The children of Harpagon, Cléante and his sister Elise, are each in love but they still haven’t spoken to their father yet. Harpagon is a miser who wants to choose the right man and the right woman for his children. Based on Molière’s play.
Acting
De Funès inventing entire new registers of hysteria.
Production
Period sets designed for maximum door-slamming chaos.
Writing
Molière's 17th-century venom, perfectly preserved.
Director
Jean Girault
Louis de Funès
Harpagon
Michel Galabru
Maître Jacques
Claude Gensac
Frosine
Bernard Ménez
La Flèche
Guy Grosso
Brindavoine
Michel Modo
La merluche
Henri Génès
Le commissaire
Hervé Bellon
Valére
Georges Audoubert
Anselme
Max Montavon
Maître Simon
Micheline Bourday
Dame Claude
Madeleine Barbulée
La mère de Marianne
Anne Caudry
Marianne
Claire Dupray
Elise
Franck Cabot-David
Cléante
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
De Funès co-directed this after health issues; every frame shows his obsessive perfectionism. He reportedly did 40 takes of some screaming scenes.
This was France's biggest 1980 box office hit, proving Molière still sells — but only if you let a comedy legend absolutely demolish the fourth wall with his face.
FR
