Pagnol wrote two plays, Marius (1929) and Fanny (1931) and completed the trilogy by writing and directing a film, César, in 1936.

Meanwhile, Panisse, an older merchant and a widower, asks to meet with Fanny's mother Honorine, who believes he wants to propose to her.

She and César begin to plan their children's wedding, but Fanny urges Marius to leave and follow his heart.

Marius, who is now working in a garage, is overjoyed to see his son, but when Panisse is told the boy is missing, he is stricken and taken to his room.

Fanny explains to Marius that she never told him about the baby because on the day he left, she hoped he would turn around and not get on the boat.

On his deathbed, Panisse dictates a letter asking Marius to marry Fanny and be a father to Césario.

The original film trilogy in French was directed by Alexander Korda (Marius, 1931), Marc Allégret (Fanny, 1932) and Pagnol himself (César, 1936).

West Side Story, released the same year as Fanny, proved to be a box office success.

[7] Plans for the original title, Joshua Logan's Fanny, were scrapped when reporters pointed out the double meaning.

[7] Screenwriter Julius J. Epstein had collaborated with Joshua Logan on Tall Story the previous year, but he initially declined the director's offer to adapt Fanny for the screen, because he found it difficult to believe Marius' motivation for leaving Marseille.

[8] Prior to Warner's decision to film the property as a straight drama, Logan had offered Charles Boyer the role of César but the actor declined because he felt he could not sing and was unwilling to lip sync to someone else's voice.

[6] Audrey Hepburn agreed to portray Fanny but eventually had to decline the role due to prior commitments.

Assuming the French would dislike an English language interpretation of the Pagnol plays, Leslie Caron was hesitant to replace her, but she liked the script and accepted three weeks before principal photography began.

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times observed, "Whether fan of the Pagnol films or stage show, whether partial to music or no, you can't help but derive joy from this picture if you have a sense of humor and a heart.

For Mr. Logan, with the aid of expert craftsmen and a cast of principals that we do not believe an act of divine cooperation could have greatly improved upon, has given the charming Marseilles folk play a stunning pictorial sweep, a deliciously atmospheric flavor and a flesh-touching intimacy.

And, embraced by these graphic, sensuous virtues are the rich human, comic elements that flowed out of Pagnol's little pictures and glimmered upon the Broadway stage .

Also, occasionally the actors are costumed too prettily, and the domestic magnificence of the Panisses in the last part is tasteless and absurd .