Arrêtez les tambours

Long before LE GUIGNOLO, and many other comedy oriented films, there was another George Lautner. A very interesting and accurate film telling a tale typical of the French local population during the German occupation. French behaved very strangely, in a so ambivalent way. They despised the Nazis but on, the other hand, admired them and never lost an opportunity to take advantage of anything. French was then the country of turn coats, traitors, folks who were champions of the world of ambivalence. You had French who were the German's friends then became resistants; but not the contrary though. Or those who collaborated on daylight and were resistants at night. Many turned their coats not before1944 6th of June, guess why? Ha ha ha But France also provided true heroes, heroes who were never decorated, anonymous heroes...So this movie is very daring, very "disturbing", it smashes many wrong ideas of the French "bravery" under tyranny. Bernard Blier in one of his best performance, and the less known. Such a shame.

Another of these stories of the German Occupation which throve in the years following WW2.This one,in spite of Bernard Blier's presence ,has got nothing to recommend it;uninteresting characters ,poor script,turgid music,a spate of clichés (the doctor's daughter falling in love with the German M.O. ,and standing in great danger of being cropped by the angry crowd).

Few works are worthwhile in Georges Lautner's essentially commercial career.However ,the following year ,when he directed "le septième juré" ,again featuring Bernard Blier as the lead,the two men pulled it off that time.