a jeans in the rope starts to tear a part. He climbs up the rope quickly, and narrowly avoids death. The rope falls into the sea, and Roubier cries in despair to this saddening sight, while the two other passengers seem to develop a liking for each other. The same evening, a mild storm quickly develops, to the joy of the thirsty passengers, who haven't drank in two days. However, the accumulating rain forces the occupants to start throwing water out of the car to prevent a surplus of water in the vehicle. It is next morning that Roubier gets the idea to throw a bottle with an SOS inside, attached to a parachute. The bottle eventually lands in a café in Saint-Tropez, where the message is received by a couple, who involuntarily alert the police, who quickly rush to the right turn Roubier had missed, where the find the car intact, amazed at this queer sight. The information is quickly dispersed, and the news seems more of a scandal to the public, however. Over the night, crane-lifters arrive on the scene as the "Operation Pin-Parasol" begins. The rescue operation begins immediately, but quickly goes wrong, after the woman's (whose name is Mrs Muller) husband attempts to destroy the rope sent down to recover the occupants of the car, livid with jealousy at the sight of his wife and the hitchhiker hugging each other. The tree menaces to collapse after the husband's cigar starts consuming the roots, and the car is saved by a helicopter, who had attached the car to a trolley just in time. However, the helicopter doesn't bring the car back on the road, but is taken to a desert Pacific island, by Roubier's highway rivals. As Muller and the hitchhiker embrace, Roubier attempts to throw another message in a bottle into the ocean, which breaks on the rocks. Despaired, Roubier turns away and whimpers at the unexpected turn of events. Cast Louis de Funès: Henri Roubier Olivier de Funès: hitchhiker Geraldine Chaplin: Mrs Muller Alice Sapritch: Lucienne Roubier Paul Préboist: radio journalist Hans Meyer: Colonel Muller Roland Armontel: Father Jean-Marie Franco Volpi: Mazzini Jean-Jacques Delbo: yacht owner References External links 1971 films Films about trees French comedy films 1970s French-language films 1971 comedy films 1970s French films