OWe all remember the rusk episode: a cult moment of the play The Crazy Cagewhere Zaza, a returning transvestite, tries to virilize his manners under the jaded eye of his companion, Georges, cabaret owner. The Michel Serrault/Jean Poiret tandem then entered the legend of French theater by starring for five seasons in a row at the Palais Royal, from 1973 to 1978, with even a revival at the Variétés from 1978 to 1980. The two friends s They hear like thieves at a fair and add so much that the show sometimes lasts forty minutes longer.
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The critics are firing on all cylinders, but no matter, the success is enormous: the play is a full house, you have to book months in advance, people come from all over France to cry with laughter at this comedy which features the crazy life of two aging gay men who have to put on a brave face to marry the boss's son. The gay community of the 1970s is divided: should we condemn this caricature or welcome this parody which breaks a taboo? In his own way, The Crazy Cagedespite its clichés, undoubtedly played a role at a time when gay culture was almost invisible in France.
What to do with this success? Jean Poiret, the author of the text, expects to see producers scrambling for a film adaptation. But nothing, no one moves, the profession shuns the triumph… or is afraid of venturing into a minefield. Producer Christian Fechner contacted Jean Poiret, but ended up dropping out to concentrate on Wing or thighwith de Funès and Coluche.
Whims and rivalries
Finally, the solution comes from Italy: the producer Marcello Danon comes forward, ready to finance the film, but imposes the actor Ugo Tognazzi in the casting, in order to capture the general public of his country. But filming is far from being a pleasure. As the journalist Philippe Durant recalls in his book The Little Secrets of great French films (ed. du Rocher), the difficulties only accumulate: “Michel Serrault is devastated by the recent death of his daughter, Michel Galabru tries to escape his wife, who comes to hunt him down on the set, and Ugo Tognazzi hates his role. To top it off, the shots take place in the middle of the Football World Cup, which creates tensions between the French technicians and their Italian counterparts. To make everyone agree, Argentina will win…”
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On site, Ugo Tognazzi is unbearable: he dreamed of the role of Zaza, but Jean Poiret refused, imposing Serrault. As a result, the actor is annoyed and multiplies his whims, refusing to serve as a simple “fool”. The first requires filming in Italian, a request accepted, but the fluidity of the game with Serrault is affected, the second continuing to give the responses in French. A real problem for the director, Édouard Molinaro, who is tearing his hair out during the editing. To make matters worse, Tognazzi does not respect his text and improvises as he pleases. And even considered leaving the shoot, before changing his mind when discovering how much his withdrawal would cost him.
Despite the pitfalls, the film met the same fate as the play: a tidal wave in theaters, more than 5 million admissions in France, more than 6 million in Italy and even 8 million tickets sold in the United States. United. There will be two more sequels – which are best forgotten – but above all an adaptation into a musical comedy on Broadway, in 1983, awarded several times, which will also be revived in London. It is this version which will be presented at the Théâtre du Châtelet in December 2025, with Laurent Lafitte in the role of Zaza. A “childhood dream” that comes true for the actor.
