Known for Directing
Alphonse and his wife Zulma hold the 421, a tavern in the outskirts of Lille, in the North of France. It is always full of regulars who play cards there and drink gin and exchange words in ch'timi, the local patois. But there has been trouble lately: felonies have been committed in the surroundings. So who can be those two strangers who have just rented a room each at the 421? Each sets about doing a bit of detective work.
Florimond, a dangerous smuggler, and his mistress Viviane try in vain to transfer illegal precious stones. When Viviane gets to know young Théo, a naive young peasant, she immediately capitalizes on the encounter. Thanks to her charm, she seduces him into becoming her accomplice. And, naturally, the operation is a success. Unfortunately for Florimond and Viviane, things soon go awry. Indeed, Théo's godfather, a customs officer, who has heard of the affair, lectures Théo and makes him become aware of the offense he has committed. The young man now wants to makes amends. Which is not to Florimond's liking.
Our hero is the canteen man of the regiment ;with his bossy missus,as infuriating as his military superiors,he reigns ,so to speak ,over the grunts' grub. One fine day,opportunity knocks: his brother has just died;would you believe it,he made a fortune in America ,and our canteen man is the sole legatee: 100 million bucks. Overnight,his life (and his wife's ) change:not only his mates tell him stories to make his heart bleed to get some dough,but two aristocrats,a marquis and an earl,short of the readies,want the canteen man's daughter, a wise girl in love with a deserving young lawyer doing his military service,to become their daughter-in-law ,and to latch on to the girl's dowry.
