Wonderfully offbeat film!

An action-packed slog

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

(IMDB summary corrected for grammar and augmented.) When Francois, a journalist, tours a big store for an article, he is chosen by the son of the newspaper's owner, Rambal-Cochet, as his new toy. Needing money and unwilling to quit his job, Francois agrees to this ridiculous assignment. Gradually befriending the spoiled boy, he induces him to play at making a newspaper, unveiling publicly the tyrannical way of life of the father. The powerful emotional climax we experience with the child astonishes both men.This funny, thoughtful film is much better than its American remake and deserves wider recognition.

This is a great film! Richard Pryor thought he could use a remake as his personal vehicle in 'The Toy", but the American Hollywood version lacked theinsight and the comic spirit of the French original. The film captures the arrogance and hateful attitude of the capitalist rich towards their employees to a T. I was laughing throughout the entire film! If you get a chance, check it out. I give it 100 stars on a scale of 0 to 10. Give it to Hollywood to mess this one up, which they did. When will we Americans get fed up with this LA butchering of an art form always transformed into commercialized spoon-fed crap? See the original and weep for Poor Richard.

I saw this film in Washington DC in the '70s, and was captivated. Then I brought friends and saw it again and again. Unfortunately, it is not available now in the States, though the coarse remake with Pryor and Gleason has overshadowed it. How can this be?? Richard has a delightful blend of tenderness and integrity that urge the viewer toward a more optimistic view -- that one person can make a big difference in someone's life. And the ending of the film suggests that we need to give much more credit to our small ones' ability to recognize truth and honor. If you have the chance, see it. If you know how to lobby to get this film the North American distribution it deserves (in VHS or DVD), please get on board!

I saw this film in 1982. Our French teacher in High school took all her classes to see this one day during school. We were supposed to be immersed in the language while watching. Mostly, we got caught up in the story (and the subtitles) simple story that was simply told.However, the US version screwed it all up by making making it a farce. Subtlty is lost here in the US. I really would like to see it again, since I only saw it the once 20 years ago