La Grande Vadrouille (1966)

Several ordinary Frenchmen, helping British pilots avoid Nazi captivity, go on an epic voyage through the occupied country to the free zone.

Director:

Gérard Oury

Writers:

Gérard Oury (scenario), Georges Tabet (dialogue)

Stars:

Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Claudio Brook

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bourvil	...	Augustin Bouvet
Louis de Funès	...	Stanislas Lefort
Claudio Brook	...	Peter Cunningham
Andréa Parisy	...	Soeur Marie-Odile / Sister Marie-Odile
Colette Brosset	...	Germaine
Mike Marshall	...	Alan MacIntosh
Mary Marquet	...	Mère Supérieure
Pierre Bertin	...	Le grand-père de Juliette - propriétaire du guignol
Benno Sterzenbach	...	Major Achbach
Marie Dubois	...	Juliette
Terry-Thomas	...	Sir Reginald
Sieghardt Rupp	...	Lt. Stuermer
Reinhard Kolldehoff	...	Un caporal allemand
Helmuth Schneider	...	L'officier allemand dans le train (as Helmut Schneider)
Paul Préboist	...	Le pêcheur

Storyline

A RAF Bomber is shot down over Paris by the Germans. Its crew land there by parachute. With the help of some French civilians they try to escape over the demarcation line into the southern part of France, still not occupied by the Germans.

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Plot Keywords:

escape | world war two in france | chase | parachuting | royal air force | 

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Taglines:

Terry-Thomas - Bourvil - Louis De Funes ...three of the screen's top comedians ...each an international star!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | War

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was seen by 17 million people in France, a box-office record in that country until Titanic (1997).

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Goofs

Painted road markings weren't introduced in France until post-WW2 (and the movie takes place in 1941).

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Quotes

Sir Reginald: MacIntosh, why don't you get back to Canada!

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Alternate Versions

The original German release had several parts of the French original cut. Some of them might have been taken out because some gags could not be used because of the different languages used in the original (French, German and English). There is for example the quite funny scene when Claudio Brook reveals himself as an English man on the train when he says "I'm sorry" when spilling some vine. The German version instead just shows the angry German officer who commands to arrest the English soldier. Some parts are cut without any obvious reason - e.g. a humorous dialogue of de Funés and Bourvil, their escape and chase in German uniforms. The German version just comes into the scene when they are already arrested.

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Connections

Referenced in La joie de faire rire (2006)

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Soundtracks

Rakoczy March
(uncredited)
Music by Hector Berlioz

User Reviews

the filler that broke records

Released in Australia as DON'T LOOK NOW...WE'RE BEING SHOT AT this dubbed French WW2 farce was a runaway hit and most unexpectedly so during winter 1968. Usually French films just are subtitled here but, like Das Boot later, it is one of the few expertly dubbed...maybe there was an English version made given some of the cast. Anyway, it was plonked into one city theater as a filler when some other film fell over...and became a record breaking ticket seller for about 3 months. I can remember (it well) the audience screaming with laughter in the huge 1200 seat Lyceum Theatre...especially during one particular chase scene. The Lyceum was the showcase for most family films like THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and later WHATS UP DOC so maybe there was an inbuilt audience for Lyceum style shows that helped this film find box office gold immediately. However, after its initial run, it never surfaced again and has never been seen on TV video or DVD in Australia. Just one colossal release and oblivion!

Details

Country:

France UK

Language:

French English German

Release Date:

8 December 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

La Grande Vadrouille

Filming Locations:

16 Rue de la Faisanderie, Paris 16, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Corona, The Rank Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min 101 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1