Tit-Coq

1952 Canadian film

Written byGratien GélinasProduced byGratien GélinasStarring

Gratien Gélinas
Monique Miller

Cinematography

Akos Farkas

Edited by

Roger Garand
Anton Van De Water

Music by

Maurice Blackburn
Morris C. Davis

Production
company

Productions Gratien Gélinas

Distributed byFrance Film

Release date

February 20, 1952 (1952-02-20)

Running time

104 minutesCountryCanadaLanguageFrench

Tit-Coq (lit. "Little Rooster") is a Canadian film, directed by René Delacroix and Gratien Gélinas, and released in 1952.^[1]^[2]

Plot

Tit-Coq is a tale of love and the importance of family. It tells the story of Arthur Saint-Jean, a shy, awkward French-Canadian soldier with an irreverent sense of humour and a volatile temper, which is how he earned the nickname 'Tit-Coq'. He is a lonely, unhappy man until he falls in love with Marie-Ange, the sister of his friend Jean-Paul. When he is sent overseas to fight during World War II, Marie-Ange promises to wait for him, but she marries another man. When Tit-Coq returns to Montreal, he must accept the fact that he is again alone.^[3]

Cast

Gratien Gélinas - Tit-Coq/Arthur Saint-Jean
Fred Barry - Pére Désilets
Monique Miller - Marie-Ange Désilets
Denise Pelletier - Germaine
Clément Latour - Jean-Paul Désilets
Juliette Béliveau - Tante Clara
Amanda Alarie - Mere mere Désilets
Jean Duceppe - Léopold Vermette
George Alexander - Commandant
Corinne Conley - Rosie
Henri Poitras - Once Alcide
Paul Dupuis - Le Padre

Reception

Gélinas' wrote the story as a film script in 1947, but when he had difficulty with the financing he put it on stage. Between 1947 and 1950, it was performed over 500 times in Eastern Canada; it was popular with audiences and critics. This reception led to film financing, and he shot the film as it had appeared on stage. The film was also successful; in its first year, 300,000 people in Quebec saw it and the subtitled English version did well in English Canada.^[4] It was released in Britain in 1953.^[5]

The film won the 1953 Canadian Film Award for Film of the Year at the 5th Canadian Film Awards.^[6] Gélinas was so moved by the victory that he began to cry during his acceptance speech, and presenter Dorothy Lamour pulled the handkerchief out of his suit pocket and began to dab at his eyes as he spoke.^[6]

A restored print of the film was screened at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, before going into a limited run at repertory theatres.^[7]

References

^ "Canadian Film Folk Appear Shy About Telling What They're Doing". The Globe and Mail, June 21, 1958.
^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "Tit-Coq – Film de René Delacroix et Gratien Gélinas". Films du Québec, January 12, 2009.
^ "Fridolin Play French Text". The Globe and Mail, January 6, 1951.
^ "Tit-Coq". cfe.tiff.net. Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ "Tit-Coq". bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b "On the Screen". The Globe and Mail, May 1, 1953.
^ "Superb acting lends old tale staying power". The Globe and Mail, November 24, 2000.