''The Prize'' (French: ''Le rosier de Madame Husson'') is a 1950 French

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Jean Boyer and starring

Bourvil André Robert Raimbourg (; 27 July 1917 – 23 September 1970), better known as André Bourvil (), and mononymously as Bourvil, was a French actor and singer best known for his roles in comedy films, most notably in his collaboration with Louis ...

Jacqueline Pagnol Jacqueline Andrée Pagnol (née Bouvier; 6 October 1920 – 22 August 2016) was a French actress. She acted in many French films in the 1940s and 1950s. She was the wife of French author and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. Biography Early life Jacq ...

and

Mireille Perrey Mireille Perrey (1904–1991) was a French stage and film actress.Goble p.328 Perrey played some leading roles in the 1930s but gradually developed into a character actor, appearing in films such as the British comedy ''Hotel Sahara'' (1951). In 1 ...

. It is based on the 1887 novel '' Le Rosier de Madame Husson''. It was shot at the

Saint-Maurice Studios Saint-Maurice is the name or part of the name of places. It refers to the legendary Saint Maurice. Canada * Saint-Maurice (Lower Canada), an electoral district 1792–1838 * Saint-Maurice (Province of Canada), an electoral district 1841–1867 * ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and on location in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

including around

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Robert Giordani Robert Giordani (1902-1981) was a French art director.Pirolini p.182 He designed the sets for more than eighty productions during his career. Selected filmography * ''Arlette and Love'' (1943) * ''Rooster Heart'' (1946) * '' The Three Cousins'' ( ...

. It was a sizeable box office hit, being the seventh most popular film of the year in France.

Synopsis

A circle of a small town's older ladies decide to award a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

for

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...

for a young woman with an unblemished reputation. When it turns out nobody in the settlement qualifies, they instead award it to Isidore an idiotic and bashful young man with a fear of the opposite sex. However when Isidore encounters and spends the night with a

countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...

, who sits on the board giving out the prize, he is suddenly transformed into a worldly figure who returns to the town in triumph.

Cast

as Isidore Pastouret *

as Élodie - la bergère / Young Girl *

as La comtesse de Blonville / Countess de Blonville *

Pauline Carton Pauline Carton (4 July 1884 – 17 June 1974) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 190 films between 1907 and 1974. Filmography * ''La fille du Boche'' (1915) * ''Blanchette'' (1921) * ''La femme de nulle part'' (1922) * '' ...

as Virginie Pastouret - l'épicière *

Henri Vilbert Henri Vilbert (6 April 1904 – 20 April 1997) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films from 1921 to 1982. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilbert, Henri 1904 births 1997 deaths 20th- ...

as Le brigadier / Brigadier of the Gendarmerie *

Jeanne Véniat Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431) * Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374) * Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384) * Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Ameri ...

as Madame Pitard *

Albert Duvaleix Albert Duvaleix (1893-1962) was a French stage and film actor. Bessy & Chirat p.138 A character actor he appeared in a number of supporting roles in French comedies and drama films. His son Christian Duvaleix also became an actor. Selected filmo ...

as Le curé / Priest *

Germaine Reuver Germaine Reuver (1885–1953) was a French stage and film actress.Goble p.18 Selected filmography * '' Miss Helyett'' (1933) * '' Lake of Ladies'' (1934) * '' Inspector of the Red Cars'' (1935) * '' Madame Angot's Daughter'' (1935) * '' Caprices' ...

as Nicoline - la fermière *

Jean Dunot Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * ...

as Polyte - le fermier *

Nina Myral Nina Myral, stage name of Eugénie, Hortense Gruel, (26 June 1884 – 30 March 1975) was a 20th-century French actress, dancer and singer. Filmography * 1916: ''Paris pendant la guerre'' by Henri Diamant-Berger * 1917: ''Ils y viennent tous au ...

as Madame de Gondreville *

Christian Lude Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

as Le docteur Barbesol *

Yvette Etiévant Yvette Etiévant (1922–2003) was a French actress. She starred in Yves Robert's '' War of the Buttons'' (''La Guerre des boutons'') in 1962. Filmography *1945: '' Les Dames du bois de Boulogne'' (directed by Robert Bresson) - La bonne *19 ...

as Marie *

Georges Baconnet Georges Baconnet (1892–1961) was a French stage and film actor.Gabanelli & Mattirolo p.47 He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1946 to his death. Selected filmography * '' The Last Judgment'' (1945) * '' La carcasse et le tord-cou'' ...

as Fulgence Laboureur - le maire *

Suzanne Dehelly Suzanne Dehelly (1896–1968) was a French film actress.Greco p.189 Selected filmography * ''Graziella'' (1926) - Graziella * '' A Hole in the Wall'' (1930) - La couturière * ''La prison en folie'' (1931) - Cléo d'Argyl * ''Tout s'arrange'' ( ...

as Mdaemoiselle Irène Cadenat *

Germaine Dermoz Germaine Dermoz (born Germaine Deluermoz, 30 July 1888 – 6 November 1966) was a French film and theatre actress of the early-to-mid twentieth century. She performed in over twenty theatre productions, frequently in the Théâtre Réjane. H ...

as Madame Husson *

Fernand Blot Fernand is a masculine given name of French origin. The feminine form is Fernande. Fernand may refer to: People Given name * Fernand Augereau (1882–1958), French cyclist * Fernand Auwera (1929–2015), Belgian writer * Fernand Baldet (1885 ...

as Un conseiller communal *

André Dalibert André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

as Célestin - un conseiller communal *

Marcelle Féry Marcelle may refer to: *Marcelle, a French feminine version of Marcel * 1300 Marcelle (1934 CL), a main-belt asteroid *Groupe Marcelle, a Canadian cosmetics company See also * Marcel (disambiguation) * Marcell (disambiguation) Marcell may refer ...

as Une cliente de l'épicerie Pastouret * Marcel Loche as Un conseiller communal * Étienne Lorin as Le chef d'orchestre

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen. ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1950 films French comedy films 1950 comedy films Films based on works by Guy de Maupassant French black-and-white films Films directed by Jean Boyer 1950s French films Gaumont Film Company films Films shot in Normandy Films set in Normandy 1950s French-language films Remakes of French films {{1950s-France-film-stub