L'Arbre de Noël (internationally released as The Christmas Tree) is a 1969 French-Italian drama film directed by Terence Young and starring William Holden, Bourvil and Virna Lisi. It was defined as "the most tearful film of sixties". The film was co-produced by Italy where it was released as L'albero di Natale.
Contents
Plot
The story follows a Frenchman named Laurent Ségur and his son Pascal, who live somewhere in France. Along the way, the widower Laurent meets and falls for the beautiful Catherine Graziani, but also learns that his son is dying after witnessing the explosion of a plane with a nuclear device inside. Finding this out, Laurent and Pascal have a string of adventures with Catherine along.
Cast
William Holden as Laurent Ségur
Bourvil as Verdun
Virna Lisi as Catherine Graziani
Madeleine Damien as Marinette
Mario Feliciani as Le docteur
Friedrich von Ledebur as Vernet
Georges Douking as L'animalier
Michel Thomass as L'ami corse
Jean-Pierre Castaldi as Le motard de la gendermerie
Yves Barsacq as Charlie le Breton
France Daunic as La monitrice
Brook Fuller as Pascal Ségur
Production
Principal photography began on 11 February 1969. Filming locations included the Château de Castellane (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), Corsica, Paris, Saint-Tropez (Var), Senlis (Oise), Studios de Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine) and Studios de La Victorine in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).
Release
The film opened 25 September 1969 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. It grossed $200,000 in its opening week.