Les Barbouzes (1964)
Directed by Georges Lautner

Film Review

The British spy-thriller Dr No (1962) didn't only launch the screen career of a certain special agent 007, it also spawned a slew of parodies - not only in the UK (Carry on Spying being arguably the best) but also across the channel.  Actually, this isn't quite true, the spy parody was already an established genre in France and was already proving to be a box office winner, evidenced by the success of Georges Lautner's Monocle films, beginning with Le Monocle noir (1961).  The big screen exploits of James Bond did however make the genre more popular, and also led French cinema to offer a home-grown alternative to 007, in the form of agent OSS 117.  The first French spy-parody to benefit from the Bond phenomenon was Les Barbouzes, Lautner's immediate follow up to his massively successful gangster parody Les Tontons flingueurs (1963).

Lautner repeats the winning formula of that earlier film, engaging Michel Audiard as dialogist and Lino Ventura, Francis Blanche and Bernard Blier - a winning comedy triumvirate if ever there was one - to take the leading roles.  By this time, Ventura was now a massive star, best known for his 'tough guy' portrayals in serious thrillers such as Le Fauve est lâché (1959), but he was ideally suited to play the 'straight man' in Lautner's outrageous comedies, with Blanche, a superlative comedian, fielding virtually all of the gags.  Sure enough, the film was another hit - attracting an audience of 2.4 million - and this success led Lautner to repeat the formula with the same ingredients one more time with Ne nous fâchons (1966).

Whilst the plot isn't quite so well-oiled and original as in Lautner's previous parody, Les Barbouzes is still a cut above most French comedies of this era, and it has Audiard most to thank for this.  Audiard's virtually unrivalled flair for witty but convincing 'Milieu' dialogue, often sarcastic but never silly, was well-utilised by Lautner on all of their many collaborations, particularly their early ones.  As well as the distinguished trio of lead actors, the film has some pleasing contributions from some other popular performers - Mireille Darc, Jess Hahn and Noël Roquevert - providing this classy comedy with the classiest ensemble of acting talent available to its director.  There were many, many spy parodies made in France after this one (Pleins feux sur Stanislas, Une ravissante idiote, etc.), but few can rival the entertainment value of Les Barbouzes, a classic of the genre.

Film Synopsis

After the death of an eminent armaments manufacturer Constantin Benard Shah, four ruthless secret agents nicknamed Les Barbouzes are assigned to recover the plans for a revolutionary thermonuclear device that are hidden amongst the deceased's personal effects.  These are: a Frenchman posing as the dead man's cousin, Francis Lagneau; a German Hans Müller masquerading as a psychoanalyst; a Soviet Boris Vassilieff; and a man from Switzaerland, Eusebio Cafarelli.  All are desperate to get their hands on the vital blueprints for their respective governments.  They not only have to compete among themselves, they also have to fend of a desperate gang of Chinese mercenaries and a persistent American arms dealer who are as equally determined to recover the lost plans...