Morton Movies
- 1940
Originally La Chemineau, The Open Road is a generally satisfying if overlong rural drama. Returning after a 20-year absence, a shabby vagabond (Victor Francen) discovers that his son has been raised to believe that another man is his natural father. At present, the boy is involved in a romance with a girl who doesn't meet with his mother's approval. The Vagabond straightens out everyone's problems without ever revealing his true identity. The Open Road bears more than a passing resemblance to Jubilo, a popular Will Rogers vehicle of the silent era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Francen, Tania Fedor, (more)
- 1933
This Maurice Tourneur production is based on the old theatrical warhorse The Two Orphans, previously (and more famously) filmed by D. W. Griffith as Orphans of the Storm. Rosaine Derain and Renne Saint-Cyr star as sister Louise and Henriette, cruelly separated early in the proceedings and kept apart by fate, villainy and deprivation until the very last scene. Kidnapped by gypsies, the blind Louise is forced to beg in the streets, while Henriette searches desperately for her missing sister. In the end, however, it is Louise who rescues Henriette from a horrible fate. Filmed in 1933, Les Deux Orphelins came to the U.S. in a crudely subtitled version the following year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosine Derean, Yvette Guilbert, (more)
- 1932
Mirages de Paris was the first French film effort by Russian director Fedor Ozep. Jacqueline Francel plays Madeline, a young girl of modest talents who hopes to become a musical-comedy star. Her somewhat naïve efforts to achieve this goal includes a campaign to impress theatrical "luminary" Francois (Roger Theville). Little does she know that Francois is no more a star than she -- in fact, he's merely a lowly understudy, likewise seeking his big break. Lots of complications and misunderstandings follow, leading to the inevitable romantic clinch at the fade-out. American prints of Mirages de Paris were handicapped by some barely literate English-language subtitles, but the storytelling prowess of Ozep and the appealing performances of his stars still manage to shine through. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcel Vallee, Alice Tissot, (more)
