Liliane Patrick Movies
Love and the Frenchwoman (La Francaise et L'Amour) concentrates on the nature of love by illustrating seven separate aspects of the emotion. In "Childhood," 9-year old Pierre-Jean Vaillard suffers a traumatic experience when he takes his parents' "cabbage patch" theory of conception too literally. In "Adolescence," a little girl (Annie Sinigalla) constructs an elaborate fantasy world on the occasion of her first kiss. "Virginity" is a study in frustration, as betrothed couple Valerie Lagrange and Pierre Michel agonizingly await their wedding-night consummation of their ardor. "Marriage" finds a union ending almost before it begins as a pair of newlyweds (Marie-Jose Nat and Claude Rich) bicker all the way to their honeymoon rendezvous. "Adultery" allows husband Paul Meurisse the opportunity to calmly provide an object lesson to his wife's lover Jean-Paul Belmondo. In "Divorce", a couple (Annie Girardot and Francois Pierer) find that it's impossible to have a "civilized" breakup. And in "A Woman Alone," bigamist Robert Lamoreaux meets his Waterloo in the forms of Martine Carol and Sylvia Montfort. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Darry Cowl, Sophie Desmarets, (more)
- 1960
The joie de vivre of a young Parisian provides the basis for this romantic tale. The hero truly loves everything about life. He is especially fond of young women with he frequently falls in love. The lad lives with his supportive uncle, his brother, and his brother's wife, a former lover of the young man. Also living in the manse is a maid, four enormous dogs, and the man's two illegitimate children whom he adores. His life takes a downward turn when he meets an industrialist's lovely wife and falls in love with her. Unfortunately she does not return his affections. The devastated fellow reacts by playing sad songs on his bassoon while he waits for death. This eccentric behavior charms the woman into changing her mind and running off with him. His restored exuberance is again dampened when he discovers that this beautiful woman is not only a whiner, she is stone cold dead in bed. At the end of the film the fellow is seen flitting off with a new love, a tender young waitress. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anouk Aimée, Jean-Pierre Cassel, (more)
- 1959
Sly and greedy young people endeavor to use l'amour to get their hands on a fortune in this French comedy. The story begins when an aspiring young artist falls hopelessly in love with his model Julie, an extraordinarily beautiful redhead. He desperately wants to marry her, but his father insists that he abandon the foolishness of art and take over the family business. The dutiful young son does so, but deep down regrets not pursuing his dream. He marries another and produces a son. Eventually he dies, leaving his son only one third of his empire. The rest he bequeathed to the beautiful, long-gone Julie. The son is anxious to find this enigmatic woman so he can buy her out. Unfortunately, she too has died and left the money to her daughter, also a Julie. To get at the fortune, he launches a whirlwind courtship. Unfortunately, things don't quite work out as planned. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1958
Charles Boyer is Maxime in this seriocomic period romance. Maxime is an ageing roue who, partly out of boredom and partly because he needs a steady source of income, arranges the romantic assignations of his protégé, wealthy Hubert (Felix Marten). The old rake's current mission is to weaken the resolve of the lovely Jacqueline (Michele Morgan), who had previously told Hubert to get lost. As it turns out, Maxim falls in love with Jacqueline, especially after discovering that, despite her own impoverished state, Hubert's money means nothing to him. But when Hubert begins acting like a human being instead of a rich jerk, Jacqueline is at last attracted to him, leaving the philosophical Maxim to stand by philosophically, his rogueish smile hiding his broken heart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Charles Boyer, (more)
