Mylène Demongeot Movies
Mylene Demongeot entered films in 1954 at a time when virtually every French actress with blonde hair was immediately labeled a sex symbol. Though many of her screen assignments were along the ooh-la-la lines of her Swedish maid in the British Upstairs, Downstairs (1959), she was also capable of intensely dramatic performances in films like The Crucible (1956). Her later work included such larger-than-life adventure fare as The Three Musketeers (1964) (as Milady DeWinter) and two of the Fantomas films of the 1960s. She also starred in Professore, a French TV detective series of the late '80s. The owners of their own production company, Kangarou Films, Mylene Demongeot and her husband, Marc Simenon, have produced a number of films, notably 1980's Signe Forax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1964
Though a slave, Lacer (Jeffrey Hunter) is well respected as a talented architect. After falling for Pennelope (Mylene Demongeot), the amorous slave of proconsul Maximus (Massimo Girotti), Lacer runs into trouble. He is soon sent off on search for gold, but finds that his orders are intended to get rid of him. He must think fast if he is to stay alive. Arnold Perl adapted this sword and sandal feature from Florence A. Seward's novel. Perl would go on to write the screenplay for Spike Lee's 1992 drama, Malcom X. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Hunter, Mylène Demongeot, (more)
- 1964
This movie is the first in a trilogy that parodied the popular silent Fantomas serials of director Louis Feuillade, which followed the adventures of the titular master criminal created by writers Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain. After a daring jewelry heist signed "Fantomas," police commissioner Juve (Louis de Funès) goes on national television claiming that Fantomas doesn't exist and that there is no reason for public concern. Riding the wave of public interest, journalist Fandor (Jean Marais) publishes a bogus interview with the master criminal. Fantomas (also played by Jean Marais) doesn't appreciate the joke and kidnaps Fandor to teach him a lesson. A master of disguise, he pulls an even more daring robbery wearing the Fandor mask. Comic relief is provided by commissioner Juve's awkward attempts to capture the elusive arch-criminal. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, (more)
- 1963
Tibere (Sami Frey) is a small-time hood who tries to get one of three airline hostesses to help him in his gold-smuggling operation in this light comedy. One woman is a snob, the second is adventurous, and Melanie (Mylene Demongeot) is sentimental about love. When Melanie and Tibere fall for each other, he is inspired to give up his life of crime for the woman he loves. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mylène Demongeot, Sylva Koscina, (more)
After several years' absence, Dirk Bogarde returns to the popular British "Doctor" film series in Doctor in Distress. Where once Bogarde's Dr. Simon Sparrow was naive and wide-eyed, he is a bit more urbane in this edition. He even manages to offer romantic advice to his old mentor/nemesis Sir Lancelot Sprat (James Robertson Justice). Sparrow's efforts to smooth the path for Sir Lancelot's amorous pursuit of physiotherapist Barbara Murray puts a strain on his own relationship with comely Samantha Eggar. Doctor in Distress is based on characters created by Dr. Richard Gordon, though the story is an original and not an adaptation of a Gordon novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Samantha Eggar, (more)
- 1962
A stellar international cast compensates somewhat for the rambling plotlessness of The Girl Game. The film takes place during Carnival Time in Rio De Janeiro. As unconfined joy wafts its way through the streets, the lives of several fabulously wealthy visitors and a group of voluptuous stewardesses intersect, sometimes with startling results. Sylvia Koscina and Mylene Demongeot are among the visual delights of this garish romp. Originally released at 125 minutes, The Girl Game (also known as Copacabana Palace and The Saga of the Flying Hostesses) was pared down to 90 minutes for its play-off dates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mylène Demongeot, Claude Rich, (more)
- 1962
Curt Jurgens stars as a middle-aged playboy, living by his wits on the Riviera. Among the ladies with whom Jurgens dallies are Martine Carol, Capucine and Mylene Demongeot. Released in Europe in 1962, Beach Casanova didn't make it to American shores until three years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
An undistinguished, low-budget costume drama about a classical topic in Roman history, L'Enlevement des Sabines, by Richard Pottier, chronicles the problem of the men in early Rome. In fact, that is the problem -- there are only men in early Rome. Their leader is the son of the war god Mars and so the tendency is to fight first and ask questions later. But among the Sabine women who do not live so far away are some very attractive females. Needless to say, the Romans see the answer to their problem, though in the end the answer does avert a war between the two sites. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mylène Demongeot, Roger Moore, (more)
- 1961
This unusual western concerns the conflict between a priest and a Mexican bandito from A Night to Remember (1958) director Roy Baker. Father Keogh (John Mills) is a Catholic priest who arrives in the remote Mexican village of Quantano to build a congregation, unaware that the town is terrorized by the ruthless criminal Anacleto (Dirk Bogarde). An atheist, Anacleto has forbidden worship, so when Keogh holds services, Anacleto retaliates by murdering the locals in alphabetical order. Keogh refuses to back down. Impressed by his valor, Anacleto calls his men off and makes the priest an offer -- he'll spare him if he determines which inspires greater good, "the singer" (the priest) or "the song" (religion). Keogh doesn't answer. Meanwhile, one of the clergyman's followers, the young girl Locha (Mylene Demongeot), flees when her family, realizing that she's in love with Keogh, arranges a marriage with someone more suitable. Anacleto finds the girl and offers Keogh another deal. He'll let the girl live if the priest will admit his failure before his congregation. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, John Mills, (more)
