Marcelle Geniat Movies

Crossroads is the English title for Carrefour, directed in France by German-born Kurt (later Curtis) Bernhardt. Suzy Prin and Jules Berry star in this master blend of amnesia, romance and deceit. A respected French diplomat is blackmailed by criminals, who insist that the diplomat, who'd once suffered a loss of memory, had been a crook in his previous "life". When Kurt Bernhardt emigrated to the US, he was signed by Warner Bros., thus had no opportunity to work on MGM's remake of Carrefour (again titled Crossroads) starring William Powell, Hedy Lamarr and Basil Rathbone. The story would be adapted a third time for the 1950 British melodrama Dead Man's Shoes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It really shouldn't be necessary to provide the English translation for Grandeur et Decadence. The story centers upon the Girbals, a bourgeois family living contentedly on the seacoast of France. Their lives are radically altered when Papa Girbal (Firmin Gemier) is persuaded to expand his cannery business. Suddenly showered with wealth, the family relocates to France, where despite the most persuasive of temptation the family manages to retain its fundamental decency. Even so, the Girbal's son Andre (Lucien Galas) becomes fed up with wicked old Paree and heads back home, there to marry his childhood sweetheart. Comes the Depression, which for the Girbals is depressing indeed: Papa Girbal loses his business, his wife Marie (Marcelle Geniat) dies, and daughter Suzanne (Simone Lencret) is "ruined" by a cad. Moving in with son Andre's family, a suddenly enervated Papa Girbal elects to start life all over again for the sake of his new grandson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed in 1936 but not released in the US until 1940, Julien Duvivier's Man of the Hour (L'Homme du Jour) was, believe it or not, Maurice Chevalier's first French starring feature (all of his previous vehicles had been made in Hollywood or London). Chevalier plays a dual role: "Himself", the well known singer-boulevardier, and a humble stage electrician named Alfred Boulard. The hero of the occasion is Boulard, who attains fame and fortune after donating blood to save the life of stage actress Mona Talia (Elvira Popesco). His sudden celebrity goes directly to Boulard's head, and soon he is impossible to be around. In the end, Mona teams up with Boulard's boarding-house companions to teach him a lesson. Critics in 1936 were overwhelmed with the scene in which both Chevaliers sing together, though that sort of thing was already kid stuff in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

La Belle Equipe (The Good Crew) was the fourth of six smash hits in a row for director Julien Duvivier. The fortunes of five unemployed laborers take a radical turn for the better when they jointly win a 100,000-franc lottery prize. Jean Gabin, the self-appointed leader of the bunch, suggests that they not throw their money away but instead invest it in a road-house on the river Marne. Their dreams of instant success are dashed when Vivian Romance, the common-law wife of Gabin's friend Charles Vanel, shows up demanding her portion of the winnings -- then plots the destruction of Gabin because he refuses to make love to her. In the end, "The Good Crew" collapses under the weight of treachery, jealousy and murder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Le Paradis de Satan is set in the jungles of Brazil, where a once-thriving plantation faces financial ruin. Young financier Jean-Pierre Aumont arrives at the plantation to oversee its demolition so that the property can be purchased for a fraction of its value. But Aumont hasn't counted on falling in love with Jany Holt, the daughter of the plantation owner. Now dedicated to saving Holt and her dad from eviction, Aumont finds help from an unexpected source when drunken recluse Pierre Renoir reveals his true identity. As usual, the film's most interesting character is the villain, in this case duplicitous plantation doctor Lucas Girandoux. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Le Voile Bleu is a tear-stained "perservering through the years" drama starring Gaby Morlay. During WW1, Red Cross nurse Louise (Morlay) loses her soldier-husband in battle. Shortly thereafter, her newborn baby dies. Once she's come to terms with her grief, Louise vows to devote her life to caring for other people's children, which she does for the next four decades at great personal sacrifice. The fruits of her selfless efforts are revealed at the climax, when several of Louise's grown-up charges gather to honor their surrogate mother in a glorious "family" reunion. The Blue Veil was remade in Hollywood in 1952, with Jane Wyman in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Felix Gadera also scripted this cinemadaptation of Eugene Sue's steamy novel Les Mysteres de Paris. Henri Rolan stars as Count Rodolphe, who while slumming in the "Thieves Quarter" of Paris makes the acquaintance of pretty Marie (Madeleine Ozeray). The Count falls in love with the girl, never suspecting that she is actually his illegitimate daughter. He later rescues her from a kidnapper, subjecting himself to all sorts of slimy horrors in the Parisian sewers. Once he learns Marie's true identity, the Count "does right" by the girl, while Marie's mother (Lucienne La Marchand), who turns out to be the villain of the piece, skulks away into the darkness. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi