Le monocle rit jaune

The French have a way with the spy film (among other things) and this must be among the most eccentric spy films of the 1960's. Paul Meurisse plays Major Theobald Dromar a.k.a. The Monocle, a fey secret agent who wears a monocle (hence the nickname) and cultivates an array of other odd mannerisms. Dromar is exceptionally successful in his work while putting up with the vulgar heathens on both sides of the law that surround him.

This adventure of The Monocle matches the strange character of Dromar to a tee (there were two previous films, The Black Monocle and Eye of the Monocle). There is some nice high contrast black and white photography and a great cool jazz score by Michel Magne, who also scored the Fantomas films. But the highlights of the film revolve around the curiosities tossed at the viewer with nonchalance. Director Georges Lautner (The Great Spy Chase) had charge of the previous Monocle films as well so his feel for the character is well ingrained.

The plot is simple enough but it has little to do with one's enjoyment of the film, after all. Locations in Hong Kong and Macao are used to great effect. Hong Kong never looked so densely crowded nor Macao so spare and haunting. There is lots of street footage in both places, some typical, but most not so.

One of the most unusual spy film experiences, The Monocle grows on you if you give it the chance. As Dromar says at one point `the more I see of the Chinese, it's amazing how like the French they are.'

A franchise which was probably the best spy thrillers France had to offer ;none of the Coplan,OSS 117 ,Vicomte and others can't hold a candle to James Bond 007.

Yet ,the Monocle series -which is a trilogy-was something different ;it was some kind of forerunner of the spoofs on OSS 117 in which Jean Dujardin would shine .But unlike his character ,Le Monocle is very smart and ,unlike so many Froggies heroes of the two-bit spy thrillers of the sixties ,Paul Meurisse ("les diaboliques" "la vérité") gave his secret agent a strong personality : deadpan sense of humor,fin gourmet , an educated man who mentions Shakespeare and Bossuet and an artful devil .Two characters (Elga Andersen's and Robert Dalban's )appear in another movie of the trilogy.

The yellow peril in reverse ; the Chinese want to destroy the deadly weapons and to get rid of the scientists whose discoveries threaten the peace of the world. So Theobald ,the monocle ,is sent to Hong Kong , to un mask the head of the organization and to prevent them from blowing up an aircraft carrier.

The story is indicepherable , but it does not matter for,anyway ,the Monocle is invincible; all his sidekicks serve as foils to him (sgt Poussin (=chick) , young clueless embassy attaché (young actor/singer of the sixties,Olivier Despax )

Watch out for a short appearance by Lino Ventura!

More than the disjointed screenplay , one can appreciate the nulmerous crazy situations all along the cock and bull story:

The monocle and the Chinese ,quietly smoking opium on the junk ("yes we're going to get bumped off,but what's the matter?)

The young female Chinese agent body in the net: is she dead ? Asks the naive attaché ; "no,the monocle says ,she serves as a bait for the fish."

The monocle ,Sgt Poussin and a third mate singing the old French traditional "J'irai revoir ma Normandie" in the Chinese theater ,to great acclaim.

Renée Saint-Cyr as the unexpected would be widow of the leader of the "peaceful " warriors .Theobald , doing a pastiche of Bossuet's great oration delivered at the funerals of Henriette, Duchess of Orléans

And ,to, top it all ,the souvenir Theobald has brought back from Asia.

That was to be the last movie of the franchise ;they reportedly said that Paul Meurisse was cross, because they chose the Goth girl , Barbara Steele ,as the female lead : they should not have cast a horror movies actress.