was always funny. While I don't completely agree with this line of thinking-Rene Clair's And Then There Were None, being one of my favorite films that I have returned to many times-I do see the logic in the argument. Fortunately, screenwriter Peter Stone and director Ted Kotcheff apparently felt the same way when adapting Nan and Ivan Lyons novel, Someone Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe, for the screen.
While the mystery angle is played up more in the film than the source novel-where the killer's identity is revealed before the halfway point in the book-it really isn't central to the proceedings, and is mostly there to move the narrative forward by giving the characters someplace to be and something to do. And that is really the strength of this film: the characters. As almost every reviewer has, rightly, pointed out, Robert Morley's Max Vandeveer dominates the film with his acid quips and unapologetic pomposity, but the rest of the supporting cast do not let the production down, delightfully playing up the eccentricities of the inhabitants of the world of haute cuisine. Neither do our two stars, George Segal and Jacqueline Bisset, though the demands of their roles don't really call upon them to stretch much outside of their comfort zones.
Interestingly, director Kotcheff ha sited the screwball comedies of the 1930's as inspiration, specifically name checking Howard Hawks' classic Bringing Up Baby. I would venture that Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Has much more in common with a later Hawks film, the brilliant His Girl Friday. The character of Segal's Robert Ross is very much akin to Cary Grant's Walter Burns and like Rosalind Russell's Hildy Johnson, Bisset's Natasha O'Brien finds herself being drawn back into the orbit of her somewhat conniving ex-husband, despite herself.
While not likely to have anyone rolling in the aisles, Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Has wit in abundance, and is a film that can easily, and frequently, bring a smile to the face, and be pulled off the shelf for a rewatching without fear that the proceedings will have gone stale.
As a side note, after years of living with the dull and unremarkable presentation of the more than decade old Warner Archive DVD-R, I was very excited by the film's recent-and much overdue-release on Blu-Ray by Bavaria Media. I am pleased to report that this new version is brighter, cleaner, sharper and altogether a more pleasing viewing experience than the Warner's. Much of the film was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich, and I assume that accounts for Bavaria Media's restored HD release. Oddly, as given the source one would have expected this to come out in European Region B, this Blu-Ray release appears exclusive to Japan. The good news is, for those interested, the Japan BD disc is Region A coded, and available from a number of online sources, including Amazon.jp.
While the mystery angle is played up more in the film than the source novel-where the killer's identity is revealed before the halfway point in the book-it really isn't central to the proceedings, and is mostly there to move the narrative forward by giving the characters someplace to be and something to do. And that is really the strength of this film: the characters. As almost every reviewer has, rightly, pointed out, Robert Morley's Max Vandeveer dominates the film with his acid quips and unapologetic pomposity, but the rest of the supporting cast do not let the production down, delightfully playing up the eccentricities of the inhabitants of the world of haute cuisine. Neither do our two stars, George Segal and Jacqueline Bisset, though the demands of their roles don't really call upon them to stretch much outside of their comfort zones.
Interestingly, director Kotcheff ha sited the screwball comedies of the 1930's as inspiration, specifically name checking Howard Hawks' classic Bringing Up Baby. I would venture that Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Has much more in common with a later Hawks film, the brilliant His Girl Friday. The character of Segal's Robert Ross is very much akin to Cary Grant's Walter Burns and like Rosalind Russell's Hildy Johnson, Bisset's Natasha O'Brien finds herself being drawn back into the orbit of her somewhat conniving ex-husband, despite herself.
While not likely to have anyone rolling in the aisles, Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Has wit in abundance, and is a film that can easily, and frequently, bring a smile to the face, and be pulled off the shelf for a rewatching without fear that the proceedings will have gone stale.
As a side note, after years of living with the dull and unremarkable presentation of the more than decade old Warner Archive DVD-R, I was very excited by the film's recent-and much overdue-release on Blu-Ray by Bavaria Media. I am pleased to report that this new version is brighter, cleaner, sharper and altogether a more pleasing viewing experience than the Warner's. Much of the film was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich, and I assume that accounts for Bavaria Media's restored HD release. Oddly, as given the source one would have expected this to come out in European Region B, this Blu-Ray release appears exclusive to Japan. The good news is, for those interested, the Japan BD disc is Region A coded, and available from a number of online sources, including Amazon.jp.
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ko ubija velike kuhare Evrope
- Filming locations
- 100 Park Lane, Mayfair, Westminster, Greater London, England, UK(Max's journal office)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 52 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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By what name was Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978) officially released in India in English?
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