The old baronial castle of an impoverished French aristocratic family had seen better days. When the story begins we meet count Georges attending to a leaking roof by placing several chamber pots to gather the water that seeps through. To make matters worse, the hotel business the family decided to turn the castle in, has no paying guests. Leave to the enterprising old marquess and her beautiful granddaughter Amalie. How about enlisting the young woman's admirer, Charlie, a gas station attendant, to disable the cars of unsuspecting patrons and then taking them to the castle where the room rates are steep.
Everything goes according to plan until a trio of bank robbers' Cadillac arrives at the filling station and Charlie does his magic act. Little prepares the royal owners when they discover the true identity of baron Caesar. What they like more is the bank loot he is carrying and entrusts to the marquess for safekeeping.
This delightful farce-like movie directed by Phillipe De Broca, the man that gave us "King of Hearts" and "That Man from Rio", just to name two other of his comedies, was a surprise when it showed recently on a cable channel. Not having seen it before, we took a chance that paid off royally. Written by Mr. De Broca with his usual collaborator, Daniel Boulanger, the film doesn't disappoint.
It was a pleasure to see Yves Montand playing doing comedy for a change. One tends to forget this actor was a versatile performer who is a joy to watch as the crook that really missed his call as a gourmet cook. Madeleine Renaud was another surprise. She does an amazing job as the old royal that has been reduced to being poor, but she has a grand scheme to be rich again. A young Marthe Keller as Amelie makes the most out of her role with her intelligent approach to the role. Maria Schell and Jean Rochefort have little to do. The large supporting cast does wonders for the director.
This is a fun film thanks to Phillipe De Broca's inspired direction.
Everything goes according to plan until a trio of bank robbers' Cadillac arrives at the filling station and Charlie does his magic act. Little prepares the royal owners when they discover the true identity of baron Caesar. What they like more is the bank loot he is carrying and entrusts to the marquess for safekeeping.
This delightful farce-like movie directed by Phillipe De Broca, the man that gave us "King of Hearts" and "That Man from Rio", just to name two other of his comedies, was a surprise when it showed recently on a cable channel. Not having seen it before, we took a chance that paid off royally. Written by Mr. De Broca with his usual collaborator, Daniel Boulanger, the film doesn't disappoint.
It was a pleasure to see Yves Montand playing doing comedy for a change. One tends to forget this actor was a versatile performer who is a joy to watch as the crook that really missed his call as a gourmet cook. Madeleine Renaud was another surprise. She does an amazing job as the old royal that has been reduced to being poor, but she has a grand scheme to be rich again. A young Marthe Keller as Amelie makes the most out of her role with her intelligent approach to the role. Maria Schell and Jean Rochefort have little to do. The large supporting cast does wonders for the director.
This is a fun film thanks to Phillipe De Broca's inspired direction.