FRANCE's noted clowns, Fernandel and Bourvil, have proved themselves masters of practically any antic assignment. But in "My Wife's Husband," the Gallic farce that landed at the Plaza Theater yesterday, the veteran buffoons find the business of satisfying one spouse seemingly tougher than handling a harem. Their efforts are amiable, energetic and expert, but the results often are telegraphed and attenuated. Their theoretically ribtickling idea is unfortunately, only a mild, intermittently funny romp.

The trio of writers appeared to have the basis for explosive comedy in their zany tale of Fernand, the restaurateur who comes back home 10 years after he has been given up by the townspeople as a dead World War II hero. What's more, his wife has remarried a gentle and decidedly henpecked type, who now runs the kitchen and dining room in posh style. Fernand is welcomed home, especially after he has regaled them with tales of imprisonment in coldest Siberia. The fact is, it turns out, he has been living in the lap of love and ease with a hefty blonde, Tyrolean innkeeper.

Will our loafing hero give his wife a divorce so that she can properly marry her second husband, now referred to as a putative spouse? And will the question of mortal sin be resolved? This fuzzy scene is brought into focus at the end, but not before the husbands become friends to thwart their wife's demands for industry and efficiency. And, it might be revealed, not before both are slaving away instead of living the life of Riley they expected.

The idea, as has been noted, is potentially geared for laughs and guffaws but it is, instead, often labored and transparent. Fernandel, who has been facing the cameras in similar situations for 35 years, gives a winning performance as the lazy, fun-loving hero. And his long, mobile face and droll gestures and delivery do compensate now and again for the lack of sustained comic effects. As the woebegone, bucolic second husband. Bourvil is a properly reticent Milquetoast, but he, too, does not have enough sturdy material with which to work.

Claire Maurier is spirited and harried as the attractive, brunette wife in question. Anna Marie Carriere, as Fernandel's buxom Tyrolean hausfrau, and a willing company of Provençal types give the scenes an authentic air. The English subtitles literally translate the dialogue, revealing sadly enough the meager stuff with which Fernandel and Bourvil have to contend.

The Cast
MY WIFE'S HUSBAND; screenplay by Jean Levitte and Pierre Levy-Corti; dialogue by Raymond Castans; directed by Gilles Grangier; produced by Robert Dorfmann and distributed by Lopert Pictures. At the Plaza Theater, 58th Street east of Madison Avenue. Running time: 85 Minutes.
Fernand Jouvin . . . . . Fernandel
Andre . . . . . Bourvil
Christiane . . . . . Claire Maurier
Gerda . . . . . Anna Marie Carriere
Fernand's nephew . . . . Roger Bernard
Sarrazin, the lawyer . . . . . Henri Vilbert
Mme. Rose . . . . . Mag Avril
Louise . . . . . Evelyne Selena
Marinette . . . . . Laurence Ligneres
The Mayor . . . . . Henri Arius
Maximin . . . . . Michel Galabru
Pallatan . . . . . Andrex
Espinasse . . . . . Gaston Rey
Carlotti . . . . . Ardisson
Gervasoni . . . . . Andre Tomasi