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Louis Jourdan Movies

Born Louis Gendre or Gendice, he was educated in France, England, and Turkey. He trained as an actor with Rene Simon at the Ecole Dramatique. He debuted onscreen in 1939, going on to play cultivated, polished, dashing lead roles in a number of French romantic comedies and dramas. After his father was arrested by the Gestapo, Louis and his two brothers joined the French underground; his film career came to a halt when he refused to act in Nazi propaganda films. In 1948 David O. Selznick invited him to Hollywood to appear in The Paradine Case (1948); he remained in the U.S. and went on to star in a number of Hollywood films. After 1953 he appeared in international productions. His career was hampered by the limitations of the roles he was offered, most of which featured him as an old-fashioned Continental lover. ~ Rovi
1992  
PG13  
In this film, young, headstrong Margaret Harwood (Penelope Ann Miller) is entrusted with a business assignment by her wine merchant father. While taking an inventory of the contents of the wine cellar of a Scottish estate, Margaret discovers an almost-priceless bottle of wine from the "year of the comet." When Margaret alerts her father to the find, he sends his crude assistant, Oliver Plexico (Timothy Daly) to fetch it. Although Oliver and Margaret initially have no great love for one another, they discover that they are forced to work together to keep the wine out of harm's way. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

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Starring:
Penelope Ann MillerTim Daly, (more)
 
1989  
PG13  
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A beautiful horticulturist visits her stepfather to discover the mystery behind her mother's untimely death. Her stepfather wants to kill her to create his immortality serum, but the Swamp Thing comes to her rescue. The two become an unlikely couple, hunted by the insane Dr. Arcane. ~ Rovi

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Starring:
Louis JourdanHeather Locklear, (more)
 
1987  
R  
In this actioner, a crack unit of elite mercenaries must protect a recently deposed Middle Eastern leader and his family from assassination. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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1987  
 
In this crime comedy, the daughter of a notorious French burglar must follow in her father's illustrious footsteps after he is suddenly killed. She soon finds herself nearly in over her head as she is required to perform a variety of death-defying stunts in order to ply her trade. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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1986  
 
In this made-for-TV movie, a jealous mother tries to break up the burgeoning romance between her son and a young clerk at her husband's jewelry store. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

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1986  
 
Faye Dunaway stars as a successful madam who is faced with difficulties from her "girls" in this made-for-TV movie. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

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1984  
 
This unexciting story is about a woman who leaves her husband for an interlude of illicit romance and crime. The film begins with two parallel sequences: the fashion model Christine (Angela Punch McGregor) is at home, bored with her married life to Peter (Louis Jourdan) a wealthy businessman, and while those scenes play out, a silver-suited biker is on the prowl. Soon the biker steals a Rolls and follows Christine home, where in quick order they trash her house, take off together, and later rob a post office dressed as clowns. As the film cuts between Peter, Christine, the biker, and Peter's secretary, it is difficult to tell who really has the upper hand, who is actually in control, and who is being manipulated. Unfortunately, this guessing game becomes less interesting as the events in the film become less plausible, and the lack of surprises or shocking scenes -- especially to modern audiences with well-constructed shock absorbers -- makes for a dull 90 minutes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

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Starring:
Diana Craig
 
1984  
 
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Five Emmy nominations went to the two-part TV drama The First Olympics: Athens 1896. The story begins in 1894, when Baron Pierre de Courbetin (Louis Jourdan) announces his intention to stage the first Olympic games of the Modern Era within two years in Athens. The baron heads to the US to recruit an athletic team. Despite disinterest, opposition and spotty funding, de Courbetin assembles his team with the help of Princeton professor William Sloane. The thirteen chosen Americans have a pretty bumpy time of it, but most survive to the final Olympic contest: the grueling Marathon. The supporting cast is top-heavy with veterans from both America and England, including Angela Lansbury, Honor Blackman, Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna. Among the leading players is future NYPD Blue star David Caruso as Irish-American athlete James Connolly. Originally running five hours, The First Olympics was first telecast May 20 and 21, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1983  
PG  
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This (13th) time around, 007 (once again played by Roger Moore) receives the usual call to come and visit M when another agent drops off a fake Faberge jeweled egg at the British embassy in East Berlin and is later killed at a traveling circus. Suspicions mount when the assistant manager of the circus Kamal (Louis Jourdan), outbids Bond for the real Faberge piece at Sotheby's. Bond follows Kamal to India where the superspy thwarts many an ingenious attack and encounters the antiheroine of the title (Maud Adams), an international smuggler who runs the circus as a cover for her illegal operations. It does not take long to figure out that Orlov (Steven Berkoff), a decidedly rank Russian general is planning to raise enough money with the fake Faberges to detonate a nuclear bomb in Europe and then defeat NATO forces once and for all in conventional warfare. John Glen returns again to handle directing duties, the second of five Bond films he lensed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

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Starring:
Roger MooreMaud Adams, (more)
 
1982  
 
Filmed in 1982, Escape to Love wasn't given a general release until 1986. Clara Perryman plays an American student who falls in love with a Polish dissident (Ahron Idale). The girl aids her lover in his escape from the KGB. While rushing towards Paris by train, the two fugitives are forced to do a great deal of crucial soul-searching--especially when politics once more rears its ugly head. Louis Jourdan plays a pivotal role in this well-mounted combination of thrills and romance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1982  
PG  
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Director Wes Craven, who went on to fame as the force behind blockbuster horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, departed from his favorite genre to film this unique cult classic -- a spoof on the mad scientist movies of the 1950s. Adrienne Barbeau stars as Alice Cable, a government agent sent to replace a man who has disappeared while guarding a secret experimental lab in the middle of the Louisiana bayous. Dressed in heels and a skirt, Cable professes unease at her strange new surroundings, but she is soon wooed by Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise). Holland is working on a concoction that combines plant and animal cells. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) is the criminal mastermind who is trying to steal the secret recipe for the potion. When Arcane and his mercenaries break into the government camp, they kill Holland's sister Linda (Nannette Brown) and the scientist is accidentally doused with his own formula and bursts into flames, then dives into the swamp. Arcane's men pursue Cable, but she is rescued by a mysterious green man. It takes several rescues for her to understand that the Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) is Dr. Holland, transformed by his own formula. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

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Starring:
Louis JourdanAdrienne Barbeau, (more)
 
1977  
 
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Count Dracula is a three-part British television adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. Louis Jourdan plays the count not as villain or pathetic victim of circumstance, but a charismatic charmer, who doesn't need to suck the blood of his lady victims to make them faint. Part One takes place in Transylvania, with British attorney Jonathan Harker (Bosco Hogan) arriving at Dracula's castle to close a real estate deal--and to nearly lose his life and soul to his sinister host. Part Two finds Dracula at large in England, beckoning the unfortunate Lucy (Susan Penhaligon) into the world of the Undead. The story grows more intense in Part Three, with vampire hunter Professor Van Helsing (Frank Finlay) rallying the forces of Good against the elusive Dracula. Count Dracula was first telecast in the US on PBS' Great Performances series in March of 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1977  
 
The made-for-television The Man in the Iron Mask was, at the very least, the twelfth film version of Alexandre Dumas' novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later - the second sequel to his Three Musketeers. The title character is Philippe (Richard Chamberlain), claimant to the throne of France. Supporters of Philippe's vile twin brother, King Louis XIV (also Chamberlain), kidnap Philippe, lock him in a dungeon, and obscure his identity with an iron mask. But aging D'Artagnan (Louis Jourdan), who'd virtually raised Philippe from boyhood, reunites his old musketeer cohorts to rescue Philippe, overthrow the wicked Louis, and place the "rightful heir" on the throne. Emmy nominations went to scripter William Bast and costumer Olga Lehmann. Photographed by the great Freddie Young, Man in the Iron Mask was first telecast January 17, 1977 ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1977  
PG  
Director Ivan Passer and screenwriter Peter Stone adapted Paul Erdman's novel concerning a group of con men who arrive in Switzerland and end up conning each other. Michael Caine stars as Doc Fletcher, a lackey for gangster Joe Fiore (Martin Balsam), who is sent to Switzerland to purchase a bank for his boss. Prince di Siracusa (Louis Jourdan) is aiding Doc in his purchase but is working on his own scam. They both meet Shireen Firdausi (Stephane Audran) and Agha Firdausi (David Warner), who are working on their own deal concerning an Iranian silver mine. Also arriving in town is Donald Luckman (Tom Smothers) and his wife Debbie (Cybil Shepherd), sent by banker Henry Foreman (Joss Ackland) to buy a bank as a front for Charles Cook (Charles D. Gray), a billionaire who is looking for a way to disguise his profits. With all these schemers in tow, various confidence games play out and characters switch alliances and obligations, while some wind up in jail. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Starring:
Michael CaineCybill Shepherd, (more)
 
1977  
 
When they are called upon to investigate a sex murder, Melville and Pignon (Jean Carmet and Jean-Pierre Marielle), two rude and crude (not to mention racist) policemen, find themselves in the midst of the multicultural machinations of members of the international film community in fashionable St. Tropez. The real culprit is an extremely clever man, who knows that they can be counted on to arrest the most obvious suspect while he looks on. Nonetheless, they are dogged, serious men who hunt down every clue, and are unfazed by the carryings-on of the excitable artists they encounter. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Starring:
Jean CarmetJean-Pierre Marielle, (more)
 
1974  
 
Richard Chamberlain stars in this lavishly appointed adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas adventure story. When Count Edmond Dantes (Richard Chamberlain) is stripped of his wealth and sent to prison for crimes he did not commit, he swears to get revenge against those who wronged him. With the help of Abbe (Trevor Howard), a fellow prisoner, the Count escapes and sets forth to see that justice is done. The supporting cast includes Tony Curtis as Mondego, Louis Jourdan as De Villefort, and Donald Pleasance as Danglars. This seventh of eight film versions of The Count of Monte Cristo was produced for American television but received a theatrical release in Europe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Richard ChamberlainTony Curtis, (more)
 
