Un drôle de paroissien
| 1963 Comedy |  |
Credits Director:
Jean-Pierre
Mocky
Script: Jean-Pierre Mocky, Michel Servin, Alain. Moury, d'après le roman “Deo Gratias” de Michel Servin Photo: Léonce-Henry Burel Music: Joseph Kosma Cast: Bourvil (Georges Lachesnaye), Jean Poiret (Raoul), Francis Blanche, (L'inspecteur Cucherat), Jean Yonnel (M. Lachesnaye, Le père), Jean Tissier (Inspecteur Bridoux), Véronique Nordey (Françoise Lachesnaye) Runtime: 85 min, B&W Aka: Thank Heaven for Small Favors Summary The Lachesnaye family has never had to work
for a
living and the current generation have no intention of breaking this
noble
tradition, even though they are living under increasingly impoverished
circumstances. Facing eviction from the family home, Georges
Lachesnaye
goes to church to pray for help. Hearing a woman putting some
coins
into a collection box, he suddenly has a brilliant idea – one which
should
solve his family’s financial worries forever…
Review This pleasing lightweight comedy features a
giant of French
comedy, Bourvil. His gentle personality and natural humility is
perfect
for the part of the parishioner who really believes the Good Lord wants
him to help himself to the church collection. He is joined by
Jean
Poiret and Francis Blanche who also turn in some fine comic
performances.
The
film’s morality is more than a little questionable, as it gives a
pretty
comprehensive (and apparently foolproof) lesson on how to steal from
the
church collection box. It is, for all that, a delightful film to
watch, and most of its charm derives from the fact that the
perpetrators
of the crime in the film pursue their activities with such sublime
innocence,
with a morality of their own which makes their police pursuers appear
to
be the villains of the piece. This switching of the moral
perspective
is an idea that has been pursued in earlier French detective thrillers
such as Melville’s Le Doulos, but here it is given a unique and
very entertaining comic slant. © James Travers 2000 |
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