Julien Duvivier directs a huge and stellar cast in eleven vignettes, each demonstrating one or two of the Ten Commandments, with Michel Simon and Lucien Baroux doing the bookends. The cast includes ... well, every big-name star in France or Italy at the time, with Fernandel as G*d. Duvivier is not a farceur's director, so the humor is pretty dry, except for Michel Simon, who could be profanely funny at a funeral and get away with it.
I suspect Duvivier called in every favor, and everyone rallied around to work for the Grand Old Man of French poetic realism, except for Gabin. It's not a great movie, by any means, since Duvivier was working from some one else's script. However, everything that could be gotten out of it is there on the screen.
I suspect Duvivier called in every favor, and everyone rallied around to work for the Grand Old Man of French poetic realism, except for Gabin. It's not a great movie, by any means, since Duvivier was working from some one else's script. However, everything that could be gotten out of it is there on the screen.