Jeanne Boitel Movies
- 1958
The French-made Inspector Maigret offers one of the best-ever Maigrets in the form of veteran tough guy Jean Gabin, who played the character three times throughout the 1950s. In Maigret Sets a Trap, the inspector tackles the case of a psychopathic serial killer. The female victims have all been stripped and stabbed but none of the women was raped. Putting two and two together, Maigret determines that the killer was motivated by rage and frustration rather than sex. Maigret Sets a Trap avoids sensationalism in favor of slow-building suspense. Originally released in the U.S. as Inspector Maigret, the movie was retitled Woman-Bait. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Annie Girardot, (more)
- 1956
Though nearly as lavish as the 1938 MGM film of the same name, the 1955 French historical epic Marie Antoinette is not nearly as coherent or entertaining. Michele Morgan stars as the Austrian princess who becomes the last Queen of France in waning years of the 18th century. Jacques Morel costars as King Louis XVIII, Antoinette's slow-witted, ineffectual husband, while Richard Todd is the dashing European ambassador who briefly brings romance into the heroine's life. The episodic screenplay seldom sticks to the point long enough to detail the reasons behind the fall of the French aristocracy and the ultimate execution of the royal family. In addition, Michele Morgan is a bit too frosty and distant to warrant audience sympathy. Marie Antoinette was filmed simulatenously in French- and English-language versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Richard Todd, (more)
- 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)
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
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)
- 1938
Sacha Guitry not only wrote and directed Remontons les Champs-Elysses (Remounting the Champs Elysses), but also plays five roles, including Louis XV and Napoleon III. The film proposes to detail the history of the famous Parisian thoroughfare of the title, beginning with its inception under the aegis of Marie de Medicis. Other famous historical personages depicted herein are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who allegedly came up with the idea for the first open-air restaurant, and composer Richard Wagner, here seen as a frustrated café musician. At the time of its release, Remontons les Champs-Elysses was compared unfavorably to Guitry's earlier historical pageant Pearls of the Crown. Today it can be appreciated as one of his most entertaining pre-war efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacqueline Delubac, Jane Marken [Jeanne], (more)
- 1937
This German musical epic is based on Greek mythology and centers upon the tale of Alcmene who yearns for her husband who has gone to fight a war. The trouble begins when Jupiter is smitten by her mortal beauty and comes down to Earth in human form to seduce her. Though strongly tempted, she remains steadfast to her husband when the god drinks too much liquor and ends up unconscious and unable to have her. Suddenly Juno, his wife, angrily descends and drags her wayward spouse back to Olympus. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henri Garat, Armand Bernard, (more)
- 1933
Released in English-speaking countries as Eddies, this feverish romantic melodrama involves a "damaged" husband and a restless wife. Paralyzed from the waist down in an auto accident, Henri St. Clair (Jean Gallard) is all too aware that he can no longer satisfy his young wife Jeanne (Jeanne Botel). Even so, Jeanne tries to be faithful but eventually succumbs to the charms of virile Robert Vannier (Maurice Mallot). Jeanne's inner torment and sexual yearnings are represented in purely symbolic terms, not unlike the implied eroticism of the recent Czech film Ecstacy. This distinctly continental production was, surprisingly, the brainchild of an American screenwriter named Peggy Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Boitel, Jean Galland, (more)
