Max Elloy

Laurel and Hardy were hailed as '...the greatest comedy duo of all time...'. Now, over half a century since their last film, 'Utopia', they are still held in high esteem by critics and the public alike. This programme is an affectionate look back at this amazing act's career, from their early black and white silent film days, through the Hal Roach era, to their hugely successful British tours and beyond. Generously laced with hilarious clips from the cream of Laurel and Hardy films, as well as original colour film footage from U.S. government promotional films, this programme also includes rare newsreel interviews, and chronicles their amazing success all around the world.

French military man Adrien Dufourquet gets an eight-day furlough to visit his fiancée, Agnès. But when he arrives in Paris, he learns that her late father's partner, museum curator Professor Catalan, has just been kidnapped by a group of Amazon tribesmen who have also stolen a priceless statue from the museum. Adrien and Agnès pursue the kidnappers to Brazil, where they learn that the statue is the key to a hidden Amazon treasure.

After the death of Captain Thémistocle Paparanic, Captain Haddock's old friend, he inherits a ship called the Golden Fleece. Once Tintin and the captain arrive in Istanbul, where the ship is anchored, they meet Mr. Karabine, a businessman who stubbornly insists on buying it even though it is in a dilapidated state.

Professor Calculus's friend develops a blue-skinned orange that can grow on any kind of land and survive harsh weather (in the manner of Lue Gim Gong) and therefore solve world hunger. The Professor and his friends, however, run afoul of gangsters who also covet the fruit. The adventure takes them from their home in Marlinspike Hall (Moulinsart), a fictional mansion that is presumably in Belgium, to Spain, where Calculus and another scientist are kidnapped.

Paul fishes out of the water the body of his greatest enemy. To avoid accusations that he is a killer, taking steps that will clear his good name.

A small-scale cabaret troupe is touring the provinces. One afternoon while canoeing, Monique Darzel, one of the troupe's singers, spots an angler whose resemblance to Fernand Raynaud strikes her. She discusses this with Jean Duroc, the troupe's director, who laments the meagre revenues his show is raking in. He then had the idea of meeting this fisherman to convince him to imitate Fernand Raynaud in his shows. It turns out that the Fernand Raynaud impersonator is in fact Fernand Raynaud himself, who has come for a week's incognito vacation in the provinces. Raynaud is finally persuaded to play the novice comedian, in order to further develop the script for his next film, Les cabotins à travers les âges.

The old Valmorin died 200 years ago. The notary tells the family about the inheritance: the one who is terminally ill will receive the money. They all try their luck with getting ill before the other so one family member pretends to be deaf, another pretends to have a terrible back ache and so on...

Justin, a lyricist by trade, and his friend Pierre, a composer, lead a bohemian life in Paris. Justin thinks his mother Josefa is richer than she appears, and decides to swindle her out of three million centimes by using Pierre as an intermediary in a case involving an insolvent check. Josefa uncovers the ruse and refuses to help her son. However, Pierre has discovered the identity of his friend's father, who had been unknown to him for twenty years. With the help of Justin's mother, the two friends do everything they can to extort the son's missing three million centimes from his ashamed and repentant father.

This film is directly inspired by Asterix, created by René Goscinny and Albert UDERZO, chronicles the adventures of a little boy, Antoine, entered the world of antiquity by studying its history lesson and two Romans, and TICKETBUS PROSPECTUS, who prefer to leave their life of legionnaires and discover the lifestyle of Gaulois.Antoine meeting Asterix cartoon form, which explains certain peculiarities of life in Lutetia.

At a construction site, an ex-con tries to sabotage the marriage of a man who married his fiancée while he was in prison.

Two female agents from a rival gang are sent to disrupt the operations of a gold-smuggler's caravan in Africa.

In a port area of ​​France, clashes between a gang of young delinquents and a tribe of gypsies.

Beautiful housekeeper Babette travels to England after the Nazis invade France. There, British intelligence devise a plan for Babette to sneak back home, where she could use her feminine charm on key Nazi officer Schulz, gleaning valuable information for England. However, Babette, although willing and spirited, is naïve and untrained, making her less than ideal for matters of national security.

