Crooks in Clover

Crooks in Clover (Les Tontons flingueurs, 1963) is Georges Lautner's French crime comedy, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Lino Ventura stars as Fernand Naudin, a man long out of the business who gets pulled straight back into it by a single deathbed phone call.

An old friend nicknamed the Mexican dies and leaves Fernand everything at once: an underground empire, a heap of trouble, and a headstrong daughter, Patricia, plus her insufferable boyfriend. The dead boss's former gunmen refuse to accept an outsider as heir and declare war on him. Fernand sets about managing the inheritance his own way, patient and heavy-handed and deadpan, while farce erupts all around him.

The real engine here is not the plot but Michel Audiard's dialogue. In France whole lines from the film became everyday catchphrases, and the late-night kitchen scene where the gang drinks rotgut moonshine turned into a national reference point. A gangster setup keeps tipping into self-parody, held together by the stone-faced calm of its cast. A great pick if you are after vintage European wit rather than a modern comedy. Stream Crooks in Clover (1963) online on iFILM.