Gangsters et philanthropes

I remember seeing this as one of the (always carefully selected) films in one of those series of Continental films they used to show on BBC2, but no channel seems to show nowadays. If I have the right film, that is, as there's no plot detail given here, and I am certain it was translated as 'Crooks and Philanthropists' when I saw it (and it is also listed as 'Mobs and Philanthropists' elsewhere). The film is very much in two halves, and the first half is very original and very funny, as a chemist loses his job and doesn't want his wife to find out. The second half is not so good (and I can't even remember anything about it). But, with the sort of comedies coming out of the studios these days, anything with even the slightest element of humour has to be cherished.