Made in U.S.A 1967
6.2 / 10
Made in U.S.A
Paula Nelson goes to Atlantic City to meet her lover, Richard Politzer, but finds him dead and decides to investigate his death. In her hotel room, she meets Typhus, whom she ends up knocking out. His corpse is later found in the apartment of David Goodis, a writer. Paula is arrested and interrogated. From then on, she encounters many gangsters.
Paula Nelson goes to Atlantic City to meet her lover, Richard Politzer, but finds him dead and decides to investigate his death. In her hotel room, she meets Typhus, whom she ends up knocking out. His corpse is later found in the apartment of David Goodis, a writer. Paula is arrested and interrogated. From then on, she encounters many gangsters.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 6 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Paula Nelson
... Paul Widmark
... Donald Siegel
... Marianne Faithfull
... David Goodis
... Edgar Typhus (uncredited)
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by CRCulver
In 1966 Jean-Luc Godard was approached by producer Georges de Beauregard, who said that he had some money he needed to spend and asked if Godard could make a film on very short notice. Godard said sure, and proposed adapting a pulp crime novel (Donald E. Westlake's "The Jugger"). But when Godard made the film, which would get the title Made in U.S.A., he did everything possible to break out of a straightforward adaptation, using the novel as a mere skeleton over which he could explore other themes that interested him. Paula (Anna Karina), a journalist, goes to a small town where her estranged boyfriend Richard has died in mysterious circumstances, surely murder. Determined to get to the bottom of things, she takes on the air of a hardboiled detective, wielding a pistol and wearing a Bogartian trenchcoat. She meets the doctor who did the autopsy and has a run-in with the police, but mainly we see her tangled up with two gangsters, played by László Szabó and Jean-Pierre Léaud. Godard maintains just enough conventional dialogue and action to let the viewer know where we are in the crime novel's plot, but most of what transpires before the camera must be understood as only abstract metaphors for what would have happened in the book. The interaction between his characters mainly has other purposes. They have absurdist conversations with a great deal of wordplay. They allude to French politics in a time when Godard was worried about the compromised values of the French Left and the spectres of fascism and consumer society. The Ben Barka affair, where a Moroccan dissident was murdered in France in 1965 with the apparent involvement of the French security services, looms very large over Made in U.S.A., almost elbowing Westlake's original story out entirely. As if aware that he had stripped the plot down to such a degree that he now had too much time to be filled, he gives little asides like Marianne Faithfull singing "Tears Go By" a cappella in a cameo and Kyôko Kosaka strumming a guitar and singing in Japanese. This is not one of Godard's best films. For one, Godard reused many of the elements of his masterpiece Pierrot le Fou from the year before. Pierrot le Fou was itself assembled as a sort of a collage of shots from Godard's prior films, which worked well as a wonderful summing up of his early career. But when he does the same with MADE IN U.S.A., it is to greatly diminished effect. But even if this is weak by Godard standards, it is nonetheless a moving experience. Shot in colour and in Cinemascope, this is a feast for the eyes. The very best of what the 1960s had to offer in terms of fashion and product design is on hand here and it just jumps off the screen. The image feels electric. (It is a pity that Criterion's edition is only on DVD, as a Blu-Ray would have yielded even greater pleasures.) Godard's longtime cameraman Raoul Coutard gives us some elaborate long takes that impress. And of course it's Godard's last major celebration of Anna Karina's beauty and poise, which really was something for the ages, still stunning half a century later.
