The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (French: Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, pronounced [lez‿avɑ̃tyʁ də ʁabi ʒakɔb]) is a 1973 comedy film co-written and directed by Gérard Oury, starring Louis de Funès and Claude Giraud. A France-Italy co-production, the film follows a bigoted businessman and a kidnapped revolutionist who disguise themselves as rabbis to escape from assassins. One of de Funès' most popular and iconic movies, it has become a cult classic.
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Plot
Rabbi Jacob (Marcel Dalio) is one of the most beloved rabbis of New York. One day, the French side of his family, the Schmolls, invite him to celebrate the bar mitzvah of young David, and he boards a plane for his native France after more than 30 years of American life. His young friend Rabbi Samuel accompanies him.
In Normandy (northern France), the rich businessman Victor Pivert (Louis de Funès) is also on his way to a wedding; his daughter (Miou-Miou) will be married the next day. Pivert is a dreadful man: bad-tempered, rude and bigoted, with a well-honed racism against Blacks, Jews, and pretty much all foreigners. He and his driver, Salomon (Henri Guybet), have a car accident in which Pivert's car (carrying a speed boat) flips upside-down into a lake.
