Le gentleman de Cocody

It may have hit the jackpot in the French box office of the time,but how painful it is to see an once great director come down ; after "la tulipe noire" ,an exciting swashbuckler ,and the suspenseful "repas des fauves", there's not a single Christian-Jaque movie you would recommend to a young person who does not know the diirector of such memorable works as " les disparus de Saint-Agil ""sortilèges" "boule de suif" and "Fanfan la Tulipe" ,to name but four.

Cocody is the chic part of Abidjan,Ivory Coast ; the country is the real star of the movie, as it was entirely filmed on location ; as for the screenplay ,it's an incoherent spate of clichés , which never succeeds ,neither as an adventures movie, nor as a comedy ; to attract both the French and the German audience ,the male star is Gallic (Marais) ,and the female one is Teutonic (the charming Lilo Pulver );both are extremely competent and go out of their way to enliven this cock and bull tale, including butterflies,diamonds,diplomats ,gangsters , tam tam call, secret society whose head "the panther " 's identity,unexpected identity is revealed in the last pictures.

Sixties pop star Nancy Holloway ,whose career was short-lived ,sings the title track;Gil Delamare -who would die shortly after ,in another movie by Christian-Jaque , does the stunts , namely the essential.

This Gaumont production by successful director Christian-Jaque (1904-1994), who had also filmed with Gina Lollobrigida (Fanfan der Hussar), Brigitte Bardot (Babette goes to war) and Sophia Loren (Madame sans gene), is really fun . This is where the Swiss superstar Liselotte Pulver and the French jack-of-all-trades Jean Marais (1913-1998) clash. The film was shot in Ivory Coast, which had gained independence from France a few years earlier.

A bizarre murder of a butterfly collector has occurred near Cocody. The local police are investigating and are not dependent on any French help. Independence, yes! The busy ambassador Herve (Jean Marais) still snoops around and follows on the heels of an attractive butterfly collector (Liselotte Pulver), who lets herself be called "Baby" in good moments. Accompanied by a certain Renaud Lefranc (Philippe Clay), we head into the jungle. And that's just where the adventure begins. Nothing is as it seems. Instead of butterflies, something completely different should be captured.

This turbulent fun doesn't offer a fully developed story, but it does offer enthusiastic actors, lots of action, quick cuts and wonderful local color. You don't see films shot in Ivory Coast that often. What's also amazing is that, in addition to all the adventures, you also get an insight into everyday life in the country. Great!

Jean Marais, long-time partner of the cult director Jean Cocteau, who had just died at the time, and GOLDEN GLOBE nominee Lilo Pulver, who was also experienced in international productions (still terrific: "One, Two, Three" by Billy Wilder), harmonize wonderfully. It's wonderful to see how the great Lilo Pulver performs in a film genre that is actually completely foreign to her and in a film culture in a different language. Fantastic! This actress is a real world star who was unfortunately all too underestimated.

Other roles include the enchanting Maria Grazia Buccella (born in Milan in 1940 and can also be admired in a supporting role in "Die Furchtlosen von Parma / The Fearless of Parma" with Hildegard Knef) as a jealous sex bomb and Nancy Holloway as a singer (also sings the title song about the "Gentleman of Cocody").

Remy Julienne (1930-2021), who is at the beginning of his career, is also at the start as Lefranc's henchman. Starting with "Fantomas" (1964), he would become one of the most famous stuntmen (with car stunts as a specialty) in the film world. In addition to various James Bond films, he also enriched the French "Taxi" series and "Maximum Risk" with Jean Claudevan Damme with his skills.

This adventure pearl, which is rarely seen anymore, should not be missed!