Les Combinards (1966) Directed by Juan Estelrich, Riccardo Pazzaglia
Comedy / Crime
Film Review
Before he started making pornographic movies (under the name Patrick
Aubin), director Jean-Claude Roy had some success with popular
mainstream fare, one of his most enjoyable films being this daft comedy
depicting the antics of a pair of hopeless conmen. Les Combinards includes two short
segments contributed by two other directors - Juan Estelrich and
Riccardo Pazzaglia - but it is Roy's part of the film that is the most
entertaining, mainly because it features the combined comedic talents
of Darry Cowl, Michel Serrault and Jacques Bernard. In spite of a
mediocre script, these comic performers manage to wring a fair number
of laughs from the well-worn scenario and, whilst the film hardly rates
as a classic, it makes for an entertaining little timewaster.
Cowl was most often at his best when paired with another contrasting
comedy performer, and the Cowl-Bernard double act works a treat.
However, it is only when Serrault shows up, in the second half of the
film, that the urge to laugh becomes irresistible.
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Film Synopsis
Léo and Claude are two professional con artists who, having run out
of ideas, turn to the newspapers in search of inspiration. Two stories
capture their attention. In Spain, a man from the country falls foul
of two swindlers who con him into buying a tramway in the city. In
Naples, a cunning individual discovers that, by pretending he has an incurable
illness after a stay in hospital, he can milk a nation's sympathy with the
help of the national press. Both of these scams have their merits but
when Léo and Claude try to imitate them they fall flat on their faces.
Undeterred by this setback, the two men then decide to start up their own
bogus marriage business. The scheme works well until our heroes fall
foul of an even more unscrupulous fraudster who has the exact same idea...
Director: Juan Estelrich, Riccardo Pazzaglia, Jean-Claude Roy
Script: Jacques Bernard, Jean-Claude Roy
Cinematographer: Pierre Levent
Music: François de Roubaix
Cast:Darry Cowl (Léo),
Michel Serrault (Le faux député),
Jacques Bernard (Claude),
Agnès Spaak (Lucile),
Maria Pacôme (Lucienne),
Noël Roquevert (Le commissaire),
Mary Marquet (Mme Florenne),
Pierre Duncan (Le gardien de prison),
Country: France / Italy / Spain
Language: French / Italian
Support: Color
Runtime: 70 min; B&W
The very best of the French New Wave
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.
Since the 1920s, Hollywood has dominated the film industry, but that doesn't mean American cinema is all bad - America has produced so many great films that you could never watch them all in one lifetime.