Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
The Failing Château
An impoverished aristocratic household struggles to preserve its crumbling château. The family decides to attract travellers as paying guests and works with a village garage man.
Key Events
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Crumbling Château — An impoverished aristocratic family struggles to maintain its crumbling ancestral château.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Family's Financial Crisis — The household faces poverty and exhaustion while trying to preserve the family mansion.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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Travellers Become Paying Guests — The family decides to attract unsuspecting travellers as paying guests.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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Village Garage Collaboration — The lodging scheme is organized in collusion with the village garage man.
Location: Village garage
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The Household's Rescue Plan — The women of the household prepare to save the family mansion through hospitality.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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A Gangster Arrives — A seductive gangster arrives at the château with two accomplices.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
The Gangster's Fortune
A gangster and two accomplices arrive with a suitcase containing one hundred million francs. The family recognizes the visitors as a possible solution to its financial crisis.
Key Events
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A Gangster Arrives — A seductive gangster arrives at the château with two accomplices.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Loot-Filled Suitcase — The visitors possess a suitcase containing one hundred million francs from a hold-up.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Family Spots an Opportunity — The aristocratic family decides not to miss the opportunity to obtain the gangsters' money.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Gangster Delays Departure — The gangster is not in a hurry to leave, extending the family's access to the visitors.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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Schemes Against the Visitors — The family develops plots intended to secure the money carried by the gangster.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Plots Begin Failing — The family's attempts to obtain the loot fail to produce the intended result.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
Schemes and Transformation
The household attempts to obtain the gangsters' loot, but its plots fail. Instead, the women influence the criminal visitor and awaken his rustic and culinary side.
Key Events
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The Plots Begin Failing — The family's attempts to obtain the loot fail to produce the intended result.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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Unexpected Domestic Influence — The women gradually nurture a rustic side in the criminal visitor.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Criminal Changes Course — The gangster's relationship with the household begins moving beyond the original criminal purpose.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Chef Reawakens — The gangster rediscovers his skills as a master chef.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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Food Revitalizes the Household — The visitor's culinary abilities contribute to the household's renewed prospects.
Location: Château kitchen
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The Roof Is Repaired — The château's roof is repaired, addressing a major physical sign of the family's decline.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
A House Restored
The château's roof is repaired and the visitor's cooking skills become useful. The lodging enterprise develops into a thriving hotel, giving the household a happy future.
Key Events
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The Roof Is Repaired — The château's roof is repaired, addressing a major physical sign of the family's decline.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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Hospitality Gains Momentum — The lodging enterprise develops as the château becomes more viable as a hotel.
Location: Seventeenth-century château
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The Hotel Thrives — The family's hotel prospers after the household's plans and the visitor's skills reshape the property.
Location: Château hotel
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Old Skills Find Purpose — The former criminal's culinary identity becomes part of the household's successful future.
Location: Château hotel
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A Happy New Arrangement — The hotel succeeds and the household reaches a broadly happy outcome.
Location: Château hotel
In this comedy, a run-down hotel drums up customers by sabotaging passing cars. The stuck motorists are then obliged to stay. Unfortunately, one of the sabotaged cars belongs to a bank robber. The hotel staff wants the robber out, but they also want to keep his ill-gotten money.
