La Porteuse de Pain" was one of these countless interminable melodramas which were serialized in newspapers :"les Deux Orphelines" which would become DW Griffith's "orphans in the storm" and "les Mystères de Paris" (probably the best of the lot) were,along "la Porteuse de Pain" ,the most famous ones.
"La Porteuse de Pain" was the story of poor pitiful Jeanne Fortier ,a good woman ,unfairly accused of theft ,sent to jail,her unfortunate children left alone .... She escaped but she had to hide and she became a "Porteuse de Pain" (= bread peddler) and she was finally cleared of the charge after many adventures.
There were lots of adaptations for the screen ,from the silent age till the seventies when it became a miniseries .
The story was slightly modified here: it begins when Jeanne runs away from the factory she's falsely accused to have burnt (and killed the boss) ; the events are later shown as flashbacks ,which is not decidedly a good thing,for it makes the story -sometimes difficult to follow for someone not familiar with the novel- more disjointed ;there are so many characters it's often hard to identify them .
This one may possess strong appeal for fans of exponential melodrama (which multiply the coincidences at such a speed it makes you dizzy) but I suggest the amateur choose the 1963 color version ,starring Suzanne Flon , Philippe Noiret and Jean Rochefort.
This one has a strong hook yet :it features Fernandel in a supporting part ;be patient ,it takes 45 minutes before he appears. And ,icing on the cake,he sings!
