Borrowing its title from Alfred De Musset 's "les caprices de Marianne" , the screenplay has nothing to do with this nineteenth century play; it was never the first time De Broca had cast Swiss Marthe Keller ("le diable par la queue") ,and this gorgeous actress is given support by the crème de la crème of French actors: Philippe Noiret ,as the shy schoolteacher who's got only three pupils ,François Périer as the village poet, Jean-Pierre Marielle as the commie cafe owner,Fernand Gravey as the retired military man ; all live in the imaginary village of Angevine (renowned for its mildness,should we believe poet Joachim Du Bellay )The depiction of the village is not realistic ,but who cares ? Demy's and Pagnol's were not either.
The biggest flaw is the American : Bert Convy hams it up and it's not entirely his fault : American way of life ( for a millionaire) is nothing but a spate of clichés and it's only when he wants to re-build the village in America (becoming a French reserve for tourists) that the satire works .
The film features numerous good scenes ,mainly in its first part :
-the small movie theater ,where Marie is a ravishing usherette who sells "chocolats glacés" (=choc-ice,ice cream bar "),at a time popcorn had not yet invaded the theaters .
-The lousy beauty contest with its parade in the rain absolutely nobody watches , the miserly meal in the restaurant before the millionaire's intervention.
George Delerue's score is superbly nostalgic and conveys this charm of things of long ago ....(but not far away!)
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