1973  
 
This video profiles the life and musical career of Edith Piaf, "the Little Sparrow." ~ Rovi

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1973  
 
An unsubtle but effective TV-movie satire of the "Miss America" syndrome, Great American Beauty Contest stars Joanna Cameron as a fire-breathing feminist who enters the contest of the title. She plans to win the crown, then utterly destroy the contest by delivering a scathing attack on exploitation and sexism instead of an acceptance speech. A subplot concerns contest judge Louis Jourdan, who uses his position to extract sexual favors from the more desperate contestants. Eleanor Parker, the girls' chaperone, gives Jourdan his comeuppance in the film's most satisfying sequence. We won't spoil the twist ending, but we will note that one of the contestants is played by Farrah Fawcett, whose specialty is an endearingly ridiculous belly dance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1971  
 
Frequent F.B.I "guest villain" Louis Jourdan returns, this time in the role of enemy spy Henry Dulac. Determined to smash Dulac's espionage ring, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) goes undercover as another Red agent. Erskine subsquently finds himself caught in the crossfire when two warring spy factions clash over some top-secret tapes. Also in the cast is David Birney, who'd achieve TV stardom one year later in the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1969  
 
Made for television, Run a Crooked Mile is an kaleidoscopic espionager filmed in Britain. Louis Jourdan plays a schoolteacher on holiday who is injured in an serious auto accident. When he awakens, Jourdan discovers that two years have elapsed, during which time he has lived the life of a wealthy wastrel. He also learns that his alter ego has become mixed up in a plot to undermine the economy of Europe. Run a Crooked Mile is distinguished by imaginative photography, and by offbeat performance of leading lady Mary Tyler Moore, whose allegiances and honesty are in doubt until the final scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1969  
PG  
This epic Spanish biopic chronicles the life of Cervantes, Spain's great novelist, playwright and poet, during the 16th-century, when as a young man he goes to Italy to become a soldier for the Pope. Later he helps the Pope's emissary wage war against the Spanish Moors. His exploits win him great favor. He falls in love with a famous Italian courtesan and she with him. Unfortunately, the Pope splits them apart with his newest decree which demands that all prostitutes leave the city. Upset, Cervantes goes to fight in the famed sea battle of Lepanto and comes back a hero. Later he is captured by Barbary pirates and ransomed by Trinitarian friars. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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1969  
 
Richard Alan Simmons, scriptwriter of Fear No Evil, evidently held fond memories of the old British chiller Dead of Night (a cornucopia of inspiration for programs like The Twilight Zone). The "Mirror Sequence" in the earlier film was gussied up for the basic plotline of this 1969 TV-movie. Bradford Dillman purchases an antique mirror, which turns out to be the portal for a supernatural world. Upon Dillman's death, his fiancee (Lynda Day) discovers that the mirror might be able to bring back her lost lover. Fear No Evil did so well in the overnight ratings that it spawned a sequel, 1970's Ritual of Evil. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1969  
 
Ritual of Evil was a sequel to the earlier TV movie Fear No Evil; both were pilots for a never-realized Universal series, Bedevilled. Louis Jourdan stars as a psychiatrist investigating the suicide of one of his patients. He stumbles onto the realization that the death was tied in with the Supernatural, and that perhaps he shouldn't probe any deeper. Were he to stop at this point, the producers would had to have filled the remaining hours' worth of film with commercials or cartoons, so Jourdan forges ahead at the risk of his own life. This concept was eventually refined into Universal's short-lived series The Sixth Sense, which utilized much of the eerie William Goldenberg background music first heard in Ritual of Evil. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1968  
 
Taken from the 1907 comedy play by Georges Feydeau, A Flea In Her Ear is a comedic sex romp about a wife suspicious of her husband's activities away from home. Gabrielle (Rosemary Harris) is convinced her attorney husband Victor (Rex Harrison) is seeing another woman because of his inattention to her amorous needs. Gabrielle sets up a meeting with her husband at a bordello-hotel, and he is completely unaware that the woman he is going to meet will be his own wife. She soon discovers just who is being unfaithful to their wives after meeting a number of lovers and both faithful and unfaithful husbands. Louis Jourdan and Rachel Roberts also star in this light situation comedy containing turn-of the-century-sensibilities that appear somewhat dated in 1968. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

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Starring:
Rosemary HarrisLouis Jourdan, (more)
 
1968  
 
In the opening episode of The F.B.I.'s fourth season, Inspector Lew Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and his assistant Tom Colby (William Reynolds) go undercover to trap master spy Lorenz Tabor (Louis Jourdan). Ingredients essential to the intrigue are a bus ticket, a cryptanalysis, and a dead man's hearing aid, which is actually a miniature "holding tank" for top-secret microfilm. Featured in the cast are Nancy Kovack, later the wife of symphony conductor Zubin Mehta, and future Hill Street Blues costar James Sikking. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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