The Story:
In the quaint Norman village of Courteville, the bumbling but big-hearted Hippolyte Lemoine (Bourvil), a naive thirty-something simpleton, is stunned to learn he stands to inherit his late uncle Célestin’s thriving inn, Le Trou Normand, on one whimsical condition: he must earn his primary school certificate within a year, thrusting the village idiot into the classroom as France’s oldest schoolboy.
Greedy relatives scheme to sabotage Hippolyte’s studies, plotting every mishap to derail his improbable quest, while the local schoolteacher Pichet and his clever daughter Madeleine (Brigitte Bardot) step in to tutor the earnest pupil, and the opportunistic Mayor spies a golden publicity stunt to put their village on the map.
Will dim-witted determination triumph over devious designs in this rollicking farce of lessons learned and laughs unleashed? A featherweight delight of heartwarming hijinks and budding romance, directed by Jean Boyer, marking the sparkling screen debut of Brigitte Bardot in 1952’s timeless comedy classic!
