Taxi, Trailer and Bullfight (1958)

not as good as all the hype

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This was not the greatest of films, but it's a good period piece, showing what it was like to be a tourist in late 50's Spain. It's a showcase for some great secondary actors, especially the Keatonesque Raymond Bussieres, and the ever present comediennes Paulette Dubost and Annette Poivre.What I liked best about the film was seeing Louis de Funes in an early starring role. Many of the sketches are glimpses of things to come. The great mechanic, the smuggled diamond in a Cadillac convertable with a sticking horn, the comic stutterer - all these skits reprise in the Corniaud. And, shades of Rabbi Jacob, the man can dance. It's not pretty, but he sure can dance a mean flamenco.

The film contains a pleiade of good actors and is fairly lighthearted but the plot is weak to the point of making it quite forgettable once viewed. Louis de Funès incarnates a parisian taxi driver who takes his family off on holiday to southern Spain with a caravan (roulotte in French ) towed behind them, hence the film's title. At the Spanish border there is a customs check ( this was before the EEC was born !! ) and another female traveller slips unbeknowingly a priceless diamond into de Funes' jacket to avoid being caught at customs. Once, they are all in Spain, the lady who is working with some gangsters, obviously tries to get the diamond back from de de Funès family. This turns out to be not as easy as she first thought and all attempts fail ! In the end, de Funès is stopped by the police for speeding and THEY discover the diamond and charge de Funès with trafficking. Of course de Funès denies everything but no-one will believe him. Six months later, released from Prison, he goes back to taxi driving in Paris and one of his first clients is none other than the head of the gang who were pursuing him in Spain ..........I found the film very artificial as, although most of it takes place in Southern Spain, you hardly ever hear any Spanish spoken, only French, and this sounds completely ridiculous ! But my main beef is with the plot, which is vastly inferior to later de Funès films and leaves one feeling pretty indifferent. Still, there are a few amusing moments ....