Now Where Did the 7th Company Get to?

Now Where did the 7th Company get to?
Directed by Robert Lamoureux
Produced by Alain Poiré
Written by Robert Lamoureux
Starring

Pierre Mondy
Jean Lefebvre
Aldo Maccione
Erik Colin

Robert Lamoureux
Music by Henri Boutayre
Distributed by Gaumont Film Company
Release dates
  • December 13, 1973 (France)

[1]

Running time
 95 minutes
Country France
Italy[1]

Now Where did the 7th Company get to? (French: Mais où est donc passée la septième compagnie?) is a French-Italian comedy film directed by Robert Lamoureux. The movie relates the adventures of three French soldiers lost somewhere on the front in May 1940 during the Battle of France.

Summary

In May 1940, during the invasion of France by Nazi Germany, the 7th Transmission Company (led by Captain Dumont) was attacked by German Stuka bombers and was forced to hide in a forest. To prevent any further attack, three soldiers, Chaudard, Tassin and Pithiviers, were sent to scout a nearby hill. The main company was captured by a German infantry division. The three soldiers, on their own, attempt to avoid German troops and rescue their comrades.

Plot

During the Battle of France, while the German forces are rapidly spreading across the country, the 7th Transmission Company suffers an air raid near the Machecoul wood, but survive and hide in the wood. Captain Dumont, the company commander, sends three of his men—Louis Chaudard, Pithiviers and Tassin—to scout the area. After burying the radio cable beneath a sandy road, the little squad crosses the field, climbs a nearby hill, and takes position within a wall-covered area, which happens to be a cemetery. One of the men who was cutting down trees for camouflage hits the wrong tree, pulling up the radio cable from the sandy road and revealing it to the passing German infantry. The Germans cut the cable, surround the woods, and order a puzzled 7th Company to surrender. During that time, Chaudard and his friends, who spotted the Germans, try without success (due to the cut cable) to contact and join their unit. They can only witness their comrades' capture and decide to run away.

Now on their own and commanded by Staff Sergeant Chaudard, who wants to free his unit, the three soldiers begin their adventures. After a day-long walk, the group stop in a wood for the night. Pithiviers, enjoying the situation, is more than content to slow down and wait for the end of the campaign. The next day, before the other two soldiers have woken up, he goes for a swim in the surrounding lake, completely in sight of possible German fighters. When Chaudard and Tassin wake up, they leave the camp without their weapons to look for Pithiviers. Tassin finally finds him and gives an angry warning, but Pithiviers convinces Tassin to join him in the lake. Soon afterwards, seeing his two men in the water, Chaudard orders them to get out immediately, but is distracted by a rabbit and falls into the lake fully clothed. Later, while Chaudard teaches his men how to swim like him, two German fighter planes appear, pushing the three men out of the water. While waiting for his clothes to dry, Chaudard observes a dog fight between a French fighter plane and the two German fighter planes. After shooting down one of the German planes, the French pilot, Lieutenant Duvauchel, makes an emergency landing and escapes before his plane explodes. When the team is ready to go, PFC Pithiviers, seeing the bad shape of one of his shoes, still wishes to stay in the camp and intentionally falls down, destroying what's left of his shoe sole. Aware of Pithiviers' laziness, Chaudard shot him an angry look, but delays the departure. He sends Tassin, who loves to eat, on patrol to get food and a new pair of shoes for Pithiviers. After an hour's walk, Tassin arrives in a farm, but finds no one except a dog, so he returns and Chaudard goes to the farm after nightfall and is happily welcomed by the dog. The farmer then returns with her daughter-in-law and Lt Duvauchel, and she welcomes Chaudard, who lies by saying that he and his nine men are still fighting inside the wood. Duvauchel, who is hiding behind the door, comes out upon hearing the news and decides to meet Chaudard's men.

When Chaudard and Duvauchel return to the camp, Tassin and Pithiviers are roasting a rabbit they caught. When they realize that Chaudard didn't come back alone, Tassin and Pithiviers stand guard, hiding the rabbit behind their backs. Duvauchel realizes that Chaudard has been lying and takes command.

The following day, the four men leave the wood in early morning (to Pithiviers' chagrin) and capture a German armored tow truck after killing its two drivers. They originally planned to abandon the truck and the two Nazis in a wood, but instead realized the truck is the best way to disguise themselves and free the 7th company. They put on the Germans' uniforms and follow the road, and end up recovering another soldier of the 7th Company, who succeeded in escaping, and obtain resources from a collaborator who mistook them for Germans.

On their way, they encounter a French Gendarmerie patrol, who appear to be a 5th column. The patrol injures the newest member of their group, a young soldier, and then are killed by Tassin. In revenge, they destroy a German tank using the tow truck's cannon gun.

They planned to go to Paris but are misguided by their own colonel, but luckily find the 7th Company with guards who are bringing them to Germany. Using their cover, they make the guards run in front of the truck, allowing the company to get away. When Captain Dumont joins his Chaudard, Tassin, and Pithiviers in the truck, who salute the German Commander with a great smile.

Casting

Production

– 1975 : On a retrouvé la septième compagnie (The Seventh Company Has Been Found) by Robert Lamoureux;
– 1977 : La Septième Compagnie au clair de lune by Robert Lamoureux.

Box office

The movie received a great success in France reaching the third best selling movie in 1974.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fountain, Clarke. "Mais Ou Est Donc Passe La 7ème Compagnie?". Allmovie. Retrieved December 1, 2012.

External links