Were there ever any Don Camillo movies or TV shows? Are there plans for more?
Yes, there have been seven films and a couple of TV shows that I know of, and before them a stage adaptation. Best-known are the five movies starring the great French comic Fernandel as Don Camillo and respected Italian actor Gino Cervi as Peppone. Those films were made in Europe between 1951 and 1965, with Guareschi’s co-operation, and so they are pretty much regarded as “definitive.” In fact, for many people in Europe, the faces of Don Camillo and Peppone are those of Fernandel and Cervi. As far as plans for future films, though, I don’t know of any. The Guareschi family has been approached about film adaptations several times in the years since the rights to the books reverted from the publisher back to the heirs, but thus far they have resisted.
