A wealthy businessman ,whose canned food industry is thriving and who was just awarded la légion d'honneur ,is challenged by his hypocrit friends : "you always got lucky, you would never have made it, hadn't you inherited your papa's canned sardines factory , you could never have become a lawyer (like me) ,a doctor (like me) or a psychiatrist (like me) "
Cut to the quick, the canning industry tycoon ,decides that he can prove them wrong: he will start over ,"naked as a worm" ( but he will keep his properties and his bank account , but he simply won't be allowed to enjoy them ,his servants will act as if they 've never met him ,hence "just like ")
The first half is the best : the ex-millionaire ,naked in a barrel , with only a blanket on him,"not to frighten the ladies" ;his meeting with the gendarmes ; the astute use of his surname "Adam" ,a suitable new name for his situation ; the insane asylum where the only cure is
a good shower; the dream. The second half is derivative ,and the waiter who becomes the toast of the town is neither funny nor convincing.
Leon Mathot began his career in the silent era and it shows :sometimes his movie would be better without
the lines and Georges Milton's obligatory optimistic ditties; the hero ,with his hat and his dog shows Chaplin's influence.
There are things that have never passed away :commercials on the radio are still exasperating today ;and the "légion d'honneur" does not impress anyone today. Did it at the time?
