The cult comedy “But where did the 7th company go?” is broadcast this Thursday evening on TF1. The opportunity to look back on a real success story of French cinema.
A great classic of French comedy, the feature film But where did the 7th company go? is broadcast this Thursday evening on TF1. The opportunity to look back on a real success story.
But where did the seventh company go? plunges us into 1940. During the French debacle, the 7th company takes refuge in the woods. But she is ambushed by the German army. Only three men left as a scout survived. They find themselves on their own in occupied France.
Genesis
Actor, especially at Sacha Guitrycomedian, lyricist, playwright, poet, Robert Lamoureux added a new string to his bow in 1960 by embarking on directing with Lovely and Here is the brunette. Thirteen years later, he signs his third film with But where did the 7th company go? without suspecting the success he was going to meet.
If it took him so long to return to directing after his first two feature films, it’s because Lamoureux prefers to devote himself to acting. But, inspired by his own experience, he had the idea of a military vaudeville where we would follow the comical adventures of soldiers lost in the wild in the midst of the French debacle of 1940.
His idea seduces the producer Alain Poireto whom we owe, among other things, The Tontons gunslingers and Megalomania. The comedians John Lefebvre and Pierre Mondy are contacted and wrapped by the script. Aldo Maccione, Alain Doutey, Tornado Stone, Eric Collin and Lamoureux himself round out the cast.
Despite a minimal budget, Lamoureux demonstrates rigor and rigor on the set, unlike his actors who are sometimes dissipated. Jean Lefebvre thus often arrives late after spending the night at the casino, and Aldo Maccione ends up running away to telephone Alain Poiré, tired of the director’s seriousness and authority.
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Success
On its release, But where did the 7th company go? seduced 3.9 million spectators, making it the third biggest success at the French box office of 1973. This unexpected triumph obviously calls for a sequel. You don’t change a winning recipe: the original cast is back, with the exception of Aldo Maccione, replaced by Henry Guybet.
Lamoureux is accompanied in the writing by the son of his producer, Jean-Marie Poire. Originally titled The Return of the 7th Company, We found the 7th company released two years after the first film. The success is once again at the rendezvous with more than 3.7 million admissions.
Never two without three
Rebelote: two years later, on December 7, 1977, was released in theaters The Seventh Company in the Moonlight. Lamoureux and Poiré moved the action to 1942 within the Resistance. Gerard Herold, Andre Push, John Carmet and Gerard Jugnot join the adventure to make up for the departure of Pierre Tornade, Erik Colin and Robert Dalban.
The critics gave the comedy a murderous welcome and the public was also less enthusiastic: this third part did not exceed two million admissions. A score far from shameful but well below expectations. In addition to concluding the trilogy, this film is also the last realization of Lamoureux, who resisted the insistence of the producer Marcel Dassault to make a fourth episode of the 7th company.
An excerpt from “But where did the 7th company go?” :
