Les vieux de la vieille (1960)

Retired from the SNCF, Baptiste Talon returns to his native village of Tioune in the Vendée to reunite with two old friends and childhood companions, Jean-Marie Péjat and Blaise Poulossière. Together, they cause a stir in the village with their blunt talk and schoolboy pranks. Baptiste tells them he has come back to live at the nearby Gouyette home for the elderly, whose merits have been highly praised to him. Jean-Marie, a bicycle repairman and lifelong bachelor, decides to accompany him after an unfortunate incident at the Snail Festival dance makes him realize he is no longer so young. Blaise, a former pig farmer who now lives with his family, ruled with an iron hand by his son, also decides to join them. The three friends then set off on foot, carrying their bags and a basket of wine, on a journey punctuated by numerous mishaps. Once they arrive, disappointed by the austere atmosphere at the home, which is run by nuns, they have no plan other than to return to the village. After managing to escape Gouyette, they go back to the village, where the mayor gives them a stern dressing-down but nevertheless agrees to let them return, on the express condition that they behave themselves. How long will these incorrigible old men, always on the lookout for a good prank, keep their promise?