Fernand Ledoux Movies

This screen version of Victor Hugo's classic novel stars Italian actor Lino Ventura as Jean Valjean, a French peasant who -- driven to desperation by poverty -- steals a loaf of bread only to be caught by the police. After serving a long prison term for this petty theft, Valjean is tempted to return to a life of crime upon his release, but an act of mercy by a kindly Bishop gives him a fresh start. Valjean gains a new determination to build a better life for himself, and in time he becomes a respected citizen, a successful businessman, and the mayor of a small town. However, Javert (Michel Bouquet), who was once a guard at the prison where Valjean was held, is now a police captain and knows the truth about the criminal history Valjean prefers not to discuss. Javert is convinced that Valjean is not as honest as he seems, and he obsessively pursues him, determined to one day put him back behind bars. This was the 16th screen adaptation of Les Miserables, and the 11th to be produced since the introduction of sound. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When her 10-year-old daughter is killed by kidnappers, Madeleine (Annie Girardot) goes a little nuts. However, she is fully able to continue investigating what went wrong, despite badgering by news reporters and curious neighbors. Her 19-year-old son has behaved strangely throughout the whole ordeal, and eventually she confronts him. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this French comedy/satire, director Jean Yanne plays Benoit, an economist who sets out to prove that, with money, one can get away with doing almost anything. Fired from the company he works for, he persuades a relative who is an important union organizer to invest union funds in helping him take over a bicycle factory. When he makes a big success of that, he begins taking over other failing businesses and making successes of them. Then he starts to play with the power of money. One of his stunts is to set up a church with very unusual doctrines in order to please a friend. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Originally titled Peau D'Ane, Jacques Demy's Dos Cruces en Danger Pass is better known by its English-language title Donkey Skin. Based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (of Cinderella fame), the bizarre story concerns the king (Jean Marais) of a strange, enchanted land. Catherine Deneuve plays the dual role of the king's wife and daughter. When the wife dies, she makes the king promise that he'll never marry anyone less beautiful than she; thus, he is compelled to wed his own daughter! The fairy godmother (Delphine Seyrig) tries to save the girl from this incestuous fate by telling her to make impossible demands for her wedding gifts. One such demand is for the skin of a magic donkey which deposits valuable jewels in its compost heaps. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This war-drama centers more on the effects of battle on civilians than it does on the bravery of the fighters as it tells the story of a courageous squadron of Yankee soldiers endeavoring to protect and bring to safety a village full of French civilians whom they saved from German captors following the Allied invasion of Normandy. During the battle to free them, the soldiers also capture a German officer. They then begin heading toward the beach with the civilians so they can go to England. Unfortunately, the beachmaster does not know they are coming and regretfully sends them back. Twice more the squadron and the civilians go back to the beach, but they are still not allowed to go. Things get even worse when the Germans begin bombing the remains of their town and they are forced to find some place to hide until help arrives. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The scene is the French Riviera. Based on eyewitness testimony, three identically dressed men are accused of kidnapping and murdering a child, but two of them can possibly be guilty. Is the innocent party Anthony Perkins, an American who has fled to France in the wake of a sex scandal? Is it Italian Renato Salvatori, whose bad reputation with women has preceded him? Or is it Jean-Claude Brialy, a French businessman whose sister uses her sexual wiles to clinch her brother's big business deals? We'll never know...because Two Are Guilty director Andre Cayatte, a longtime critic of the French justice system, contrives to have all three suspects killed by an out-of-control mob. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This French-Italian romantic crime thriller is titled The Truth in English. Henri-Georges Clouzot directed sexpot Brigitte Bardot as Dominique Marceau, who is accused of killing her boyfriend. The question for the jury is whether the murder was premeditated or a crime of passion. Marceau had come from a small town to take up a sexually adventuresome life on the Left Bank in Paris. She has an affair with Gilbert Tellier (Sami Frey), the boyfriend of her sister Annie (Marie-Jose Nat). Dominique moves on to other romances, but Tellier won't let go of her. They fight and eventually separate. Tellier becomes a renowned orchestra conductor while Dominique descends into prostitution. She eventually learns that her sister and Tellier are engaged, and this knowledge leads up to the events that lead her to court. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

The main drawback to this well-wrought tale of a man on the run is the weight it places on dialogue and concepts over actions and feelings. Otherwise, the fast-paced, sad story moves along unremittingly after Mario (Raf Vallone) has an unexpected encounter with a friend he has not seen for many, many years. Mario had been living with his mistress Germain (Emmanuelle Riva) under an assumed name -- he deserted from the army fifteen years ago and hid his identity for obvious reasons. But now that his old friend has come back into the picture and effectively spilled the beans, Mario runs away from his home and his life because he cannot face Germain with the truth. She refuses to see him when she does find out and that only sends him running faster from pillar to post, seeking asylum from the police who are now on his trail. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Based on a play by Arthur Schnitzer, this is a rather flat remake of the 1932 film Liebelei that featured Magda Schneider as Christine. Director Pierre Gaspard-Huit keeps it all in the family by putting Schneider's daughter Romy Schneider in the top female slot. Opposite her is newcomer Alain Delon in his first lead role, yet to reach his stride on the silver screens in France. The setting is 19th-century Vienna and Franz (Delon) is a young lieutenant who has fallen in love with Christine, a charming opera singer. But Franz' feelings are misunderstood -- a wealthy baron is certain that the lieutenant is after his wife and as a result, challenges him to a tragic duel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Filmed on the island of Crete and set in the early 1920's, when Greece was occupied by the Turks, Jules Dassin's Celu Qui Doit Mourir (He Who Must Die) tells the story of a small village's efforts to stage their Passion Play, an event that occurs once every seven years. The leading citizens, including the wealthy Patriarcheos (Gert Frobe) and the priest Grigoris (Fernand Ledoux), have managed to keep the local Turkish military ruler (Carl Mohner) satisfied with their quiet subservience, each protecting his status and authority within the community in the process. But when Grigoris makes his selections for the roles in the Passion Play, there are unintended consequences, particularly for Manolios (Pierre Vaneck), a tongue-tied, stammering young shepherd who is chosen to play Jesus. On the eve of the celebration and the play, a large group of refugees, survivors of a town burned by the Turks, led by the priest Photis (Jean Servais), arrives seeking help. Grigoris and the other town leaders turn them away, at first spreading the lie that the refugees carry cholera to make the townspeople fearful of them. But Manolios and two others are troubled by the seeming contradiction between the priest's behavior and the teachings of Jesus -- which Manolios is starting to take very seriously. Confronted by the starvation deaths of children and old men among the refugees, Manolios soon finds himself facing an array of unpleasant truths about the failings of the men he has always respected. The village is soon divided, friend against friend and father against son, as Manolios appeals to the better nature of his neighbors -- his closest allies include Patriarcheos's son and Katerina (Melina Mercouri), the village prostitute. These events further enflame Grigoris's anger over what he perceives a open rebellion and the threat of disorder, which the Church will not condone -- and he soon must appeal to the Turkish occupiers, to stop Manolios and all that he represents. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi