Les Veinards (1962) - film review

Every day, the newspapers we buy tell us about a fortunate man or woman who has won some spectacular prize.  Do these people really exist?  Here are the stories of five such lucky individuals...

Le Vison
Jacqueline, housemaid to an aspiring architect Jérôme and his aloof wife Laura, wins a mink coat in a competition, which she takes great pleasure in flaunting in front of her employers.  Jérôme tells his wife that she must wear Laura’s mink coat at a dinner with an important business contact, Flavigny.  Having managed to get the two women to agree to the arrangement, Jérôme then falls out with his wife and ends up having to take Jacqueline to the dinner – with disastrous consequences.

Le Repas gastronomique
Bon vivant Francis Bricheton has won a meal in an exclusive restaurant.  But before he can eat, he must pose for the photographers.  Will he ever get his meal?

La Vedette
Simon Taquet, a billposter, wins a night with film star Patricia.  He gets far more than he anticipated...

Le Yatch
Monsieur Duchemin has won a yacht and, without telling his wife, sets out to collect it, hoping for a mischievous cruise with his young secretary, Corine.  When she realises her husband’s good fortune, Madame Duchemin decides to collect the yacht herself, accompanied by her handsome young valet Philippe...

Le Gros lot
Antoine Beaurepaire arrives in Paris with his wife and daughter to collect the 100 million francs he has won in the national lottery.  Fearful of having his money stolen, Beaurepaire is determined to get to the bank as quickly as he can.  Unfortunately, his wife’s insistence on buying some jewellery soon upsets his plans...

Much of this episodic comic film feels dated even by the standards of the early 1960s, and its all-star billing is largely wasted on the lacklustre material contrived by Jean Girault and his cohorts.  Only the first segment of the film stands up to a second viewing, thanks mainly to the spirited contributions from François Perrier (a great dramatic actor in a rare comic role) and the delightfully bubbly Mireille Darc.   The tedious third segment (with a supremely unfunny Darry Cowl) is unfathomable, and is best watched with the fast-forward button on the VCR remote control pressed firmly down.  Thankfully, the master of the comic grimace, Louis de Funès, manages to breathe some life into the film’s final part and we do get a few decent laughs before the closing credits mercifully roll.

© James Travers 2003

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