André Tabet Movies

In this French caper film, Charles Aznavour stars as Eric, an architect-turned-writer who has grown increasingly dissatisfied with his life -- so much so that he turns down an award he has won (and then regrets it). His childhood friend Maurice (Robert Hossein) is a professional safecracker and invites Eric to join him in their next robbery as the planner, or "brains." The first robbery is cancelled, but their second, a bank robbery, takes place as planned. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Marc (Marcel Bozzuffi) is a hood who is hunted down by his boss when he fails to execute a man who happens to be his friend. He is hidden by a woman (Sylvia Koscina) whose husband has murdered his business associate and wants Marc to take the rap for the crime. Michel Constantine is the friend targeted for murder, and Jean Lucciani and Daniel Moosman also appears in this suspenseful action feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this anthology, six French filmmakers each contributed a vignette, offering their take on the history of prostitution. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this French comedy, a clever fellow proves himself smarter than the gangsters who would exploit him. The trouble begins in Paris when the vacationing hero accidentally gets into an auto accident with a smuggler. The crook is most apologetic for the mishap and kindly offers to let him drive his Cadillac to Bordeaux and continue with his holiday. The poor traveler doesn't know that the vehicle is a black market on wheels carrying everything from jewels to heroine. He is pursued by the smuggler and by a rival gang. He is so busy enjoying himself that he doesn't bother to look back at the gun battles raging behind him. He ends up picking up two hitchhiking women and continuing his leisurely journey. When he finally realizes that they are using him, he drives the crooks right to the police station. Later he discovers that the steering wheel of the car contains the largest diamond in the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, the daughter of the leader of Carthage falls in love with the mercenary leader of an angered band of soldiers who are out to get the pay they were cheated out of after they valiantly fought to save the city. The woman promises to give him her jewels to repay them, but then a dishonest local politician intervenes and exchanges the gems for rocks and keeps the valuables for himself. The mercenaries begin to attack the city in earnest until the dishonest fellow's actions are revealed and he is executed. After that the soldiers are paid, and the lovers reunited,. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Three mining engineers are marooned in the Sahara after their helicopter crashes and end up finding a secret doorway to the lost city of Atlantis where they capture the fancy of a ruthless Egyptian queen. She manages to seduce one of the men with her magic, but the other two meet grim fates after attempting to escape. Meanwhile, a beautiful slave falls for the mesmerized engineer and endeavors to help him escape. She must hurry for she knows that testing of an atom bomb at a neighboring test site above ground is about to commence. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This routine story by director Maurice Cloche is about two gangs at war over the possession of a valuable cache of crude diamonds. As the gangs battle it out with each other, a young man is drawn into the conflict by his girlfriend, an aggressive sort of woman in her own way. Before the basically innocent bystander becomes a casualty of the dispute, he falls in love with another woman who manages to lead him away from the conflict. At the same time, the gangs are well on the way to destroying each other. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Eddie Constantine stars as Bob, an American GI at large in Paris. After attending a performance of the fabled Folies-Bergere, Bob becomes convinced that one of the dancers, a feisty little number named Claudia (Zizi Jeanmaire), has stolen his wallet. When he confronts her with this accusation, she reacts in predictably volatile fashion--and before either one of them quite knows what has happened, Bob and Claudia are married! The remaining reels of Folies-Bergere chart the turbulent course of the marriage, as Bob becomes jealous that so many males get to see so much of Claudia on a nightly basis. Despite its come-hither title, Folies-Bergere is about as racy as a seed catalogue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This film is comprised of three vignettes focusing upon women and war. The first episode, set in WW II, chronicles the sad journey of an American woman who goes to Italy to bring her husband's body home. In Italy she makes a heart-wrenching discovery: he had been living with an Italian family and had impregnated their daughter and sees the child. The second story chronicles the abandonment of Joan of Arc, by her king and her soldiers. The third episode is a humorous adaptation of "Lysistrata," the Greek play where Athenian wives refused to sleep with their husbands until they stopped making war. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Crainquebille is the third film version of Anatole France's satiric novel. The title character, played by Yves Deniaud, is an elderly pushcart peddler much beloved by one and all. Well, almost all: the gendarme on the beat inexplicably despises Crainquebille, and the first chance he gets, he throws the old man in jail. By rights, the peddler should be back on the street in 24 hours, but thanks to a judicial bottleneck he spends two weeks behind bars. Upon his release, Crainquebille finds he is a "marked man," shunned by those who once pledged undying devotion. On the verge of ending it all, Crainquebille finds a ray of hope in the form of a hero-worshipping little boy (Christian Fourquade, who'd previously co-starred with Bing Crosby in 1953's Little Boy Lost). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Erich Von Stroheim is the principal attraction of the French melodrama On Ne Meurt pas Comme Ca. Von Stroheim is ideally cast as a tyrannical movie director, currently filming a murder mystery. While shooting a scene in which a character is poisoned, Von Stroheim complains that the actor's performance isn't realistic enough. Alas, his remonstrations fall upon deaf ears: the actor has really been poisoned! The rest of the film is a whodunit, with the "who" obvious to veteran filmgoers. The title translates as One Does Not Die That Way, which in context is grimly amusing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi