AllMovie

Famed French farceur Noel-Noel is practically the whole show in Spice of Life (originally released in 1950 as Les Cassie Pieds). A prototype of such "comedy concert" films as Eddie Murphy Raw and Swimming Through Cambodia, this is essentially a filmed lecture, wherein Noel-Noel expounds about the various bores and blowhards in modern society. The comedian's targets include the Practical Joker, the Woman Driver, the Glad-Hander and the Stranger Who Seems to Know You. Brief comedy sketches featuring the likes of Bernard Blier and Jean Tissier help to illustrate Noel-Noel's theses. A winner of several French industry awards, Spice of Life didn't do quite as well in the U.S., since most of its appeal was verbal.