This film by Henri Verneuil showed Fernandel in one of his best roles. Today he is still funny as a cheeky but down-to-earth man with simple needs who is dragged into impossible situations. This is an out-of-the-ordinary "love story" between a man and and a stubborn cow (the animal of course, nothing offensive let me reassure you) called Marguerite...I like the twist at the end after all their little adventures.
Charmingly dated but worth seeing again if you are feeling a bit nostalgic !
Plot summary
In 1942, a French prisoner of war in Germany decides to escape to France using a cow held by a lunge as a decoy. He crosses all Germany in this way.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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Top cast
Movie Reviews
A forgotten classic
How to get unnoticed
This is Fernandel's blockbuster.Even before the war,none of his movies had made so much money.
Further detailed retrospection indicates that "La Vache et le Prisonnier" thoroughly deserved its success.Even today,when it is on TV ,it attracts figures of million people.It is not certainly weaker than Renoir's "Le Caporal Epinglé" although Verneuil is not considered an "auteur".
During WW2, a prisoner tries to escape from Germany.It will not be a "great escape" .To get unnoticed he will travel with a cow called Marguerite (=Daisy).This unusual pairing en route to the man's homeland is not out of the woods.
Based on a true story, this entertaining movie features an unexpected funny (or sad more like!) ending.
The whole family can enjoy it:the children will love Marguerite.
Very enjoyable escape movie
I saw this film rather by coincidence, but I'm glad I did. I didn't know the film, and I'm not particularly fond of French movies (not necessarily a hater too),but I started watching and was soon hooked. It's a nice little film about a French prisoner of war who wants to escape Germany with a cow by his side (pretending he's taking the cow someplace).
Although this premise may sound a bit thick (or thin, as you wish),it's a thoroughly enjoyable movie, with some heartfelt and funny moments, as well as a few moments of suspense. Fernandel gives an excellent performance, happily with few fringes, as the movie could easily have been turned into a flat cheesy comedy by a lesser actor. A lot of credit goes out the photography, it's superb, I felt like I could hang every frame of the movie on my wall (as is often the case with them old black and white movies). Loved it.