Trivia / Gramps Is in the Resistance

• Acting for Two: Gérard Jugnot played both Adolfo Ramirez and his son Ramirez Jr.
• Actor-Shared Background: Michel Galabru fought in La Résistance against Nazi Germany during World War II, albeit not in France. Germans sent him as a quasi-slave worker at a camp in occupied Yugoslavia, where he was freed by Josip Broz Tito's Partisans. He then fought in their ranks and came back to France after the war.
• All-Star Cast: The cast is pretty much a Who's Who of French comedic actors in the early 1980s, from the older generation (Jean Carmet, Michel Galabru, Jean Yanne, Roger Carel) and the then-new (the Splendid' theatre troupe — Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Martin Lamotte, Michel Blanc, Dominique Lavanant, plus Jacqueline Maillan, Jacques Villeret, Roland Giraud), and then some other famous names in cameos (Julien Guiomar, Jacques François, Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernard Giraudeau). Producer Christian Fechner explained he wanted to give the film an air of The Longest Day (which is referred to in the tagline that says the film "cost more than the Normandy Landings") with such a massive cast, and it was also done to sort of "compensate" for the passing of the superstar he originally intended to cast for it, Louis de Funès.
• Corpsing: Christian Clavier visibly struggled against laughter when his character shouts in the TV debate at the end.
• Fake Nationality: Frenchmen Roland Giraud, Jacques Villeret, Roger Carel, Jean-Paul Muel and Thierry Lhermitte as German occupiers.
• Hey, It's That Place!: The castle of Pierrefonds was used in the film. It later played Camelot in Merlin or as an Italian castle in the Highlander episode "Star-Crossed". Long before that, at least five swashbuckler movies starring Jean Marais (The Eagle with two Heads, Le Bossu, Le Capitan, The Miracle of the Wolves and Peau d'Âne) were shot there.
• In Memoriam: The film opens with a dedication to Louis de Funès, who was scheduled to play in it but passed away.
• Money, Dear Boy:
  • Jacqueline Maillan didn't like being in the film one bit, but she demanded the largest paycheck for it, and obtained it.
  • Music composer Jean Musy didn't like the movie either, and didn't want to be part of it initially; he has since declared he wrote the soundtrack just to pay his taxes.
• Production Posse:
  • The film is another major production by the Splendid' theatre troupe (Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Martin Lamotte, Michel Blanc, Dominique Lavanant, Bruno Moynot) after the French Fried Vacation series and Santa Claus Is a Stinker. The latter's director Jean-Marie Poiré also helmed the film.
  • One of many films by Jean-Marie Poiré to feature Christian Clavier and Jacques François.
• What Could Have Been: Louis de Funès was famously attached to star in the film (the project was even started based off his presence alone), as either Gramps or Ludwig von Apfelstrudel. He passed away before filming began, and was replaced by either his longtime friend Michel Galabru as Gramps or Jacques Villeret as von Apfelstrudel.

---