When a measles epidemic forces the temporary closing of a child care center, the son of a film star and her estranged husband, a concert pianist, is mistakenly delivered to a touring musician.

Celestin works as an organist at a girl's school. By day, Celestin is the meek and mild target of the girls' incessant practical jokes. By night, however, he is the celebrated composer of popular operas -- and the romantic vis-à-vis of a celebrated stage star. When schoolgirl Denise stumbles onto Celestin's secret, she threatens to tell all -- but only if Celestin refuses to escort her to the opening night of his latest opera. As a result, Denise falls in love with a handsome young soldier, while Celestin is accidentally shipped off to an army camp. A series of silly coincidences brings happiness to all concerned by fade-out time.

Stan and Ollie are marooned on an island in the south pacific ocean.

Without seeming to touch it, journalist Trupeau is interested in the doings of Mireille, a jewelry store saleswoman. A certain Jojo is hanging around the young girl, and not for the right reasons, but to pull off a "heist". Although one of his men betrays him and has to be shot, Jojo succeeds. The police investigate, question and pursue Mireille. Exasperated and disillusioned, the pretty salesgirl shoots Jojo. Fortunately, the journalist is there to prove that she's as white as an ermine. And the ch timents rain down on the culprits.

Claudius Binoche, brigadier de gendarmerie in Champignol, is about to marry Suzette, the post office maid, when she disappears, called to the village of Buzy by a mysterious telegram. The brigadier is transferred to Buzy to investigate, but Buzy is not Champignol, and Captain Raspec is an irascible superior. Suzette is nowhere to be found, and Binoche can't think of anything better than organizing robberies under the name of "Bandit de la colline aux oiseaux". This bandit does exist and is on the rampage. His name is Vittorio. Binoche, eager to prove herself, earns the respect of the locals and the friendship of Vittorio, Suzette's own brother.

When Nadia, his unfaithful mistress, breaks up with him, Patrick Lambert decides to kill himself. But before he reaches the point of no return he is stopped in the act by Camille, a burglar who has just broken into his house. Thanks to him and also to Rosita, Camille's girlfriend who falls for him, Patrick forgets his gloomy thoughts. It is the beginning of a series of crazy misunderstandings and adventures.

Four-episode Franco-Italian omnibus film. Four men from different national and cultural background take refuge in a cabin after being sidetracked by bad weather on their way to conference.

Rejecting the union of her daughter Brigitte with a modest worker, Madame Magnin invents an adultery for the lover, then introduces Brigitte to a good-looking man working on the famous RTF entertainment show 36 Chandelles. The show ultimately seals the reunion of the two estranged young lovers. The story features a parade of music-hall stars from the era: Charles Trenet, Charles Aznavour, Georges Guétary, Juliette Gréco, Roger Pierre and Jean-Marc Thibault, Fernand Raynaud, Georges Ulmer and many more.

When Paul returns to claim his estranged father's department store, he faces a frosty stepmother and a rebellious half-sister. His determination revives the once-thriving Galeries Parisiennes, healing familial rifts, and leaving a lasting bond with wise Marie-Louise.

Bobby earns his living in Montmartre by duping naïve provincials, along with his pal Julien, as well as crooks and drug dealers, replaced by bicarbonate. His friend Monique, who dances at Le Paradou, is frightened by such a life. A crime of which he is not guilty occurs while he is robbing drug dealer Mureau. Bobby flees, but prefers to let himself be imprisoned. A serious accident is avoided. The brave Inspector Doirel is determined to set the boy straight. Monique will do her bit too.

The daughter of Signor Carloni is about to take her first communion. A problem arises when the dressmaker spends too much time working on the girl's communion frock.

A young opera dancer tries to help her mother financially by performing in a dubious cabaret.

Daniel Bellanger, a night-club crooner, is a basically straight,honest man. He has just married Christiane, a cashier in a Montmartre hotel and his main objective in life is to live happily with his wife and Pierrot, the son she had of a former union. Unfortunately Daniel accepts the offer of his old friend Freddy to run a gambling den. The place is frequented by a host of dubious guys, among whom a hood named Mario. The latter finds Christiane to his liking and soon shows he is prepared to do anything to take her away from Daniel, including kidnapping little Pierrot.

