Le grand restaurant (1966)

Director:

Jacques Besnard

Writers:

Jean Halain (writer) &
Louis de Funès (writer) ...

Release Date:

9 September 1966 (France)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Plot:

Top-notch french restaurant owner Monsieur Septime is involved into crime when one of his famous guests disappears. |

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Restaurant Owner | Car Chase | Kidnapping | Car In Water

Cast

Louis de Funès	...	Monsieur Septime
Bernard Blier	...	Le commissaire divisionnaire
Maria-Rosa Rodriguez	...	Sophia
Venantino Venantini	...	Henrique
Juan Ramírez	...	Le général
Noël Roquevert	...	Le ministre
Folco Lulli	...	Le président Novalès
Yves Arcanel	...	Henri
René Berthier
Albert Dagnant	...	Un conspirateur
Robert Dalban	...	Le conspirateur francais
Eugene Deckers	...	Le complice de Novalès (as Eugène Deckers)
Robert Destain	...	Le baron
Bernard Dumaine	...	Le client satisfait
Jacques Dynam	...	Un serveur

Also Known As:

The Big Restaurant (International: English title)
What's Cooking in Paris (USA)
Chi ha rubato il presidente? (Italy) [it]
Das große Restaurant (East Germany) [de]
Den stora restauranten (Sweden) [sv]
El gran restaurante (Spain) [es]
Grand restaurant (Greece) [el]
Kuinka presidentti ryöstetään (Finland) [fi]
O arhimageiras tou Grand Hotel (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Oscar hat die Hosen voll (West Germany) [de]
Scharfe Kurven für Madame (West Germany) [de]
Slawna restauracja (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

Germany:82 min | France:85 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France

Company:

Gaumont International

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the sliding upside-down car finally comes to a stop on the frozen lake, you can clearly see that there's no one inside it, which conflicts with the close up interior shots of Monsieur Septime and the secretary.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Pastewka: Die Strategie der Schnecke (#2.2)" (2006)

The moment « El Presidente » vanishes, the story too ! (DVD)

A cult comedy is from my point of view, a movie in which you can't remember all the funny moments and therefore, you are always happy to discover them again and again.

So, there, I knew that De Funes was a terrible, tyrannic boss of a great restaurant but his manners eluded me while they are really funny! He's truly the best actor in this field and beyond, a very talented one. As Al (Pacino), I feel that De Funes exudes humanity, compassion and class behind all his jokes…

In addition, as it figures among the oldest movies I saw, it was great to see Paris an half-century ago. Besides cars and trends, I feel that Paris was more "green" with trees than actually.

Unfortunately, when the main thing is served, the script becomes strange: a mix between Bond for the aquatic car and the Pink Panther for the winter sequence… We are far away of the restaurant!

In conclusion, great appetizers but the menu left me wanting for more!