A 1969 French farce where the meek literally inherit the mob—what could go wrong?
Monsieur Gentil runs a perfume factory. He is a shy man, bullied by Madame Marthe, the manager, and spurned by Cléo, the young travel agent he is in love with. He 'd rather be a tough guy than a wet blanket and his meeting with Durante, a gangster, will be decisive. Considering him a providential piggy bank, Durante, following the advice of his boss Spinosa, entrusts the" education" of Gentil to two experts, Perrugo and Bersone.
Acting
Jean Lefebvre's elastic face does 80% of the heavy lifting.
Practical Effects
Genuine stunt work and physical comedy, no CGI safety net.
Director
Raoul André
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Raoul André directed over 30 films in the 1960s-70s, mostly commercial French farces now largely forgotten outside archival circles.
This captures the tail end of the 'gangster comedy' wave that followed the real-life French Connection headlines—organized crime as domesticatable farce.
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