Change Your Image
ianda
Reviews
La grande vadrouille (1966)
Interesting to Observe an Example of French Humour
I can't say I find the film particularly funny, but it interested me because perhaps it shows the difference between French and British humour. À chacun son goût - to each his own taste - of course, and to my taste the film had too much farce, too much slapstick, and too little subtlety of humour. It was like being hit with a humour-hammer rather than being amused intelligently.
I have to confess that I didn't laugh once, nor, as far as I'm aware, even manage to raise a smile. I can't imagine that a film of this type would have been the most popular in the UK for as long as it was in France. I was previously unaware of the work of Bourvil and de Funés (sorry, but their constant over-acting did nothing for me) but I certainly knew of Terry Thomas's films, and he was capable of far better than this.
I loved the Burgundy scenery, though, and I was happily transported back to holidays in the Côte d'Or and a visit the old hospital at Beaune.