Die tolle Residenz

If you're going to appreciate Claude Sautet's first,you'd best forget about all those movies he made afterward ,film noir (" Classes Tous Risques " "Max et Les Ferrailleurs",IMHO ,his best works along with "Les Choses De La Vie") ) or "meaningful" "deep " psychological dramas about Cesar,Rosalie,Vincent ,François and the others .

This is part musical ,part music hall ,part slapstick farce and part romantic drama ;and this is a heavy-handed affair.

In a small principality ,inspired by Monaco and San Marino, a princess about to get married never smiles ;and she must smile before she walks up the aisle ;so secret agents kidnap four variety artists and hold them in the palace till they brighten up the wistful girl.

Most of the viewers will probably have a look cause Louis De Funès is in it ,although he is not really given a chance to shine,the producers fearing he might overshadow the four principals.

Only two of the principals,Henri Salvador (recently deceased) and Annie Cordy are still well known in France ;the most intriguing of the lot is Jimmy Gaillard ,who began as a child in the twenties (Duvivier's "Mystere De La Tour Eiffel ) ,then continued his career as a grown up in moderately pleasant comedies ("L'Amant De Bornéo" " Gringalet" )and ended,if we are to believe the screenwriters,as a stand up comic. At least 30% of the movie consists of music hall numbers and they are not particularly enjoyable ;Cordy's "Fleur De Papillon'" is not really exciting,at least to these ears ,and Salvador's ditties are not better.

All in all,it's a young clueless Jean Carmet who plays his game well;cast ,not as an entertainer -though he is one,and his career in the movies would prove more interesting than the three aforementioned artists-,but as an entertainer's cousin ,from a small Normandy town;in a Bourvil-like performance ,he is really the stand out.