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Don't Take God's Children for Wild Geese

Don't Take God's Children for Wild Geese (Faut pas prendre les enfants du bon Dieu pour des canards sauvages)

Movie · 1968 · 3 people

Michel Audiard shot Faut pas prendre les enfants du bon Dieu pour des canards sauvages, also known as Leontine, a French comedy, in 1968. It blends the conventions of the crime and heist picture with farce. Audiard, who also wrote the script, was making his first feature as a director. Running about 80 minutes, it reached 2,006,177 admissions on release and was a big success in theatres. In Germany it was released as Ich laß mich nicht für dumm verkaufen, and in Spanish-speaking countries as No confundir las criaturas de Dios con los patos salvajes.

A burlesque comedy, the film stands out for its colourful, ornate and picturesque dialogue, and its storytelling is inventive and ahead of its time, closer in spirit to the pop sensibility of Richard Lester. Françoise Rosay, Bernard Blier and Marlène Jobert head the cast. Several of Audiard's favourite performers appear as well, among them André Pousse, Robert Dalban, Jean Carmet and Paul Frankeur, and Dominique Zardi, Gaston Meunier and Marcel Bernier also appear.

Shooting took place at the Saint-Maurice Studios, around Paris and in Menton on the French Riviera. The sets were designed by the art director Jean d'Eaubonne and Raymond Gabutti.

DirectorMichel Audiard

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Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Dominique Zardi Actor · died at 79 Michel Charrel Michel Charrel Film actor · died at 89 Robert Dalban Robert Dalban Actor · died at 83

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Michel Audiard's first feature as a director lets you feel the writer in every frame: an ornate, colourful, almost musical style of dialogue is the film's real star. Its mix of heist and crime conventions with farce feels ahead of its time, with an energy close to Richard Lester's pop sensibility. Françoise Rosay, Bernard Blier and Marlène Jobert clearly relish the lines. But that strength is also the weakness: the story keeps pausing for the zingers, and the plot falls into the background next to the brilliance of the words. The direction seems to lag behind the writing. Viewers who miss the nuances of French may lose some of the jokes in translation. Still, reaching more than two million admissions shows this style could connect with a wide audience.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

A light, colourful French comedy. The story is built around crime and a heist, but it's all played for laughs. The real fun is in the dialogue, though those jokes may not appeal much to children, and some may get lost in translation. At about 80 minutes it's short and easy going. A good pick to watch with grandparents who love old French comedies.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

It has the shape of a heist film, but laughs come first here, not tension. Being short is a big plus; it's done in about 80 minutes. The problem is that it runs on talk more than action; if ornate, long-winded lines aren't your thing, the scenes in between feel slow. Worth a try if you like crime mixed with comedy, not if you want a pure heist thriller.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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