The Law Is the Law
1958 film by Christian-Jaque
The Law Is the Law (French: La loi, c'est la loi, Italian: La legge è legge) is a 1958 French-Italian comedy film directed by Christian-Jaque. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival.
Plot
In the village of Assola, divided into half by the French-Italian border, the Neapolitan smuggler Giuseppe La Paglia (Totò) and the French customs officer Ferdinand Pastorelli (Fernandel), play a daily cat-and-mouse game, with Ferdinand trying to arrest Giuseppe, and Giuseppe trying to smuggle goods under Ferdinand's nose.
On a celebration day on the town's French side, Ferdinand catches Giuseppe smuggling goods over the border and, after a chase, finally arrests him, consequently arriving late to the traditional parade, where he was supposed to carry the French flag. During the following reception at the Two Borders Hotel, which, as the name suggests, is divided into half by the border, Giuseppe, still under custody, discovers that Ferdinand was born, to an Italian mother and an unknown father, in the very kitchen of the hotel's restaurant. The kitchen is located in the Italian part of the hotel, so Giuseppe argues that Ferdinand is actually Italian and is thus not entitled to act as a French customs officer, making his arrest unlawful. At a subsequent audit with the municipal authorities of Assola, Ferdinand discovers that the man who recorded his birth, Gaspar Donnadiè, owner of the Two Borders, failed to register him in the right place: the Italian municipality. The same Donadiè tells Ferdinand that he went to the French Townhall because it was raining that day and it was a shorter walk than going to the Italian one.
Risking losing his job, Ferdinand asks for Giuseppe's help, and is taken by him to the Italian side to apply for an Italian identity document, the plan being to subsequently request French naturalisation, thus fixing his position. But, according to a French politician, friend of his father-in-law, having become an Italian citizen will prevent Ferdinand from restoring his French nationality and will also render his marriage invalid and his son illegitimate.
The public source identifies “The Law Is the Law” as 1958 film by Christian-Jaque. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around film and Christian-Jaque.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Law Is the Law”, the useful work is to connect “1958 film by Christian-Jaque” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2377261. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1958.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Law Is the Law”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Law Is the Law primary sources, The Law Is the Law archive and film research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Law Is the Law”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Law Is the Law” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.