Gerard Ourys 95th Birthday born 1919

Wednesday, April 30, 2014


Appeared On :	April 29, 2014
Location :	France
If you're not a French film buff, it may look like we have some explaining to do... and you'd be right! While the uniforms seem to indicate these are members of a dark and sinister army, they are in fact the famous comedic duo, Louis de Funes and Bourvil, cast as ordinary Frenchmen disguised in German uniforms in Gerard Oury's best-known work, La Grande Vadrouille. For extra context, I recommend watching this four-minute trailer. Before arriving at the final image, other options to celebrate Gerard Oury were explored, including a broader overview of his films: Our colleagues and Oury experts in the Google France office felt it was best to focus on the best known work in a way that could convey Oury's sense of humor through a single moment – so La Grande Vadrouille it was. In the chase scene below, the two main characters are trying to help downed English pilots escape arrest by the German army. They ride in a horse cart pulled by a nun, who seems unaffected by the gravity of the situation. It wasn't considered a very well-known moment from the film, however, and was scrapped in favor of the moment famously depicted on movie posters for the original release of the film. posted by Mike Dutton, Doodler