The works of Marcel Pagnol are a veritable monument of French cultural heritage. Based on previously unseen archive material, film extracts, novels, plays, interviews and letters, the film pays tribute to the major author and popular filmmaker, who made his life a work and his work a life's project.

The first of three documentaries by Rivette on Jean Renoir.

Tulipe, is an old man who lives alone in an old railway carriage in the Argentueil region of Paris. His main passions are gardening and oil painting, but he also has a secret source of income. His godson discovers that Tulipe is actually a master forger, producing perfect copies of 10 franc notes. His godson’s girlfriend sees this as an opportunity to get very rich – but she must persuade Tulipe to forge 500 franc notes. Assuming Tulipe’s agreement, his godson and his girlfriend buy an expensive new car and luxury villa in provincial France – but there is a cruel turn of fate in store for them when Tulipe strikes up a friendship with a millionaire playboy.

On the Côte d'Azur, a beautiful adventuress and a strange German tourist set themselves the courteous challenge of discovering a war treasure lying at the bottom of a bay. But Basta, an old original who alone knew the location of the wreck, is murdered. And Pitou, the jovial nightclub owner, is determined to get his hands on all the loot.

Moïse, a foundling, is raised by the inhabitants of a village and grows good and strong, well-liked by everyone, loved in silence by Agnese, a girl in the same conditions. One day, however, four graceful Parisians come to the village for a short vacation, and with their light-hearted behavior, they upset Moses and the villagers, who are quick to make the unwelcome guests return to the capital.

Three young men are suspected of kidnapping and murdering a little boy. Most likely, two of them are really involved, but one is not. All of their pasts are questionable, riddled with violence and controversy. Neither the police nor the court can decide how to solve that puzzle.

In 1911, Arnolphe Combalette left his corner of Provence to seek his fortune in the Americas. Fifty years later, a letter from him arrived in the village: "No, I'm not dead yet, but it won't be long now. A Combalette should be sent here to settle a question of big money". The family took counsel and delegated their youngest son, Dieudonné, a cook by trade. Dieudonné arrived safely in New York, but soon found himself short of money. Somehow, he managed to reach that prodigious corner of Texas where, he thought, his uncle's many factories would be built. Neither the factories nor his uncle, who died in poverty a week ago, welcome him there. Dîeudonné can't imagine returning to his native village to announce this new family disgrace; for one thing, he hasn't got a penny in his pocket. The owner of a modest saloon hires him as a cook.

Arbella is a charming village in Corsica. It's such a pleasant place to live that Monsieur Lauriston has decided to spend his old age there with his wife Marthe. Encouraged by Giuseppe, the owner of the Napoleon bar, he is promoted to mayor. This brings him the wrath of Captain Bartoli, owner of the Café Bonaparte, a self-styled pirate and navigator who has long aspired to this honorable position. Further complications arise when Lauriston's nephew romances Antonia, the daughter of Amoretti, the last bandit of honor in the area and the town's main tourist attraction.

Therese, a café owner, mourns the mysterious disappearance of her husband sixteen years earlier. A tramp arrives in the town and she believes him to be her husband. But he is suffering from amnesia and she tries to bring back his memory of earlier times.

On crowded Milan streets, two men execute a split-second payroll heist-in broad daylight-then begin a lightning-paced getaway, via every conveyance available. But after all, when a tough guy's returning to France (where he's been sentenced to death in absentia) after holing up in Italy for nearly a decade, he's got to have some startup money--particularly if he's going back with the wife and kids.

Dr. Génessier is riddled with guilt after an accident that he caused disfigures the face of his daughter, the once beautiful Christiane, who outsiders believe is dead. Dr. Génessier, along with accomplice and laboratory assistant Louise, kidnaps young women and brings them to the Génessier mansion. After rendering his victims unconscious, Dr. Génessier removes their faces and attempts to graft them on to Christiane's.

