Director: Gérard Oury
Writer: Jean-Charles Tacchella
Producer: Robert Dorfmann
During World War II, two French civilians and a downed British Bomber Crew set out from Paris to cross the demarcation line between Nazi-occupied Northern France and the South. From there they will be able to escape to England. First, they must avoid German troops – and the consequences of their own blunders.
132 min
Rating: 7.928/10
Released
Watch Trailer
Top Cast
Bourvil
Augustin Bouvet, house painter
Louis de Funès
Stanislas Lefort, conductor at the Paris Opera
Terry-Thomas
Squadron Leader Sir Reginald Brook, Royal Air Force
Claudio Brook
Peter Cunningham
Mike Marshall
Aircraftman Alan MacIntosh, Royal Air Force
Marie Dubois
Juliette
Movie Info
Director: Gérard Oury
Writer: Jean-Charles Tacchella
Producer: Robert Dorfmann
Production Companies: Les Films Corona, The Rank Organisation, Lowndes Productions Limited
Countries: France, United Kingdom
Similar Movies
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982-05-21
Kung Fu Hustle
2004-02-10
Johnny English
2003-03-14
Big Trouble in Little China
1986-05-30
The Final Countdown
1980-01-31
The Thin Red Line
1998-12-23
Little Boy
2015-04-23
The Good and the Bad
1976-01-19
Charade
1963-12-01
Never So Few
1959-12-07
The Blood of Others
1984-08-25
Where the Spies Are
1966-01-26
A Boy and His Dog
1975-03-23
Skinner's Dress Suit
1926-04-18
Dentist in the Chair
1960-08-08
El Alaméin
1953-12-03
Frank Maselskis: From WWII POW to Chosin Reservoir Survivor
2020-01-01
America
2013-06-23
Le Bataillon du Pacifique
2024-06-23
Asterix in Britain
1986-12-03User Reviews
What Others Said
CinemaSerf:
I'd watched this entertainingly farcical French wartime comedy for about half hour before I realised that the chap who looked like Terry-Thomas was, actually, Terry-Thomas! He, like everyone else here, is in his element as an RAF bomber crew find themselves shot down over Paris and dependent on a rather disparate selection of people to try and keep them from the hands of the Gestapo, and to help smuggle them out of the city and to some semblance of safety. It has all the hallmarks of a slightly less bawdy "Carry-On" film with some characterful performances from Bouvril ("Bouvet") and the increasingly amusing Louis de Funès as the suitably over-the-top orchestral maestro "Lefort". Neither gent is really equipped to guide our hapless trio of airmen out of their own bathrooms, much less from the grasp of the Nazis - but with the help of some silk parachutes, cunning disguises, nuns and horses - well who'd bet against them? Unlike many other films of this genre, this is actually funny. Sure, you can readily predict what is likely to happen, and some of the misunderstandings do have you wondering how was that even possible, but the ensemble cast including an on form Andréa Parisy and Benno Sterzenbach as the (no so) menacing "Maj. Achbach" give this just a soupçon of class that belies it's roots. Dated? Well yes, but still surprisingly enjoyable to watch.