"Une Veuve En Or " is proof positive that Michel Audiard as a director ,it's a long way from Audiard the brilliant writer whose best lines are remembered by the French audience .
"Une Veuve En Or" (a golden widow) : a woman learns that she is her forgotten rich uncle 's sole legatee ;but there is an embarrassing clause :she's got to be a widow to latch onto the dough or else the fortune will go to a vague sect (another cliché of the time).There's the rub :she's married so she's got to get rid of the hubby.
Many critics wrote that Michele Mercier (whose only claim to fame was the famous Marquise Des Anges ,Angélique) was not the character and that Mireille Darc would have scored better as Delphine and it's certainly true .But the gags are rather ponderous and true black humor is desperately lacking :it's not "arsenic and old lace" .
Audiard's talent as a director never matched his genius as a writer but some of his movies are entertaining :"Comment Reussir Quand On Est Con Et Pleurnichard " or "Elle Boit Pas ...." ;the former was saved by Jean Carmet ,the latter by Annie Girardot.Unlike these two later works "Une Veuve En Or" was not a commercial success.
