Not 8 stars as classic-film-status-8-stars
But 8 stars as a De Funès at the very top of his game in a Gendarme series film, also featuring none other than Michel Galabru as Adjutant CHEF Gerber, Geneviève Grad as De Funès' daughter Nicole Cruchot, and last but not least, Claude Gensac as Josépha, the Colonel's widow.
It is so sad that apparently many De Funès fans, or De Funès fans-to-be, from the USA do not seem to even have access to this sunny Mediterranean 60s gem, a chock full of belly laughs and fine French comical humor! This is for me the very best of the series (yes, which does include some mediocre entries). Taking for granted that there will be car chases, one or two police helicopter flights and a speeding wheeled nun saving the day, and that the subaltern Gendarmes will basically behave like idiots, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with the rest here! Galabru always steals the screen with his inimitable balance of childlike gullibility and poised, protocolar dignity or stateliness, even being well-read to a point that was not so out-of-place or unrealistic for an officer of his rank in those days... Gensac is as always the epitome of both naivety and elegance, here as Maréchal Cruchot's new flame. Gensac was the perfect female screen companion to De Funès, and if she was available for shooting, DeFunès would not have any other partner. The latter himself gives his all through his own maniacal character, typically obsessed with power and advancement. But he also gets to semi-improvise scenes of complete emotional distress and vulnerability, and also a bit of temporary delirium due to a scuba exercise having gone wrong. And this is where he gets me with his comical genius: when struck with panic and stuttering quasi-logical utterances, or inventing (delirium scene upon waking up from scuba accident) dream-like nonsense This is an aspect of his comic brilliance that goes into more intellectual realms and beyond the grimacing maniac he is too often reduced to.
In many scenes, the direction is also more dexterous and clever than in several other "Gendarmes".
As an aside, the fans of Mr. Bean's old TV show will immediately recognize in the promotion examination scene of this film the direct inspiration of the math exam session, Act one, from Bean's very first episode almost verbatim!
It is so sad that apparently many De Funès fans, or De Funès fans-to-be, from the USA do not seem to even have access to this sunny Mediterranean 60s gem, a chock full of belly laughs and fine French comical humor! This is for me the very best of the series (yes, which does include some mediocre entries). Taking for granted that there will be car chases, one or two police helicopter flights and a speeding wheeled nun saving the day, and that the subaltern Gendarmes will basically behave like idiots, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with the rest here! Galabru always steals the screen with his inimitable balance of childlike gullibility and poised, protocolar dignity or stateliness, even being well-read to a point that was not so out-of-place or unrealistic for an officer of his rank in those days... Gensac is as always the epitome of both naivety and elegance, here as Maréchal Cruchot's new flame. Gensac was the perfect female screen companion to De Funès, and if she was available for shooting, DeFunès would not have any other partner. The latter himself gives his all through his own maniacal character, typically obsessed with power and advancement. But he also gets to semi-improvise scenes of complete emotional distress and vulnerability, and also a bit of temporary delirium due to a scuba exercise having gone wrong. And this is where he gets me with his comical genius: when struck with panic and stuttering quasi-logical utterances, or inventing (delirium scene upon waking up from scuba accident) dream-like nonsense This is an aspect of his comic brilliance that goes into more intellectual realms and beyond the grimacing maniac he is too often reduced to.
In many scenes, the direction is also more dexterous and clever than in several other "Gendarmes".
As an aside, the fans of Mr. Bean's old TV show will immediately recognize in the promotion examination scene of this film the direct inspiration of the math exam session, Act one, from Bean's very first episode almost verbatim!