Jackie Monnier Movies

Ceux du Viking (Those of the Viking) is a filmed account of the Frissel-Ginet expedition to the Arctic circle. Varick Frissel, a world-reknown hunter, was joined in his odyssey to the Arctic by Rene Ginet, a correspondent for a French movie "trade" magazine. Ginet's footage of the expedition was later enhanced by several studio-shot scenes, none of which were remarkably convincing. The "reality" footage concentrates on seal hunting, with several gruesome shots of the animals being clubbed to death. Animal lovers could take some comfort in the fact that the Viking, Frissel's sailing vessel, exploded during the expedition, temporarily marooning its crew. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Julien Duvivier's first talking picture, David Golder was based on a novel by Irene Nemirowsky. Harry Baur plays the title character, a poor but enterprising Polish Jew who re-invents himself as a powerful New York business magnate. Now a millionaire, Golder relocates to Paris, while his profligate wife and daughter spend his money at an exhausting rate in Biarritz. When he tries to curb their spending, his wife spitefully tells him that she has been unfaithful for years and that his beloved daughter is not his child. She further dares him to "do something" about her appalling behavior. Golder gets his revenge by deliberately allowing his business to collapse, forcing his wife to take drastic measures to recoup her wealth. As a final touch, Golder enters into an oil deal that will net him a fortune then signs over all the money to his daughter -- on the proviso that his wife is cut off without a penny. This done, David Golder dies in self-imposed poverty, having learned a bitter lesson about money and happiness. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Le Bled was filmmaker Jean Renoir's last silent production. Henrique Rivero is cast as Pierre Hofer, a personable but impoverished young man. En route to Algeria by steamer to visit his wealthy uncle, Pierre meets the lovely Claudie Duvernet (Jackie Monnier), who is heading to the same destination to collect a huge inheritance from her uncle. Upon disembarking, Claudie is victimized by three greedy relatives, who hope to cheat her out of her fortune. But the villains have reckoned without Pierre, who has put his own plans on hold to protect Claudie from harm. Described by one critic as a "dramatic novelette," Le Bled was a lesser but still intriguing Renoir effort. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tournament (Le Tournoi dans la Citie) was French filmmaker Jean Renoir's next-to-last silent film. Only Le Bled (1929) lay ahead before Renoir's masterful switch to talkies. The film is set during the time of Catherine de Medici and the slaughter of the Huguenots. In this bit of revisionism, however, Protestants and Catholics settle their differences on the jousting field. If the director seems a bit detached at times, it may be because Tournament was a commissioned job, rather than an exercise in personal expression. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Westfront 1918 (aka Comrades of 1918) was the first talkie effort from German filmmaker G. W. Pabst, which he made for Nero Films, a production company headed up by Seymour Nebenzahl. Like the contemporary Hollywood production All Quiet on the Western Front, Pabst's film is a bitter, melancholy antiwar statement. The story concentrates on four German soldiers, sent to the front in the waning days of World War 1. The futility of killing an enemy who is already dead spiritually, and of being killed for a cause that has for all intents and purposes been resolved, is brought home to the viewer with both barrels. The astonishingly fluid camerawork of Fritz Arno puts the spectator in the thick of the battle, and the effect is both terrifying and heartbreaking To watch only a few moments of Westfront 1918, one might think that Pabst had been making sound pictures all his life, rather than a mere couple of months. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi