Marcel Pagnol

It was to be Marcel Pagnol’s last film; like Mankiewicz, he did not make any movies (apart from a short) in the last twenty years of his life; probably busy writing his memoirs (“le Château De Ma Mère,La Gloire de Mon Père ” which were successfully tranfered to the screen by Yves Robert in the late eighties.).

Alphonse Daudet’s short stories were tailor made for a Provençal director such as Pagnol;if you go to Provence,you can visit the windmill where Daudet was supposed to write his “letters” ;actually he never lived in this place,but in the castle of some of his friends near the legendary mill.But it’s true that most of the stories which were included in “LETTRES DE MON MOULIN” are true stories: Daudet was told about Maitre Cornille ,MR Seguin’s goat and others by peasants and shepherds he used to meet when he walked across the hills.Read More »

IMDB wrote:
Jofroi sells his orchard to Alphonse. Alphonse wants to use the land for crops, so he starts to cut down the trees. Jofroi is furious: how can someone cut down those trees? He threatens to commit suicide so that the small town will blame Alphonse and Alphonse’s life will be miserable. Alphonse, the curate, the teacher, and some of the townsfolk spend the rest of the movie trying to keep Jofroi from committing suicide… This is not complicated… the movie is not about the plot; it is all about the characters and the dialogue.Read More »

Synopsis:
In this little Provencal village, a new baker, Aimable, settles down. His wife Aurelie is beautiful and much younger than he. She departs with a shepherd the night after Aimable produces his first breads. Aimable is so afflicted that he can not work anymore. Therefore, the villagers, who initially laughed at his cuckoldry, take the matter very seriously (they want the bread) and organize a plan to find Aurelie and to bring her back to the bakeryRead More »

The Well-Digger’s Daughter served to reunite star Raimu and writer/director Marcel Pagnol, who’d earlier scored an international hit with the “Marseilles trilogy” (Fanny, Marius, Cesar). The title character played by Josette Day, is impregnated by aviator George Gray. Her father, Raimu, orders Josette out of the house so that her younger sisters won’t be likewise “corrupted”. There’s many a moment of pathos and hilarity before Raimu realizes the folly of his behavior. Filmed in 1940, just after France’s acquiescence to their Nazi conquerors, The Well-Digger’s Daughter didn’t make it to the US until 1946. (Hal Erickson@All Movie Guide)Read More »