User Reviews

In the early nineteen forties Simone Signoret nominated Tino Rossi and Jacques Trenet as her favourite singers; in 1949 she fell head-over-heels for Yves Montand and in 1951 she married him. Montand, of course, left both of them for dead which in Rossi's case wasn't that hard, probably even Vaughan Munroe, the Singing Sweat-Gland could have done so had he put his mind to it. Rossi belongs to the Johnny Mathis school of vocalists that sound as though they've had a metatarsal surgically removed from the wrist and are mentally singing in a Balenciaga cocktail number. Here, he plays Schubert and loses hands down. Marcel Pagnol has written one of his staples and in a conceit centred it on a real-life person albeit one thrust into a fictional situation. He cast his own wife Jacqueline as the miller's daughter who 'inspires' Schubert but prefers bank-notes to those on a treble clef. Lots of lovely scenery lovingly shot, mill wheels abound as do meadows, flowers and brooks. As a romantic lead Rossi was about as effective as Louis de Funes who was probably a better singer because, let's face it, he couldn't be worse.

This wasn't Marcel Pagnoles best. It was his first and only film in color. A primitive additive process. Whether or not it required a use of a bulky camera that exposes three strips of film. I get the impression that what they were using cause of the camera movements. With the use of a bulky projector with four black n white strips of film with one of the films having the sound track how could that been cheaper than Technicolor? Agfa color was available for France, Why didn't he used that? That would of been more cheaper. The print is grainy. There are fringe problems on some of the shots. The color is duller than Eastman color.This wasn't France's first talking feature in color. The first one was in 1946 ,in AGFA color.Some other color processes for motion picture films in France where experimented with. Like Franchita Colour but that wasn't a hit it was used only for film advertisement.This movie isn't for popular classic film fans cause to their eye's this be no good. I doubt this would even be broad casted in United States. The classic movie channels are too greedy.This is Marcel Pagnoles only fluff ,as popular classic film fans would say,film. It's France's Heart throb of the 30 and 40's and even after the war when his work prohibition ended, he had collaborated with the Nazis in world war 2. Tino Rossi.His first and maybe only appearance in color, maybe. In the Ernest Marishka version of Franz Shubert on in 1958,the girl dumps him for his friend Franz Shobert. In this 1948 version, What a coincident,he has over come his first love. He is stressed out that his song he wrote didn't make it to the publishers,His friends at his apartment still encourage him, But he realizes he need s to take rest by back camping to the country. He sings some of Shuberts songs throughout the movie, except for Ave Maria and Aubbrunore Devore Dem Dore,.He meets a miller,played by Raquel Marco,.He offers him work but he turns it down. When he trails he notices a naked blond girls swimming, He asks a little girl who that is. The little girl tells him thats the miller's daughter , played by Marcels Pagnole's second wife Jaqualine Pagnole. He decides to go back and work for the miller because he'es interested in her. The focus in this film is the relationship he has with the miller and then the daughter.He's inspires to write a song for her. When the landlord,played by Raphael Patorni, and his friends are having a dear hunt chasing a baby doe,Brigitte saves it. This leads the Comte to invite the daughter and her father and Franz to a party where he's asks to conduct the orchestra. It turns out that he's interested in Brigitte even though she's engaged to Franz. This turns into more tragedy. On the box cover and the back and the photos on the DVD, they show ,Jaqualinein another dress and a up do at the party. But the film version she's wearing braids. This might of been a costume and hair do test shot before Pagnole made his decision. This is for fans of classic films who like obscure classics with the great ones . It's available at amazon.com and Marcel Pagnole Boutique. www.marcelpagnole.com Also available his other restored classics