The Gendarme and the Creatures from Outer Space

The Gendarme and the Creatures from Outer Space (Le Gendarme et les Extra-terrestres, 1979) is a French sci-fi farce you can watch online on iFILM. Louis de Funès is back as Sergeant Cruchot, and this time the gendarmes of Saint-Tropez face an enemy that fell out of the sky.

The catch: the aliens disguise themselves as the policemen themselves. Two things give them away — they guzzle motor oil instead of water, and they clang like empty tin cans when you knock on them. Cruchot figures out something is wrong long before anyone believes him, which only earns him looks of pity from his own squad. Director Jean Girault builds this fifth entry in the franchise entirely around de Funès' rubber-faced panic and frantic double-takes.

This one is pure slapstick comfort food for fans of the Cruchot films — the science fiction is just an excuse to send de Funès chasing nonsense one more time. Michel Galabru, as the unflappable Gerber, stays the long-suffering anchor to every bit of chaos. Stream The Gendarme and the Creatures from Outer Space (1979) online on iFILM.