The Troops of St. Tropez (1964)

Gendarme Ludovic Cruchot is re-assigned to the French Riviera seaside resort town of Saint-Tropez where petty criminals and his own daughter give him a hard time.

Director:

Jean Girault

Writers:

Richard Balducci (original story), Jacques Vilfrid (screenplay)

Stars:

Louis de Funès, Geneviève Grad, Michel Galabru

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louis de Funès	...	Maréchal des logis-chef Ludovic Cruchot
Geneviève Grad	...	Nicole Cruchot
Michel Galabru	...	Adjudant Jérôme Gerber
Daniel Cauchy	...	Richard
Madeleine Delavaivre	...	Une estivante / woman on holiday
Maria Pacôme	...	Mme Lareine Leroy
Claude Piéplu	...	Boisselier (as Claude Pieplu)
Gabriele Tinti	...	Gangster chauffeur (as Gabriele Tini)
Michelle Wargnier	...	(as Michele Wargnier)
Christian Marin	...	Maréchal des Logis Albert Merlot
Jean Lefebvre	...	Maréchal des Logis Lucien Fougasse
Jean-Pierre Bertrand	...	Eddie
Sylvie Bréal	...	Jessica (as Sylvie Breal)
Martine de Breteuil	...	La duchesse d'Armantière
Evelyne Céry	...	(as Evelyne Cery)

Storyline

The ambitious police officer Cruchot is transferred to St. Tropez. He's struggling with persistent nude swimmers, but even more with his teenage daughter, who's trying to impress her rich friends by telling them her father was a millionaire and owned a yacht in the harbor. He gets drawn into it when he tries to cover for her when a friend 'lends' the car of her assumed father. It turns out that the real owners of the yacht aren't exactly what they pretend to be either...

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Plot Keywords:

saint tropez | police | southern france | seaside | cote d'azur | 

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Taglines:

Beguiling BATHING BEAUTIES will give you a load of laughs!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

9 September 1964 (France)

Also Known As:

The Troops of St. Tropez

Filming Locations:

Studios de la Victorine - 16 avenue Edoard Grinda, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF1,350,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC), Franca Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The biggest box office hit of 1964 in France with 7.8 million viewers.

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Connections

Referenced in Príbeh kmotra (2013)

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Soundtracks

Douliou, douliou Saint-Tropez
(uncredited)
Performed by Geneviève Grad

User Reviews

1960s style European beach comedy

Very much a 1960s style European beach comedy. The plot won't win any literary prizes, the gags are little better than average, but the comic timing of Funes, Lefebvre, Galabru, etc. is brilliant, study material for acting school. This is very much a feel-good slapstick comedy with the usual towering central performance of Louis de Funes in the title role, a prime example of a central character carrying a movie.

The best bit of the film is the black-and-white pre-credit opening sequence, set before Cruchot's move to St.Tropez. The scene with the chicken-thief and the choir is priceless.