Etienne Alexis, a candidate for president of the new Europe, is a scientist promoting artificial insemination for social betterment and therapy to eliminate passion. To celebrate his engagement to a cousin, he hosts an aseptic picnic, where mother nature asserts herself. A shepherd's flute conjures a windstorm that throws Alexis together with the luscious Nénette, a farm lass who wants to have a baby but is unimpressed with men.

Picked up by a beautiful motorist, jobless hitchhiker Pierre (Hossein) is subsequently romanced by the girl. Immediately thereafter, however, she dumps him, attempting to run him over as a final insult. Memorizing her license number, Pierre pursues the enigmatic motorist. Arriving at her home, Pierre is met by two young ladies (Marina Vlady and Odelle Versois), either one of whom might be the woman he's looking for.

The heroine in L'Eau Vive is the unwilling heir to a fortune. Young Hortense (Pascale Audret) has always known that her family was greedy, but until she inherits her father's hidden millions she has no idea how loathsome her relatives could be. Surrounded on all sides by grubby, outstretched hands, Hortense takes some comfort in the fact that her legacy is still missing. When the money is finally recovered, our heroine does the "right thing" with her windfall, leaving her mercenary family empty-handed. Throughout the film, Hortense's dilemma is likened to a government dam project not far from her home; as the bridge grows in size, so too does Hortense's resolve to rise above the nastiness all around her.

Making his directorial debut, Robert Hossein also assumes the leading role, playing an escaped convict. Hossein and his fellow escapees cross the path of Marina Vlady, with whom they all fall in love. Alas for our "heroes," Vlady intends to avenge the death of her sweetheart at the hands of Hossein and his confreres. Not only do these heels go to Hell, but they do so with a spectacular flourish. Les Salauds Vont en Enfer was adapted by Rene Wheeler from a play by Frederic Dard.

The adventures of Daniele as he tries to find love with Lucienne despite being framed for murder and cocaine smuggling.

An orphan's grandmother dies. Alone in the world,he is going to be confided to the health and social security services. His pals decide to kidnap him so that he can stay with them.

Dardamelle does not conceal the fact that his wife has made him a cuckold.How will his fellow townspeople react?

Marcel Pagnol's adaptation of his own novel Manon des sources, the story of a shepherdess who exacts her revenge on the townsfolk she blames for killing her father, in two parts: Manon des sources and Ugolin.

The tumultuous loves of a diver and a pretty bitch. Mario loves Perrucha, she only loves money. When, by dint of diving, the boy's health deteriorates, the girl goes to find an important industrialist. Such a story can only end badly and Mario strangles Perrucha.

Angelo, a glass-blower from Murano, and Georgia Maglia, the pretty daughter of a fallen fascist magistrate, are chosen to be the stand-ins for the stars of a film version of "Romeo and Juliet" being shot on location in Venice and Verona. It is not long before they fall in love and their romance parallels that of Shakespeare's timeless heroes. Indeed their union is threatened by the schemings of Raffaele, the Maglia family's dubious tout...

The film is set shortly after the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, around 1818, in which the hero Lieutanatn Orso fought for the French. In Marseille, returning to Corsica and his family estate, of which is now the head, Orso meets the Irish widower Colonel Sir Thomas Nevil and his beautiful daughter Lydia. The Colonel also fought for the British at Waterloo and they strike up a military-based friendship. They also share a passion for hunting. Orso convinces the colonel to come and hunt there. France ruled Corsica then, as they still do. Sadly, in his absence Orso's father has been assassinated by the influential Barracini family. Orso's sister Colomba is bent on him revenging the murder - in the Sicilian vendetta style. Orso doesn't agree with these old ways and the scene is set for a terrible conflict involving Corsican bandits and the French prefect. The book was made into an Italian one with the same title in 1948 and remade in 1950 in Hollywood under the name of "Vendetta".

Paris, France, December 1946. Jenny Lamour, an ambitious cabaret singer, and Maurice, her extremely jealous pianist husband, become involved in the thorough investigation of the murder of a shady businessman, led by Antoine, a peculiar and methodical police inspector.

In a town on the banks of the Saône1 Grasalard, a butcher, likes to feast and play boules with his friends. Although married, he falls in love with another woman.

Toine, the local hunchback, works at the tile manufacturing plant, but during the summer, he gives a hand to Micoulin, the farmer, thereby being able to spend more time close to Nais, Micoulin's daughter. That summer, the estate owner's son, Frederic Rostaing, decides to rest on the farm during his vacation from Law school. But his real motives are to seduce young Nais, whom he knows from their childhood days, after having seen her in town. Who will win the power struggle between the possessive father, the naive daughter, the vile student and the golden-hearted cripple?

A Corsican fisherman is the victim of a vendetta, when he was wrong to date the niece of a businessman proposing to create a seaside resort, much to the anger of the islanders.

Cecile, a young girl who goes to the offices of the Judicial Police several times in a row to complain about nightly visits to the apartment she occupies with her aunt, is not taken seriously by the police until she the day she is found murdered.

Noël Bienvenu, owner of a career, is a widower and lives with his parents. His son Bastien, whom he despises, was sentenced to six months in prison for theft. Noël goes to see a dying friend, Romieux, who asks him to take care of his daughter Marthe, who has settled in Paris (Batignolles district). Noël goes there and discovers that Marthe is destitute (her lover Gaston being an incarcerated mobster): he then offers her to come and live with him and soon, marries her.

A shimmering glass hotel at the top of a remote Provençal mountain provides the setting for a tragicomic tapestry about an obsessive love pentangle, whose principals range from an artist to a hotel manager to a dam worker.

Auguste, a somewhat simple-minded Provençal fisherman, loves and admires Mireille. This concerns only Maurice, son of an important wholesaler, whom scruples do not stifle. Seduced and abandoned, Mireille moves Auguste who tries to mend his poor happiness. The local priest, with wise words, leads Mireille to offer her hand to Auguste.

Tonio, pretty Micheline's fiance, meets Georgia ,a gypsy who makes advances to him.

A simpleton turns out to be the lucky charm of a village.

Guy Carbonnel, a rich industrialist, has more eyes for rugby than for his wife Hélène. René Rivals, his long-time pal, takes advantage of it to court her but Guy is becoming suspicious so René has to find a way to deflect his friend's suspicion. He finally has an idea: he asks Lilian, a circus acrobat, to pose as his mistress. Lilian accepts and they embark on a series of eventful moments.

A married tugboat captain falls for a woman he rescues from a sinking ship.

In the pound, Pipo the dog recounts his adventures to his fellow inmates.

René Sabin, engineer, disappointed by failures, leaves his village in the South to go to Paris with friends. In the capital, he befriends dubious people, in particular Alex Krakow who does not disdain shady business. Then comes the war. René is mobilized then returns to the country, and finds with joy his fiancée.

A rural maiden's two suitors go off to war, leaving her pregnant.

Frank, a hobo, ends up in a garage-truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Nick Marino, its older, kind and naive owner, is married to Cora, a sexy and mercenary woman half his age. Frank, although not a fan of hard work, accepts Nick's offer to work for him. Of course, it is not for Nick's sake that the young man becomes his attendant, but for the love of Cora under whose spell he has fallen at once. It does not take long before Cora, who despises her husband, asks her lover to help her get rid of him. Frank is reluctant at first but ...

In this little Provencal village, a new baker, Aimable, settles down. His wife Aurelie is beautiful and much younger than he. She departs with a shepherd the night after Aimable produces his first breads. Aimable is so afflicted that he can not work anymore. Therefore, the villagers, who initially laughed at his cuckoldry, take the matter very seriously (they want the bread) and organize a plan to find Aurelie and to bring her back to the bakery.