Jean-Pierre, a pianist, is also the composer of a revue he would very much like Maroni, a famous theater producer, to put on. Maroni is not interested. All he wants at the moment is to impose Violette, a pretty young singer whose career he supervises. He has her dressed up as a flower seller. When he meets her, Jean-Pierre, who does not realize that she is in disguise, falls in love with her at first sight.

Penelope Benson, known as Penny, is both romantic and determined. Put in a select boarding school by her mother, she takes advantage of a trip to Paris to get away from it all and live her own life. That's how she meets Antoine du Merlet, whom she takes for a young hoodlum when in fact he's a police superintendent. She spends the night at his place, which leads to a number of setbacks for poor Antoine, who is stigmatized by the headmistress, abandoned by his mistress and has to face a strip-tease session starring the unconscious Penny... But Penny's a spicy one and Antoine's a nice guy, so... !

Sophie Dirondel, history teacher at the Saint-Cloison-sur-Ermoise, wins the jackpot of a lottery, a 2CV. The good-natured woman is both happy and slightly upset, as she doe not have her driving-license. But she decides to take driving lessons and although she does not prove very gifted she manages to pass the test. She grasps the opportunity to achieve one of her sweetest dreams and, proudly sitting behind her wheel, heads for the City of Light. Alone in Paris, she gets to know Victor Martini, a smooth operator. The man who, in real fact, is the leader of a gang, has no problem bamboozling the naive woman.

The film tells the story of three presenters on Radio X, an amateur clandestine radio station.

Dany Robin plays the title character in the French comedy Mimi Pinson. The plot is strictly formula stuff, with Mimi being thwarted on all sides by those who have designs on her money and her virtue. Happily, our heroine triumphs over her foes and predators, finding true romance in the arms of Raymond Pellegrin.

An American manager and his daughter want to hire "the little singers with the wooden cross" for a tour of the United States,but Jeannot,a young member of the choir recognize his grandma's locket round the girl's neck .

During the First World War, the Empyrée Montmartre, a Paris music-hall, is dedicated to patriotic revues whose star is the charming Mitsou. The young artist is not without talent but she is mainly well-connected. She is indeed the cherished mistress of Pierre Duroy-Lelong, a rich industrialist. One night, thanks to Petite-Chose, an ebullient singer-dancer and her co-star, she gets to know a handsome army, Lieutenant Bleu. Mitsou falls madly in love with him and Lieutenant Bleu is physically attracted to her. The trouble is that Bleu comes from a distinguished family and cannot put up with her lack of culture and artistic bad taste...

A turf war between two French villages against a soccer backdrop... Claudius, goalkeeper for Fouzy's team, is traded for a cow and becomes Champignol's new goalkeeper. During the final, he is transformed by the appearance of the beautiful Solange. He wins the cup single-handed.

Author of the best-selling crime novel Le Poulet se mange froid (Chicken Eats Cold) under the pseudonym Sam O'Connor, Inspector Bourdieux's daughter, Agnès, is unwillingly drawn into the gangster ring by two small-minded young misfits, Dédé and Juju. She's not insensitive to the charms of M. Paul, a false kingpin who is in fact a son of a good family and a thrill-seeker. Planning a heist at the home of one of Paul's snobbish friends, she arrests the real Sam O'Connor, an escaped convict, with the help of her father. Then she and Paul confess their love for each other.

Unable to go to America where he dreamed of making his fortune, Ulysse Sylvain decided to apply the methods that had been successful across the Atlantic to his parents' village. He posed as a buisinessman, won the confidence of the notables and transformed the village in the American style, complete with pin-ups, cowboys and so on. Tourists flocked to the village, but Ulysse's greatest idea was to put the cemetery into operation in the American style, and to attract customers with a splash of advertising. Concessions sold out fast, and everyone wanted their place for eternity... However, administrative obstacles are about to cause a catastrophe that Ulysses will avoid at the last moment.

Benjamine, the daughter of the chocolate maker Lapistole, has broken down in her car, spends a night at Paul Norman's, imposes herself casually and causes the break-up of the engagement of this peaceful civil servant with the daughter of his department head. A friend maintains contact between Paul and Benjamine, becomes the head of publicity at Lapistole and when Norman is dismissed through Benjamine's fault, brings his two friends closer and proves to them that they are made for each other.

