Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, Les (1973)

Director:

Gérard Oury

Writers:

Roberto De Leonardis (writer)
Josy Eisenberg (dialogue)

Release Date:

18 October 1973 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

THE WILD... THE HILARIOUS... THE SCREWBALL... THE RIOTOUS

Plot:

A bigoted Frenchman finds himself forced to impersonate a popular rabbi while on the run from a group of assassins - and the police.

Plot Keywords:

Chewing Gum | Airport | Boat | Dentist | False Identity

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Louis de Funès	...	Victor Pivert / Rabbi Jacob
Suzy Delair	...	Germaine Pivert
Marcel Dalio	...	Rabbi Jacob (as Dalio)
Claude Giraud	...	Mohamed Larbi Slimane / Rabbi Zeiligman
Renzo Montagnani	...	Farès
Janet Brandt
André Falcon	...	Le ministre
Xavier Gélin	...	Le fils du général
Henri Guybet	...	Salomon
Popeck	...	Moishe (as Jean Herbert)
Miou-Miou	...	Antoinette Pivert
Denise Provence	...	Esther
Jacques François	...	Le général / The general
Claude Piéplu	...	Commissaire Andreani
Georges Adet	...	Le vieux Lévi

Also Known As:

Folli avventure di Rabbi Jacob, Le (Italy)
The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (International: English title)
The Mad Adventures of 'Rabbi' Jacob (USA)

Runtime:

100 min | Spain:91 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English | Hebrew | Yiddish | Arabic

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:G | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Café Les Deux Magots - 6 place Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris 6, Paris, France

Company:

Les Films Pomereu

Trivia:

This film is known as the film with the most "gags" per minute.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the boat escape sequence the headlamps of the car are on, but the rear lamps are not.

Quotes:

[as his Cab fills up with Jewish men accompanying Rabbi Jacob]
New York Taxi Driver: Hey, this is a taxi, not a synagogue!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Pastewka: Der Unfall (#1.1)" (2005)

This is probably the best de Fun's movie

Gerard Oury, the husband of Michelle Morgan, was an actor who turned director. His movies as an actor where mostly unimportant, but his movies as a director are superb. Adventures of Rabbi Jacob with the great comedian Louis de Funs is probably his greatest achievement to date. In the plot, De Funs, and antisemite, is obliged to pose as a Jew, in order to save his life!! This concept alone is enough to trigger an avalanche of comedic situations unsurpassed in any previous de Fun's movie, and fitting his cinema persona as a glove. The supporting cast is also superb, and includes Suzy Delair as his dentist wife, and other well known French actors. Unfortunately this movie is unavailable even in France, but I am sure that it will soon appear on DVD as have some other de Funs movies at this time, two by Gerard Oury.