Sequels don't often deliver though people who should know better keep doing them - see Claude Lelouch and the sequel to A Man And A Woman for example - but one almost foolproof way to ensure they come off is to entrust them to an expert like Julien Duvivier, who manages effortlessly to continue the episodic life of that wonderful contradiction in terms the childlike strong-arm priest Don Camillo who finds nothing strange in chatting with God. He begins the film in exile but we know it's not going to last because Peppone needs Don Camillo like Laurel needs Hardy and so the stage is set for more conflicts and Lessons In Life Andy Hardy style with Peppone in the Mickey Rooney role and Don Camillo standing in for Lewis Stone. A more than satisfying film enhanced by the black and white photography.
Review of The Return of Don Camillo
