La Bourse et la vie (1966)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky

Film Review

An exceptional cast elevates what might have been a routine run-around comedy into an enjoyable romp with wide appeal.  Somewhat lighter and far less subversive than some of Jean-Pierre Mocky's later comedies, this is much more in the vein of the traditional burlesque French comedy, of the kind that drew large cinema audiences in the 1950s and '60s.  There are some ebullient comic performances from Fernandel (one of last film roles) and Jean Poiret, and a seemingly endless array of cameo appearances from other great talents.   Whilst the film isn't quite able to sustain its momentum right to the end, there are some memorable jokes along the way, such as the automobile roulette gag and the sequence where a car-driving priest relives the Road to Damascus story by dazzling all on-coming traffic with his headlights.   It's escapist fun which guarantees a few good laughs and doesn't insult your intelligence, whether you are a toddler or a nuclear physicist.

Film Synopsis

Lucien Pélépan, the financial director of a large construction firm in Toulouse, is far from pleased when he discovers that three of his associates, the Robinhoude brothers, have lost the ten million francs that were supposed to be deposited with his lawyer.  With only one day in which to rectify the situation and avoid a full-blown scandal, Lucien realises that his only option is to borrow money from his company without his boss's knowledge.  The plan is that two of his employees, Migue and Schmidt, will withdraw the money in cash from the bank and hand it over to him at the train station.  Despite their best efforts, the three men fail to meet up as agreed and they end up separated on a train bound for Paris.  At Montauban, Migue and Schmidt catch sight of Lucien just as they head in opposite directions and go after him in a car.  Finally reunited in Limoges, the three men continue their journey together by train, but they become separated again when Lucien goes off to find a suitcase in which to put the money and ends up in a separate compartment when the train uncouples...