Elvire Popesco Movies
- 1939
Per its title, the all-star Derriere la Facade (Behind the Facade) exposes the truth about a group of supposedly respectable citizens. Enraged that his jurist father is keeping a blowzy mistress, the judge's son heads into the Parisian "demimonde" to set things right. In short order, the mistress is murdered and the son is accused of the crime. A pair of ambitious police detectives think that there's more to the case than meets the eyes, as indeed there is. Characters essential to the action include a naïve young soldier, a nimble-fingered card sharp, a sinister knife thrower and a slimy gigolo. Oh yes, Erich von Stroheim is also on hand for intermittent moments of menace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1938
This French melodrama was originally released in 1938 as Education de Prince. Comic actor Fernand Charpin plays the Bargekeeper, whose daughter (Josette Day) falls in love with prince-in-exile Sascha (Robert Lynen). Wealthy baron Cercieux (Louis Jouvet) raises enough money to restore Sascha to his throne, but this will require a marriage of convenience to a worthy member of royalty. Refusing to renounce his sweetheart, Sascha cleverly arranges to ascend to the throne and marry the girl of his dreams -- but it takes a heap of operetta-style plotting to do so. By the time the New York censors were finished with The Barge-Keeper's Daughter, it had been shorn by nearly three reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvire Popesco, Josette Day, (more)
- 1936
Filmed in 1936 but not released in the US until 1940, Julien Duvivier's Man of the Hour (L'Homme du Jour) was, believe it or not, Maurice Chevalier's first French starring feature (all of his previous vehicles had been made in Hollywood or London). Chevalier plays a dual role: "Himself", the well known singer-boulevardier, and a humble stage electrician named Alfred Boulard. The hero of the occasion is Boulard, who attains fame and fortune after donating blood to save the life of stage actress Mona Talia (Elvira Popesco). His sudden celebrity goes directly to Boulard's head, and soon he is impossible to be around. In the end, Mona teams up with Boulard's boarding-house companions to teach him a lesson. Critics in 1936 were overwhelmed with the scene in which both Chevaliers sing together, though that sort of thing was already kid stuff in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvire Popesco, Renee Devillers, (more)
- 1939
Filmmaker Sacha Guitry's only cinematic contribution for 1939 was Ils Etaient Neuf Celibataires, released stateside as There Were Nine Bachelors. Set sometime in the past, the story gets under way when a new law calls for the expulsion of certain foreigners from Paris. Among those slated for deportation is Polish stage star Elvire Popesco. Guitry plays an opportunist who offers to help Popesco remain in France in exchange for her help in a highly suspicious "lonely hearts" scam. Our so-called hero intends to marry off nine elderly bachelors with an equal number of female foreign aliens, so that the latter will be able to declare themselves as French citizens. Naturally, most of the financial proceeds of this venture are to remain in Guitry's possession -- not to mention any female "fringe benefits" picked up along the way. With so complicated and convoluted a plotline, it is little wonder that Sacha Guitry's films seldom imported well, especially when decked out with inadequate English-language subtitles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1931
L'Etrangere (The Foreigner) is Mrs. Clarkson (Elvire Popesco), the wife of a wealthy American (Henri Debain). Mrs. Clarkson has entered into matrimony for the express purpose of accumulating a great deal of money. No, she isn't a spendthrift: She hopes to use the cash to finance a campaign of revenge, levelled against the man who seduced her own mother. Our heroine then makes it her mission in life to destroy all males who've caused the downfall and ruin of innocent females. Her campaign comes to an end when she falls in love with Mauriceau (Emile Drain), her husband's assistant, but there's no happy ending in the wings for this avenging angel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvire Popesco, Fernand Fabre, (more)
- 1939
That matchless French farceur Fernandel has a field day in L'Heritier de Mondesir (The Mondesir Heir). A wicked lampoon on astrology, the story is set in motion when the Baron de Mondesir dies suddenly, leaving a fortune behind. A rustic rube (Fernandel, who also plays six other roles!) finds that, as the Baron's illegitimate offspring, he is the sole heir to the Mondesir estate. It is at this point that our hero is pounced upon by phony astrologers Elvire Popesco and Jules Berry, who seek to separate Fernandel from his bankroll by convincing him that the disposition of his estate has been predetermined by the stars. The villains almost get away with it, but Fernandel is saved by a vision of his noble ancestors, who warn him not to be so gosh-darned gullible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Felicien Tramel, (more)
- 1939
Le Bois Sacre (Sacred Woods) was adapted from the play of the same name by Robert de Fiers and A. de Caillavet. Elvire Popesco stars as popular novelist Mme. Margerie, who is put out when she is not nominated for the Legion of Honor award. One of the judges, M. Champmorel (Andre Lefaur) offers to put her name in competition in exchange for a few? um?favors, but Margerie will have none of this. However, she isn't above encouraging the romance between her own husband (Victor Boucher) and Champmorel's wife (Gaby Morlay) as a method of earning the coveted prize. Marcel Dalio contributes another sparkling cameo as Mme. Champmorel's former lover, a flamboyant Russian ballet master. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvire Popesco, Gaby Morlay, (more)
- 1940
Originally released in 1939 as Paradis Perdu (Paradise Lost), Abel Gance's Four Flights to Love is typical of the great director's entertaining but insignificant later efforts. The storyline spans the years between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second. Unable to reconcile himself to the death of his wife, Parisian fashion designer Pierre (Fernand Gravey) withdraws into himself, refusing to make contact with his daughter (Micheline Presle) Eventually he "opens up" enough for a reconciliation with the girl, and even begins a new romance with woman several years younger than himself. Fernand Gravey ages and ages convincingly in Four Flights to Love, delivering a well-rounded portrayal of an underdeveloped character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Micheline Presle, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1936
Filmed two years before the Nazi takeover of France, The King (Le Roi) made its way to the U.S. in 1941. Victor Francen plays the title character, a playboy regent who goes out for a night on the town during a visit to Paris. In the course of the evening's revelry, Francen enjoys a brief fling with gorgeous Gaby Morlay -- who happens to be the mistress of the king's host, cabinet minister Raimu. Though enraged at being cuckolded, Raimu tries to honor the usual proprieties of protocol and class distinctions, with amusing results. Like many late-1930s films, The King was obviously inspired by the pre-abdication shenanigans of the Prince of Wales. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1942
Le Voile Bleu is a tear-stained "perservering through the years" drama starring Gaby Morlay. During WW1, Red Cross nurse Louise (Morlay) loses her soldier-husband in battle. Shortly thereafter, her newborn baby dies. Once she's come to terms with her grief, Louise vows to devote her life to caring for other people's children, which she does for the next four decades at great personal sacrifice. The fruits of her selfless efforts are revealed at the climax, when several of Louise's grown-up charges gather to honor their surrogate mother in a glorious "family" reunion. The Blue Veil was remade in Hollywood in 1952, with Jane Wyman in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco, (more)
