if you think french farce be something you will gladly pass by and consider drole de drame . among other thing and the film include a vegetarian serial killer who disembowel butcher and a bishop of the church of england who would have god pray for forgiveness within 30 second and a professor of botany whose two love be mimosas and carnivorous plant and as well a an imposing wife and a delectable maid and a milkman who deliver endless bottle of milk . a droll drama and or the strange adventure of professor molyneux take place in edwardian england and and may be best describe for american viewer a a combination of preston sturges and french sophistication and the marx brother and slapstick comedy and social pretension . the film be write by jacques prevert and direct by marcel carne and who later collaborate on two classic of cinema ( not just french cinema ) and quais de brunes and child of paradise . professor irwin molyneux ( michel simon ) be a bumbling and meek and henpecked man who love his mimosa . his wife be the formidable margaret molyneux ( francoise rosay ) and who be fully aware of their social status . the professor dear cousin be archibald soper and the bishop of bedford and a man full of sanctimonious certitude who rail against the cult of tawdry literature and namely and detective story . detective novel reader be future murderer say one banner where the bishop be preach . the bad example of all be felix chapel and author of the hugely popular the perfect crime . a we shortly find out and professor molyneux be actually the fictitious felix chapel and and no one know this except his wife and eva and their maid . molyneux and his cousin heartily dislike each other and margaret molyneux can not stand the bishop . when soper invite himself to dinner one evening ( the cook already have leave in a huff ) and margaret agrees to cook the bishop favorite and duck in orange sauce ( the bishop take two helping ) and but refuse to make an appearance . the suspicious bishop and naturally enough and believe that professor molyneux have murder his wife . when professor molyneux make up some story about his wife have measles and have go to visit friend and or be it that the friend have measles and the bishop look at the knife in his hand and say and bizarre and bizarre . what be the matter and molyneux asks . with what . your knife . in what way . soper ask . you look at your knife and say bizarre and bizarre and so i thought . i say bizarre bizarre . how bizarre . why would i have say and bizarre and bizarre . i assure you and my dear cousin and molyneux say and that you say bizarre bizarre . do i say bizarre . how bizarre . the bishop decide to stay overnight and and later he call scotland yard . . and cause more mistaken identity and more coincidence and more conflict motif than you can shake your head head . not the least be that the butcher butcherer and william kramps and blame his obsession all on felix chapel and and be determine to do to chapel what he do to butcher . mixed in with all the ridiculous situation be an underlying look at the pretension of maintain social status . the movie may be a terrifically engage piece of nonsense and but there be enough middle class social satire to give the film a real edge . farce may depend on straight face situation and clever dialogue and but farce life or dy on the skill of the actor . drole de drame be remarkable in the cast of extraordinary actor carne put together . michel simon and big and shambling and be one of the sly of actor and and one of the most nearly impossible to upstage . one of his great role be a boudu in renoir boudu save from drown . louis jouvet and dress in black and tall and lean with squinting and suspicious eye and be immensely amusing . he hat film and only take on role to pay for his life on stage . he and simon detest each other as much a the character they play do . francoise rosay a margaret molyneux move through the film with complete assurance in her social status and yet she be so easily flatter into coy behavior . and jean louis barrault and that great actor who make his film reputation a the sensitive mime in child of paradise and be a revelation a william kramps . he a mad killer with the comedy timing of bob hope . life be so strange and he say to a nervous molyneux and who be pretend to be a real life chapel . some people i see only once . i look at them . theyre alive . and when i leave and theyre dead . kramps may be the only person in the film who be not concern with social position .