Faites sauter la banque! (1964)

Faites sauter la banque! (1964). 1h 28m

“u0026quot;Letu0026#39;s Rob a Banku0026quot; might not be among Louis de Funesu0026#39; Top 20 comedies (not even by the numbers) but who cares? The film is obviously one of the last steps back before the big dive into stardom, a minor but charming companion piece to u0026quot;Pouic-Pouicu0026quot;, also directed by Jean Girault, written by Jacques Vilfrid and composed of the same plot elements, mixing family, financial misunderstanding and vaudeville-like misunderstandings. De Funès plays Mr. Victor Garnier, the owner of an equipment store for fishing and hunting whou0026#39;s suffered a big financial loss because he was ill-advised by his banker played by Jean-Pierre Marielle. How does he contemplate vengeance? Simply by digging a tunnel to steal bulions from the safe.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWithin its silly premise, the film has a little unpretentious charm of its own. And I suspect it was shot earlier than 1964 and from the little crop of hair remaining on Fufuu0026#39;s head and their shades of black, I guess he still had to age a little physically. Still, he was at the top of his game here, surrounded by a family that feels more like sparring-partners to his eternal tantrums. The cast isnu0026#39;t as memorable as u0026quot;Pouic Pouicu0026quot; where he had to act along Jacqueline Maillan, Christian Marin and Mireille Darc. Here the faces are relatively unknown (Yvonne Clech and Anne Doat arenu0026#39;t exactly household names) Doat is cute enough to catch the eyes of the young bank clerk (Jean Valmont) and form the obligatory beta couple. Clech doesnu0026#39;t have the comical timing of Maillan, nor the imperial elegance of Claude Gensac and the son (Michel Tureau) looks too old for the part.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn fact, itu0026#39;s the little nerdy daughter who saves the day and has that precocious quality that reminded me of the little sister in Hitchcocku0026#39;s u0026quot;Shadow of a Doubtu0026quot; sheu0026#39;s played by Catherine Demongeot who was little Zazie in Louis Malleu0026#39;s film and sheu0026#39;d grown so much she was almost the same height than her father. In fact, the second big cast member is Jean-Pierre Marielle whou0026#39;s almost totally unrecognizable. The first time I saw the film 25 years ago, I couldnu0026#39;t associate that suave and debonair smooth-talking man in black suit (with hair) to the mustached bald guy who was harassed by Jean-Paul Belmondo in u0026quot;Hold-Upu0026quot; although his voice was unmistakable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNow, thereu0026#39;s something about De Funès confronting a man one foot taller that never gets old, and from the way he interacts with them, you could tell he was practicing his last comical quips. Thereu0026#39;s also a great moment where he confronts a policeman played by George Wilson and that foreshadows the keen eye he will always display with his subordinates or superiors, bluffing his way out of uncomfortable situations.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn fact, the film is mostly memorable for watching Funès interacting, shortening himself even more to get away from tricky moments or u0026#39;playing dumbu0026#39; with people dumber than him like that interesting conversation with Jean Lefebvre. Speaking of Lefebvre (who co-starred the same year in the first u0026quot;Gendarmeu0026quot;) the film is also a little whou0026#39;s-who of all the character actors of that time Jean Droze, Philippe Dumat and Claude Piéplu. Some less inspired parts that can look as obvious fillers such as the unnecessary interventions of Belgian relatives giving the film the appeal of a little sitcom.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill, Jean Girault makes it a great vehicle for De Funès and Marielle. Itu0026#39;s obvious that it was made with a shoestring budget and wasnu0026#39;t meant to be a huge box office but it proved itself to be effective. I guess Girault understood that the u0026#39;family manu0026#39; thing worked but there had to be a little more in the narrative territory to allow De Funès to express his comedic talent to the fullest. That u0026#39;little moreu0026#39; came the same year with the first u0026#39;Gendarmeu0026#39; film.”