Clochemerle
Clochemerle is a 1934 novella by the French author Gabriel Chevallier .
action
In the fictional town of Clochemerle, located in Beaujolais , the mayor Barthelemy Piechut, concerned about his re-election, and the local dignitaries decide to build a public lavatory - directly opposite the church. The protest of morally strict bourgeois women, led by the old maid Justine Putet, the Catholic priest Ponosse, torn between public morality and practical reason, and the unclear situation in and between the families turn the building of the public lavatory into a scandal, so that a good one Lastly the military must step in to calm the heated tempers.
meaning
With this novella, which made him famous, Chevallier set a monument to the small wine towns of his homeland, humorous and with a joke reminiscent of the “ Good Soldiers Schwejk ” or “ Don Camillo and Peppone ”. The model for Clochemerle was the small town of Vaux-en-Beaujolais in the Rhône department.
Film adaptations
The novella "Clochemerle" was filmed in France in 1948 by director Pierre Chenal and performed in Germany from 1952 under the title "Die liebestolle Stadt". In the black and white production, u. a. Simone Michels, Max Dalban, Maximilienne and Felix Oudart with (Lexikon des Internationale Films 1955, p. 3451).
A film adaptation made in France in co-production by Bavaria Atelier and BBC was broadcast in 1972/73 in Germany (West and East) as a four-part series with great audiences. The script was written by Galton and Simpson and directed by Michael Mills . Cast (including): Cyril Cusack , Wendy Hiller , Kenneth Griffith , Roy Dotrice , Cyd Hayman , Micheline Presle , Bernard Bresslaw , Hugh Griffith , Nigel Green , Madeline Smith and Wolfe Morris . The well-known actor and comedian Sir Peter Ustinov acted as narrator when the series was broadcast .
Web links
- Clochemerle in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Clochemerle on the Internet (French)