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*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Georges Lachaunaye (Bourvil) is the eldest son in an old French aristocratic family that has known better times. The once wealthy family has lost its maids and butlers and must now resort to eating in soup kitchens and is about to lose its mansion. However, because of their family name and aristocratic lineage, common jobs are beneath them. No one in the family works. Georges stumbles upon a way to make money, however, by going to the large old churches of Paris and robbing the donation boxes in their dark alcoves. Georges slowly develops the robbery of churches into an art form, using such methods as wet caramels dropped through the donation slots on a string and pulling out the attached coins. Through his efforts, the family starts getting rich again. However, a doggedly determined police inspector who specializes in church collection box robberies gets hot on his trail. This little film is extremely funny and entertaining and has wonderful comedic performances, especially by Jean Yonnel, the elderly father of the once-wealthy family. This movie could probably never be the object of a remake in the United States, due to its outrageous plot about lazy aristocrats resorting to the robbery of churches to reclaim their lost wealth. But it's quite funny in French, and one of Bourvil's best films, along with Le Corniaud, La Grande Vadrouille and La Cuisine Au Beurre and may actually be his best work as a comedic actor.
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