Cast
Raymond Cordy Henri Marchand Rolla France
Credits
Written by: 
René Clair
Plot
Two convicts escape from prison together. Louis becomes a wealthy industrialist who builds a factory of gramophones, while Émile, who is a drifter, stays on the margins until the two meet again. When Louis's past is threatened, and the factory is revealed to be as much a prison as the jail they escaped from, the film ends in a joyful rejection of work. René Clair's 1931 musical comedy is said to have influenced Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times.
Sinekatalog’s take
René Clair's musical satire follows two ex-convicts, one now a factory boss, in a gleeful attack on the assembly line. Light, inventive and charming, it influenced Chaplin's Modern Times.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.4 / 10 (5,403 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.
If you liked this
Picked by director, genre, era and shared cast. Titles only, no spoilers.
- Le Million 1931 · René Clair · IMDb 7.3 · Same director
- Under the Roofs of Paris 1930 · René Clair · IMDb 7.0 · Same director
- The Bartered Bride 1932 · Max Ophüls · IMDb 6.4 · Same movement
- Head 1968 · Bob Rafelson · IMDb 6.4 · Viewers also liked
- Duck Soup 1933 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.7 · Similar genres
- Sleeper 1973 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.1 · Viewers also liked