Marcelle Chantal Movies
- 1949
Thanks to the popularity of the 1948 cinemazation of Gigi, the "fin de siecle" novels of Colette suddenly became hot properties in the French cinema. Julie de Carneilhan stars Edwige Feuillere in the title role. A divorcee, Julie de Carneilhan finds herself ardently pursued by a roue (Pierre Brasseur) and by her more reliable younger cousin (Jacques Dumesil). Like most of Colette's works, Julie de Carneilhan talks a great deal about sex and sexuality, but shows very little. The film's preponderance of dialogue, witty though it may have been, left American audiences dissatisfied. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Edwige Feuillère, (more)
- 1939
The same year that the great European actor Harry Baur played mad Czar Paul I in Le Patriote, he also played another celebrated Russian looney in Rasputin (original title: La Tragedie Imperiale). Unlike most interpretations of the infamous peasant-monk, Baur's Rasputin is a multifaceted character, as much saint as sinner. He is shown to be sincere in his belief that his self-styled magic powers are best utilized in the service of Czar Nicholas and the Royal Family. Alas, Rasputin is also prone to a multitude of human frailties, notably the temptation to allow absolute power to corrupt him absolutely. Whatever one might think of the life of Rasputin, one cannot deny that he left that life in a grostequely spectacular fashion, which Baur and director Marcel L'Herbier recreate in all its vividly gory splendor. Rasputin was based on a novel by Alfred Neumann. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Baur, Marcelle Chantal, (more)
- 1939
Jeune Filles en Detresse (Young Girls in Distress) was director G. W. Pabst's last French production before his (ill-timed) return to Nazi-occupied Austria in 1941. Somewhat reminiscent of Maedchen in Uniform, the story is set in a private girl's school, populated almost exclusively by children from broken homes. Among the few students who can claim family stability is Micheline Presle, but even her happiness is threatened when her lawyer father Andre Luguet inaugurates an affair with stage actress Jacqueline Debulac. With the help of Debulac's daughter Louisa Carletti, Presle is able to break up her father's romance and deliver him into the open arms of her mother Marcelle Chantal. On the whole, the performance by the younger cast members are more convincing than those rendered by the film's so-called adults. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Micheline Presle, (more)
- 1937
Romance in Flanders is the American title of the British Lost on the Western Front. Set during WWI, the first part of the story dwells upon the rivalry between Sergeants John Morley (Paul Cavanaugh) and Rodd Berry (Garry Marsh) over the affections of fetching mademoiselle Yvonne (Marcelle Chantal). She favors Morley, but when he's reported missing and presumed dead, she marries Berry. Years pass: during a British Army reunion, Yvonne suddenly spots a battlefield guide named Dick, who is the living image of her beloved Morley. Berry scoffs at the possibility that Dick and Morley are one of the same -- but they are. Not wishing to come between Yvonne and her husband, Morley feigns amnesia, but this doesn't weaken Yvonne's resolve to leave Berry and run off with her rediscovered Romeo. Suddenly, Morley's mind snaps, and he vows to kill Berry and claim Yvonne for himself. But a last-minute plot twist averts bloodshed and sets things right -- not happily right, but right all the same. The film was inspired by Mario Fort and Ralph E. Vanloc's best-selling novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Cavanagh, Marcelle Chantal, (more)
- 1936
Director Marcel L'Herbier adapted the screenplay for La Porte du Large (Open Door to the Sea) from a novel by Charles Spaak. Victor Francen stars as Captain Vilette, the recently-appointed commander of the Naval officer's school where his son (Jean-Pierre Aumont) is a cadet. The younger Vilette becomes involved in his dad's personal affairs when the Captain falls in love with a very-married American heiress (Marcel Chantal). Hoping that the Captain will marry the gorgeous woman -- after she divorces her husband of course -- Vilette Jr. arranges an elopement in a "borrowed" navy plane. This results in an apparent tragedy, for which the duty-bound Vilette holds his son responsible. On the verge of court-martial and disgrace, the young man is saved and the Captain is able to marry his sweetheart. Much of La Porte du Large was filmed on location at the Ecole Navale at Brest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Francen, Marcelle Chantal, (more)
- 1935
Baccara takes place in the late 1920s, as disillusioned WWI hero Jules Berry falls in love with beautiful Marcelle Chantal. For her sake, he gets involved in some highly suspect European financial dealings. Implicated in the ensuing scandal, Berry is forced to fight for his reputation -- and by implication his life -- in the courtroom. Baccara was clearly inspired by the recent Stavisky case, which resulted in lost fortunes, disgrace and suicide throughout Europe. The same historical ground was covered in the a clef Hollywood production Stolen Holiday, in which Claude Rains played another character based on the infamous Stavisky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jules Berry, Lucien Baroux, (more)
- 1934
