sync to someone else's voice. When the songs were dropped, he accepted the offer. He and Maurice Chevalier, cast as Panisse, were old friends but had never performed together. Both welcomed the opportunity to do so. 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. Among the Marseille locations used for filming were Notre-Dame de la Garde and Vieux Port. Reception Critical reception 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 . . . To be sure, there are flaws in the compound. The cutting is often too abrupt, some scenes are confused by intercutting, and the tempo in the early phases is much too fast. Also, occasionally the actors are costumed too prettily, and the domestic magnificence of the Panisses in the last part is tasteless and absurd . . . [But] on the whole, the appropriate atmosphere of Marseilles is literally and colorfully conveyed — in excellent color, by the way. Perhaps there will be some prim objection to the lush emotionalism of it all and to the frankness of the musical nudging, but we loved it." Box office Fanny was the highest-grossing film at Radio City Music Hall in New York City at the time, grossing $1,573,582 in nine weeks and was number one at the US box office for three weeks. Awards and nominations Home media Warner Home Video released the film on video on February 9, 1983 as part of their "A Night At the Movies" series, featuring a Hearst Metrotone Newsreel; a Warner Bros. animated