Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: the final part of the “Don Camillo” saga.
In 1952, Julien Duvivier faithfully adapted Don Camillo, the collection of short stories by Italian journalist and novelist Giovannino Guareschi, published a year earlier in France. The story, which takes place in the small Italian town of Brescello, relates the friendship, sometimes tinged with rivalry, between the communist mayor Peppone and the priest Don Camillo.
Having already directed him in Un Carnet de bal, Julien Duvivier imposes Fernandel in the role of the clergyman, while the actor does not correspond at all to the description of the character in the original work. To give him the reply, the director chooses the Italian actor Gino Cervi.
Carried by the complicity of the two headliners (who really sympathize during the filming), Le Petit monde de Don Camillo attracts crowds when it is released in theaters. With more than 12 million admissions, the film took first place in the French box office for 1952, thus raising Fernandel to the rank of the greatest comic stars of the time. In Italy, the feature film did even better, crossing the bar of 13 million admissions.
This incredible success gave rise to a saga composed of four other episodes: The Return of Don Camillo, The Great Battle of Don Camillo, Don Camillo Monsignor and Don Camillo in Russia.
The Little World of Don Camillo by Julien Duvivier with Fernandel, Vera Talchi, Franco Interlenghi…
Tonight on C8 at 9:20 p.m.