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RUNTIME
Did you know
Tight 15-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
The Chicken
1965 0h 15m FR
👍
7.0
SOLID
★7.0TMDB · 21
ComedyFamily
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
The Chicken [Le Poulet] is a 1965 French short comedy film directed by Claude Berri. The film follows a father, mother, and son who go to visit a chicken farm. The son catches and brings home a chicken. The father plans to eat it if the chicken doesn't lay eggs. The boy aims to save the chicken and comedy ensues. It won an Oscar in 1966 for Best Short Subject.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Cast
Jacques Marin
Le père
Viviane Bourbonneux
La mère
Martin Serre
Le gosse
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Claude Berri
- Languages
- French
- Countries
- France
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Claude Berri directs. Ghislain Cloquet behind the camera. René Urtreger scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Tight 15-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
- 261 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
- 4Directed by Claude Berri, shot by Ghislain Cloquet. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by René Urtreger. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Jacques Marin and Viviane Bourbonneux and Martin Serre carry the top of the cast.
- 7IMDB entry: tt0059613 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 8Only 21 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Ghislain Cloquet
- Original score
- René Urtreger
- Runtime
- 15 min · 0h 15m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- FR
Awards
- Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.
Also by
Claude Berri
Community reviews
What people are saying
- CinemaSerf★ 7/10
A full ten years before Jacques Marin indignantly told Donald Sinden that he was not taking his airship to the “ARCTIQUE”, he was taking his wife (Viviane Bourdonneux) and their young son (Martin Serre) to a chicken farm. Now asides from the moral questions surrounding allowing your child to bond with something you intend, fairly swiftly, to put in the stewing pot this seems like a satisfactory arrangement all round. Until, that is, the youngster learns that roasting day is Sunday, unless it starts laying eggs. What chance? Well he’s no fool, and he knows that there are eggs in the fridge and in the shops. It’s a no brainier - well, that’s until something entirely unexpected puts an whole new slant on things. It’s really the mischievous young Serre who steals this short and amiably light-hearted feature as he uses his brains to give Marin a chance to look befuddled, bemused and bewildered - and usually still in his pyjamas, too. It’s got a lovely old 2CV and it raises a few smiles as it’s fifteen minutes whizzes by. I really quite liked this.
Key crew
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- short film
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1965-07-19
