Jany Holt Movies

This French thriller begins with a flashback to a small village dance where a six-year-old girl is kidnapped and killed. Seventeen years later the murder remains unsolved. The girl's parents Caroline and Chris have gone on with separate lives Caroline remarried and had another daughter while Chris became an alcoholic. The two are thrown back together when each begin receiving strange messages that imply their daughter has returned from the dead for vengeance. They contact a police detective (the lover of Caroline's best friend) who finds the case intriguing and decides to reopen it. Unfortunately, as soon as he begins questioning the old suspects, people begin to die. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on a novel by Gilbert Tanugi, who co-wrote the screenplay, this noirish French drama is set within the Paris music scene and centers on the attempts of a dangerously indebted record producer to scrounge up a fortune to pay back the vengeful loan shark who is trying to destroy him. Producer Sam Friedman thinks his salvation is finally at hand when he hears Joe and Puppet Bennet, two African American jazz musicians, singing and playing the blues in local night club. Desperate to have them, he pays their manager with money borrowed from his American jazz-addicted stepfather. Unfortunately, the deeply religious Puppet only wants God as her producer and refuses to sign. Friedman finally persuades her to sign, but only after he swears to watch over the flighty sax playing Joe. Unfortunately for poor Friedman, Joe turns out to be a psychopathic killer and has killed a prostitute. Knowing that he will be dead if he does not produce the couple's record and make some quick money, Friedman decides to shoulder the blame for the death himself. Though he is sent to jail, Friedman is at peace because he plans on telling the truth as soon as the Bennets cut their record. Things take a darker turn when the Bennets suddenly vanish, leaving poor Friedman stranded in prison. Desperate once again, Friedman escapes from jail and violent tragedy follows as he tries to save himself and clear his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Arthur Penn takes a crack at subverting the espionage film genre in Target. Walter Lloyd (Gene Hackman) is a quiet and unassuming lumberyard owner in Dallas, Texas. Chris (Matt Dillon) has dropped out of college to pursue a career as a race car driver. But all mundane tasks come to an end when Walter's wife Donna (Gayle Hunnicutt) is kidnapped while on a European trip. Walter flies to Paris with Chris to see what can be done. Once in Europe, Chris is shocked to discover that his dad was once a top CIA agent. Together, the two visit all of Walter's old CIA contacts in an effort to locate Donna. Finally, Walter discovers that Donna has been kidnapped by a rogue spy seeking revenge for an incident that happened eighteen years earlier. Now Walter must apply his old and vicious CIA tricks to save his wife from an old and vicious CIA operative. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Emile Zola's obscure novel entitled "L'Assommoir" has been made into several films. This is one of the best. In this two hour movie an entire mini-series worth of problems have been compressed about a young woman to whom life has dealt hard blows. Set in the 19th-century, this woman deals with an alcoholic husband while doing everything within her power to keep the family together. An incredibly depressing movie in which the protagonist keeps on trying no matter what besets her, the performances are creditable and the direction superb. Self-involved characters give viewers no one to cheer for, but this movie received multiple awards, ranging from Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival to an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. The music was composed by Georges Auric. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

When German sympathizer Count Paul Rona (George MacReady) pilfers a valuable jeweled glove from a French church during World War II, it is up to American Michael Blake (Glenn Ford) to outwit his enemies and recover the artifact. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Non Coupable translates as Not Guilty, which is definitely not the legal standing of provincial doctor Michel Simon. Already on the outs with the medical establishment because of his heavy drinking, Simon exacerbates the problem by inaugurating a clandestine romance. Things go from worse to worst when, after a particularly bibulous evening, Simon plows his car into a motorcyclist, then leaves the scene of the fatal accident. Reasoning that he can only be guillotined once for murder, Simon then goes on a homicidal rampage, killing his mistress' second lover, and then knocking off a rival doctor. Far from being repentant, Simon struts around hoping to be caught so that he'll be praised for the ingeniousness of his crimes. The film's title is elucidated ironically at the end, when the vainglorious Simon, disgusted that the local police are unable to link him with the murders, decides to mail his confession to the authorities-resulting in still another blow to his inflated ego. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having been forced to put his directorial career on hold during WWII, Georges Lacombe returned to the screen with Le Pays Sans Etoilles (Land Without Stars). Based on a novel by Pierre Vary, the film utilizes the old gimmick of featuring the same cast of characters in two different parallel-development stories. The protagonists weather a crisis in contemporary times, then undergo much the same experiences as different characters a hundred years earlier. The flashback-within-flashback structure would seem to be inspired by such American films as Citizen Kane and Passage to Marseilles, though neither film was in general distribution in France during the war years. Le Pays Sans Etoilles was released at the same time as Etoile Sans Lumiere (Star without Light), leading some critics to confuse the two films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jean Cocteau wrote the dialogue for this acclaimed and atmospheric tale of the supernatural, in which he also plays a small role. When a baron suddenly vanishes from his estate, his friends and family organize a search party to find him, little realizing that what they're chasing is in fact a ghost. A major box-office success in Europe upon its initial release, Le Baron Fantome stars Odette Joyeux and Jany Holt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In The Alibi, clever, ruthless nightclub mind-reader Prof. Winckler (Erich von Stroheim) murders an old enemy and bribes the nightclub hostess Helene (Jany Holt) into saying that they were together for the entire night. However, police investigator Calas (Louis Jouvet) doesn't believe the alibi and pursues the investigation. The Alibi is well-directed by Pierre Chenal who makes the most of his interesting cast. Louis Jouvet is outstanding as the very intelligent and cunning police inspector. Erick von Stroheim, at the end of his career, gives a showing, scene-stealing and quite menacing performance as Wincler. This fine French production, shown with subtitles, has a well-conceived and executed premise and an excellent score, partially composed by the innovative Georges Auric. ~ Linda Rasmussen, 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