Marcel L'Herbier Movies

Pere de Mademoiselle (Father of the Girl) is all about a star-struck lass from rural France who takes a job as the secretary to a glamorous actress. When her parents come to the big city, the girl is beside herself: she's been claiming in her letters that she's become a show-business success. The understanding actress agrees to switch places with the secretary, and then le joie begins. Arletty makes a meal of the role of the big-hearted actress, while Andre Lugiet is equally enjoyable as the girl's self-important provincial father. Only one cavil: the plot is a bit too thin to spread over 100 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This French version of The Last Days of Pompeii was shots on standing sets left over from the epic historical drama Fabiola. Bypassing the continuity of the original Bulwer-Lytton novel and the 1936 Hollywood film version, this adaptation concocts a plotline concerning a pair of lovers named Isias (Georges Marchal) and Helen (Micheline Presle). When Isias is slipped a so-called love potion by a rival, he is driven mad. Upon recovery, he learns he is to stand trial for the murder of gorgeous slave Nadia (Laura Alex). Thrown to the lions in the arena, Isias is saved by the timely eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The plot is strictly for the birds, but Les Dernieres Jours de Pompeii is redeemed by its excellent special effects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

French film favorite Danielle Darrieux had only recently cleared herself of a wartime "collaboration" charge when she starred in Au Petit Bonheur. The title translates as Happy Go Lucky, perfectly capturing the tenor of the film. Things aren't so happy at the outset, however, not with wealthy Andre Luguet on the verge of suicide. Luguet gets a second lease on life when he finds himself the nonplused host of Darrieux, who wants to make her errant husband Francois Perier jealous. Au Petit Bonheur is rather obviously derived from a stage play, written by Marc Gilbert Sauvajon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled La Nuit Fantastique, this French romantic farce was filmed in 1942, during the Nazi occupation. Little did the Germans suspect that star Fernand Gravey was spending his "leisure" time serving with the French Secret Army on behalf of the Resistance. In the film, Gravey plays a medical student, while the luscious Michelene Presle is the girl of his dreams. In fact, it is during one of his dreams that he rescues the girl from a Byzantine plot to rob her of her fortune. It's hardly surprising that French audiences would respond to escapist fare like this while the Germans patrolled their streets outside the theater. Fantastic Night finally received U.S. bookings in 1949, by which time Michelene Presle was preparing to make her first Hollywood film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released in France in 1943, The Honorable Catherine (L'Honorable Catherine) wasn't distributed in the U.S. until 1948. The ironically nicknamed title character, played by Edwige Feuillere, is a blackmailer who has made a comfortable living through her married lovers. Now ready to retire and settle down, Catherine yearns for genuine romance. She thinks she finds it in the form of a handsome young rake named Jacques (Raymond Rouleau), but this time it is Catherine who is victimized by a clever con artist. A quaintly old-fashioned bedroom farce, The Honorable Catherine was more warmly received in France than in the States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Entente Cordiale was adapted from Andre Maurois' Edward VII and his Times. Victor Francen heads the cast as Britain's Prince Edward, who after assuming the throne of England in 1910 strives to bring about a lasting peaceful coexistence between the United Kingdom and France. Both countries are treated with equal respect throughout the film, depicted as intelligent nations willing to avoid war at all costs, but not quite as willing to give up national pride; the infamous Fashoda Incident, which almost resulted in full-scale warfare between Britain and France, is the film's central issue. Scores of historical personages make fleeting cameo appearances, including Queen Victoria (played by Gaby Morlay), Lord Kitchener (Jean d'Yd), French president Loubet (Jean Perrier), Clemenceau (Jacques Baumer) and Lord Balfour (Andre Roanne). Not surprisingly, Entente Cordiale was produced and released at a time when France and England were seriously contemplating a united front against future Nazi incursions into Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this French war drama, a battleship captain tries to keep an enemy cruiser from sinking his vessel; he then must defend his honor during a court-martial. Much of the tale is told in flashback and centers not only on the battle itself, but also on the young woman who is having an affair with a younger officer. It is her very indiscretions that ironically save the captain from being drummed out of the service. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Citadel of Silence is set in Poland in the years just before WWI. Involved in an abortive insurrection against the occupying Russians, hero Cesar Birsky (Bernard Lancret) is sentenced to a prison where the inmates are never permitted to speak (hence the film's title). Birsky's sweetheart Viana (Annabella) is so anxious to stay close to her lover that she is willing to become the bride of the prison commandant (Pierre Renoir). All loose plot ends are tied up when Birsky spearheads a mass escape from the Citadel of Silence. It is likely that this entertaining but unremarkable film might never have been released in the U.S. had it not been for the recent marriage of its leading lady Annabella to Hollywood's Tyrone Power. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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