Ces messieurs aux gilets blancs

After the collapse of his production company Cineforum Staudte had to pay his debts and would limit his work to mainly crime series for television and a couple of amusing features. This film is the first feature of this period of Staudte's life. It is an amusing and lighthearted crime story in which a number of robberies take place executed by a group of older and respectable gentlemen much to the dismay of a rival group of real gangsters.

These gentlemen are played by older and respectable actors lead by Marin Held. There is good company acting and everybody obviously enjoyed doing this film. Heinz Erhardt has the opportunity to recite a number of his silly poems. Hannelore Elsner is charming as Susan.

Well-written script; direction by Staudte is good craftsmanship. He already made a film in the same vein in 1965: "Ganovenehre", that I think is a better film.

You know those who are innocent ... but wait, who is actually innocent? Exactly ... but this fun caper movie here, is not about to give you any moral lessons or anything. It is supposed to entertain you - and it does exactly that. Some may be surprised by the humor or even the clothing style(s) - but yes the 70s also had quite the mini skirts ... very freeing as it seems. Not that I know anything about that first hand, but from what the movie is giving us to work with.

The actors involved are really a fine bunch. I remember many of them, though I did not know their names. A fun decent little caper that touches all the right marks and points. And if you are a fan of the genre/type of movie, you can't go wrong anyway ... being a fan of the era also helps. Humor seems to be quite "unique" of that time ...