Benoit, the head guard of Clouville Prison, prefers to be liked than feared. This basic principle transforms the jail-house into a joyful prison, where all the inmates live amicably together. Among them, various colorful characters : a farmer, a poacher, a distiller, a forger, two pickpockets, a safe-cracker, a gangster and... a good-looking guy who pleases Rosette, Benoit's daughter, well. But too much leniency takes its toll : after Vauclin, the gangster, manages to escape and a complaint is filed against "the deplorable disorder reigning in the joyful prison", Benoit is given early retirement. He will know how to take advantage of his new status live a joyful life with his wife, his daughter and André, his son in law, in fact the nice-looking young prisoner who, in the meantime, has been cleared of all charges.
as Benoit, the chief guard
as Auguste Tuboeuf, inmate farmer
as Justine Benoit
as Rosette Benoit
as André Chauvin
as The sub-prefect
as Ferdinand Bouchonnet
as Gustave
as Vauclin, inmate gangster
as Breton, safe-cracking inmate
as 'Petit Louis', burglar inmate
as The sub-prefect
as The brigadier
as Charlotte Tuboeuf
as Filasse, poacher inmate
as Blafard, forger inmate
as Madame de St-Leu
as Maître Larigot