That Riviera Touch

The English comedy team of Morecambe&Wise made only a few film appearances and never even tried to break into the American market as did their contemporaries Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Having seen clips of their television work I can say that after watching That Riviera Touch they were strangely subdued for this film.

Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise play a pair of traffic enforcement officers who decide to take an immediate holiday after ticketing Queen Elizabeth's own illegally parked vehicle. I guess that's one of the real perks of royalty.

When they get to the Riviera scheming Susanne Lloyd figures these two not too bright Englishmen are the perfect pigeons to hide and transport some stolen jewels. She's working for gang and another gang is also interested in the swag. Not to mention the authorities.

They convince Eric and Ernie to stay in a special villa that has trap doors and secret passages and tap water spigots that if turned the right way will kill you. A perfect place for a pair of tourist yokels.

The final scene with Eric on water skis and Ernie trying to rescue him is pretty funny and well executed. Still the film overall is not as good as some of the television material I've seen.

It's a good introduction though for American fans.

April 2021

That riviera touch, equally on par with the other 2 Morecambe and Wise films from the 1960s.

Why are the IMDB scores so low for them?

I think they are great.

See if you can spot Alexandra Bastedo from the Champions fame.

9 out of 10.

1966 classic Eric and Ernie. For the those of us that love the duo it's brilliant. Typical comedy from the 1960's. If you don't like this family fun then I just don't know.

First time hearing about Eric & Ernie.

The two get mixed up with jewel thieves on their vacation in France.

Maybe you have to be a Morecambe and Wise fan like me, but I loved this film so much. The comic duo find themselves in the midst of a jewel theft and a beautiful woman, Claudette. One of the most entertaining scenes in this film is when Morecambe accidentally wins a massive amount of money at a casino. Gags are plenty in this film, but occasionally, when Morecambe and Wise aren't on the screen, it gets ever so slightly over-serious. But this is just one tinsey handicap of a very funny film. If you get bored with Morecambe and Wise (not very likely) then you can enjoy the beautiful French Riviera scenery (the film was actually filmed there). Enjoy! 9/10