Fanny

Part two of Marcel Pagnol's Marseilles trilogy, which began with Marius. The story so far: Marius, eager-beaver son of choleric but loveable César, has deserted Fanny, the love of his life, for the other love of his life, the sea - leaving Fanny bearing his child. Panisse, a middle-aged old fool, offers to solve all problems by marrying the girl himself, thus securing the son he longs for. However, when Marius returns... But plots are the last thing to worry about in the trilogy; one's best bet is to savour instead the finely drawn character studies, the triumphant acting, the warmth, humanity, and tightly-reined sentimentality of Pagnol's whole outlook. Allégret's direction is notably neater than Korda's in the first part or Pagnol's own for César.