''The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob'' (french: Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, ) is a 1973 French-Italian comedy film directed by Gérard Oury, starring

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...

and

Claude Giraud Claude Pierre Edmond Giraud (; 5 February 1936 in Chamalières – 3 November 2020) was a French actor. Career Claude Giraud studied with Tania Balachova at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier; Berthe Bovy and Jean Meyer at the École de la rue Bla ...

. It follows a bigoted businessman and a kidnapped revolutionist who disguise themselves as

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s to escape from assassins. One of De Funès' most popular and iconic movies, it has become a

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Plot

Rabbi Jacob ( Marcel Dalio) is one of the most beloved rabbis of New York. One day, the French side of his family, the Schmolls, invite him to celebrate the bar mitzvah of young David, and he boards a plane for his native France after more than 30 years of American life. His young friend Rabbi Samuel accompanies him. In

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

(northern France), the rich businessman Victor Pivert (

) is also on his way to a wedding; his daughter (

Miou-Miou Sylvette Herry (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Miou-Miou (), is a French actress. A ten-time César Award nominee, she won the César Award for Best Actress for the 1979 film ''Memoirs of a French Whore''. Her other films incl ...

) will be married the next day. Pivert is a dreadful man: bad-tempered, rude and bigoted, with a well-honed racism against Blacks, Jews, and pretty much all foreigners. He and his driver, Salomon (

Henri Guybet Henri Guybet (born 21 December 1936) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than one hundred films since 1964. Guybet started his career in dinner theater in the Café de la Gare, alongside Coluche and Miou-Miou in late 1960s. Gérard Oury ...

), have a car accident in which Pivert's car (carrying a speed boat) flips upside-down into a lake. When Salomon, who is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, refuses to help because Shabbat has just begun, Pivert fires him, much to Salomon's content. Arab revolutionist leader Mohamed Larbi Slimane (

) is kidnapped by killers who are working for his country's government. The team, led by Colonel Farès, takes him by night to an empty bubble gum factory... the same place where Victor Pivert goes to find assistance. Pivert involuntarily helps Slimane to flee, leaving two killers' corpses behind them. The police, alerted by Salomon, find the bodies and accuse Pivert of the crime. The next day, Slimane forces Pivert to go to Orly airport to catch a plane to Slimane's country (if the revolution succeeds, he will become President). However, they are followed by a number of people: the jealous Germaine, Pivert's wife, who thinks her husband is going to leave her for another woman; Farès and the killers; and the police commissioner Andréani (

Claude Piéplu Claude Léon Auguste Piéplu (9 May 1923, Paris–24 May 2006, Paris) was a French theater, film and television actor. He was known for his hoarse and frayed voice. Selected filmography *''D'homme à hommes'' (1948) - (uncredited) *'' Le R ...

), a zealous and overly suspicious cop who imagines that Pivert is the new Al Capone. Farès and his cohorts manage to kidnap Germaine, and they use her own dentist equipment to interrogate her. Trying to conceal his and Pivert's identities, Slimane attacks two rabbis in the toilets, stealing their clothes and shaving their beards and their

payot ''Pe'ot'', anglicized as payot ( he, פֵּאוֹת, pēʾōt, "corners") or payes (), is the Hebrew term for sidelocks or sideburns. Payot are worn by some men and boys in the Orthodox Jewish community based on an interpretation of the Tanakh's ...

. The disguises are perfect, and they are mistaken for Rabbi Jacob and Rabbi Samuel by the Schmoll family. The only one who recognizes Pivert (and Slimane) behind the disguise is Salomon, his former driver, who just happens to be a Schmoll nephew. But Pivert and Slimane are able to keep their identity secret and even manage to hold a sermon in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, thanks to the polylingual Slimane, as well as taking part in a very energetic Hasidic dance, one of the memorable scenes from the film."Rabbi Jacob : 200 personnes reprennent sa danse dans un flashmob à Paris. Un cadeau pour l'anniversaire de Louis de Funès, qui aurait eu 105 ans le 31 juillet."
abbi Jacob: 200 people resume his dance in a flashmob in Paris. A gift for the birthday of Louis de Funès, who would have been 105 on July 31. ''franceinfo'', July 10, 2019 After a few misunderstandings, Commissioner Andréani and his two inspectors are mistaken by the Jews for terrorists, attempting to kill Rabbi Jacob. The real Rabbi Jacob arrives at Orly, where no one is waiting for him any more. He is mistaken for Victor Pivert by the police, then by Farès and his killers (both times in a painful way for his long beard). There is a chaotic, but sweeping happy ending: *the revolution is a success, and Slimane becomes President of the Republic *Pivert's daughter falls in love with Slimane and escapes her dull fiancé near the altar to go with him *Pivert learns tolerance towards other religions and cultures, and also Salomon and Slimane make peace with their respective Arab and Jewish colleagues *the Schmolls finally find the real Rabbi Jacob *the Piverts and the Schmolls go together feasting and celebrating

Cast

- Victor Pivert * Suzy Delair - Germaine Pivert *

- Mohamed Larbi Slimane / Rabbi Zeligman *

- Salomon * Marcel Dalio - Rabbi Jacob *

Renzo Montagnani Renzo Montagnani (September 11, 1930 – May 22, 1997) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Montagnani was born in Alessandria, Piedmont, and debuted as theatre actor thanks to the help of Erminio Macario. His first cinema succe ...

- Colonel Farès *

Janet Brandt Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

- Tzipé Schmoll *

André Falcon André Falcon (28 November 1924 – 22 July 2009) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2008. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon, Andre 1924 births 2009 deaths ...

- The minister *

Xavier Gélin Xavier Gélin (21 June 1946 – 2 July 1999) was a French actor and film producer, and son of French film star Daniel Gélin and actress-producer Danièle Delorme. Through his father, he was a half-brother of Fiona Gélin and Maria Schneider, a ...

- Alexandre *

- Antoinette Pivert *

Denise Provence Denise Provence (1921–2011) was a French stage, film and television actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in mode ...

- Esther Schmoll *

- Andreani *

Michel Robin Michel Robin (13 November 1930 – 18 November 2020) was a French film, stage, and television actor. A sociétaire of the Comédie-Française since 1996, he also appeared in 120 films from 1966 to 2018. He won several awards for his acting, ...

- The monk *

Jacques François Henri Jacques Daniel Paul François (16 May 1920 – 25 November 2003), known as Jacques François was a French actor. During a sixty-year career (1942–2002) he appeared in more than 120 films and over 30 stage productions. In 1948 he we ...

- The general *

Gérard Darmon Gérard Darmon (born 29 February 1948) is a French- Moroccan actor and singer. Personal life He was the second husband of actress Mathilda May (mother of his two youngest children). He has three children: Virginie (born 1968) and, by May, daug ...

- Farès's bodyguard * Cherif Adnane - Farés's bodyguard * El Kabir - Fares's bodyguard *

Malek Kateb Malek (in Arabic مالك) is a masculine Arabic given name. It also denotes king written (in Arabic ملك or Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the maj ...

- Fares's bodyguard *

Pierre Koulak Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

- Fares's bodyguard * Noël Darzal - Fares's bodyguard * Lucien Melki - Fares's bodyguard *

Dominique Zardi Dominique Zardi (born Emile Jean Cohen-Zardi; 2 March 1930 – 13 December 2009) was a French actor from Paris. He acted in more than 200 feature films, including '' Fantômas'' with Louis De Funès and Jean Marais. He died of cancer at the age of ...

Release

On the day of the film's release, October 18, 1973, while

Georges Cravenne Georges Cravenne (24 January 1914 – 10 January 2009), real name Joseph-Raoul Cohen, was a French film producer, publicity agent and founder of the César Award. He received an Honorary César in 2000. Marriages He married French actress Franç ...

, the films publicity agent, was promoting the film, his second wife Danielle Cravenne hijacked an Air France B727 which was en route from Paris to Egypt. Armed with a

.22 long rifle The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...

and a fake pistol, she threatened to destroy the plane if the film was not banned. Cravenne declared herself to be a member of the solidarity movement for the French-Israeli-Arab reconciliation and considered the film's release unacceptable as it was being released during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

. Cravenne agreed to let the plane land in Marseille to refuel. French police disguised as maintenance workers boarded the plane and shot and killed her. Cravenne was 35-years-old. The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob was still released.

Reception

Critical Response

The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob received universal acclaim from critics and was nominated for a Golden Globes Award in the category of Best Foreign Film. It is widely regarded as one of the most popular French comedies of all time. Phil Hall of Film Threat called it, "A masterpiece of slapstick", stating that "This wild movie achieves the near-impossible of being politically incorrect without being nasty, of overdoing the slapstick without becoming tiresome." Roger Moore of Movie Nation stated: "Pre-'' Blazing Saddles'' and ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison (film prod ...

'', Rabbi Jacob could claim to having more gags-per-minute than any film anybody had ever seen." Judith Cris of

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

was equally enthusiastic upon its release, "Rabbi Jacob is the best of the Chaplin- Marx Bros. spirit, sustained by a touch of satire here and a wink there."

Box Office

The film broke box-office records in France, Spain and Canada. A total of 7,295,727 tickets were purchased by the end of its theatrical run, placing it at the top of the French box-office for films released in 1973.

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Adventures Of Rabbi Jacob 1970s crime comedy films 1973 films Films directed by Gérard Oury Films scored by Vladimir Cosma French crime comedy films Italian crime comedy films French satirical films Italian satirical films Films about kidnapping Films about Jews and Judaism Jewish comedy and humor 1970s French-language films Religious comedy films 1970s satirical films Films set in France Films shot in France 1973 comedy films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films French-language Italian films