On a retrouvé la 7e compagnie (1975) - film review

1940, during World War II, three French soldiers, Chaudard, Pithivier, Tassin, accidentally manage to liberate the seventh company from their German captors, with the aid of a breakdown tank.  However, when they then go on to make a reconnaissance, the three soldiers are soon themselves captured and sent to a prison camp.  Despite the odds, they are determined to escape...

Whilst they lack the scale and originality of earlier war-time comic farces, Robert Lamoureux’s series of 7e compagnie films are quite entertaining, although the formula of inept French soldiers pulling fast ones on dim German officers is looking distinctly tired by the mid-1970s.

On a retrouvé la 7e compagnie benefits from Lamoureux’s witty dialogue and some memorable comic performances.  Although some of the comic situations are needlessly drawn out and repetitive, there are some genuine moments of side-splitting comedy (most famously the great escape scene with the mattresses).  Lamoureux himself makes an amusing appearance in the film, stealing the film’s funniest moments for himself.

© James Travers 2001

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