Raymond Queneau Movies
Distinguished author and poet Raymond Queneau is an important literary figure in his native France and was quite active in the development of the surrealist movement during the 1920s. In addition, he was among the more prominent editors of the Pléiade encyclopedia. Queneau was also periodically involved with French cinema writing scripts and directing one short film, Le Lendemain, in 1950. In 1960, he made his acting debut in Mocky's Un Couple and two years later had a major role in Landru. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1971
This French farce/drama takes place in Ireland in 1916, during one of the peak periods of revolutionary violence. Seven Irish revolutionaries have taken over a post office, totally evacuating the building. Or so they think. They missed Gertie Gertel, who was in the bathroom at the time. By the time she is discovered, they are sufficiently besieged that for her own safety, she must stay with them. Gertie, it turns out, is about as pro-British as it is possible to be, and the seven take it on themselves, in the midst of battles and gunfights, to win her over to their cause. While they are at it, they set out to woo her, as well. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Julia Danielle Darrieux is a woman who marries a younger man in this pre-World War II drama. The newlyweds settle down and run a store inherited by the bride. With storm clouds of war on the horizon, the woman's brother-in-law makes a small fortune dealing in guns and ammunition, and when war finally breaks out, Julia is left alone when her husband answers the nation's call to build up the military. She has a premonition about her husband's death as others only think of how they too can profit from the human misery of war. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Jean-Pierre Moulin, (more)
- 1963
This black comedy is based on the dastardly deeds of French serial killer Henri-Desire Landru, who wined, dined, scammed, and dismembered over 10 women during WW I. He obtained his victims by placing ads in the Personals section of the paper. He then chose wealthy dowagers in their fifties. First he would woo them to his villa. Then he would con them into forking over their fortunes. Finally he would kill them, chop them up, and immolate the pieces. He is finally captured after he is recognized by the sister of one of the victims. Landru swears that he is not a psychotic killer, that he only did it so he could continue to support his family in the bourgeoisie style that they were accustomed to. During his trial, Landru refused to plead for himself one way or the other; he showed no remorse at all. He was guillotined on February 25, 1922. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Denner, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
- 1960
The lighthearted comedy Zazie Dans Le Metro, an early directorial effort from Louis Malle, stars Catherine Demongeot as a 12-year-old girl named Zazie. Zazie is forced to travel to Paris when her mother wants to rendezvous with her lover. Zazie is left in the care of Uncle Gabriel (Philippe Noiret), an eccentric transvestite. Both with him, and on her own, Zazie meets a variety of unusual city dwellers, and gets into a series of misadventures that reach their greatest level of wackiness during a café food fight. The film is based on a novel by the distinguished French author Raymond Queneau. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Demongeot, Philippe Noiret, (more)
- 1956
Recharging his creative batteries with a "commercial" venture, director Luis Bunuel came up with the stylish if undistinguished La Mort en ce Jardin (Death in This Garden). Set in a steaming jungle, the film concerns a disparate group of refugees from a despotic military regime. Among these worthies is "good time girl" Djin (Simone Signoret), ageing miner Castin (Charles Vanel) and deaf-mute Marie (Michele Girardon). The deeper the protagonists venture into the jungle, the more Bunuel's patented surrealism begins to surface. Only two of the escapees survive the ordeal, and they aren't necessary the two whom the viewers are rooting for. Some prints of La Mort en ce Jardin bear the title Gina. hel) F Lorsque L'Enfant Paris (When the Child Appears) was adapted from the hit play by Andre Roussin. The story revolves around the efforts of a well-meaning, highly moralistic minister, who wants the government to clamp down on illegitimacy. Complications ensue when the minister's own wife become pregnant--and all evidence indicates that the child is not his. Adding to the protagonist's headaches, his daughter, on the eve of her wedding to a wealthy young man, announces that she, too, may well be in the family way. Not to be left out, the minister's son declares that he thinks he's impregnated his father's secretary! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Charles Vanel, (more)
- 1954
Rene Clement's Monsieur Ripois was released in English-speaking countries as The Knave of Hearts and Lovers, Happy Lovers. Relying heavily on voiceover narration and subjective camerawork, the film has Gerard Phillipe in the title role. Believing himself to be love with his wife's best friend (Natasha Parry), Ripois pours out his heart to her by recounting his past amours. Though he has known many women, he has never truly loved any of them. This has proved more troublesome for Ripois than for the ladies in his life, but somehow he never learns his lesson--not even during the film's final scene. British actresses Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood are well cast as Ripois' wife and former girlfriend, respectively, while Germaine Montero has an effective cameo as a warm-hearted prostitute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Philipe, Germaine Montero, (more)
