1964 French film by Robert Dhéry
The Counterfeit Constable (French: Allez France!) is a 1964 French comedy film directed by Robert Dhéry and Pierre Tchernia and starring Ronald Fraser, Diana Dors and Arthur Mullard.[1]
Plot
A French rugby supporter, in England for a match at Twickenham, is accidentally elbowed in the face and loses two teeth. He goes to the dentist who fits new teeth and tells him he musn't open his mouth for two hours, to allow the cement holding them to set properly. He starts to wait, and in the waiting room he sees the uniform of another patient, who's a policeman. He tries it on for fun, and while wearing it by sheer chance he saves Diana Dors, a movie star who lives next door. He is congratulated by police chiefs who take him for a true police officer. He can't tell them he isn't because he can't open his mouth and besides, he doesn't speak English. He becomes lost in London, and many misunderstandings and misadventures follow. And to make matters worse he needs to return home to France urgently as he is due to be married.
Production
Diana Dors was then living in Los Angeles but returned to Europe to make the film.[2]
Location shooting took place around London. Interiors were shot at Shepperton Studios and the Billancourt Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jean Mandaroux.
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Shot partly in England and mainly in English (with Dhéry miming mutely), this is a farce rich in characteristically zany Dhéry situations, none of which, unfortunately, comes off. All that emerges is a hectic bustle which remains obstinately unfunny."[3]
