Le Fou du labo 4 (1967)
Directed by Jacques Besnard

Film Review

Intended presumably as a parody of the gangster thrillers that were increasingly popular (and increasingly far-fetched) in the 1960s, Le Fou du labo 4 ends up as a rather confused run-around comedy which looks (as improbable as it may sound) like a cross-between The Avengers and The High Chaparral (two of the most popular television series of the 1960s).  The film was actually adapted from a book by René Cambon, a thriller writer most famous for his Antoine Frédenucci series of novels.

There are some good jokes along the way, but the chaotic plot and ridiculous characters reduce the film to the level of a muddled piece of vaudeville.  It pales in comparison with more inspired French thriller parodies of the period - exemplified by Georges Lautner's Les Tontons flingueurs (1963) and Ne nous fâchons pas ( (1966).  One of the reasons why the film fails to shine (apart from the poor script)  is the miscasting of Jean Lefebvre in the lead role.

With his amiable screen persona, Lefebvre was always at his best as the comedy stooge, most famously in the early Gendarme films alongside the more talented Louis de Funès and Michel Galabru.  Likeable though he was, he never had star charisma and always appeared pretty feeble and unconvincing when promoted to lead performer.  In Le Fou du labo 4 he fails to be either funny or sympathetic as a hapless inventor.  The saddest thing about the film is that Lefebvre's is not the only talent that is squandered.

Bernard Blier looks slightly absurd parodying his own parody persona from Les Tontons flingeurs and Michel Serrault is criminally underused.  The only participant to emerge from this seriously camped-up mountain of madness with his reputation still more or less intact is Pierre Brasseur, an actor who manages to shine in the grimmest of situations, even low-grade comedies of this ilk.

Le Fou du labo 4 was directed, with possibly more enthusiasm than the film deserves, by Jacques Besnard, who previously directed Jean Seberg and Serge Gainsbourg in Estouffade à la Caraïbe (1967), although he is better known for his mainstream comedies, most notably his popular Louis de Funès vehicle Le Grand restaurant (1966).  Besnard also directed Jean Lefebvre in three other similarly lacklustre comedies: C'est pas parce qu'on a rien à dire qu'il faut fermer sa gueule (1974), La Situation est grave... mais pas désespérée (1975) and Le Jour de gloire (1976).

Film Synopsis

Eugène Ballanchon is a dedicated research scientist who at present is busy working on a new truth compound.  In the course of his experiments, he unwittingly creates a gas that is capable of rendering its victims placid and amiable within seconds.  His employer, Granger, is not slow in realising the gas's enormous potential for military use - and neither is the notorious gangster Beauchard, who intends to steal the secret formula for the gas and sell it to a foreign power.  To that end, the beautiful agent Maria Latour is hired to seduce Eugène and lure him into Beauchard's clutches...