France Roche Movies
- 1986
Although the plot in this funny, well-acted romantic comedy is written by the numbers, the story entertains because of the talent of the two leads. Thierry Lhermitte plays Jacques Belin, a dashing television star who is on a bender after receiving an award for his courteous demeanor. Josiane Balasko portrays Frede, an ex-convict who runs into Jacques in a train station. Circumstances throw the two of them together for an evening immersed in alcohol, much to Jacques' later regret. He does not remember what happened the night before when he wakes up with a headache the size of Lyons, but Frede has no such problem, and that only means trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte, (more)
- 1964
In this French comedy from director Edouard Molinaro, a young Jean-Paul Belmondo stars as Fernand, a groom-to-be who is dissuaded from stepping up to the altar by his two friends after they terrify him with their personal marriage horror stories. Antoine immediately ditches his bride and heads for Greece, but not before giving his friend Antoine (Jean-Claude Brialy) his honeymoon cruise tickets. Aboard the boat, Antoine meets and falls in love. Meanwhile, Fernand falls in love with a swindler and becomes determined to marry her. Also featuring a 21-year-old Catherine Deneuve, La Chasse A L'Homme was released in the United States in 1965 under the title Male Hunt. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Claude Brialy, (more)
- 1962
In this French melodrama, a gigolo makes money by selling the expensive gifts bestowed upon him by his wealthy lovers. One of the women sees the darker side of the man when she tells him she is pregnant and hopes he will settled down with her. He brutally rejects her; she then has a miscarriage. Meanwhile, at a local bar, the gigolo is challenged by a stranger to seduce Romance, a gorgeous woman who usually has a number of lovers simultaneously. Sure enough, he succeeds and an affair begins, but soon he begins to feel possessive and jealous when she continues to see others without apology. In the end, she gets bored with his jealousy and dumps him. The despondent gigolo the reflects upon the pain his similar actions have caused to his women. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Wearing the title garment, a daring night rider sets off to get revenge upon the wicked, avaricious magistrate responsible for murdering his father and keeping his neighbors in poverty. This Italian chronicle of his exciting exploits is set in Pisa during the 1500s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
This routine, post-war drama begins during the last moments of World War II when Andre (Michael Subor), a Frenchman who has joined the Germans in fighting the Russians, realizes he has to escape. Once in France, he goes to help out a family from some difficulties and soon falls in love with Catherine (Catherine Sola), the daughter. That romance is not likely to survive because in the eyes of the French, any countryman who joined the German army is a traitor. Andre has few choices left, as Catherine sets her mind to help him out, no matter what. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elina Labourdette, Georges Poujouly, (more)
Love and the Frenchwoman (La Francaise et L'Amour) concentrates on the nature of love by illustrating seven separate aspects of the emotion. In "Childhood," 9-year old Pierre-Jean Vaillard suffers a traumatic experience when he takes his parents' "cabbage patch" theory of conception too literally. In "Adolescence," a little girl (Annie Sinigalla) constructs an elaborate fantasy world on the occasion of her first kiss. "Virginity" is a study in frustration, as betrothed couple Valerie Lagrange and Pierre Michel agonizingly await their wedding-night consummation of their ardor. "Marriage" finds a union ending almost before it begins as a pair of newlyweds (Marie-Jose Nat and Claude Rich) bicker all the way to their honeymoon rendezvous. "Adultery" allows husband Paul Meurisse the opportunity to calmly provide an object lesson to his wife's lover Jean-Paul Belmondo. In "Divorce", a couple (Annie Girardot and Francois Pierer) find that it's impossible to have a "civilized" breakup. And in "A Woman Alone," bigamist Robert Lamoreaux meets his Waterloo in the forms of Martine Carol and Sylvia Montfort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darry Cowl, Sophie Desmarets, (more)
- 1957
Filmed in 1957 but not released in the U.S. until 1962, Girl in His Pocket was released to more liberal markets as Nude in His Pocket. Jean Marais plays Prof. Jerome, a researcher who is intrigued with the theory of suspended animation. With the help of his sexy assistant Monette (Agnes Laurent), the professor stumbles upon a formula that shrinks people and turns them into living statues. When the professor's wife suspects that her husband is carrying on a romance with Monette (she's right), the au naturel Monette hides herself by drinking the potion and secreting herself within the professor's pocket. There's a race to the rescue when the professor's wife places the "figurine" Monette on an ocean liner bound for parts unknown. Girl in His Pocket was based on "The Diminishing Draft", a short story by Waldemar Kaempfert, originally published way back in 1918. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Geneviève Page, (more)
- 1955
Beautifully photographed, this comedy drama from Jean Renoir chronicles the revival of Paris' most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a star at the Moulin Rouge. The film is also title Only the French Can. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Maria Felix, (more)
- 1954
Barbara Laage essays the title role in Zoe. Our heroine's adventures begin when she catches the eye of a big-city playboy named Arthur (Michel Auclair), who is attracted not only to Zoe's beauty, but by her insistence upon telling nothing but the whole truth. This trait causes no end of comic complications when Zoe moves into the palatial home of Arthur's family. The limit comes when Zoe botches a big business deal formulated by Arthur's not-altogether-honest father (Louis Seigner). Zoe is based on a stage farce by Jean Marsan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Laage, Michel Auclair, (more)
