The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob

"THE WILD... THE HILARIOUS... THE SCREWBALL... THE RIOTOUS"

1973 1h 40m FR

👍

7.4

SOLID

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 1,089★7.4IMDB · 16,131

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In this riot of frantic disguises and mistaken identities, Victor Pivert, a blustering, bigoted French factory owner, finds himself taken hostage by Slimane, an Arab rebel leader. The two dress up as rabbis as they try to elude not only assasins from Slimane's country, but also the police, who think Pivert is a murderer. Pivert ends up posing as Rabbi Jacob, a beloved figure who's returned to France for his first visit after 30 years in the United States. Adding to the confusion are Pivert's dentist-wife, who thinks her husband is leaving her for another woman, their daughter, who's about to get married, and a Parisian neighborhood filled with people eager to celebrate the return of Rabbi Jacob.

“THE WILD... THE HILARIOUS... THE SCREWBALL... THE RIOTOUS”

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Cast

Louis de Funès
Victor Pivert
Suzy Delair
Germaine Pivert
Marcel Dalio
Rabbi Jacob
Claude Giraud
Mohamed Larbi Slimane / Rabbi Zeiligman
Renzo Montagnani
Farès
Janet Brandt
Tzipé Schmoll
André Falcon
Minister
Xavier Gélin
Alexandre

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gérard Oury
Writers: Gérard Oury, Danièle Thompson, Josy Eisenberg
Languages: English, Yiddish, French, Hebrew
Countries: France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $57M — a 12.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Yiddish, French, Hebrew.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gérard Oury, shot by Henri Decaë. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Vladimir Cosma. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Albert Jurgenson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gérard Oury directs. Henri Decaë behind the camera. Vladimir Cosma scores. Albert Jurgenson cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France, Italy. Dialogue in English, Yiddish, French, Hebrew.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $57M — a 12.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
353 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Yiddish, French, Hebrew.
5International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.
6Directed by Gérard Oury, shot by Henri Decaë. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Vladimir Cosma. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Albert Jurgenson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Louis de Funès and Suzy Delair and Marcel Dalio carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "THE WILD... THE HILARIOUS... THE SCREWBALL... THE RIOTOUS".
11IMDB entry: tt0069747 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 20 themes, including "new york city", "prisoner", "airport", "paris, france".
13Released under 14 different titles around the world.