Release Date:
Jan 27, 1967 (France)
Run Time:
1hr 25`
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
French
Production Countries:
France
Status:
Released
Related Movies To
Made in U.S.A
In 1966 Jean-Luc Godard was approached by producer Georges de Beauregard, who said that he had some money he needed to spend and asked if Godard could make a film on very short notice. Godard said sure, and proposed adapting a pulp crime novel (Donald E. Westlake's "The Jugger"). But when Godard made the film, which would get the title Made in U.S.A., he did everything possible to break out of a straightforward adaptation, using the novel as a mere skeleton over which he could explore other themes that interested him. Paula (Anna Karina), a journalist, goes to a small town where her estranged boyfriend Richard has died in mysterious circumstances, surely murder. Determined to get to the bottom of things, she takes on the air of a hardboiled detective, wielding a pistol and wearing a Bogartian trenchcoat. She meets the doctor who did the autopsy and has a run-in with the police, but mainly we see her tangled up with two gangsters, played by László Szabó and Jean-Pierre Léaud. Godard maintains just enough conventional dialogue and action to let the viewer know where we are in the crime novel's plot, but most of what transpires before the camera must be understood as only abstract metaphors for what would have happened in the book. The interaction between his characters mainly has other purposes. They have absurdist conversations with a great deal of wordplay. They allude to French politics in a time when Godard was worried about the compromised values of the French Left and the spectres of fascism and consumer society. The Ben Barka affair, where a Moroccan dissident was murdered in France in 1965 with the apparent involvement of the French security services, looms very large over Made in U.S.A., almost elbowing Westlake's original story out entirely. As if aware that he had stripped the plot down to such a degree that he now had too much time to be filled, he gives little asides like Marianne Faithfull singing "Tears Go By" a cappella in a cameo and Kyôko Kosaka strumming a guitar and singing in Japanese. This is not one of Godard's best films. For one, Godard reused many of the elements of his masterpiece Pierrot le Fou from the year before. Pierrot le Fou was itself assembled as a sort of a collage of shots from Godard's prior films, which worked well as a wonderful summing up of his early career. But when he does the same with MADE IN U.S.A., it is to greatly diminished effect. But even if this is weak by Godard standards, it is nonetheless a moving experience. Shot in colour and in Cinemascope, this is a feast for the eyes. The very best of what the 1960s had to offer in terms of fashion and product design is on hand here and it just jumps off the screen. The image feels electric. (It is a pity that Criterion's edition is only on DVD, as a Blu-Ray would have yielded even greater pleasures.) Godard's longtime cameraman Raoul Coutard gives us some elaborate long takes that impress. And of course it's Godard's last major celebration of Anna Karina's beauty and poise, which really was something for the ages, still stunning half a century later.
Cast & Crew of
Made in U.S.A
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... Paula Nelson
... Paul Widmark
... Donald Siegel
... Marianne Faithfull
... David Goodis
... Edgar Typhus (uncredited)
KK
Kyôko Kosaka... Doris Mizoguchi (uncredited)
DB
Daniel Bart... Policeman (uncredited)
CB
Claude Bakka... Man with Marianne Faithfull (uncredited)
... Richard Nixon (uncredited)
... Inspector Aldrich (uncredited)
... Bill Poster (uncredited)
... Barman (uncredited)
... Workman in bar (uncredited)
... Dental Assistant (uncredited)
... Richard Politzer (voice) (uncredited)
... Self (uncredited)
... Robert MacNamara (uncredited)
AG
Anne Guegan... Girl in Bandages (uncredited)
... Woman Who Gives Paula Information (uncredited)
Produced By
... Production Manager
... Producer
... Producer
Related Movies To
Made in U.S.A
The Gardener (2025)
0 /10
Every year the Prime Minister has a list of all kinds of troublemakers eliminated in the name of the famous Reason of State. Serge Shuster, Special Adviser to the President of the Republic, finds himself on this list, better known as the Matignon List. Condemned to certain death and at the heart of an implacable plot and a state secret that also put his family in danger, Serge, his wife and children have only one hope left - their gardener, Léo, who hates it when « slugs » invade his garden... Especially those that want to kill innocent families.
Run Time: 1hr 50` . MMPA: . Release: 30 Jan 2025
Director: Matthias Morard , Florence Gilson , Vincent Canaple
Producer: Jean-Luc Olivier , Olivier Albou , Sebastien Fechner
Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme , Michaël Youn , Nawell Madani , Kaaris , Ragnar Le Breton , Jérôme Le Banner
Ad Vitam (2025)
0 /10
When he and his pregnant wife are attacked in their home, a former elite agent becomes trapped in a deadly manhunt tied to his own painful past.
Run Time: 1hr 37` . MMPA: R . Release: 09 Jan 2025
Director: Juliette Marsan , Charlotte Fouix , Cyril Pavaux
Producer: Jean Cottin , Guillaume Canet
Stars: Guillaume Canet , Alexis Manenti , Stéphane Caillard , Mathieu Kassovitz , Nassim Lyes , Zita Hanrot
The Soul Eater (2024)
0 /10
When the disappearance of children and bloody murders multiply in a small mountain village, an old legend shrouded in sulphur reappears... Commander Guardiano and Captain of the Gendarmerie De Rolan are forced to join forces to uncover the truth.
Run Time: 1hr 51` . MMPA: . Release: 24 Apr 2024
Director: Anacaona Beauzile , Mickael Denoyer , Alexandre Bustillo
Producer: Pierre-Marcel Blanchot , Duncan Decottignies , Caroline Wormser
Stars: Virginie Ledoyen , Paul Hamy , Sandrine Bonnaire , Malik Zidi , Manu Lanzi , Christophe Favre
The Little Escapade (2024)
0 /10
To overcome their financial problems, Justine, her husband and their whole group of friends organize a fake romantic cruise for Franck, a big investor, who is trying to seduce a woman.