Directed by Russian expatriate Feodor Ozep, the French Amok was originally released in 1934. Based on a story by Stefan Zweig, the film takes place on a French colonial island, where the residents are whipped into uncontrollable frenzy whenever the weather changes. Doctor Jean Yonnel is approached by mother-to-be Marcelle Chantal, who wants him to perform an abortion. He refuses, but when the weather shifts its course, he goes "amok" and agrees to the operation. By this time, however, Chantal wants to keep the baby -- or destroy herself rather than commit an "unpardonable" sin. Things get even grimmer towards the end when Chantal's husband returns to the island. Long held up from American release by various censorship bureaus, Amok was finally afforded a New York showing before a "jury" of newspaper and magazine film critics, who were to vote whether or not the film deserved a nationwide distribution (The vote was negative, largely due to the substandard quality of the film rather than its content). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Madeleine Guitty, (more)
- 1933
L'Odonnance (The Orderly) is based on the Guy de Maupassant story of the same name. After the sudden and unexpected suicide of his wife Helene (Marcelle Chantal), a grief-stricken Colonel (Jean Worms) comes into possession of a letter left behind by his wife. In flashback, the audience is apprised of the events leading up to Helene's demise. It seems that in the Colonel's absence, Helene entered into a brief affair with a young lieutenant (Claude Lehmann). This indiscretion was witnessed by Phillipe (Alexandre Rignault), the Colonel's orderly, who demands a great deal of money to keep his mouth shut. Phillipe's villainy reaches its summit when he takes advantage of the lieutenant's absence by offering himself as Helene's lover -- again threatening to reveal all to the Colonel if Helene does not accede to his wishes. Unable to withstand the shame, Helene drowns herself. Upon being apprised of all the facts, the Colonel takes matters in his own hands, bringing Philippe's blackmailing career to a violent end. L'Odonnance was a remake of a 1921 film, also directed by Victor Tourjansky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Paulette Dubost, (more)
- 1932
Indefatigable French director Maurice Tourneur launched his three-picture schedule for 1932 with Au Nom de la Toi (In the Name of the Law). Marcelle Chantal plays the lovely but lethal head of an opium-smuggling ring. When Chantal orders the murder of a detective, another sleuth, played by Charles Vanel, is ordered to infiltrate her gang. The "heroine" falls in love with Vanel, thereby sealing her own doom. Among the many highlights is the near-surrealistic climax, in which the gang's hideout is bombarded guerilla-style with tear gas. Au Nom de la Loi was based on a novel by Paul Bringuier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Gabriel Gabrio, (more)
- 1931
Le Requisitoire is the French-language version of the 1931 Paramount drama Manslaughter. Though Claudette Colbert, the star of the original film, was fluent in both French and English, her role was taken over in this version by Marcelle Chantal. The heroine is a spoiled-rotten heiress whose reckless driving causes the death of a motorcycle cop. Despite her money and influence, she is sentenced to prison, where for the first time in her life she is denied preferential treatment. Vowing revenge against the moralist DA who put her behind bars, she ends up falling in love with him instead. Le Requisitoire, like its American counterpart, was based on a novel by Alice Duer Miller, previously filmed by Cecil B. DeMille in 1922. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Helena Manson, (more)
- 1930
Le Secret du Docteur is a Gallic rendition of The Doctor's Secret, a play by James M. Barrie. Marcelle Chantal plays Lilian Garner, the bored, disenchanted wife of Richard Garner (Leon Bary). Preparing to run off to parts unknown with her lover Jean Colman (Jean Bradin), Lilian is prevented from doing so when Jean is killed in a motor accident, right before her eyes. The attending physician at the scene of the tragedy is Dr. Brady (Maxaudian), Garner's best friend. Brady is aware that Lilian and Jean were lovers, but he intends to remain mum when invited for a weekend party at the Garland's home. The method by which the truth is revealed is at once clever and cruel but in complete accordance with the mood of the rest of the story. This adaptation of The Doctor's Secret is the French version of the 1929 English-language talkie, which starred Ruth Chatterton as the errant wife and Robert Edeson as the discreet physician. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Leon Bary, (more)
- 1929
Le Collier de la Reine (The Queen's Necklace) was based on the Alexandre Dumas yarn of the same name. Countess Jeanne de la Mote (Marcelle Favel-Chantel) impulsively decides to purloin a necklace owned by Queen Marie Antoinette (Diana Karenne). Part of her scheme is to hire a Parisian prostitute named Olivia, who happens to be an exact double of the Queen (and who also happens to be played by Diana Karenne). The outcome of the plot hinges on a packet of forged love letters. Why the Countess goes to all this trouble is never made clear, at least not in the version made available to American audiences. A silent picture, Le Collier de La Reine was released with an additional five-minute talkie sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Georges Lannes, (more)
