Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

writers_reign This is based on a deceptively simple best-selling novel by Giovanni Guareshi which achieved International popularity and this, initial film in an eventual five, replicated the success of the novel though over the years it has lost a little of its lustre. This isn't really the fault of director Julien Duvivier who is responsible for several 'clssic' titles in several genres from Un Carnet de bal through Pepe le Moko, Le Fin du jour, Marie Octobre to name only four; nor is it the fault of Fernandel who was almost certainly the ideal actor to portray the simple priest who thinks nothing of holding two-way conversations with God and is not averse to hand-to- hand brawling with the followers of communist mayor Peppone, the priests' rival for the affection of the small village population and with whom he enjoys a love-hate relationship. Like the novel the film is episodic and more a series of vignettes than a conventional story with a beginning, middle, and end and perhaps this is what takes the edge off what is nevertheless an enjoyable film.

dlee2012 Don Camillo is, quite simply, one of the most heart-warming films ever made. Fernandel is perfectly cast in the title role, bringing Giovannino Guareschi's gentle short stories to life.The gentle humour and warm tone of the film allows it to convey its morals with nary a hint of didacticism.The comic potential of the ideological (and physical!) clashes between the fiery but lovable priest and his nemesis, the Communist mayor of the village, is fully exploited. Fernandel's facial expressions and timing are superb, as is the warmth he conveys.For those unfamiliar with the Don Camillo tales, Jesus (in the form of a crucifix on the church wall) guides (and frequently rebukes) Don Camillo, for his imperialistic attempts to try to win the hearts and minds of the villagers away from the Communist Party.Jesus literally functions as the moral adjudicator of the ideological war between the priest and the mayor, finding both equally guilty of empire-building. He frequently reminds Don Camillo of his duty to show compassion and love to his flock when Camillo becomes more interested in scoring points against the communists. It is Jesus who understands the peasants and has faith that everything will be fine in the end. Jesus understand the villagers more than they understand themselves, and shows empathy for them even when the priest feels they are insulting Him.Although ostensibly Roman Catholic, Christians of all other denominations will gain an enormous amount from watching this film. With its light touch, perfect casting and warmth, this is the perfect comedy. Very faithful to the original books, this film is highly recommended to young and old.

Nicholas Rhodes I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the films I have seen made by Julien Duvivier and this one is no exception. It concerns the rivalry between the parish priest and the communist mayor of a small village somewhere in Italy. When the priest is annoyed about something, he has a verbal go at Christ on the cross in his church and, would you believe, the voice of God actually replies - or this can be interpreted as his own conscience depending on your beliefs. I did not know that the film had been made in English and learns this on reading these boards. In fact, the logical language for the film is Italian as all the action takes place in Italy so it's a bit strange to hear them all speaking in French or English. The problem is that whilst nearly all the actors in the film are Italian, the priest, Don Camillo, is played by French actor Fernandel. I think there are five or six films in the series but numbers 1 and 2 are purported to be the best. They were issued a year or so ago on DVD in a special edition which has the original Italian version with French subtitles, or the French version with a choice of English or Spanish subtitles. There are also a lot of bonuses on the DVD which teach us a lot about Italy, Gino Cervi and Fernandel. Some of the most delicious moments in the film occur when Don Camillo is complaining to God who answers him and tries to temper his anger. Fernandel had a very expressive face and was ideally suited to this character. Indeed, long after his death, the personnage of Don Camillo has even appeared on adverts for Panzani pasta and with an actor sporting a face almost identical to that of Fernandel. It appears to me that the latter was a much loved actor in France many years ago and I do admit to finding his equine countenance most endearing. The film is therefore a minor masterpiece for all those viewers sensitive to this type of character study.

philosophymom (Since I originally submitted this review to the IMDb, an English-subtitled DVD of "The Little World of Don Camillo" -- and of its first sequel, "The Return of Don Camillo" -- has become available in the US. However, I still think that a fan might be interested looking at in the old dubbed version, if he or she can find it.)This film is the first in a series of five shot in the 1950s and 60s based on Giovanni Guareschi's well-loved "Don Camillo" stories. The joint Italian-French productions were made with the involvement of the author himself, who wrote screenplays and Italian dialog for various entries in the series; therefore, most consider them to be the official movie versions of the Don Camillo stories. Guareschi is quoted as warmly approving of the way that stars Fernandel and Gino Cervi brought to life his two famous protagonists, the battling parish priest and Communist mayor of a small village in post-war Italy. Today, more than forty years after the series was completed, the films are still played on European television, dubbed into a variety of languages. Unfortunately, however, they are all but unknown to English-speaking fans (particularly American ones) of Giovanni Guareschi and his wonderful characters.But this need not be, for "Le Petit Monde de Don Camillo" (1951) does exist in an English-dubbed version. The only one of the five films to get the treatment, it is quite well done (once you get around the fact that it's dubbed in the first place). "King of Dubbers" Robert Rietti (Rietty) takes on the roles of both Don Camillo and Peppone, while none other than Orson Welles provides the voice-over narration and, in that capacity, the voice of Christ which Don Camillo hears in answer to his prayers. The narration is intrusive at times (they got their money's worth out of Welles), but the movie overall is a faithful adaptation and interweaving of some of the more memorable early Don Camillo tales.As the story opens, we meet hot-tempered Don Camillo complaining to the Lord about the recent election of the town's Communist contingent. The new Mayor, Peppone, is a particular thorn in Camillo's side, as the two have had an on-going rivalry which only escalates after the election. Conflicts abound: Peppone wants to have his son baptized "Lenin," but Don Camillo has other ideas. The priest has been trying for years to scrape together the money for a town recreation center, then suddenly the Communists tap an unorthodox source of funds and build their own "People's Palace." Peppone wants to fly the Red banner at a church procession, and he doesn't take Don Camillo's veto well. Don Camillo invests heart and soul into a soccer match between the church's team and the Party's, and he doesn't understand why the Lord declines to take a side. The Communists call a strike against the local landowners, but Don Camillo is determined to save the neglected farm animals. And somehow, amid all the sometimes humorous, sometimes serious conflict, a Catholic "Juliet" and a Communist "Romeo" have fallen in love. Can priest and mayor lay down their fists and help them?I should add, for the *very* knowledgeable Don Camillo film fan, that the dubbed version of "Little World" is based on the Italian rather than the French cut of the original movie (director Julien Duvivier and the mostly bilingual cast shot the two versions simultaneously). Thus, certain scenes that appeared in the French release but were excised by the censors in stricter Italy will not be in the English version.I believe the dubbed version of "The Little World of Don Camillo" is still available in vintage video catalogs (that's where I got my VHS edition in 1998), and it's worth looking for, especially for fans of the warm and whimsical tales on which it is based.