Three years ago - 2009 - the Academic-Pseud axis decided to nominate it as the fiftieth anniversary of the nouvelle vague, based on the year that Godard's Brainless was released. So it gives me extra pleasure to remind these jerks that THIS film, starring a man who had been making films for 29 years in 1959 was far and away the top-grossing film that year whilst Brainless couldn't even beat Hercules Unchained into tenth place, which proves that French cinema-goers chose to see what THEY wanted to see and not what Truffaut THOUGHT they should see. I'd never seen it myself and now that I have I find it holds up very well and has the virtue of being a true story. The basic premise is a combination of the old Army Game - walk about all day with a clipboard in your hand and no one will question what you're really doing - and Hide In Plain Sight. Not to put too fine a point on it Charles Bailly (Fernandel), bored with being a P.O.W. in the more or less open prison of a farm in Germany, decides to walk back home accompanied by a cow, making no attempt to evade German patrols and relying on everyone assuming he has some real purpose other than the real one. Fernandel was, of course, a rubber-faced clown and made his name (and fortune) in that capacity but he had shown he was capable of more dramatic acting in one or two isolated films and he does so again here. Excellent.

I saw this film rather by coincidence, but I'm glad I did. I didn't know the film, and I'm not particularly fond of French movies (not necessarily a hater too), but I started watching and was soon hooked. It's a nice little film about a French prisoner of war who wants to escape Germany with a cow by his side (pretending he's taking the cow someplace). Although this premise may sound a bit thick (or thin, as you wish), it's a thoroughly enjoyable movie, with some heartfelt and funny moments, as well as a few moments of suspense. Fernandel gives an excellent performance, happily with few fringes, as the movie could easily have been turned into a flat cheesy comedy by a lesser actor. A lot of credit goes out the photography, it's superb, I felt like I could hang every frame of the movie on my wall (as is often the case with them old black and white movies). Loved it.

This is Fernandel's blockbuster.Even before the war,none of his movies had made so much money.Further detailed retrospection indicates that "La Vache et le Prisonnier" thoroughly deserved its success.Even today,when it is on TV ,it attracts figures of million people.It is not certainly weaker than Renoir's "Le Caporal Epinglé" although Verneuil is not considered an "auteur".During WW2, a prisoner tries to escape from Germany.It will not be a "great escape" .To get unnoticed he will travel with a cow called Marguerite (=Daisy).This unusual pairing en route to the man's homeland is not out of the woods.Based on a true story, this entertaining movie features an unexpected funny (or sad more like!) ending.The whole family can enjoy it:the children will love Marguerite.

This film by Henri Verneuil showed Fernandel in one of his best roles. Today he is still funny as a cheeky but down-to-earth man with simple needs who is dragged into impossible situations. This is an out-of-the-ordinary "love story" between a man and and a stubborn cow (the animal of course, nothing offensive let me reassure you) called Marguerite...I like the twist at the end after all their little adventures.Charmingly dated but worth seeing again if you are feeling a bit nostalgic !