Comedy

Review by TV Guide
Of the six films Eddie Cantor made for Samuel Goldwyn, Roman Scandals was his fourth and second only to The Kid From Spain in popularity. When Goldwyn’s idea to adapt George Bernard Shaw’s “Androcles And The Lion” as a vehicle for Cantor proved too difficult, the producer hired Robert Sherwood and George S. Kaufman to fashion a story that would take Cantor to imperial Rome. Displeased with their draft, Goldwyn brought in Nat Perrin, George Oppenheimer, and Arthur Sheekman to add jokes, and William Anthony McGuire to get the whole thing into shape for shooting. This film turned out to be one of the best Cantor-Goldwyn associations. With humor, music, and more than a little female flesh, Roman Scandals is a sort of Wizard of Oz in that Cantor, a wacky delivery boy in West Rome, Oklahoma, goes into a dream sequence and imagines himself to be a slave in old Rome.Read More »

Small film integrated in a series of 3 shortfilms about the adventures of the good old João de Deus.Read More »

It’s summertime in Athens and Nikos, a 30-year-old broke musician, is taking care of a luxurious villa in the suburbs that belongs to a friend of his. Between poolside cocktails and fooling around with the dog that he is meant to take care of, Nikos has a plan. Still unable to get over his recent break-up with Sofia, he figures this is a unique opportunity to get some much-needed answers and he invites her over for the weekend. Sofia delightfully accepts not knowing, of course, that Nikos’ plans are not as innocent as they seem. Nikos locks himself up in the house with Sofia and refuses to let her leave until she provides some rationale for the break-up, turning their alleged carefree holiday into a mess of games, fights, laughs and introspection. Is Nikos ever going to get the answers he was looking for? Is Sofia ever going to be able to explain why they broke up? Afterlov is a funny, poignant and scathing post-love story between two people who refuse to grow up.Read More »

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Ursula Andress star in another adventure comedy from Philippe de Broca (That Man from Rio), that’s roughly based on a Jules Vernes story of the same title. Belmondo plays a rich man tired of his life who arranges for a hitman to take him out so that his fiancee will get the insurance money. Only, wouldn’t you know it, Belmondo changes his mind. Andress is a fan-dancer who gets mixed up, thinking it’s all a gag. There’s a lot of slapstick, chases, fights, balloon rides, mountain climbing and exotic locales. Oh, did I mention that Belmondo attempts a striptease while in drag?Read More »

Synopsis:
Not long after pulling off a spectacular train robbery in Great Britain, the criminal genius The Brain is soon planning his next lucrative enterprise. Joining forces with Mafia boss Scannapieco, he devises a scheme to steal the secret funds of the fourteen member countries of NATO whilst they are being transferred by train between Paris and Brussels. By chance, precisely the same plan has occurred to small-time crooks Arthur and Anatole. By imitating The Brain’s methods, they confidently set about the heist that will make them millionaires. Unfortunately, nothing goes quite as planned…Read More »

M. Septime rules the renowned Paris restaurant “Chez Septime” with an iron fist. Grovelling before his rich and powerful customers, M. Septime feels free to treat his employees like children at best or like slaves at worst. M. Septime would be very happy if things just continued the way they are. But Destiny will have it otherwise. Indeed one day, Novales, a South American president, disappears while dining in his restaurant and it looks as if Septime has something to do with itRead More »

Synopsis:
A year after the accidental death of their father, three brothers — each suffering from depression – meet for a train trip across India. Francis, the eldest, has organized it. The brothers argue, sulk, resent each other, and fight. The youngest, Jack, estranged from his girlfriend, is attracted to one of the train’s attendants. Peter has left his pregnant wife at home, and he buys a venomous snake. After a few days, Francis discloses their surprising and disconcerting destination. Amid foreign surroundings, can the brothers sort out their differences? A funeral, a meditation, a hilltop ritual, and the Bengal Lancer figure in the reconciliation.Read More »

Synopsis:
A British road repairman gets into a feud with the Army, gets drafted and is mistakenly parachuted into Nazi occupied France where his physical resemblance to the local German commandant triggers a hilarious chain reaction.Read More »

‘Feeling Good,’ was originally one of the vignettes included in the director’s anthology feature ‘As Long as You’ve Got Your Health,’ but was later replaced with another short when Etaix was given the opportunity to re-work and re-release that film. In this comical misadventure, a man (Pierre Etaix) attempts to enjoy a camping trip out in the peaceful wilderness — but, as one might expect, he runs into a few issues, leading to a series of silly accidents. Eventually the man is forced into a satirically larger-than-life camping ground (fenced off like a prison) where he meets more bizarre characters and attempts to escape.Read More »