Jean Marais Movies
The extremely good-looking (some have called him beautiful) French actor Jean Marais was hardly a prize-winning performer in his formative years. Turned down by the Paris Conservatory, Marais took odd jobs to sustain his nighttime efforts as a stage bit player (one of the productions in which he appeared, Les Parents Terrible, would be filmed years later with Marais in the lead). On the basis of his looks and wavy blonde hair, he was able to wangle a few minor film roles from 1933 onward, beginning with Jean Tarride's Etienne, but the big breaks were not forthcoming until Marais met and befriended director Jean Cocteau. Marais would later describe his first encounter with Cocteau as his "second birth." The latter's homosexuality has frequently cast aspersions concerning his real stake in Marais' well-being, but the fact remains that Marais truly blossomed as an actor with starring roles in such Cocteau films as L'Eternel Retour (1943), Beauty and the Beast (1946), and Orpheus (1950). Thanks to Cocteau, Marais became one of the most popular French film personalities of the postwar era, with the country's top directors clamoring for his services. The two would remain professionally and personally close until Cocteau's death in 1963. The passing of his long-time companion devastated Marais, who would later write that a large part of himself died that day, leaving Marais but a shadow of his former self.Before becoming an actor, Marais had a hard time deciding what he wanted to do with his life. While still in his native Cherbourg, he worked at various jobs that included photographer, copying postcards, and selling newspapers. He started painting as a young man and it would remain a lifelong passion and eventually gained him access to the film industry after filmmaker Marcel L'Herbier purchased one of his paintings and the offered Marais the chance to play bit parts in two of his films, L'Epervier and L'Aventurier in 1933. His life-story would later inspire Francois Truffaut's plot for Le Dernier Metro/The Last Metro (1980).
In the early 1960s, the still strikingly handsome Jean Marais became something of a Gallic Roger Moore, appearing in such adventure-film series as Fantomas and The Saint. After a long retirement, Jean Marais returned to moviemaking in the mid-1980s with choice character roles in such films as Parking (1985). Marais made his final film appearance in Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty (1996). That year, Marais received France's highest tribute, the Legion of Honor for his contribution to French cinema . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Producer/director Sacha Guitry's contribution to the 1956 film season was the free-flowing historical pageant Si Paris Nous Etait Conte (If Paris Were Told to Us). Guitry himself appears as the ghost of King Louis XI, who relates the story of Paris to a group of fascinated modern-day students. As usual, Guitry manages to "humanize" history by depicting the great men and women of France in amusing warts-and-all fashion. Symbolizing the indomitable spirit of Paris is Robert Lamoureaux as Latude, a prisoner of the Bastille who repeatedly tries to escape, and just as repeatedly is captured and thrown back in jail. A note of pathos is provided by Jacques de Feraudy as the dying Voltaire. Though Sacha Guitry suffered a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair throughout much of the filming of Si Paris Nous Etait Conte, he still had two more films left in him before his death in 1957--just 10 days after Bastille Day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Jean Marais, (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)
- 1955
In this erotic French romance two lovely women compete for the love of the same man. The film is also known as Joy of Loving. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Showing no signs of slowing down in his 70th year, Sacha Guitry served as director and writer of the lavish historical epic Napoleon, and also costarred as Talleyrand. It is now hard to assess the quality of the film, since most American prints are severely edited, and the color photography appallingly washed out. Reviewers in 1955 admired the effort that went into this $1,800,000 production, but complained that the viewer left the film with no deeper understanding of Napoleon Bonaparte than the viewer had had when coming in. Daniel Gelin poses impressively as the young Bonaparte, registering emotion only when things go wrong in his conquest of Europe, while Raymond Pellegrin is somewhat better as the older, more jaded Napoleon (the transition between the two actors is handled in a near-comic fashion). The Revolution is reduced to a few fleeting scenes, while the rest of the film is devoted to political infighting and betrayal. The huge supporting cast includes Michele Morgan as Josephine and Lana Marconi and Dany Robin, respectively, as Napoleon's mistresses Waleska and Desiree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Pellegrin, Daniel Gélin, (more)
- 1954
