L'ennemi public no 1 (1953)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Michel Audiard (dialogue)
Michel Audiard (screenplay)

Release Date:

1962 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

WANTED by the Cops! WANTED by the Gals! WANTED by the Gang!

Plot:

Joe Calvert (Fernadel) is a nearsighted, friendly man who works as a clerk in a large department store...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Beautiful Woman | Mistaken Identity | Number In Title

Cast

Fernandel	...	Joe Calvet
Zsa Zsa Gabor	...	Lola la Blonde
Louis Seigner	...	Le directeur de la prison
David Opatoshu	...	Slim le Tueur
Alfred Adam	...	Le shérif
Jean Marchat	...	L'attorney general
Tino Buazzelli	...	Parker
Carlo Ninchi	...	Nick le Flicard
Guglielmo Barnabò	...	M Click
Arturo Bragaglia	...	Jack le Caissier
Paul Barge	...	Le gardien-chef (as Paul Barges)
Michel Ardan	...	Un Inspecteur
Jean Gautrat
Jess Hahn	...	Walter le Vicieux, un truand (as Jesse Hahn)
André Dalibert

Also Known As:

Il nemico pubblico numero uno (Italy)
L'ennemi public numéro un
Public Enemy Number One
The Most Wanted Man (USA)
The Most Wanted Man in the World

Runtime:

105 min | USA:85 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | USA:Unrated | Sweden:15

Company:

Cité Films

Saw it once many years ago, and still like it a lot!

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I admit it, it's been over twenty years since I saw this movie, I was 7 or 8 years by then and never saw it again. But I still like it a lot! Basically because Fernandel is, as usual, really funny while depicting a character whom you laugh about his misadventures but still you're with him, till the end. Fernandel and another guy enters a theater to watch a western, they left their raincoats side by side and, after the movie ends, they take each other's raincoat. As the other guy is a dangerous man (the Public Enemy no. 1) and was just doing time before he robs a bank, there's a gun in one of his raincoat's pockets. When Fernandel finds it he's in the subway, panic erupts and he is arrested. Problem is that the bad guy's gang decide to help him evade the jail, it seems that they don't who is their 'mysterious boss'. Now Fernandel have to deal with a gang of dangerous men, their real boss (who decides that as long as the police believes that Fernandel is him it's good for his plans), the cops and Lola (Zsa Zsa Gabor).

Even considering that I saw many other Fernandel movies since then, this is one of my favorites.