L'Homme à la Buick (1968)
Directed by Gilles Grangier

Film Review

In this film, director Gilles Grangier attempts a happy marriage of the two genres that most define his career: the popular comic farce and the classic French crime-thriller.  The union doesn't quite work and although the film has some pretty lavish production values it is very much a hit and miss affair.  Not all of the jokes are in the places you'd expect to find them, most of the characters are thin parodies of genre types, and the plot is needlessly over-complicated.  To set against these faults, there is an exceptional cast, headed by the legendary comic Fernandel and the eternally delightful Danielle Darrieux (both of whom give good value for money).   Michael Lonsdale's camp police inspector is an unexpected treat, although his character is criminally underused.   Whilst the film is unlikely to win any awards for originality or artistic merit, it is mildly entertaining and not as grotesquely silly as some popular French comedies of this period.  The most significant thing about this film is that it marks the final contribution to cinema by Henri Jeanson, who is credited with scripting some of the most memorable films in French cinema history - notably Hôtel du nord (1938) and Fanfan la Tulipe (1952).

Film Synopsis

As he motors around the streets of Honfleur in his swanky Buick, Armand Favrot has the air of a respectable man about town.  He is always willing to help others and likes nothing better than to drive children to Switzerland for their holidays.  No one would think that Armand is a seasoned hoodlum, whose frequent trips to Switzerland allow him to make a decent living as a jewel smuggler. One of his most fervent admirers is the rich widow Michèle de Layrac.  Realising that by marrying her he could soon be a very wealthy man, Armand goes out of his way to impress her, but in doing so he finds he needs to supplement his income.  This he intends to do by going into partnership with his former criminal associates and mounting what will be the most daring jewel robbery of their careers - right in the centre of Paris.

Armand's gang includes Lucien and Paulette, who run the hotel that the jewel smuggler owns and uses as a meeting place for his nefarious activities.  The heist comes off as planned, but in their hasty getaway one of the gang is wounded in the shoulder.  Armand conceals the injured man in his Honfleur residence, just as Inspector Farjon shows up to question him about his involvement with Madame de Layrac.  Convinced that the police are on to him, Armand decides to get rid of the stolen jewels as quickly as he can.  Just when all appears to be lost, it is Madame de Layrac who comes to his aid - by getting herself arrested for murdering her two previous husbands!