The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972)

But there's a reason why "obvious" gets to be so... well obvious.

Despite the fact that the print I saw of this had colour so mucky I would've been better off watching on a black and white TV set and that it was the dubbed version and not the original French version it is still better by far than the Hollywood remake in the 1980s.

First off the director of this has a sense of timing which goes a long way. Scenes like the opening interrogation using a lie detector move fast and with a Spartan minimum of activity.

More importantly is the fantastic art direction and the score by Zamfir (master of the pan flute). The hero's apartment could've easily graced the pages of Progressive Architecture. Especially his bathroom - no really. Only 'The Prisoner' made better use of art direction.

Even the dubbed dialog retains a level of precision with lines like "I didn't see you behind me" "Ah, but I'm already ahead of you...". They could've gotten a better voice-over for Maurice, but at least the sound effect for the guns was an inspired choice.

Some things like the bagpipe-as-a-snake scene don't work so well (at least outside of France) but they're a minor annoyance. Most of the comedy set pieces are inspired genius worthy of Chaplin, Keaton or (Harold) Lloyd.

By all means see this movie - and make sure to see it before you subject yourself to the American remake.

Fmovies: first, excuse me for my English bur i didn't write in this language since 2 years. This movie was one of the best i've ever seen. Pierre Richard is the same as usual, with all its "tics" like : - his face with a little smile and look like someone which don't have any idea of what he's making here ! - its clothes are always out of fashion or completely "vintage" Moreover, the french version is more interesting because it's the VO so he "word games" are respected. In fact, all the characters are good in this movie, they all see to be exactly what they seem to be. The men who are supposed to be secret agents are too much : their raincoats and their shoes couldn't have been better than this. then, the music sound is one of the best i know. i can sing this song all the day without any problem.

"Each citizen has a right to privacy" says the ninth article of French code penal. A nice touch from the director, Yves Robert, to remind us at the end of the film that privacy is a luxury that is not necessarily guaranteed just because we live in a democracy, and one might never be too careful that his secrets could be unveiled.

Still, let's suppose now that the government needs to know some secrets. Suppose that the person to spy on can be a threat? Now, suppose that he's thought to be dangerous, but in reality, he's just an average schmuck no better, no worse than the other fellow. That's an interesting basis of comedy, isn't it? Now, why would an average schmuck be spied on? Let's say he's used as a booby-trap to prove one agent's incompetence? Why? Well, imagine an Agent 1 wants to get rid of his second in command? Well, now you have the perfect set-up for one of the most iconic French comedies of errors.

Wait, there's still one piece of the puzzle missing, they still have to pick a random guy in an airport, and chose him as the unfortunate pawn of a deadly chess-game. Who? A tall black man with a green collar? An old man? A youngÂ… wait, who's coming here? A tall blond man with a black shoe Â… in one foot, and a reddish brown in another, it's so peculiar it looks premeditated, it's perfect, and the guy is the master spy, and the perfect booby trap and the most memorable entrance of a character in French cinema.

In French Cinema, there is a fistful of movies whose only mention of their titles is enough to bring back a particular imagery, music, some iconic shots, forever rooted in people's memory. "The Tall Blonde with a Black Shoe" is one of these immediately evocative titles, Pierre Richard's iconic entrance in Orly's escalator, Mireille Darc's black dress with the naughty buttock cleavage (the French equivalent of Marylin Monroe's white dress), the rivalry between two veteran actors: Jean Rochefort and Bernard Blier, respectively #1 and #2 of French Secret Services, Vladimir Cosma's immortal Pan's flute theme played by the no-less legendary George Zhamfir, and so on and so forth. Everything screams 'classic!' and for reasons.

"The Tall Blonde with a Black Shoe" 's particular flavor relies on two comedic ingredients: people taking the most peculiar things with an absolute seriousness, one man totally oblivious to the chaotic situations he creates around him and a goofy screwball thought to be a genius, three premises combined in one film, whose abundance of gags is never tarnished. The center of this oddball universe remains Pierre Richard in the most defining role of his career as François Perrin, the 5'10'' tall man with curly blonde hair and two unsuited shoes, the quintessential funny-looking character.

What is remarkable in Pierre Richard's performance is the way he embodies the natural goofiness of the character and yet remains straight all through the movie, he's either the Auguste clown causing trouble to a bunch of white-faced clowns around him, or he's the straight man of a grotesque masquerade. It's not surprising that the film was co-written by Yves Robert and Francis Veber, the latter would know how to use other actors' talent to highlight Richard's comedic appeal. But here, everyone is so damn serious yet everything seems so crazy and the film's laughs plays in an almost surreal level, as we follow the adventure

The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe fmovies. Pierre Richard at his best. The movie has both verbal and slapstick comedy scenes which are some of his best. Mireille Darc when she turns her back to hapless Pierre. The dead bodies everywhere (including the refrigerator). A great comedy if you can understand the French.

Now finally available in a collected set of DVDs

"Coffret Le Grand blond - 2 DVD Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire - Le Retour du grand blond De Yves Robert Avec Pierre Richard, Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc DVD Zone 2 - Pal. 2 volumes"

But for the English speakers - you may have to check out the Web to find some subtitles - product available from www.FNAC.com in France.

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Hollywood has paid homage to this Gallic gem. And, as usual, the original is better than the Hollywood copy.

The best description of this classic is the oxymoron: sophisticated slapstick. But there is much more. Like the category list suggests (comedy, mystery, and more) there's something for everybody, and you needn't be a Francophile to enjoy it.

Simply delightful!

An earlier comment was sophisticated slapstick, but while there are the occasional pokes in the eye -- the scene where an exploding cigar goes off and all the spies silenced weapons go "pfffht" (no blood, just lots of people falling over with silly expressions) is wonderful -- I think I'd instead classify this as sophisticated silliness. Reminds me of the old David Niven movies, except much less restrained.

But I also want to point out that the movie ends with a quote: "Every person is entitled to the respect of his or her private life. Penal Code, Article 9." Indeed, the wry tongue in cheek is pointed squarely at the absurdities of the French intelligence community. I find looking at the movie in that light adds another bit of fun to identifying the "good guys" and the bad guys.

Well worth your time.