Tit-Coq

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

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]

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]

• Tit-Coq at IMDb

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