''The Well-Digger's Daughter'' (french: La Fille du puisatier) is a 1940
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
romantic comedy drama film directed by
Marcel Pagnol
Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionable ...
.
Plot
Patricia, a peasant, becomes pregnant by Jacques, a military pilot from a local family. As war breaks out, Jacques serves in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but his family refuses to support his child and likewise, Patricia's father expels her from her home. Patricia stays with her aunt and gives birth to a boy. After Jacques is reported killed in the war, both families wish to meet their new grandchild. Jacques is not dead, however; he returns and Patricia agrees to marry him.
Selected cast
*
Raimu
Jules Auguste Muraire (18 December 1883 – 20 September 1946), whose stage name was Raimu, was a French actor. He is most famous for playing César in the 'Marseilles trilogy' ('' Marius'', '' Fanny'' and '' César'').
Life and career
Born in T ...
as Pascal Amoretti
*
Fernandel
Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born near Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, an Occitan to ...
as Félipe Rambert
*
Josette Day
Josette Day (Paris, July 31, 1914 – Paris, June 27, 1978) was a French film actress.
Born Josette Noële Andrée Claire Dagory, she began her career as a child actress in 1919 at the age of five. When she was 18, Day was the mistress of Paul M ...
as Patricia Amoretti
*
Line Noro
Line Noro (22 February 1900 – 4 November 1985) was a French stage and film actress.Hayward p.172 During the 1930s she played glamorous, often exotic, women in films such as ''Pépé le Moko''. Between 1945 and 1966 Noro was a member of the Com ...
as Marie Mazel
*
Georges Grey as Jacques Mazel
*
Fernand Charpin
Fernand Charpin (30 May 1887 – 6 November 1944) was a French actor. He is known for his role as Honoré Panisse in Marcel Pagnol's Marseille trilogy, beginning with '' Marius'' in 1931.
Selected filmography
* '' Marius'' (1931)
* '' Fanny'' ( ...
as Monsieur Mazel
*
Milly Mathis
Milly Mathis (September 8, 1901 – March 30, 1965) was a French actress who appeared in more than 100 films during her career. Born on September 8, 1901, as Emilienne Pauline Tomasini in Marseilles, France, she made her film debut with a small, ...
as Nathalie
*
Clairette as Amanda Amoretti
*
Roberte Arnaud as Roberte Amoretti
*
Raymonde
Raymonde is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Raymonde Allain (1912–2008), French model and actress
* Raymonde April, OC (born 1953), Canadian contemporary artist, photographer and academic
*Raymonde Arsen née Vital, servant ...
as Éléonore Amoretti
Reception
In the film's most famous scene, Patricia and Jacques' families and the rest of the village listen to
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...
's speech of 17 June 1940 announcing the need for an
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
in the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
. Because of the scene ''La Fille du puisatier'' has been called the first "
Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
film". Most of the filming occurred before Pétain's speech on the defeat of the
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...
, the scene with the speech was added later.
French actor
Daniel Auteuil
Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...
wrote, directed, and starred in a
remake of this film in 2011.
References
External links
*
*
Trailer of the movie
1940 films
1940s romantic comedy-drama films
French romantic comedy-drama films
French black-and-white films
1940s French-language films
Films directed by Marcel Pagnol
Films set on the home front during World War II
1940 comedy films
1940 drama films
1940s French films
French pregnancy films
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