Du Mouron Pour les Petits Oiseaux Synopsis & Summary

Ruthless and for some viewers, also vulgar and unpleasant, this uneven comedy by Marcel Carne has a madhouse of characters of dubious morals going through equally questionable antics. Their objectives are primarily self-serving. A former gangster (Paul Meurisse) is interested only in keeping birds -- and his take from his last heist to help him go straight. In the same house is Lucie (Dany Saval) who is supporting her Italian lover by sleeping with the butcher. Meanwhile, the butcher's wife has her own lover -- his assistant. Then there is the female custodian who is helping out an old biddy only with the intentions of getting her hands on the woman's rumored stash of cash. A few other seamy characters wander in and out of cheap bars and brothels as the lives of all these people suddenly come together when the police show up to arrest the ex-gangster. - Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide