Le retour de Don Camillo

Fernandel and Gino Cervi return as the conservative priest and the Communist mayor of a small city, who bicker, bicker, bicker but love each other, as well as the other people of their town: the old doctor who refuses to die, the landowner who won't give up a small part of his land to produce a new dam, and of course, Camillio's good friend, G*d, who guides the priest with a love that surpasseth all understanding. Duvivier returns as director, with a script that continues directly from the first movie, and offers some insight into the character of a town where everyone knows everyone

At first glance it seems an odd movie for Duvivier, softer than his pre-war fare, and more openly religious. Yet there was always something godlike about the workings of fate in his poetic realism, and perhaps this is simply reflective of the evolution of his ideas, or a canny choice for an artist whose works need a very large audience.

Fernandel and Cervi would reprise their roles in three more movies over the next dozen years. Duvivier would move on to other projects.