Le Trou normand (1952)
Directed by Jean Boyer

Film Review

The most notable thing about this low-key comedy is that it marks the film début of Brigitte Bardot.  Far from being the sex goddess which she became a few years later, Bardot is cast in the role of a stereotypical nice young woman of her era, although her screen presence is to be noted.  The film will appeal most to fans of the popular comic actor, Bourvil, whose instant rapport with children is more apparent here than in any other of his films, illustrating his enduring appeal for the younger generation.  Despite one or two good jokes, the film is slow and dated, with a fairly predictable ending.

Film Synopsis

When Célestin Lemoine dies, everyone in the small town of Courteville is eager to learn who ill inherit his popular inn, Le Trou Normand.  There is consternation galore when it is revealed that Lemoine leaves everything he possesses - including his inn - to his 30-year-old nephew Hippolyte, an uneducated nincompoop.  The person who is most shocked by Hippolyte's stroke of good fortune is Augustine, the sour-faced sister-in-law of the recently deceased.  She had hoped that she might inherit the inn herself, and still hopes that this might be possible.

The mean-spirited Augustine is encouraged by the news that Hippolyte can only take over the running of his uncle's inn if he passes a school exam.  It is with no great enthusiasm that the middle-aged man returns to the classroom and all the mockery that goes with it.  Seeing that Hippolyte has taken an interest in her attractive daughter Javotte, Augustine offers to allow him to marry her if he agrees to hand over the inn as a token of his affections.  Naive fool that he is, Hippolyte sets out to fail his exam to ensure that Le Trou Normand will go to his beautiful cousin.  Unfortunately, he can't even get this right...