The harsh sunlight and the sounds and images of Provençal peasant life are as much a part of the narrative impetus of this Marcel Pagnol masterwork as are the characters: Angèle, played by Orane Demazis (Fanny of the well-known Pagnol Trilogy), and Saturnin, played by Fernandel, the comedian with the wonderfully elastic face, beautifully cast against type in a tragic role. Angèle is a farmer's daughter who turns to prostitution after being seduced by a coldhearted city slicker. She is saved from “the life” by Saturnin, a farm laborer, only to face the wrath of her stubborn and hypocritical father. Critic Georges Sadoul considers Angèle the finest film of a director whose previous work was “brought close to perfection.... This Pagnol did reach in Angèle.... The very real merit of the film lies in...the quality of its observation. In the tradition of Balzac, the countryside, the fittings, indeed all the accessories contribute to the social characterization of the film. Orane Demazis...gives an amazing performance as Angèle, and the acting of Fernandel surpasses even this” (in “French Film”).