During WW2, a posh bourgeois woman (Morgan)is compelled to live under the same room as a crude simple-minded yet big-hearted man.(Bourvil) Her husband was arrested by the Gestapo and she is a hunted woman.
Acting
Bourvil's physical comedy masks genuine pathos
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes politeness
Direction
Joffé balances Occupation dread with human warmth
Director
Alex Joffé
Bourvil
Noël Fortunat
Michèle Morgan
Juliette Valcourt
Gaby Morlay
Mlle Emilienne Massillon
Teddy Bilis
Sam Falk
Rosy Varte
Rosette Falk
Patrick Millow
Pierre Valcourt
Albertine Sarov
Myriam Falk
Frédéric Mitterrand
Maurice Valcourt
Alan Scott
Tom
Jean-Marie Amato
Tonio
Pierre Doris
M. Dubroc
Maurice Garrel
inspecteur de la milice
Francis Lax
évadé du pont
André Cellier
ami de Mlle Massillon
Jacques Harden
passeur de Tom
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bourvil was France's most beloved comic; pairing him with serious star Morgan was considered risky casting that paid off.
The farmhouse set was built on the same studio lot where Children of Paradise was shot, creating accidental poetic resonance.
FR