A policeman receives a fabulous inheritance. Thanks to this, he conquers the heart of Queen Marika. But crooks deprive him of his financial means

Coveted by many of the men around her, the sensual Nathalie is a magnet for passion. After many adventures and dramas, she will find the happiness she longs for.

La Hurlette and Carmen are a pair of philosophical tramps who enjoy simple pleasures in the company of the cheerful Sosthène. As in the fairy tales, La Hurlette learns that he has just inherited a tidy fortune, provided he can find a job. By dint of hard work, he manages to do so, and a banquet brings together his disinherited friends. Determined to live the high life, La Hurlette and Carmen lose all their inheritance at the Cabourg casino, and end up as philosophical as ever on their favorite bench.

Two couples of friends who have arranged to meet in the woods get lost and find themselves in an embarrassing situation: the husband of one with the wife of the other? Each couple tries to get through this forced cohabitation honestly, but everything is turned upside down when two young Sunday gangsters appear. What follows is a cross-country chase through the woods, which leads the whole gang back to the house, where one of the couples manages to leave, free at last, on an old tandem, bound for... Africa!

Having cured the local café owner, Diogène Leguignon becomes convinced that he is a healer and possesses the fluid. His wife sees the benefits of this gift and urges Diogene to exercise his power, particularly on a wealthy old man, M. Coq. Arlette Leguignon, however, is in love with a young doctor, who is violently opposed to her future father-in-law. Leguignon ends up condemned and, disgusted, no longer wants to look after others. When Mr. Coq dies, making him his legatee, Leguignon has to contend with the Coq family. This time, Doctor Martinet comes to his defense. The inheritance is used to build a clinic where Leguignon can carry out his experiments as a magnetizer.

Port of Marseille, France, recently liberated from the German yoke. Caught as stowaways aboard a ship, Manon, a young woman who was accused of collaborating with the Nazis, and Robert, a freedom fighter who saved her from reprisals, tell the captain about the many challenges they have had to face in order to survive.

In France in 1946, the difficult return to civilian life of five deportees and prisoners of war after having lived through the hell of the Second World War.

Following a winning game, a young man finds himself at the head of the harem of an oriental prince who has seven wives. One of them escapes, replaced by the young girl her family wants the young partygoer to marry. Everything ends in songs and as desired.

Stuck in Angoulême between her uncle, who composes classical music, and her aunt, who is a fan of contemporary music, young Irène finds life boring. Fortunately, there is swing music which illuminates her days. So when, one day, Raymond Serre and his swing orchestra come to Angoulême, she seizes the opportunity to slip the copy of a song she has written into the pocket of one of the musicians. The trouble is that while she is doing so, the train she has boarded pulls out.

Nicolas, the owner of a small café, has had enough of his current life. Business-wise, customers are more and more scarce. As for the love side, the situation is not any better as Jacqueline, his charming wife, not content to be spendthrift, might well be cheating on him.. To escape this harrowing reality Nicolas decides to simulate his suicide and disappears. Lucky or unlucky draw? Both in fact as, on the one hand, Nicolas finds serenity but, on the other he wins a huge sum of money in a lottery. How will he manage to get the money now?

An unconsummated marriage to fool the father who wants his heir to be wed.

Christine, the daughter of a rich American, acquires from her father the jazz band of Ray Ventura who will be made responsible for accompanying her from morning till evening wherever she goes. From an endless number of amusing situations, the fiancée of the girl despairs. But soon the musicians rebel in in the face of the requirements of their patroness. More than a job, it is for them misery. Christine excuses them and she goes back to America with her band. Things go bad, degenerate, but the kindness of the musicians and the firmness of the fiancée of Christine really quiet down the moods of the young woman .

Brussels in the year 1568, as the Flemish people are fighting against the tyranny of the Spanish occupiers. Led by Count de Rysoor, the revolt against the ruthless Duke of Alba, is meant to help Prince William of Orange to get into the city and come to power. Now, the count's lieutenant, has an affair with Elisabeth, Rysoor's wife. For the time being, the count, who thinks of his homeland first, turns a blind eye. But such a relationship might well undermine the whole rebellion movement.