- 1961
This costume drama by director Bernard Borderie is the first part of a two-feature combination, set in 17th-century France. In this first, 100-minute installment, D'Artagnan (Gerard Barry) arrives in Paris and joins up with the king's Musketeers. Considerable sword fights and action scenes unfold as the Musketeers are called upon to save Queen Anne (Françoise Christophe). A certain amount of wry humor pervades the action, gearing it more to the youngsters out to experience some matinee adventures. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Barray, Georges Descrieres, (more)
- 1960
A humorous, sometimes absurd and sometimes just light-hearted comedy, this story sets up the premise of a couple's search for a housemaid, with a series of impossible women providing the hilarity. When Richard and Kate (Michael Craig and Anne Heywood) return from their honeymoon, they discover that Kate's father has given them a maid as a wedding gift. The trouble is that the maid has a good portion of the U.S. Navy in the house when they arrive, in a more-or-less wild orgy. Exit maid. The couple then hire Rosemary (Joan Hickson) who tipples to excess, making her service at a dinner party an insurmountable challenge. Exit Rosemary. Enter Blodwen (Joan Sims) a homesick woman from Wales who cannot live outside her native environment. Exit Blodwen. And so it goes, even through a gorgeous French maid (Mylene Demongeot) who causes more than a mild uproar among the couple's friends. It seems the help is either too bad or too good. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, (more)
- 1960
Under Ten Flags is a fact-based British maritime epic set during World War II. Allied ships are being victimized by a German surface raider, which sails under friendly flags until moving in for the kill. Since so many nationalities were involved in making this film (both before and behind the cameras), it is difficult at times to determine whose side one is supposed to be on. On screen, the Germans seem the cleverest and most resourceful of all the combatants; at times, one hopes that they'll get away with their high-seas perfidy--especially since the captain is played by charismatic American actor Van Heflin. Under Ten Flags has a minimum of war action, but this didn't prevent an enterprising home-movie firm from excerpting nine minutes' worth of highlights for an 8-millimeter version--which did better business than the original 92 minute feature! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Heflin, Charles Laughton, (more)
- 1959
In this drama, a freighter captain's family suffers financial difficulties. To help them, he involves himself in a plot to destroy his ship so they can collect the insurance money. They plan to destroy the vessel by loading it with a time bomb and then sailing it into an active mine field. En route, a crewman becomes trapped in a boiler and burns to death. This forces the captain to dismantle the bomb. He feels better for having done so and returns to Hamburg, where he learns that not all of his family approved of the plan either. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Mylène Demongeot, (more)
Rather than telling a dramatized version of the exploits of the Greek runner Phidippides (or Philippides, as used here), this standard Italian costume drama has the great athlete almost single-handedly defeating the Persians. Set in 490 B.C. when the Persian armies were ready to finish conquering Greece and head into Europe, Phidippides (Steve Reeves, who else?) rallies the Athenians and they fight a series of spectacular, massive battles. In reality, Phidippides had run 140 miles to Sparta and back to ask for their help before any battles began. The Persians had already landed on the plains of Marathon, 26 miles from Athens but thanks to Phidippides forewarning, they were defeated by advancing Athenian forces. Phidippides' final run from Marathon back to Athens to warn them about a second attack by the Persian forces is not depicted in this drama -- that last run on top of the futile, 280-mile round trip to Sparta, cost him his life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Reeves, Mylène Demongeot, (more)
- 1959
The exploits of three young Roman criminals are chronicled in this socially conscious drama. The young men commit petty crimes all day begin with arms theft, and culminating with a night with three streetwalkers. After their pleasure, the boys try to cheat the hookers, but they ladies are smarter than that and have stolen their cash ahead of time. The punks then return to the city for more crimes. Exploits include the harassment of three homosexuals, and attempts to seduce some women. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Claude Brialy, (more)
- 1959
Three Murderesses stars Alain Delon as a French playboy who gets more than he bargained for when he begins romancing three women at once. All three ladies (Mylene Demongeot, Pascale Petit and Jacqueline Sassard) are sisters, of wildly divergent personalities. Eventually all three tire of Delon toying with their emotions and plot a wry revenge. Director Michel Boisrone can't completely avoid the healthy vulgarity that is his trademark, but Three Murderesses strives to please without unduly offending. Released in France in 1957 as Faibles Femmes, Three Murderesses was initially distributed in the US under the title Women are Weak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mylène Demongeot, Pascale Petit, (more)
- 1958
Cette Nuit La (That Night) was based on a novel by Michel Lebrun. Mylene Demongeot plays Sylvie, the gorgeous photo-model wife of magazine layout artist Jean (Maurice Ronet). Sylvie becomes the object of desire for Jean's boss (Jean Servais), an older man of degenerate tastes. Angered by this turn of events, Jean plots to murder his employer. Unfortunately, the assault takes place at night, and Jean accidentally kills the wrong man. Several unpleasant complications ensue -- including a rather nasty extortion scheme -- before the exciting (if predictable) denouement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mylène Demongeot, Maurice Ronet, (more)
- 1957
American playwright Arthur Miller was still under an "unfriendly" cloud in 1958, so far as the anti-Communist brigades were concerned. Thus, the film version of Miller's stage play The Crucible was lensed in France. Drawing several parallels to the McCarthy era, Miller dramatizes the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century, when hearsay, rumor, and mass hysteria passed for hard evidence. Given an opportunity to escape being hanged for witchcraft, John Proctor (Yves Montand) refuses to bow to the demands of the so-called justices. Many observers felt that this climactic scene was an act of contrition for Arthur Miller, who was (by his reasoning) not nearly so courageous when grilled by the HUAC. Also known as The Witches of Salem, The Crucible was adapted for the screen by Jean-Paul Sartre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, (more)
Francoise Sagan's bittersweet novel Bonjour Tristesse is given a sumptuous Riviera-filmed screen treatment. David Niven plays a wealthy playboy, the father of teenaged libertine-in-the-making Jean Seberg. Seberg tolerates most of her father's mistresses, but doesn't know what to make of the prudish Deborah Kerr, who will not cohabit with Niven until after they're married. Feeling that her own relation with her father will be disrupted by Kerr's presence, Seberg does her malicious best to break up the relationship--only to be beaten to the punch by Niven, who despite his promises of fidelity to Kerr cannot give up his hedonistic lifestyle. The combination of the daughter's disdain and the father's rakishness drive Kerr to suicide. Niven and Seberg continue pursuing their lavish but empty lifestyle, though both realize that their lack of moral fibre has destroyed a life. The incestuous undertones of the original Sagan novel are only slightly downplayed in the film version; the "tristesse" (sadness) is visually conveyed by filming the Deborah Kerr flashback scenes in color and the opening and closing of the film in bleak black and white. Bonjour Tristesse was codirected by Otto Preminger, who'd previously discovered Jean Seberg for his benighted 1957 filmization of Saint Joan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, David Niven, (more)
- 1957
Sois Belle et Tais Toi is more popularly known by its American-release title Be Beautiful but Shut Up. Mylene Demongeot plays a birdbrained young lady who gets mixed up with a gang of juvenile-delinquent smugglers. The crooks use the heroine as their go-between, intending to leave her holding the bag if and when the cops show up. Fortunately, a handsome police inspector (Henri Vidal) catches on to their scheme. One of the screenwriters for Sois Belle et Tais Toi was no less Roger Vadim. When the film was first released, its direction was often erroniously credited to Marc Allegret. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henri Vidal, Mylène Demongeot, (more)
- 1957
A novel by James Hadley Chase was the source for Une Manche et la Belle (Beauty Up His Sleeve). Bank clerk Henri Vidal ingratiates himself to middle-aged heiress Isa Miranda. Once they're married, however, Vidal's eyes begin to wander. Falling for Mylene Demongeot, Vidal and his new paramour cook up a scheme to knock off Isa and claim her money. But Mylene has an evil agenda all her own. More than one reviewer noted the resemblances between Une Manche et la Belle and the American noir masterpiece Double Indemnity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henri Vidal, Mylène Demongeot, (more)
- 1956
No relation to the 1939 Claudette Colbert-James Stewart comedy of the same name, It's a Wonderful World is essentially a vehicle for British-based bandleader Ted Heath. The thinnish plot is set in motion by would-be songwriters Terence Morgan and George Cole, who manage to sell a tune by claiming that it was composed by a reclusive musical genius. When the tune hits the top of the charts, Morgan and Cole find themselves in the embarrassing position of having to produce the "real" composer. Director Val Guest manages to extract new laughs out of such old setpieces as showing a snobbish audience being gradually won over by pop music. The principal attraction of It's a Wonderful World--to modern viewers, at least is the presence of Ted Heath, whose screen appearances were all too few and far between. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Morgan, George Cole, (more)
- 1955
Futures Vedettes (Future Stars) relies upon the appeal of its cast to coast by. Jean Marais plays a handsome singing teacher who enthralls two of his nubile female students (Brigitte Bardot, Isabelle Pia). Their ardor for the teacher begins innocently enough but soon deepens into something far more serious. Before the situation can be resolved, a near-disaster strikes. Mischa Auer lightens things up a bit as Marais' dour valet. Filmed on location in Vienna, Futures Vedettes was distributed in America by Columbia Pictures, mainly on the box-office strength of Brigitte Bardot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Brigitte Bardot, (more)
