Louis de Funès Movies

In this French comedy, a clever fellow proves himself smarter than the gangsters who would exploit him. The trouble begins in Paris when the vacationing hero accidentally gets into an auto accident with a smuggler. The crook is most apologetic for the mishap and kindly offers to let him drive his Cadillac to Bordeaux and continue with his holiday. The poor traveler doesn't know that the vehicle is a black market on wheels carrying everything from jewels to heroine. He is pursued by the smuggler and by a rival gang. He is so busy enjoying himself that he doesn't bother to look back at the gun battles raging behind him. He ends up picking up two hitchhiking women and continuing his leisurely journey. When he finally realizes that they are using him, he drives the crooks right to the police station. Later he discovers that the steering wheel of the car contains the largest diamond in the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

French comedian Louis de Funes stars as Garnier, a shopkeeper who gets taken advantage of by a local banker. He decides to retaliate by planning a bank robbery. Rather than going about it in a more conventional manner, Garnier begins digging a tunnel from his store, intending to reach the bank vault across the street. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

A jealous ex-convict is released from prison and tries to kill the man who had been seeing his girlfriend in this offbeat burlesque comedy. When the plan backfires, the body of the dead ex-con is placed in a bass case. Louise De Funes stars as the man who is mistaken for the killer who is making time with Rockie (Mireille Darc). Michel Serrault and Maurice Biraud co-star with Francis Blanche and Malka Ribowska in this feature directed by Georges Lautner. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Julien Duvivier returns to the multistoried format of his earlier omnibus films Tales of Manhattan and Flesh and Fantasy with the 1962 French production The Devil and the Ten Commandments. Actually, there are only seven separate episodes in the film, covering such commandments as "Thou Shalt Not Have Any Gods Before Me", "Thou Shalt Not Steal" and "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother." Each of the vignettes seems to owe more to O. Henry or DeMaupassant than the Book of Exodus, with twist endings carrying the day. The all-star cast includes Michel Simon (Episode One), Dany Saval (Episode Two), Charles Aznavour and Lino Ventura (Episode Three), Micheline Presle, Mel Ferrer and Claude Dauphin (Episode Four); Fernandel (Episode Five); Alain Delon and Danielle Darrieux (Episode Six) and Jean-Claude Brialy (Episode Seven). Best of the batch is the fifth episode, wherein horse-faced Fernandel declares that he is God. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gentle Art of Murder is comprised of a trio of short crime tales: "The Spider's Web," "The Fenyrou Case" and "The Mask." An international all-star cast appears in these filmed playlets, wherein each perfect murder turns out to be less than perfect. The stories are linked by "bookend" scenes in which an aspiring wife murderer goes to a movie house and watches the three cautionary tales unreel. Nearly three hours long, Gentle Art of Murder holds both the audience--and the would-be killer--in thrall. The film's original title was Crime Does Not Pay, though it bears no relation to the MGM short-subjects series of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Theophile Gautier, this costume drama by Pierre Gaspard-Huit is set in 17th-century France and centers around De Sigognac (Jean Marais), a nobleman fallen on hard times. The once-wealthy and still-titled gentleman is currently working with an itinerant acting troupe where he comes across Isabelle (Genevieve Grad) a comely maid who tugs at his heart strings. He falls in love with her, but she is unwilling to make a commitment. Meanwhile, another of the titled gentry has been chasing after Isabelle with a little more success, in that he simply kidnaps her. The story takes a surprising turn when Isabelle's parentage is revealed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Several top Italian stars, including Toto as a shopkeeper and Also Fabrizi as a tax collector, are featured in this entertaining comedy. The shopkeeper like a lot of others, does not want to pay the taxes he is normally assessed. By his reckoning, they are far too high. So when the tax collector comes around to go over his books, he tries whatever might work to get the man to skim them lightly, preferably looking the other way in the process. Whether or not these proddings are going to have any effect remains to be seen, but in the meantime, the taxman's daughter has fallen madly in love with the shopkeeper's son. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide