I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the films I have seen made by Julien Duvivier and this one is no exception. It concerns the rivalry between the parish priest and the communist mayor of a small village somewhere in Italy. When the priest is annoyed about something, he has a verbal go at Christ on the cross in his church and, would you believe, the voice of God actually replies - or this can be interpreted as his own conscience depending on your beliefs. I did not know that the film had been made in English and learns this on reading these boards. In fact, the logical language for the film is Italian as all the action takes place in Italy so it's a bit strange to hear them all speaking in French or English. The problem is that whilst nearly all the actors in the film are Italian, the priest, Don Camillo, is played by French actor Fernandel. I think there are five or six films in the series but numbers 1 and 2 are purported to be the best. They were issued a year or so ago on DVD in a special edition which has the original Italian version with French subtitles, or the French version with a choice of English or Spanish subtitles. There are also a lot of bonuses on the DVD which teach us a lot about Italy, Gino Cervi and Fernandel. Some of the most delicious moments in the film occur when Don Camillo is complaining to God who answers him and tries to temper his anger. Fernandel had a very expressive face and was ideally suited to this character. Indeed, long after his death, the personnage of Don Camillo has even appeared on adverts for Panzani pasta and with an actor sporting a face almost identical to that of Fernandel. It appears to me that the latter was a much loved actor in France many years ago and I do admit to finding his equine countenance most endearing. The film is therefore a minor masterpiece for all those viewers sensitive to this type of character study.
