La grosse caisse

Bourvil punches tickets at a decrepit station on Parisian metropolitan train. It's a dull job, and he has taken note of the weekly money train carrying six hundred million francs to the treasury. He has worked out a scheme to rob it, and written a policier based on it. Unfortunately, no publisher will touch it, proclaiming it absurd. His amour-propre wounded, he tries to get some professional thief to do the job. At first he can't even find a crook. But when the elegant and forceful Paul Meurisse finds the manuscript, he is enchanted. No more dull bank robberies! A chance to drive a train! And Bourvil realizes that when the real thing comes along, he is in way over his head.

Bourvil jitters five times a second in this very funny caper movie, but it is Meurisse who carries away the comedy prize with his blithe portrayal. The caper is also carried out in exquisite detail, in a manner that is completely convincing. It's a lot of fun for fans of Bourvil, and for French comedy in general.