Marcel Dalio Movies

Three young siblings living on the fringes of society are spurred into action when the sister of the bunch is arrested for shoplifting. In this tragic drama, they have long-cherished the dream of going to Canada to live, and they sell everything they have to get her freed from jail and available for their odyssey. When she is sentenced to do jail time anyway, they kidnap her and flee across the border. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this French spy thriller, a policeman with wide-ranging powers to protect an African dictator who is visiting France -- to negotiate a uranium-mining treaty -- reveals an unexpected degree of skillfulness in doing his job when he is challenged by the actions of spies from other countries and the obstinacy of the dictator himself. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This comedy concentrates on the mishaps befalling bigoted Frenchman Louis DeFunes. While en route to his daughter's wedding, the outspoken DeFunes accidentally gets mixed up in an Arab nationalist uprising. Through a bizarre and nearly indescribable combination of events, the fiercely anti-Semitic DeFunes is forced to disguise himself as a Rabbi. The sociological statements in Mad Adventures of "Rabbi" Jacob, coscripted by director Gerard Oury, are pepped up with heavy slapstick. Initially titled The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob for its American release, this French film had the "Mad" tag attached when audiences evinced a lack of interest in what was perceived to be a religious picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The one with the closed eyes, in this French film, would seem to be the rogue actor (Gerard Desarthe) who, out of boredom, decides to pretend that he is blind. His imposture soon puts him in a situation where he must continue it or risk exposure. As he falls, stumbles and bumps into things to keep the illusion alive, his deception becomes a form of torture. He begins to hallucinate fantasies of revenge. What lengths will he go to? He does not know, himself. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (Sheila White) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove their worth to her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Director Mike Nichols and writer-actor Buck Henry followed their enormous hit The Graduate (1967) with this timely adaptation of Joseph Heller's satiric antiwar novel. Haunted by the death of a young gunner, all-too-sane Capt. Yossarian (Alan Arkin) wants out of the rest of his WW II bombing missions, but publicity-obsessed commander Colonel Cathcart (Martin Balsam) and his yes man, Colonel Korn (Henry), keep raising the number of missions that Yossarian and his comrades are required to fly. After Doc Daneeka (Jack Gilford) tells Yossarian that he cannot declare him insane if Yossarian knows that it's insane to keep flying, Yossarian tries to play crazy by, among other things, showing up nude in front of despotic General Dreedle (Orson Welles). As all of Yossarian's initially even-keeled friends, such as Nately (Art Garfunkel) and Dobbs (Martin Sheen), genuinely lose their heads, and the troop's supplies are bartered away for profit by the ultra-entrepreneurial Milo Minderbinder (Jon Voight), Yossarian realizes that the whole system has lost it, and he can either play along or jump ship. Though not about Vietnam, Catch-22's ludicrous military machinations directly evoked its contemporary context in the Vietnam era. Cathcart and Dreedle care more about the appearance of power than about victory, and Milo cares for money above all, as the complex narrative structure of Yossarian's flashbacks renders the escalating events appropriately surreal. Confident that the combination of a hot director and a popular, culturally relevant novel would spell blockbuster, Paramount spent a great deal of money on Catch-22, but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce: Robert Altman's MASH. With audiences opting for Altman's casual Korean War iconoclasm over Nichols' more polished symbolism, the highly anticipated Catch-22 flopped, although the New York Film Critics Circle did acknowledge Arkin and Nichols. Despite this reception, Catch-22's ensemble cast and pungent sensibility effectively underline the insanity of war, Vietnam and otherwise. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Two parents worry about the feelings of their love-struck teenage son in this engaging romantic comedy. Grif (James Garner) and wife Jenny (Debbie Reynolds) are concerned about their son Davey (Donald Losby). When his girlfriend is slated for a tour of Europe, the teenage boy is heartbroken. Grif, a photographer by trade, draws the assignment as a photo journalist to cover the girl's tour. Jenny is swindled by Mr. Tilly (Terry-Thomas) who takes her money as rent payment on a Riviera villa. The house is owned by a French playboy who allows the pretty mom to stay. Comedy ensues when a jealous Grif discovers wife Jenny in a bikini given to her by the amorous Frenchman. Prolific songwriter Jimmy Webb provides the music for this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this anthology, six French filmmakers each contributed a vignette, offering their take on the history of prostitution. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

An American girl finds love and laughter in the City of Lights in this romantic comedy. Maggie Scott (Ann-Margret) works as an assistant to Irene Chase (Edie Adams), a fashion purchaser for a large clothing store. Irene sends Maggie to Paris as her representative for the annual fashion shows of the major European designers; Irene has an ulterior motive, as her son Ted Barclay (Chad Everett) is infatuated with Maggie and she wants to keep him away from her. While in Paris, Maggie strikes up a romance with Marc Fontaine (Louis Jourdan), a handsome Frenchman who was once Irene's boyfriend. However, Maggie is also being pursued by American reporter Herb Stone (Richard Crenna). To add to the confusion, Ted decides to fly to Paris in an effort to win Maggie's heart once and for all. Jazz fans will want to keep an ear open for performances by Count Basie and Mongo Santamaria. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi