The Great DeGaulle Stone Operation
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| The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation | |
| The Inspector series | |
 The Inspector and Deux-Deux search the hotel |
|
| Directed by | Friz Freleng Gerry Chiniquy (co-director) |
|---|---|
| Story by | John W. Dunn |
| Animation by | Warren Batchelder George Grandpre Bob Matz Norm McCabe Manny Perez Don Williams |
| Voices by | Pat Harrington, Jr. Larry Storch Paul Frees |
| Music by | William Lava |
| Produced by | David DePatie Friz Freleng |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date | December 21, 1965 |
| Format | Technicolor, 7 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb page | |
The Great DeGaulle Stone Operation was the first short in the Inspector series of theatrical cartoons. On release, it was attached to the James Bond film Thunderball.
The title is both a pun on the phrase "gallstone" and a reference to the then French President, Charles de Gaulle.
[edit] Synopsis
The Inspector has been tasked by his Commissioner to guard the DeGaulle Stone, an enormous diamond worth 10 Billion francs. The Commissioner warns the Inspector of the dire consequences should he lose the diamond, but the Inspector manages to lose it in seconds, handing it to what he thinks is his assistant, Deux-Deux, but is in fact a three-headed thief, collectively referred to as the Matz-O'Reillys. The left (Weft) and Right (Wight) heads argue about what to do next, and the apparently dim third head (Wong) tries to break up the fight, only to be beaten up by the others. The Inspector uses this chance to try and catch up with them, at which point they get into their car and drive away, flattening the Inspector in the process. Deux-Deux then tries to pursue them in his own car, but only succeeds in flattening the Inspector some more.
The thieves have their car convert itself into a plane, forcing the Inspector to man a plane of his own in order to pursue them. The crooks easily dispose of him with a giant fly-swatter however, and his plane crashes into the Surete building, destroying the Commissioner's office and earning the Inspector another ear-bashing. The Matz-O'Reillys manage to escape, but once back at their hideout, Wong discovers that their jacket has a hole in it, and they've managed to lose the diamond.
The Commissioner returns the diamond to the Inspector, who puts it in a safe. Unfortunately, the safe turns out to be the Matz-O'Reillys in disguise, and the chase is on again. The Inspector and Deux-Deux pursue the thieves to a hotel, where the Inspector's attempts at catching them meet with a predictable lack of success. The Matz-O'Reillys can't hide forever though, and the Inspector arrives at their hideout with a considerable number of backup units. Realising that they're going to get caught anyway, Wong puts the diamond in a glass of water, in which it turns transparent. The Inspector and the other officers break in, and apprehend the thieves. While the others search for the missing diamond, the Inspector decides to help himself to the nearby glass. The next scene shows him being rushed to hospital, and a surgeon removing the DeGaulle Stone from the Inspector. The surgeon gives the diamond to his nurse... who turns out to be the crooks, in disguise again. The Inspector is left with a huge scar, some painful memories, and the task of explaining himself to the Commissioner.
