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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Comedy
    Comedy TV Shows - 1970s 3 Mins Read

    Clochemerle

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    1 9 7 2 (UK)
    9 x 30 minute episodes

    Clochemerle, a poor sleepy (fictional) village in the Beaujolais region of France, finds itself embroiled in a sea of controversy, scandal and political intrigue all started by the decision of Barthelemy Piechut (Cyril Cusack), the mayor, to erect a public convenience in the village square, immediately outside the church and before the windows of Justine Putet (Wendy Hiller), spinster and virgin.

    When a Child of Mary becomes pregnant, the urinal and the ‘loose moral values’ that it apparently brings to the town are blamed, which in turn leads to the destruction of a statue in the church, leading to a war between the secularist Republicans, the Church, the aristocracy, the French Government and the Army.

    clochemerle7

    Michael Mills attempted the virtually impossible and brought it off triumphantly in introducing no fewer than 32 characters – many of them who had prominent parts in later episodes – within the space of half an hour in the debut episode.

    Depending upon narration rather than expository dialogue to present the people he preserved the irony of author Gabriel Chevalier’s prose of the 1920s and saved valuable viewing time. Peter Ustinov was just the man for the out of vision narration which did such a lot to create the mood and the atmosphere.

    The use of British brogues and regional accents built a sense of truth far more readily than the more customary (and logically inexplicable) cod-French and broken English, and a host of familiar names and faces brought intelligence and obvious enjoyment to the acting.

    The script was by one of British television’s most talented and successful teams, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

    The series was filmed on location in the tiny village of Marchampt in the Rhône department in eastern France.

    Narrator
    Peter Ustinov
    Curé Ponosse
    Roy Dotrice
    Justine Putet
    Wendy Hiller
    Lagouche
    Michael Golden
    Ploquin
    Larry Noble
    Eugene Fadet
    Richard Shaw
    Laroudel
    John Turtle
    Mayor Barthelemy Piechut
    Cyril Cusack
    Ernest Tafardel
    Kenneth Griffith
    Adele Torbayon
    Cyd Hayman
    Nicholas The Beadle
    Bernard Bresslaw
    Francois Toumignon
    Freddie Earlle
    Judith Toumignong
    Catherine Rouvel
    Hippolyte Foncimagne
    Christian Roberts
    Poipanel
    John Barrett
    Machevoigne
    Roland MacLeod
    Doctor Mouraille
    Peter Madden
    Baroness Courtebiche
    Micheline Presle
    Rose Bivaque
    Georgina Moon
    Arthur Torbayon
    Barry Linehan
    Madame Fadet
    Carolyn Moody
    Claudius Brodequin
    James Wardroper
    Madame Fouache
    Deddie Davies
    Oscar De St. Choul
    Ian Gray
    Madame Chavaigne
    Ruth Harrison
    Madame Lagousse
    Mollie Maureen
    Madame Voujon
    Gwen Nelson
    Madame Nicholas
    Miriam Raymond
    Blazot
    Gordon Rollings

    EPISODES
    The Magnificent Idea of Barthelemey Piechut, the Mayor | The Triumphant Inauguration of a Municipal Amenity | The Spirited Protest of Justine Pulet | The Awful Awakening of Claudius Brodequin | The Painful Infliction of Nicholas the Beadle | The Scandalous Outcome of a Night of Destruction | The Inexorable Power of the Third Republic | The Dreaded Arrival of Captain Tardivaux | The Glorious Triumph of Barthelemey Piechut

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