We start with wrangling between Meg (- Lemonnier) and her overbearing father (Saturnin Fabre), and then with a bitter-funny suicide conversation under the bridge between Jean-Pierre (- Aumont) and Léon, a tramp (Michel Simon).
"One problem is," says Jean-Pierre, "I can swim. You never know what your reflexes will be." This ability comes in useful moments later when he sees Meg jump off the bridge,"Two suicides in one night, I'm going to have to find a different spot," says Léon. Jean-Pierre, suicide forgotten, jumps in to save her.
The three team up while Meg, reported missing, evades the police. But reward money is involved and she's up for grabs.
The film is as much as anything (perhaps too much) a vehicle for Michel Simon, a character actor whose roles are barely more far-fetched than his own back-story. With a mouth full of slang and seemingly of marbles, he is entertainingly chaotic.
Meanwhile, JPA is pretty smooth and handsome, Meg Lemonnier jolly and likeable, and the unruly court proceedings keep us amused through to the end.
