Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: the second collaboration between director Jean Girault and Louis de Funès.
If Louis de Funès’ film career took off in the 1950s, it was not until the early 1960s that he became a leading actor in French cinema.
1964 is definitely the year of his consecration. Released in September, Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez was a considerable success with 7.8 million admissions. Barely two months later, the actor triumphed again in the role of commissioner Juve in Fantômas, which attracted 4.5 million spectators. On this momentum, Louis de Funès started the year 1965 on a high note with the release of Corniaud, in March, which brought together nearly 12 million French people in theaters.
In the meantime, Louis de Funès has also produced films with more modest successes, but which are worth seeing. This is particularly the case of Blow up the bank, released in February 1964. This is the third collaboration between the actor and director Jean Girault, after Les Lucky and Pouic-Pouic.
Louis de Funès lends his features to Victor Garnier, a man who finds himself ruined after trusting a crooked banker. In the hope of recovering his property, he decides to organize the heist of the responsible bank. He puts his whole family to work to dig a tunnel that will lead him from his cellar to this famous bank located just opposite his home…
The actor has a field day in this tailor-made comedy. His duel against Jean-Pierre Marielle is absolutely tasty. The film is full of hilarious dialogues, misunderstandings and gags, which provide a pleasant moment of relaxation. Louis de Funès having become a great star of French cinema at the time, Break the bank nevertheless reached nearly 2 million admissions at the end of its run.
Break the bank by Jean Girault with Louis de Funès, Yvonne Clech, Jean-Pierre Marielle…
Tonight on C8 at 9:10 p.m.