''Miracles Only Happen Once'' (, ) is a 1951 French-Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Yves Allégret Yves Allégret (13 October 1905 – 31 January 1987) was a French film director, often working in the film noir genre. He was born in Asnières-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine and died in Paris. He was an assistant to film directors such as his brothe ...

and starring

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

Alida Valli Baroness Alida Maria Laura Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli, or simply Valli, was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, span ...

and

Marcelle Arnold Marcelle Arnold (4 May 1917 – 31 March 2010) was a French film, stage and television actress.Turk p.441 Selected filmography * '' Dédée d'Anvers'' (1948) - Magda - la prostituée au perroquet * '' All Roads Lead to Rome'' (1949) - Hermine * ...

. The film is about a "psychic war-casualty" played by Jean Marais.Cardullo p.XV 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. Places Canada * Saint-Maurice (Lower Canada electoral district), a constituency 1792–1838 * Saint Maurice (Province of Canada electoral distri ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Alexandre Trauner Alexandre Trauner (born Sándor Trau; 3 August 1906 in Budapest, Hungary – 5 December 1993 in Omonville-la-Petite, France) was a Hungarian film production designer. After studying painting at Hungarian Royal Drawing School, he left the c ...

and

Auguste Capelier Auguste Capelier (April 2, 1905 – May 4, 1977) was a French art director. Hayward p.241 He worked designing film sets in the Cinema of France, French film industry, often collaborating with Georges Wakhévitch during the early stages of his car ...

Synopsis

The educational year is ending and Jérôme, a medical student, is on the point of leaving on holiday to

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

with friends. However he remains pensive and regrets not having approached Claudia, an Italian student, who must leave France the same evening. So he decides to go to her hotel. The two young people acknowledge their mutual love and Jérôme accompanies Claudia to the station and promises to join her in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

the next month, as soon as he finds enough money. In Tuscany, Jérôme realizes that he seriously loves Claudia and proposes marriage to her. The two lovers return to their hotel but the city is agitated: war has just been declared. Jérôme learns from the

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

that he has been

mobilised Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

and that he must return. Separated by the war and no longer able to correspond, Jérôme loses track of Claudia. He will try to forget her by remaking his life, but haunted by the memory of this lost love, he will not succeed. Eleven years later, he leaves for Italy to try to find her, but time has passed...

Cast

as Claudia *

as Jérôme *

as the bar owner * Christine Chesnay as Jérôme's wife * Charles Rutherford as the American * Dedi Ristori as Little Francesca * Aldo Moschino as the doctor *

Emma Baron Emma Baron (19 October 1904 – 7 March 1986https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056228/ Imdb ) was an Italian stage and film actress. Life and career Born Emma Bardon in Treviso, after getting an arts degree she began her career on stage in the 1920s, ...

as the hotel owner *

Nada Fiorelli Nada may refer to: Culture * Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places * Nada, Hainan, China * Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone *Nada, Texas, United ...

as Maria Forni *

Edmond Ardisson Edmond Ardisson (23 October 1904, in Marseille – 30 November 1983, in Jouarre) was a French people, French actor. He appeared in more than ninety films between 1938 and 1983. Filmography External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ardisson, Edmond ...

as an employee *

Daniel Ceccaldi Daniel Ceccaldi (25 July 1927 – 27 March 2003) was a French actor. He was born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France. The mild-mannered Daniel Ceccaldi is famous as Claude Jade's father ''Lucien Darbon'' in François Truffaut's movies ''Stolen Kis ...

as a friend of Jérôme *

Jacques Denoël Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was k ...

as a friend of Jérôme

References

Bibliography

* Cardullo, Bert. ''Five French Filmmakers: Renoir, Bresson, Tati, Truffaut, Rohmer : Essays and Interviews''. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008. * Hain, Milan. ''Starmaker: David O. Selznick and the Production of Stars in the Hollywood Studio System''. University Press of Mississippi, 2023.

External links

*
NY Times Movies page on film
1950s French films 1950s Italian films French drama films Italian drama films 1950s French-language films 1951 films 1951 drama films French black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Yves Allégret Films set in 1939 Films set in Tuscany Films scored by Louis Beydts {{1950s-Italy-film-stub