AllMovie

Jean Renoir was the director of The Crime of Monsieur Lange, but this French film might just as well have been made in Hollywood by Frank Capra. The titular Lange (Rene Lefevre) is an author of Wild West novels. When the owner of the company that publishes his works absconds with the corporate funds, Lange rallies the employees together to create their own publishing house. The publisher then returns, disguised as a priest, and demands a share of the profits. Lange responds by killing the bounder. The grateful employees help Lange to escape prosecution, allowing him to leave the country with his lovely fiancée (Florelle). Jacques Prevert adapted the screenplay for The Crime of Monsieur Lange from a story by Renoir and Jean Castanier.