Un drôle de paroissien (1963)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky

Film Review

This pleasing lightweight comedy features a giant of French comedy, Bourvil.  His gentle personality and natural humility is perfect for the part of the parishioner who really believes the Good Lord wants him to help himself to the church collection.  He is joined by Jean Poiret and Francis Blanche who also turn in some fine comic performances.

The film's morality is more than a little questionable, as it gives a pretty comprehensive (and apparently foolproof) lesson on how to steal from the church collection box.  It is, for all that, a delightful film to watch, and most of its charm derives from the fact that the perpetrators of the crime in the film pursue their activities with such sublime innocence, with a morality of their own which makes their police pursuers appear to be the villains of the piece.  This switching of the moral perspective is an idea that has been pursued in earlier French detective thrillers such as Melville's Le Doulos, but here it is given a unique and very entertaining comic slant.

Film Synopsis

It is a proud boast that the Lachesnayes have never had to work for their living, and even though times are hard now, it is a tradition that the present generation have no intention of giving up.  With his family about to be evicted from their present abode, Georges Lachesnaye drops in on the local church and begs a favour from his patron saint.  Saint George appears to be listening, because a moment later his unfortunate namesake has a sudden brainwave.  The sound of a coins being dropped into a collection box suddenly gives Georges an idea.  From now on, he and his family will subsist on the money they find in church collection boxes.  Naturally, they won't take all the money they find, just half of it - the other half should be more than adequate to meet the needs of the sick and poor.

The plan works for a while, but it isn't long before the regular raids on the collection boxes are noticed and the police are called in to investigate.  Before he know it, Georges finds he is being doggedly pursued by Chief-Inspector Cucherat, who is evidently unimpressed by his money-making scheme.  Even when he takes the precaution of using a look-out, Georges finds he is at risk of being caught red-handed.  In the end, he has no choice but to make a hasty retreat from the area with his family.  His one last act before he goes is to return to the first church he raided and put some money in a collection box.  Unfortunately, the police are waiting for him...