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La Loi c'est la loi
1958 Comedy
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Credits
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Director: Christian-Jaque
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Script: Christian-Jaque, Jacques Emmanuel, Agenore Incrocci, Jean Manse, Furio Scarpelli, Jean Charles Tacchella
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Photo: Gianni Di Venanzo
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Music: Nino Rota
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Cast: Fernandel (Ferdinand Pastorelli),
Toto (Giuseppe La Paglia),
Nino Besozzi (Il Maresciallo),
Noël Roquevert (Le gendarme
Malandain),
Leda Gloria (Antonietta),
Nathalie Nerval (Hélène Pastorelli),
Luciano Marin (Mario),
Albert Dinan (Le Brigadier),
Anna Maria Luciani (Marisa),
Henri Crémieux (Bourride),
Gustavo De Nardo (Luigi),
Henri Arius (Le Maire)
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Country: France / Italy
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Language: French / Italian
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Runtime: 95 min
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Aka: The Law Is the Law; La Legge e legge
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Summary
The small town of Assola lies across France’s border with Italy, a fact which is about
to cause no end of distress for the dedicated customs inspector Ferdinand Pastorelli.
Presently, Ferdinand is preoccupied with chasing Giuseppe La Paglia, a wily smuggler whom
he has known since childhood and who is married to his ex-wife. Just when Ferdinand
is finally about to bring Giuseppe to book he learns a terrible truth - he was in fact
born an Italian, and so has no right to arrest the smuggler. Worse, Ferdinand must
abandon his home and family in France and begin a new life (across the road) in Italy.
Taking pity on his old friend, Giuseppe devises a plan by which Ferdinand can reclaim
his French nationality. Unfortunately, the scheme backfires, and Ferdinand ends
us neither French nor Italian. He becomes - nobody!
Review
The eternally popular comic actor Fernandel joins forces with his equally famous Italian
counterpart, Toto, in this highly enjoyable comedy, one of Fernandel’s better films from
the 1950. Part boisterous farce, part satire on the absurdities of Italian
and French Law, the film has a wide appeal. Unlike many popular comedies from this
era, it stands up surprisingly well today thanks to the great comic performances from
its two stars and some impressive production values. The film was directed by Christian-Jaque,
a respected and very productive French filmmaker who previously worked with Fernandel
on some of his greatest successes, notably
Un de la légion (1936) and
François 1er (1937).
© James Travers 2007
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