Richard Briand-Charmery is an older gentleman who frequents the racetracks of Paris, selling tips to customers while always looking to make himself a profit out of the dealings. Circumstances generally conspire to prevent his fortune, and he is forced to rely on assistance of his family, partly by threatening to embarrass them by being sent to jail for failure to settle his losses. One day he encounters Maud, an old flame who he once come close to marrying before having to abandon her following a heavy loss at the Epsom Derby. Now married to a banker and living in New York, they relive the good old days, and he treats her to an extravagant dinner in a high-class restaurant that he cannot pay for. He plans to dig himself out of his problems with a big scam, but soon finds himself even deeper in debt. Brief salvation comes when he is accidentally given the wrong ticket when laying a bet on horserace and wins a small fortune.
Cast
Jean Gabin as Richard Briand-Charmery, called "le Commandant"
Louis de Funès as Gaspard Ripeux, the restaurateur of the Auvergne
