Au pays des cigales

At the Vélodrome d'Hiver, at the height of the sports competitions, the director of the house is found murdered. We also stole the recipe for the show. A swarm of private detectives, second-hand sleuths, embark on the most diverse tracks. Arrests pile up and the chase continues amid the non-stop games. The culprit will however be caught, red-handed, by a young inspector wearing a handsome mask.

After her mother's death, Liselotte is taken in by an old sculptor, but some distant cousins, brutal farmers, obtain guardianship of the young girl. Unhappy, she flees and finds refuge with a young shepherd living on alms.

Max, Michel and Nicole: three high school students, three victims. The first is a victim of himself, the other two are victims of having known him. As some people collect stamps, Max collects newspaper articles, recounting the exploits of certain "racketters" who sign their misdeeds with an ace of spades.

The young mayor of Fontenac, Virgile, is much loved by his constituents who appreciate the improvements he has made in their peaceful village. This beautiful harmony is disturbed by the arrival of a young platinum pin-up, Maggy, alleged pupil of the lord, in truth his mistress.

When he finds a package in the metro, given this period of restrictions, Mr. Truche thinks it may be a good deal, he takes it home but discovers a woman's head inside. A friend of Mr. Truche having just disappeared, the superintendent accuses her of having murdered her and discovers the head buried in his cellar. But the girlfriend, whom Mr. Truche loves platonically, returns from the countryside and at the same time we spot the assassin of the unknown woman.

A Corsican fisherman is the victim of a vendetta, when he was wrong to date the niece of a businessman proposing to create a seaside resort, much to the anger of the islanders.

Two hitch-hikers are on the way to Marseilles pursued by her husband.

Pau is home to the famous "Red Berets". Four of them have forged close friendships: Dominique, a Corsican with the rank of master sergeant; Julien, a peasant; Dédé, a wild Parisian; Jean, a shy provincial. On free evenings, the four friends meet in a bar where Dominique is interested in the waitress and Dédé is in love with Paulette, the owner's daughter. One day, a car breakdown brings Jean into contact with a young girl from Paris: Brigitte. But Brigitte leaves again and Jean can't stop thinking about her. Because of their good behavior, the battalion to which the four men belong is chosen to represent their arm at the July 14th parade in Paris. In the capital, each of them tries to find their loved ones.

A woman managed to leave the man she hated and finds its difficult to live without him.

Pierre and Jacques, one of them being disguised as a woman, work for a wacky scientist to find a treasure hidden in his property by Pierre's uncle.

Back from America, famous singer Charles Trénet, nicknamed "Le Fou Chantant", makes the conquest of a bombshell called Anita. He tries to persuade his young friend Georges to follow them to the French Riviera but the pessimistic gloomy finicky fellow won't do it. Instead, he decides to go on holiday with his newly married wife but the trip , due to his grim mood, is no bed of roses. In Juan-lès-Pins they finally meet Charles, who is so infatuated with Anita that he has forgotten to meet his old friend Henri Poupon, the Meridional actor. Thanks to cheerful Charles and to the sunny climate, Georges relaxes and things improve in his relationships with his wife. The couple can applaud Charles who is giving one of his concerts there before he flies back to the USA, on Anita's arm this time.