Summary
Emile Morland is a failed theatrical impresario who decides to apply
his talents for invention to more lucrative ends. He
persuades his former associate, Aristide, and an out-of-work actress,
Amandine, to lend their services in his latest foolproof scam, which
will net them a cool six hundred million dollars. The plan is
simple, child’s play in fact. All they have to do is to kidnap
the infant son of the wealthy banker Rifai and substitute it with
another child borrowed from an acquaintance. The scheme backfires
when Rifai refuses to pay the ransom, not because he is short of cash,
because he prefers the angelic little boy that Fate has give him in
exchange for the messy brat that he sired.
Review
Claude Pinoteau’s follow-up to his massively popular La Gifle (1974) was this lacklustre
comedy which is only just salvaged by Yves Montand’s bravura turn as a
kind of gentleman Arthur Daley. Only an unimaginative pre-school
child with a particularly low IQ could fail to anticipate the plot
twist on which the film depends for its biggest laugh. Screenwriter
Michel Audiard shows little, if any, of his talent for comedy, and the
lack of any decent gags becomes irksome way before we reach the film’s
mid-point. Pinoteau was far more successful as a director of
thrillers, such as the stylish La 7ème cible (1984),
although he scored a palpable hit with the teen comedy La Boum
(1980). Le Grand escogriffe
was the one notable misfire in his short but distinguished filmmaking
career.
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Useful links
- Best French films of 2011
- Best French films of the 2000s
- Best of the French New Wave
- Best of French film comedy
- The best 100 French films
- The most successful French films
- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- The best French comedies
- Other French films of the 1970s
- The best French films of the 1970s
- Other French comedies
- Biography and films of Claude Pinoteau
To buy this film
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Credits
- Director: Claude Pinoteau
- Script: Rennie Airth (novel), Michel Audiard, Jean Herman, Claude Pinoteau
- Photo: Jean Collomb
- Music: Georges Delerue
- Cast: Yves Montand (Morland), Agostina Belli (Amandine), Claude Brasseur (Ari), Aldo Maccione (Tony), Adolfo Celi (Rifai), Valentina Cortese (The Widow), Guy Marchand (Marcel), Ely Galleani (Dorotea), Gianni Cavina (Silvio)
- Country: France / Italy
- Language: French
- Runtime: 90 min
- Aka: The Big Operator
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To buy Le Grand escogriffe:

Comedy


