Don Camillo Monsignor (1961)

Don Camillo Monsignor is a French film comedy first released in 1961, directed by Carmine Gallone.  The film is based on a novel by Giovanni Guareschi and stars Fernandel, Gino Cervi, Leda Gloria and Gina Rovere.  It has also been released under the title: Don Camillo monsignore ma non troppo.  Our overall rating for this film is: mediocre.


With both Don Camillo and his communist enemy Peppone away in Rome, the little Italian village of Brescello is a haven of peace.  At least it is until the villagers decide to knock down on old shrine to put up some new buildings.  When Don Camillo hears this news, he relinquishes his place in the Vatican and hastens back to his former home and immediately gets into yet another tussle with Peppone.  Even when the incident of the shrine is resolved, Don Camillo cannot help meddling in other matters to put Peppone well and truly in his place.

This is the fourth in a series of films in which the legendary French comic actor Fernandel played Don Camillo, the character of the popular novels by Giovanni Guareschi.  Whilst Fernandel still clearly relishes the part that fits him like a glove, it’s equally clear that the ideas are starting to dry up.  After all, there’s only so much fun you can have with a bickering Catholic priest and a communist mayor.  The film has some of the charm of the earlier films in the series but the situations are far more contrived and less entertaining.  Still, there is one moment of comic brilliance – the scene when Peppone appears to get squashed by an enormous bell.  Unfortunately, the communist mayor survived and the Don Camillo series carried on with its painfully slow demise...

© James Travers 2007

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