The film contains a pleiade of good actors and is fairly lighthearted but the plot is weak to the point of making it quite forgettable once viewed. Louis de Funès incarnates a parisian taxi driver who takes his family off on holiday to southern Spain with a caravan (roulotte in French ) towed behind them, hence the film's title. At the Spanish border there is a customs check ( this was before the EEC was born !! ) and another female traveller slips unbeknowingly a priceless diamond into de Funes' jacket to avoid being caught at customs. Once, they are all in Spain, the lady who is working with some gangsters, obviously tries to get the diamond back from de de Funès family. This turns out to be not as easy as she first thought and all attempts fail ! In the end, de Funès is stopped by the police for speeding and THEY discover the diamond and charge de Funès with trafficking. Of course de Funès denies everything but no-one will believe him. Six months later, released from Prison, he goes back to taxi driving in Paris and one of his first clients is none other than the head of the gang who were pursuing him in Spain ..........
I found the film very artificial as, although most of it takes place in Southern Spain, you hardly ever hear any Spanish spoken, only French, and this sounds completely ridiculous ! But my main beef is with the plot, which is vastly inferior to later de Funès films and leaves one feeling pretty indifferent. Still, there are a few amusing moments ....
I found the film very artificial as, although most of it takes place in Southern Spain, you hardly ever hear any Spanish spoken, only French, and this sounds completely ridiculous ! But my main beef is with the plot, which is vastly inferior to later de Funès films and leaves one feeling pretty indifferent. Still, there are a few amusing moments ....