The Elusive Corporal (1962)

Synopsis: Humorously echoing some of the directors's earlier work, the film stars Jean-Pierre Cassell as The Corporal, a French officer stuck in a German prison camp during WWII. His initial attempt at escape with comrades Pater (Claude Brasseur) and Ballochet (Claude Rich) ends in failure, when the... Humorously echoing some of the directors's earlier work, the film stars Jean-Pierre Cassell as The Corporal, a French officer stuck in a German prison camp during WWII. His initial attempt at escape with comrades Pater (Claude Brasseur) and Ballochet (Claude Rich) ends in failure, when the latter loses his glasses. On the second attempt, they lock their guard in a urinal and jump on a truck that leaves them in a garbage dump, at the feet of some German soldiers. Not one to give up, The Corporal gets as far as a train on his next escape, where he meets an old friend (Sacha Briquet), trying to escape in drag, but he is captured once again, due to a mistake by another companion, Pencheagauche (Jacques Jouanneau). The Germans, unamused, send him to a Punishment Camp, where they try to break his will, and come close to succeeding. However, when a toothache sends him to the dentist, a brief dalliance with Erika (Cornelia Froboess), the dentist's daughter, seems to restore his spirits quite impressively. He continues to hatch escape plans which his captors continue to foil, even awarding him another trip to the Punishment Camp. Can freedom be denied to one who refuses to quit? An entertaining comedy, its generally farcical tone is sometimes broken by more realistic touches. [More]