Run Time: 1hr 36` . MMPA: . Release: 05 Jun 2024
Director: Victor Mirabel , Bruno Podalydès , Otilia Casteels
Producer: Olivier Père , Pascal Caucheteux
Stars: Daniel Auteuil , Bruno Podalydès , Sandrine Kiberlain , Denis Podalydès , Isabelle Candelier , Florence Muller
GTMAX (2024)
0 /10
When a notorious gang of bikers recruits her brother for a heist, a former motocross champion must face her deepest fears to keep her family safe.
Run Time: 1hr 40` . MMPA: R . Release: 19 Nov 2024
Director: Cécile Denis , Maxence Paris , Melvin Stankiewicz
Producer: Max Belmessieri , Gwenaëlle Duriaud , Denys Bondon
Stars: Ava Baya , Jalil Lespert , Jérémie Laheurte , Thibaut Évrard , Riadh Belaïche , Gérard Lanvin
Dogman (2023)
0 /10
A boy, bruised by life, finds his salvation through the love of his dogs.
Run Time: 1hr 55` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Sep 2023
Director: Romain Hervieux , Stéphane Moreno Carpio , Barthélémy Grossmann
Producer: Ariane Cousi , Brigitte Fourcade , Kevin Li
Stars: Caleb Landry Jones , Jojo T. Gibbs , Christopher Denham , Grace Palma , Marisa Berenson , Clemens Schick
Christmas Carole (2024)
0 /10
It’s Christmas! Small-town mayoress Carole helps the inhabitants of her municipality with the festivities while her devoted husband Alain organises the Christ- mas Eve celebrations at home. The kids arrive, and soon all hopes of a peaceful Christmas melt away as the family traditions are challenged. Wine is okay but only if it’s natural, Christmas decorations must remain unlit and no more foie gras for Alain... On earth as well as around the table, climate is warming up while everybody’s waiting for the big news that the eldest daughter is supposed to announce.
Run Time: 1hr 39` . MMPA: . Release: 14 Nov 2024
Director: Jeanne Gottesdiener
Producer: Natalie Plennevaux , Patrick Vandenbosch , Jean-Jacques Neira
Stars: Didier Bourdon , Noémie Lvovsky , Jules Sagot , Christophe Montenez , Sissi Duparc , Camille Pistone
Daaaaaalí! (2024)
0 /10
A young French journalist repeatedly meets iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí for a documentary project that never came to be.
Run Time: 1hr 17` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Feb 2024
Director: Clémentine Odion , Christian Alzieu , Esther Fouchard
Producer: Marine Albert , Christophe Belena , Stéphane Avenard
Stars: Édouard Baer , Pio Marmaï , Gilles Lellouche , Anaïs Demoustier , Pierre Niney , Jonathan Cohen
The Intouchables (2011)
8.5 /10
A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.
Run Time: 1hr 53` . MMPA: R . Release: 02 Nov 2011
Director: Éric Toledano , Olivier Nakache , Nathalie Vierny
Producer: Arnaud Bertrand , Yann Zenou , Laurent Zeitoun
Stars: François Cluzet , Omar Sy , Dominique Henry , Anne Le Ny , Clotilde Mollet , Alba Gaïa Bellugi
Sexual Chronicles of a French Family (2012)
5.3 /10
Three generations of a French family open up about their sexual experiences and desires after young Romain is caught masturbating in his biology class.
Run Time: 1hr 25` . MMPA: NR . Release: 09 May 2012
Director: Pascal Arnold , Jean-Marc Barr
Producer: Nicolas Coppermann , Jean-Marc Barr , Teddy Vermeulin
Stars: Mathias Melloul , Valérie Maës , Stephan Hersoen , Pierre Perrier , Yan Brian , Adeline Rebeillard
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024)
0 /10
Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble.
Run Time: 2hr 47` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 18 Sep 2024
Director: Mohammad Kamalalavi , Amin Sayyar , Masood Barahimi
Producer: Mani Tilgner , Amin Sadraei , Rozita Hendijanian
Stars: Soheila Golestani , Missagh Zareh , Misagh Zare , Setareh Maleki , Mahsa Rostami , Niusha Akhshi
Family Pack (2024)
0 /10
When an old card game comes to life, a family jumps back in time to a medieval village where they must unmask werewolves to secure their return home.
Run Time: 1hr 35` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 22 Oct 2024
Director: Cathy Mlakar , François Uzan
Producer: Zdeněk Fiala , David Giordano , Karim Djerbi
Stars: Franck Dubosc , Jean Reno , Jonathan Lambert , Suzanne Clément , Grégory Fitoussi , Bruno Gouery