Outwardly, Monsieur Victor would appear to be the model citizen. A respectable Toulon shopkeeper, he has a devoted wife and is courteous and considerate to all who know him. However, beneath this veneer of respectability hides a notorious receiver of stolen goods, who trades with hardened criminals. Victor manages to keep up his double life without any difficulty until the fateful day when one of his partners in crime threatens to expose him. Fearing a scandal, Victor kills the crook in a moment of panic, using a shoemaker's tool. Naturally, the murder is blamed on a local shoemaker, who is sentenced to ten years' hard labour. Seven years later, the former shoemaker reappears in Toulon, having escaped from prison. The first person to recognise him is Monsieur Victor...

Frédérique, married to a brutal and vile being who dies tragically during a duel with the trident, falls in love with Jean, the fiancé of her younger sister Margarido. Both fight against their passion, to see it finally flourish because, to ensure their happiness, Margarido who has guessed everything, does not hesitate to sacrifice himself.

A pompous grocer’s assistant in Marseille annoys a visiting film crew so much that they prank him with a phony acting contract; believing it to be real, the “schpountz” heads to Paris for his new career.

A film about the early part of the French Revolution, shown from the eyes of the citizens of Marseille, counts in German exile and, of course, the king Louis XVI, each showing their own small problems.

In the 30s, a small village in the Provence is losing its inhabitants because young people prefer to go to the city to find easy jobs and escape from being farmers living in relative poverty. Only a few old people and the poacher Panturle remain. Panturle dreams of bringing the village back to life, finding a wife, founding a family and work as a farmer. One day, the village is visited by a traveling knife-grinder, Urbain Gedemus and a young woman, Arsule. Gedemus treats Arsule like a slave, but Arsule accept this because she has nowhere to go and -we guess- her 'work' with Gedemus is the last thing that saves her from being a prostitute. When she meets Panturle and knows about his dreams, she escapes from Gedemus and decides to stay with him. Together, they start a new life, made of hard farming work but mostly of happiness to have each other - fulfilling the earlier dreams of Panturle. Can anything break the happiness of their new life?

A propaganda film of the communist party of France, showing how the comrades help the proletariat against the capitalists.

Cigalon (Alexandre Arnaudy) manages a restaurant in a small town in Provence. A chef with a high opinion of his past culinary achievements, he makes no effort to attract customers and is rude to those who venture into his establishment expecting to be fed. To Cigalon, gastronomy is the greatest of all the arts, and so he is naturally aghast when a former laundress named Madame Toffi (Marguerite Chabert) opens a restaurant next door to his. Madame Toffi does not share his elevated notions and intends to serve meals to the general public - an appalling prospect! While Cigalon's restaurant remains empty, Madame Toffi's is always busy. To prove he's the better chef, Cigalon must now start catering to the whims of paying customers or be forced out of business.

In the 1920s, the Provence is a magnet for immigrants seeking work in the quarries or in the agriculture. Many mingle with locals and settle down permanently - like Toni, an Italian who has moved in with Marie, a Frenchwoman. Even a well-ordered existence is not immune from boredom, friendship, love, or enmity, and Toni gets entangled in a web of increasingly passionate relationships. For there is his best pal Fernand, but also Albert, his overbearing foreman; there is Sebastian, a steady Spanish peasant, but also Gabi, his young rogue relative; there is Marie, but there is also Josefa.

Angèle is a 1934 French drama film directed, produced and written by Marcel Pagnol. It stars Orane Demazis as a naive young woman who is seduced and abandoned. It is based on the novel Un de Baumugnes by Jean Giono.

Jofroi sells his orchard to Alphonse. Alphonse wants to use the land for crops, so he starts to cut down the trees. Jofroi is furious: how can someone cut down those trees? He threatens to commit suicide so that the small town will blame Alphonse and Alphonse’s life will be miserable. Alphonse, the curate, the teacher, and some of the townsfolk spend the rest of the movie trying to keep Jofroi from committing suicide…