Nicole Courcel Movies

In this very low-key film, 20-year-old Thomas discovers that he is not a particularly nice fellow and has no special reason to like himself. His inquisitiveness is at least in part responsible for his parents' divorce, as he discovered the cache of love-letters which proved that his mother had an extramarital liaison. He also cannot decide between his working-class girlfriend and an upper-class girl. Matters are taken out of his hands when the upper-class girl's father intervenes, and he is separated from the other girl when he goes to college. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This French suspense drama concerns the efforts of a small-time criminal (Robert Hossein) to spring his older brother from jail. The younger man and his friends kidnap a non-descript detective to serve as a hostage they can exchange for the brother. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Le Rempart des Beguines is based on the novel by Francoise Mallet-Jouris. It tells the story of an upper-class woman who is considering getting married to a widower, a painter with a 16-year-old daughter. During a visit to his home, she finds herself alone with the daughter, who is very lonely. Before long, they end up in bed with each other. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Military Intelligence officer Major Grau (Omar Sharif) investigates the brutal murder of a Warsaw prostitute in this mystery set during World War II. Grau's only clue is that the murderer was wearing the uniform of a Nazi general. The three suspects include Gabler (Charles Gray), who fears his harridan wife more than anything, the icy General Tanz (Peter O'Toole), and the scheming, resourceful General Kahlenberge (Donald Pleasence). Grau is suspicious when he is taken off the case, but he does his own investigating when the suspects are gathered in Paris two years later. He enlists the help of Inspector Morand (Philippe Noiret), a resistance sympathizer with whom Grau forms an alliance. A side plot involving an affair with the general's daughter is thrown in for distaff interest. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This thriller is set aboard a Frankfurt bound train and chronicles the desperate flight of an East German refugee. When the other Germans learn that the fellow is aboard, they demand that he be turned over to the authorities. Fortunately, the chief authority is a renegade and plans to disobey his orders. His actions nearly cause an international incident between the US and the Soviets and the CO is forced to reluctantly turn in the prisoner. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sundays and Cybele (original French title: Les Dimanches de Ville D'Avray) stars Hardy Kruger as a former bomber pilot. Emotionally shattered by a tragic wartime incident, Kruger goes into semi-seclusion in a small Parisian suburb. He is drawn out of his shell by 12-year-old orphan girl Patricia Gozzi. The nuns in charge of Patricia bless the relationship, assuming that Kruger is the girl's father. A warm, chaste friendship develops between the older man and the bright-eyed girl, culminating in their mutual decision to spend Christmas together in a nearby woods. Unfortunately, nurse Nicole Courcel, suspecting that Kruger is a pedophile, calls the police--a move that can only result in disaster for all concerned. Based on a novel by Bernard Eschasseriaux, the exquisitely photographed Sundays and Cybele won the 1962 Best Foreign Film Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A social worker endeavors to rehabilitate Parisian streetwalkers in this drama. Two men later meet a pair of these reformed women and fall in love. When one of the women's old friend's is murdered, one of the girl's become a prime suspect. Actually the dead woman was slain by the ex-hooker's former employer, a gangster. Unfortunately the gangster dies in an auto wreck. Meanwhile, the social worker tries to clear the girl by telling police that she had been with her lover. The truth about the girls eventually comes out, and only one of their lovers is understanding. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this WW II drama, two French soldiers are captured and forced to work as farm hands on a German family's land. One of the soldiers tricks the farmer's innocent daughter into helping him escape. The other soldier has truly fallen for the girl and decides to stay. At the war's end, the escaped POW becomes a successful journalist and the other has gone back to his original wife whom he despises. Later the husband leaves his family and returns to the girl, while the journalist returns to his former mistress who risked it all to save him from being arrested. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A charming, sophisticated, off-beat, and unlikely comedy, Ein Mann Geht durch die Wand has a title that describes the crux of the humor: an unprepossessing underling in the revenue offices discovers he can walk through walls. Herr Buchsbaum (Heinz Ruehmann) is naturally quite surprised at this development, but he soon finds some very understandable ways to use his newfound ability. His exploits lead both to laughter and to a tug at the heartstrings. Also figuring in the tale are his attractive next-door neighbor, two colleagues at work, and his boss. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Le Cas Du Dr. Laurent (The Case of Dr. Laurent) stars Jean Gabin as a Paris-based doctor who tries to spread the gospel of Natural Childbirth. Working in a cloistered rural community, Gabin runs up against the stone walls of fear and prejudice. His theories are proven sound when unwed mother Nicole Courcel gives birth within Gabin's methodology. The childbirth sequence is filmed straight-on with a delicate combination of taste and frankness. Nonetheless, the lurid ad campaign of Cas Du Dr. Laurent sensationalized this sequence all out of proportion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi