Felix Marten Movies

On the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, which was a French territory at the time of this movie, Coco, a simple islander, is tricked into running for political office in the sure expectation that he will not rock the boat when he loses, after having divided the vote among the poor. Though the charming Coco is popular among his fellow poor folks, he is unlikely to suddenly grow political and start agitating for rights. Unfortunately for the Monbin family, which has arranged all this, Coco is too good a student of his new role. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this French police thriller, Le Guen (Jean Gabin) is an old-style police inspector, near retirement. When Gassot (Fabio Testi) escapes from the mental institute for the criminally insane, Le Guen is the best man to track him down. After all, he put him away years before. Gassot leaves behind a string of corpses and takes up with a prostitute while Le Guen chases him. Gerard Depardieu makes one of his first screen appearances here, in a small part. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In 1944, with Paris on the verge of Liberation by the allies, Adolph Hitler ordered that the City of Light be blown up and burned to the ground. General Dietrich Von Choltitz, after much rumination, decided that he didn't want to go down in history as the man who destroyed Paris. His refusal to follow Hitler's orders would make him a pariah in Germany for the rest of his life; nor was his gesture ever rewarded by the Allies. From this very human story in the midst of one of the most inhuman conflicts in history grew the screenplay (by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola) of the all-star, internationally produced Is Paris Burning? Whereas the earlier The Longest Day was able to support a castful of celebrities and brief subplot vignettes, Is Paris Burning? seems more weighted down than weighty. Still, a modern audience will have fun playing "spot the star" throughout the film, especially when those spotted stars include the likes of Gert Frobe (as Choltitz), Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas (as Patton), Glenn Ford (as Bradley), Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, and even Anthony Perkins as a wide-eyed GI. Filmed on a gargantuan scale, Is Paris Burning? was based on a book by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre. The film was lensed in black and white, save for the Technicolor finale (in the original road-show prints). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arthur (Jean Richard) dreams of killing his harridan shrew of a wife to spend more time with his demanding mistress in this crime drama. His wife refuses to grant him a divorce, so Arthur puts his mind to murder. Arthur kills a woman who is sleeping in his bed, but it turns out to be the mistress who had earlier come to visit the wife. His spouse knocked out the mistress by hitting her and dumped the unconscious victim in the bed. Arthur and his wife hide the body, but he discovers that the mistress was poisoned before her visit to his wife. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Nathalie, Secret Agent, the Anglo-American Atomic Agent is a sequel to the 1957 film Nathalie (aka Foxiest Girl in Paris). The delectable Martine Carol reprises her role as adventuresome Parisian model Nathalie. This time, Our Heroine's unquenchable curiosity brings her in close contact with an espionage ring. Using all the feminine wiles at her disposal, Nathalie rounds up the spies long before the police have a clue as to what's going on. Both Atomic Agent and its predecessor were based on characters and situations created by novelist Frank Marchal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A stock, provincial crime drama by Hollywood's glamorous standards, Delit de Fuite tells the story of Fred (Felix Marten) an unfortunate journalist who becomes attracted to and then enamored of, the young wife of an older business tycoon. Fred's involvement with her parallels a bit of nasty skulduggery, as both a murder and blackmail make their way into the story. How they are resolved takes some time, some long time, in the telling. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The feature-film debut of famed director Louis Malle is an interesting, modern film noir with the classic theme of lovers plotting to kill the husband and make it look like suicide (reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice). Jeanne Moreau, as Florence Carala, gives an astonishing performance, perverse but naive as she leads her young lover down a path that can only lead to doom for both of them. Malle and his cinematographer Henri Decae make extensive use of Paris at night, giving the film the feel of claustrophobia and desperation reminiscent of the classic noir films. The excellent score by Miles Davis adds to the entire effect of this mystery thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide