''The Elusive Corporal'' (french: Le Caporal épinglé) is a 1962 French film directed by Jean Renoir that stars

Jean-Pierre Cassel Jean-Pierre Cassel (born Jean-Pierre Crochon; 27 October 1932 – 19 April 2007) was a French actor. Early life Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite (née Fabrègue), an opera sin ...

Claude Brasseur Claude Brasseur (15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Claude Brasseur was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He was the godson of E ...

, and

Claude Rich Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017) was a French stage and screen actor. He began his career in the theater before his film debut in 1955. Personal life He married actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959. They had two daughters, ...

. It was entered into the

12th Berlin International Film Festival The 12th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June – 3 July 1962. The Golden Bear was awarded to the British film '' A Kind of Loving'' directed by John Schlesinger. Jury The following people were announced as being on ...

. Renoir shot his film in Austria in 1961 from Jacques Perret's book based on his own

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

experiences. Renoir's friend and assistant director

Guy Lefranc Guy Lefranc (21 October 1919 - 1 February 1994) was a French director and screenwriter. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefranc, Guy 1919 births 1994 deaths French male screenwriters 20th-century French screen ...

had also been a World War II prisoner of war and had developed the project for seven years.p.58 Durgnat, Raymond ''Jean Renoir'' University of California Press, 1974 The story serves as a companion piece to the director's 1937 film, ''

Grand Illusion Grand Illusion may refer to: Music * ''Grand Illusion'' (album), by Nocturnal Rites, 2005 *'' The Grand Illusion'', a 1977 album by Styx, and its title song *"Grand Illusion", a song from the 2016 album '' In the Now'' by Barry Gibb *"Grand Illu ...

'', once more bringing together men from across the broad social spectrum of French society to depict one man's Sisyphean efforts to escape captivity in a German POW camp.

Plot

Among over a million French prisoners of war taken to work in camps in Germany in 1940 is the Corporal, a young man of good background who, finding the oppressiveness of Nazi Germany and the misery of prison life unbearable, makes repeated efforts to escape. Escapes from a logging camp, a brick factory, and a dairy farm all result in recapture, followed by weeks in a punishment camp. Taken into town for dental treatment, he wins the affection of the dentist's teenage daughter, Erika. His last foray, with two companions, uses the trick of measuring the roadway through the camp gates and then disappearing once in open country. Ringing at the dentist's door, Erika lets them in and, when asked for civilian clothes, she kits them out. Taking a train. they are identified as foreigners by a passenger and the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

are called. At that moment the train runs into an Allied bombing raid, upon which everybody jumps out. Escaping cross country, they encounter a farmer who proves to be another French escapee: he gives them food and describes a safe route to the frontier. The Corporal and his remaining companion part on a bridge in Paris, free men among friends in the country they love.

Cast

as Le caporal / The Corporal *

as 'Papa' / 'Pop' * O. E. Hasse as Le voyageur ivre dans le train *

as Ballochet *

Jacques Jouanneau Jacques Jouanneau (3 October 1926 – 19 July 2011) was a French actor. He was born in Angers, France. Biography Filmography *1953: ''Capitaine Pantoufle'' - Le barman du Goéland (uncredited) *1954: ''Les Intrigantes'' - Le Reporter (un ...

as Penche-à-gauche *

Sacha Briquet Sacha Briquet (1930–2010) was a French actor, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Biography He notably played the character of Albert Travling in the children's television program L'Île aux enfants. He signed a book of memories, ''Comédien, pourquo ...

as L'évadé grimé en vielle femme * Raymond Jourdan as Hippolyte Dupieu *

Guy Bedos Guy Bedos (; né Guy René Bédos, ; 15 June 1934 – 28 May 2020) was a French screenwriter, stand-up comedian and actor (mostly known for his part in the film ''Nous irons tous au paradis''). He was a French man born in Algeria , a former Fr ...

as Le prisonnier qui bégaye *

Philippe Castelli Philippe Castelli (8 June 1926 – 16 April 2006) was a French film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1960 and 1992. Selected filmography * '' Les Bonnes Femmes'' (1960) - Le régisseur * '' Wise Guys'' (1961) - Le portier au verniss ...

as Le prisonnier électricien * Gérard Darrieu as L'homme qui louche / The cross-eyed man *

Cornelia Froboess Cornelia Froboess (; born 28 October 1943) is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many West German and Austrian musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave had hit Germa ...

as Erika Schmidt (as Conny Froboess)

Production

was assistant director on the film. The film's sets were designed by the art director Wolf Witzemann.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place around

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elusive Corporal, The 1962 films 1960s war comedy films French war comedy films 1960s French-language films French black-and-white films World War II prisoner of war films Military humor in film Films based on French novels Films set in Germany Films shot in Austria Films shot in Paris Films directed by Jean Renoir Pathé films 1962 comedy films Films scored by Joseph Kosma 1960s French films