Quand passent les faisans (1965) - film review

Small-time swindler Arsène Baudu comes unstuck when he attempts to pull a con-trick on police inspector Hyacinthe Camus.  Fortunately, the latter has reasons of his own for turning to a life of crime so he suggests going into partnership with Arsène.  They will make a dishonest living selling bogus diplomas to all and sundry.  Alas, the scam falls flat when their second victim, crooked financier Alexandre Larsan-Bellac, sees through their little game.  Impressed by their apparent air of mediocrity, Alexandre persuades Arsène and Hyacinthe to work for him on a swindle of an altogether grander kind.  They intend to con Portuguese businessman Ribero into buying a large quantity of worthless Russian shares.  The scheme might have worked had it not been for Alexandre’s flirtations with Madame Patterson, a wealthy widow who is not quite what she appears...

Quand passent les faisans is a scintillating French comedy that deserves to be ranked alongside similar crime parodies Le Monocle noir (1961), Les Tontons flingueurs (1963) and Les Barbouzes (1964), particularly as it features two of the stars of these classics, Paul Meurisse and Bernard Blier.  The film is directed with flair by a young Edouard Molinaro, the future director of such spirited comedies as L’Emmerdeur (1973) and La Cage aux folles (1978), and scripted by screenwriting legend Michel Audiard, whose penchant for wit enlivened many a French comedy in the 1960s and 70s.

As ever, the incomparable Meurisse and Blier give great value as their familiar comedy personae, the former cool and elegant, the latter a wide-eyed paranoiac who looks as though he is about to explode at any moment.  Jean Lefebvre and Michel Serrault complete the comedy quartet to perfection, whilst Yvonne Clech, Claire Maurier and the ubiquitous Robert Dalban provide some sterling support as back-up artistes.  Although somewhat less well-known than Les Tontons flingueurs, Quand passent les faisans is just as enjoyably madcap and offers as many laughs, thanks to a gag-encrusted script, Molinaro’s breezy directorial style and the unique talents of some great comedy performers.  Crime may not pay, but it can be excruciatingly funny when it is played for laughs.

© James Travers 2011

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