This French/Italian adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo began as a two-part film, the entire project running well over three hours. Only the second portion of the film was seen in America, and it is this half that currently carries the title of the Dumas original. Safely escaped from the Chateau D'If, the wronged Edmond Dantes (Jean Marais) returns to his old haunts, thirsting for revenge. In the guise of the Count of Monte Cristo, Dantes manages to drive all his old persecutors to ruin, or death, or both. He finally relents when he realizes that his long-ago sweetheart Mercedes (or "Mercedes-is-it?") is still in love with him. Director Robert Vernay coadapted the screenplay with Georges Neveaux. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Lia Amanda, (more)
- 1954
Sacha Guitry's Si Versailles M'Etait Conte (If Versailles Were Told to Me) is best known by its American title Royal Affairs in Versailles. In addtion to writing and directed the film, Guitry reserves for himself the plum role of Louis XIV. Concentrating on the palace of Versailles over a period of 300 years, the storyline concentrates on the various amorous and political intrigues of three French kings. The plot manages to wend its way through the French revolution, coming to a halt in "the present". The star-studded supporting cast includes Jean Marais as Louis XV, Claudette Colbert as Mme. Montespan, Micheline Presle as Mme. Pompadour, and, best of all, Orson Welles as a gouty Ben Franklin. Most currently available prints of Si Versailles M'Etait Conte are severely edited, and fail to do justice to the rich Eastmancolor hues of the original version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Michel Auclair, (more)
- 1953
La Voca del Silenzio (Voice of Silence) was the only Italian production of fabled German director G. W. Pabst. Based on a concept by neorealism specialist Cesar Zavattini (fleshed out by a team of =12= prominent writers, including Pabst himself and Jean Cocteau), the film follows a small group of very troubled men during a three-day spiritual sojourn. One is a politician, laden with guilt over his comportment during WW II. The second is a war veteran whose wife has "grown away" from him. The third is a writer of detective novels whose works might have inspired a real-life killing. The fourth is a thief who has come to the spiritual retreat to avoid capture. And the fifth is a candle merchant whose livelihood is threatened by modern technology. One of the few concessions to popular taste is a striptease sequence involving Rosanna Podesta. In keeping with the film's title, few words are spoken in La Voca del Silenzio; in this respect, the film is an intriguing throwback to Pabst's classic silent films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
A French boarding school is where a detective searches for a killer. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1953
Julietta (Dany Robin) is not fond of the wealthy older man (Bernard Lancret) whom her mother has selected for her husband. Dreaming of a Prince Charming who will rescue her from this loveless marriage, Julietta believes that handsome attorney Andre (Jean Marais) is the man of the hour. Trouble is, Andre doesn't want to be the girl's savior, and goes out of his way to avoid her. Eventually, Andre helps smooth the path of true romance for Julietta and the man who is truly worthy of being her life partner. Based on a novel by Louis De Vilmorin, Julietta was released in the U.S. by Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dany Robin, Jean Marais, (more)
- 1952
Dany Robin plays a modern-day Cinderella in Les Amants de Minuit. On Christmas Eve, lonely shopgirl Francoise (Robin) makes the acquaintance of slick counterfeiter Marcel (Jean Marais). Swept off her feet, the girl allows Marcel to shower all sorts of gifts and pretty clothes upon her. When she discovers that he's been using "funny money," however, she returns everything he's given to her. She also burns a roll of money that Marcel left behind to remember him by--and this turns out to be a bi-i-i-i-ig mistake. Filmed on location in and around Paris, Les Amants de Minuit complements the more hard-to-swallow aspects of the story with a surface veneer of reality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Dany Robin, (more)
- 1952
Nez de Cuir is a lesser but still fascinating exercise from French director Yves Allegret. The title translates to Leathernose, a reference to the protagonist, a Napoleonic-era soldier nobleman named Roger (Jean Marais). After losing his nose in battle, Roger is fitted with a leather prosthesis, which creates an aura of exotic romanticism and enables the lad to enjoy the favors of dozens of eligible young ladies. Alas, Roger cannot come to grips emotionally with his disfigurement, and it is his inner struggles which form the dramatic nucleus of the story. Allegret co-adapted the screenplay of Nez de Cuir from a novel by La Verende. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Françoise Christophe, (more)
- 1951
Yves Allegret's Les Miracle N'Ont Lieu qu Une Fois was briefly released in the U.S. under the literally translated title Miracles Only Happen Once. Critics have not dealt kindly with the film, comparing it unfavorably to Allegret's "classic" trilogy Dedde d'Anvers, Une si Jolie Petite Plage and Maneges (1948-50). Even so, Les Miracle is not to be dismissed lightly. The story concerns the romance between French student Jerome (Jean Marais) and Italian student Claudia (Alida Valli). Intending to marry, the couple is separated when war breaks out. Year later, Jerome and Claudia are reunited. By this time, however, Jerome has sunk to the depths of degradation, and the rapidly maturing Claudia wonders if the spark can ever be rekindled. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Alida Valli, (more)
- 1950
Somewhere between his more celebrated Walls of Malapaga and Forbidden Games, French filmmaker Rene Clement squeezed in the romantic drama Le Chateau de Verre. The film is based on a novel by Vicki Baum, of Grand Hotel fame. Michele Morgan stars as Evelyn, a married woman taking a vacation without her husband. Evelyn enjoys a brief but intense romance with Remy (Jean Marais), another vacationer. Later on, Remy suffers the taunts of his much-older mistress Marie (Elina Labourdette) who feels that he is an inadequate lover. Hoping to prove something to himself, he visits Evelyn once more. By now, however, she is suffering the pangs of guilt and remorse over her infidelity. Eventually she does return to Remy, but the consequences are disastrous. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Jean Marais, (more)
- 1950
Cinematic poet Jean Cocteau explored the myth of Orpheus on no fewer than three occasions: Le Sang d'Un Poete (Blood of a Poet, 1930), Orphee (Orpheus, 1949) and Le Testament d'Orphee (1960). This second of his "Orpheus" trilogy stars Jean Marais in the title role. Updated to contemporary Paris (albeit a Paris never seen before or since), the story concerns a sensitive young poet named Orpheus, who is married to the lovely Eurydice (Marie Dea). Orpheus' friend Cegeste (Edouard Dermit) is killed in a traffic accident. In the hospital morgue, Cegeste's patroness, The Princess of Death (Maria Casares), revives the young man; then, both Cegeste and Princess pass into the Underworld. Back on earth, Orpheus receives cryptic messages from Cegeste's spirit, as well as nocturnal visitations from the Princess. Meanwhile, Orpheus' wife enters into an affair with Heurtebise (Francois Perier). After seeking advice on her mixed-up love life, Eurydice is herself struck down and killed by the same cyclist who snuffed out Cegeste's life. It appears to Heurtebise that the ghostly Princess has claimed Eurydice so that she, the Princess, can be free to love Orpheus. Heurtebise persuades Orpheus to accompany him into the Underworld in hopes of returning Eurydice to life. By now, however, Orpheus cares little for his wife; he is completely under the Princess' spell. Offered her own liberation from the Underworld by the powers-that-be, the Princess dolefullly agrees to restore Eurydice to life, and to never have anything to do with Orpheus again. Orpheus has weathered much controversy to take its place among the director's most acclaimed works. Originally released at 112 minutes, the film was whittled down to 95 minutes for its American release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Marie Déa, (more)
- 1949
Also known as The Storm Within, Les Parents Terribles was adapted by director Jean Cocteau from his own stage play. Yvonne de Bray plays a manipulative, possessive mother, married to weakling Marcel Andre. At present, Yvonne is violently opposed to the impending marriage between her son Jean Marais to Josette Day. It gets more complicated than that: Day is Andre's mistress, who in turn is coveted by de Bray's sister Gabrielle Dorzat. These stunning revelations loosen the hold that De Bray has on her household. Her power gone, she seeks solace in self-destruction. Utilizing several of the original stage production's cast members, Les Parents Terrible was one of Cocteau's personal favorites (that's his voice as off-screen narrator); the property was ineffectively remade in England as Intimate Relations (1953). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Josette Day, (more)
- 1948
The tragic 19th-century romance between Austria's Crown Prince Rudolph and his teenaged mistress Marie Varetska served as the basis for the classic 1937 film melodrama Mayerling. This 1951 remake was held in high regard by critics when first released, but has since been strangely forgotten. Jean Marais stars as Prince Rudolph, who after an abortive attempt to topple his father from the Hapsburg throne is exiled to his summer home in Mayerling. Here he continues his romance with the "socially unacceptable" Marie Varetska, played by Dominique Blunchar. The lovers enter into a suicide pact, but Rudolph's political foes beat him to the punch. This denouement is a controversial one; historians still argue over who was responsible for the deaths of Rudolph and Marie. Mayerling would be given a third cinematic treatment in 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Dominique Blanchar, (more)
- 1948
Director Jean Delannoy's immediate followup to his brilliant Les Jeux sont Faits was the more conventional Aux Yeux du Souvenir (aka Souvenir and To the Eyes of Memory). The film is based on a true story, wherein an France airliner managed to survive a journey from Rio De Janeiro to Dakar with two of its engines incapacitated. To this already intensely dramatic situation has been added a romantic subplot involving Claire Magny (Michele Morgan) and Jacques Forester (Jean Marais). The love story adds very little to the film; fortunately, neither does it detract from the film's overall quality. As was the case with many French productions of the 1940s, Aux Yeux du Souvenir benefits immeasurably from the Wagnerian musical score by Georges Auric. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Jean Marais, (more)
- 1948
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Ruy Blas was adapted for the screen by no less than Jean Cocteau. The title character, played by Jean Marais, is a dashing nobleman-turned-bandit operating in 17th century Spain ("played" by France and Italy). Marais is also seen as a bookish student who happens to bear a striking resemblance to Ruy Blas. Top-billed as the Queen of Spain is Danielle Darrieux, making her film comeback after weathering accusations of collaboration during WW2. A long and frequently verbose film, Ruy Blas delivers the goods and more during the action highlights and love scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Gabrielle Dorziat, (more)
- 1948
Pauline Kael has characterized Jean Cocteau's The Eagle with Two Heads (L'aigle a deux tetes) as an inversion of Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (1946). On surface, this is true: In Beauty, the heroine awakens the handsome, good man lurking within the beast, while in Eagle it is the woman who is aroused from her spell by the hero. The woman is a queen (Edwidge Feuillere) who is despised by the populace; the man is a poet (Cocteau regular Jean Marais), who has come to assassinate her. By breaking the evil influence holding her, the poet (who looks just like the queen's late husband) restores the queen to her innate goodness, and the two fall in love. Cocteau adapted The Eagle with Two Heads from his own stage play, which would later be staged on videotape by Michelangelo Antonioni as Il Mistero di Oberwald (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edwige Feuillère, Jean Marais, (more)
Jean Cocteau's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (originally released in France as La Belle et la Bête) stars Josette Day as Beauty and Jean Marais as the Beast. When a merchant (Marcel André) is told that he must die for picking a rose from the Beast's garden, his courageous daughter (Day) offers to go back to the Beast in her father's place. The Beast falls in love with her and proposes marriage on a nightly basis; she refuses, having pledged her troth to a handsome prince (also played by Marais). Eventually, however, she is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. The film features a musical score by Georges Auric. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josette Day, Jean Marais, (more)
- 1946
No "story by" credit is bestowed in the 1942 French filmization of Carmen, though its debt to novelist Prosper Merimee and composer George Bizet is more than implicit. Filmed in Spain by a largely French cast and crew, Carmen stars Gallic heartthrob Vivien Romance in the title role, and the equally attractive Jean Marais as Don Jose. Director Christian-Jaque was quite outspoken in his admiration of the western films of John Ford, so it's no surprise that Carmen is staged like a western, with plenty of deep-focus landscape shots of smugglers and soldiers galloping across the horizon. Even the basic story, of Don Jose's dissolution at the hands of the seductive Carmen, lends itself to the western approach, if one thinks of the hero as a federal marshal gone bad through the influence of a clever saloon gal. Carmen received very little play when released in America in 1946, due in part to the 1947 Columbia Technicolor adaptation The Loves of Carmen, which starred Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viviane Romance, Elli Parvo, (more)
- 1946
Les Chouans is set during the dark days of the French Revolution. The title translates as "The Royalists," and indeed the protagonists are a group of French refugees loyal to the toppled royal family. Operating in Brittany, the royalists make a courageous if futile stand against the Republican army and the pro-revolution police. Based on a novel by Honore de Balzac, the film's screenplay was surreptitiously updated to include a few pro-left sentiments. Heading the cast is Madeline LeBeau -- the then-wife of Marcel Dalio -- whose best-remembered Hollywood role was as the patriotic trollop Yvonne in Casablanca. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Madeleine Le Beau, (more)
