The Gendarme in New York

I started rewatching all the "Gendarme" movies, all classics from my youth, when you didn't have much movies to chose from. Movies starring Louis de Funès were a guarantee for success, although this one wasn't that good to be honest. The plot is sometimes a bit unconvincing. But if you like the mimics from Louis de Funès it's worth a watch. Michel Galabru is always good to watch as well. Le Gendarme à New York is just one of the weaker movies in this series. There are a couple singing scenes, one as an hommage to West Side Story, and another with his daughter singing, to me both of those scens just don't fit in the movie. This movie is from 1965 and it didn't age that well, at least not like the first movie.

...and not the worst.There are good reasons to watch it: -It was the time of "the France" a luxury liner ,where a lot of of the action takes place.

-Geneviève Grad is well cast as De Funès's daughter .She is very anxious to accompany her dear dad to New-York but as she is not invited ,she 's a stowaway on the ship .

-Her father "seems " to see her sometimes ,but he will never realize she 's been with him all along the way.

-On the streets of the Big Apple,there's a funny spoof on "West Side Story".

Jean Girault was no genius.But his movie is quite entertaining.

One should be reassured: The St-Tropez police, headed by adjutant Adolphe Gerber and Ludovic Cruchot, is deepest province, despite the fact that the international high-society gathers there, since the contact between the policemen and the tourists is zero, except f.ex. during the nudity seasons and when the celebrate their triumph at the end of the 6 "Gendarme" movies. Otherwise, Ludovic Cruchot is totally absorbed by the problems of with beautiful daughter, his jealous wife or the regular circulation violations at the rural road crossings.

And now, the St-Tropez police gets elected to represent the France police in New York. (The audience asks: If the St-Tropez police is already a bunch of comedians, how must the Paris police look like.) But this movie does not get stuck in the usual slapstick and that form of comedy for which I only now one adequate term - in German: Klamotte, and it is perhaps just to say that Louis De Funes was in Europe that comedian who played this oldest and historically lowest level of comedy on the highest possible level. For that he will for unforgotten for all times.

"Le Gendarme A New York" does not exhaust itself in the fragile border land between comedy and comicality, since it is a great poetry of displacement. As if in the big city of New York there would be no place for the hungry policemen to satisfy their hunger, they send commander Cruchot to a butcher shop in order to get a "beef-steak" (as it can be ordered even in the smallest French countryside bistros). Arrived at a shop around the corner, Cruchot learns that the partition of the meat in America and in Europe has nothing to do with one another (and therefore it makes no sense to ask for a special French cut of meat). He finds finally something like an "Entrecote" in a dubious shop, is happy to bring it back to the hotel, but stands at a crossing of those big American streets which frighten every European and - which is more tricky - are named in a different manner than European streets are, namely along the streets and not directly at the corner. So, if there is the crossing of A/B street, the European never knows in which direction A or B leads.

Then, in the hotel, they cook Cruchots "scavenged" meat. As rank-highest officer, Adjutant Gerber cooks it in the "Dubarry" way his wife uses to cook it. We witness that for the six men, the cooking process, although accomplished on a gas-cooker, is nothing less than a ceremony, and that for the cooking time, the hotel room ABC at X avenue in far remote New York has become a French Exclave. In order not to spoil the movie, let me just mention that Cruchot gets even arrested by the New York police - solely on the reason that he reacts as he is used to do in St-Tropez.

I am giving to all films from Gandarme series a 10 out of pure nostalgy. These days around New Year they played on TV all the films and though I can admit that now they do not seem as funny as they once were... still they gave you a really good feeling.

Scene with english lessons is really funny - my tailor is not rich / my flowers are beautiful

This second sequel deals about the Sergeant Marechal Ludovic Cruchot(Louis De Funes),Lieutenant chief adjutant Jerome(Michael Galabru) and Marichal remaining(Jean Lefevre,Grosso,Modo,Christian Marin)are appointed for an International Congress of Gendarmerie in N.Y. They aboard a cruise and his festive daughter Nicole(Genevieve Grad) as stowaway. Nicole has a little too much at the Big Apple and the Gendarmes suffer a shaky ground.There she knows an Italian Carabinieri and a journalist(Alan Scott).

One of the best of Ludovic Cruchot series packs simple humor, slapdash,rip-roaring and lots of fun. Louis De Funes , as always steals the show, he stooges, dances, makes acrobatics and pulls faces and grimaces.Marvelous Genieveve Grad as feisty and likable daughter.The highlights are a brilliant and frenetic choreography about a dancing between Jets and Sharks bands, similarly to West Side Story and Cruchot in middle of the gangs; plus Ludovic playing baseball as pitcher and catcher; besides appears the customary nun driving in N.Y. Known soundtrack leitmotif by Raymond Lefevre used as musical background when the Gendarmes are parading along the city and habitual final march in Saint Tropez. The motion picture is lively filmed by series' director , Jean Girault and based on the characters created by Richard Balducci. It's followed by various sequels: Gendarme get married, Gendarme in balade, Gendarmes and the creatures of outer space and Gendarme and the Gendarmettes. If you like Funes' crazy acting, you'll enjoy this one because he 's overacting with amount mimic gesticulation. The movie is a Funes recital, it's a farce by the master comic to be liked for his fans.