La Grande Vadrouille (1966)

Several ordinary Frenchmen, helping British pilots avoid Nazi captivity, goes on an epic voyage through the occupied country to the Swiss border.

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:

warplane | bomber | escape | world war two in france | chase | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

France UK

Language:

French English German

Release Date:

8 December 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

La Grande Vadrouille

Filming Locations:

Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 15,000,000 (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:

2.35 : 1

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

During the car/motorcycle chase on the mountain road, the painted road surface markings disappear several times, mostly during wide shots.

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Quotes

Augustin Bouvet: [with strong French accent] You, you come with me to pick up Peter.
Stanislas LeFort: No, you you come with me to pick up MacIntosh!
Augustin Bouvet: No no no no, you you you! and if you don't come I... oh merde alors comment on dit ça...
Stanislas LeFort: Comment ça "merde alors"? but alors you are French!

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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 The Umbrella Coup (1980)

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Soundtracks

Rule, Britannia!
(uncredited)
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne

User Reviews

One of the most popular French movies of all time

Starring the famous Bourvil/Louis de Funes tandem it is a highly entertaining caper set in WWII German-occupied France, where these 2 unlikely heroes reluctantly must help some downed British airmen to escape.

A perennial favourite on French TV during the Christmas or Easter holidays it is one of those rare movies you can watch over and over again without getting tired of it. It runs more than two hours but moves along at an incredible pace. Movie relies bigtime on the clash of character between de Funes as the self-important musical director of the Opéra de Paris and Bourvil as the simple housepainter. But also the hilarious script, some spectacular setpieces (including a spielbergesque chase by German sidecars) and a surprising finale all add up to making `Vadrouille' one of the best and most entertaining French movies ever.

Made on a lavish budget by Gerard Oury who would go on to make some other highly succesfull comedies, mostly starring big French stars as de Funes and Bourvil, but also Jean-Paul Belmondo, Pierre Richard and Christian Clavier. Incidentally his next venture was to be the equally succesfull `The Brain', starring none other than David Niven (!) and Eli Wallach, backed up by Bourvil and Belmondo. Bourvil and de Funes should be reunited again by Oury in `La folie des Grandeurs' but then sadly Bourvil passed away. He was replaced by none other than Yves Montand.

Up to that time movies made in France took war rather seriously, but `La grande vadrouille' sparked of an endless string of farces set in WWII which almost invariably depicted the French as very clever and cunning, always outwitting the Germans in the end. Even the recent (2002) `Laissez-Passer' from much-acclaimed director Bertrand Tavernier is based on this premiss.

If you like this definitely try to see `Le Corniaud', the first de Funes/Bourvil caper by Oury or why not `Mais ou est donc passé la 7ieme compagnie ?' as a prime example of the smart French vs not-so-smart German theme.