Danielle Darrieux Movies

Based on a novel by Helen Nimirosky, The Ball was filmed simultaneously in German and French-language versions. The French adaptation, Le Bal, served to introduce 14-year-old Danielle Darrieux to the picture-going public. Darrieux plays the daughter of a pair of delicatessen owners who suddenly come into a huge sum of money. Striving to buy their way into society, the couple utterly neglects their daughter, who naturally grows resentful. When they plan to throw a huge fancy-dress ball to curry favor with the glitterati, Darrieux gets even by destroying all of the invitations, and as a result no one shows up. This results in a near-breakup for the couple, but eventually they realize that their daughter has done them an enormous favor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Le Coffret de Laque (Lackered Box) was based on Agatha Christie's Black Coffee, previously filmed in England in 1931. Gaston Dupray stars as Christie's insufferably brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, here depicted along more comic lines than usual. The story gets under way at a weekend house party where a scientist is murdered and his secret papers stolen. Putting his "little grey cells" in action, Poirot methodically pieces together the clues, revealing the culprit to be -- you guessed it -- the Least Likely Suspect. Sixteen-year-old Danielle Darrieux plays the traditional ingenue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The legendary Billy Wilder made his debut as a director with this comedy, shot in France (in collaboration with Alexander Esway) shortly before Wilder emigrated to the United States. Henry (Pierre Mingland) is a carefree young man who has fallen out of favor with his wealthy father, a doctor. Short on money and looking for excitement, Henry becomes involved with a gang of car thieves, and gets to know Jeanette (Danielle Darrieux), sister of the gang's leader who often acts as a decoy to distract young men with new cars as the thieves do their work. Henry soon falls in love with Jeanette, but discovers a life of crime is a bit more dangerous than he was counting on. Mauvaise Graine would prove to be Wilder's last European film; he wouldn't direct again for another nine years, when he made The Major and the Minor after establishing himself as a top screenwriter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Released abroad as The Slump is Over, this backstage comedy pokes gentle fun at the Depression-era French bourgeoisie. Director Robert Siodmak concentrates on the trials and tribulations of a young and impoverished theatrical troupe. Recently fired by their temperamental leading lady, the actors defiantly draw up plans to put on a show themselves. To raise the necessary funds and obtain props, costumes, electrical supplies and the like, the girls in the troupe adopt the tactics of Warner Bros. golddiggers, targeting a number of middle-class businessmen and shopkeepers as their pigeons. As a result, the film's "Big show" finale isn't nearly as entertaining as the various methods adopted to get that show on stage. Critics in 1935 were much taken by star Danielle Darrieux, predicting that she might have a future in Hollywood if she'd learn to speak English (She did, and the result was the delightful 1938 Universal comedy The Rage of Paris). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Idol's End, a novel by Claude Anet, the French Mayerling is based on the tragic real-life story of Hapsburg Crown Prince Rudolph and his mistress, Baroness Marie Vetsera. Since the details of Rudolph and Marie's lives and deaths are clouded in controversy, much of the film is romanticized speculation-with emphasis on the romance. The film establishes Rudolph (Charles Boyer) as a rebellious "man of the people", at eternal odds with his despotic father, Emperor Franz Joseph (Jean Dax). To keep him quiet and out of trouble, Rudolph is forced into an arranged marriage, and surrounded by Hapsburg informers and spies. In an effort to escape this oppressive atmosphere, a disguised Rudolph dashes off to a fair, where he meets the beauteous 17-year-old Marie (Danielle Darieux). Thus begins an illicit romance, which the lovers try vainly to keep secret from the prying eyes of the Emperor's flunkeys. One of Rudolph's enemies arranges for Marie to be taken away to Trieste for a "rest cure." Rudolph sinks into a drunken depression, snapping out of it only when Marie returns. They attempt to legitimize their love through marriage, but the Catholic hierarchy will not approve of Rudolph's divorcing his wife. Desperately, the lovers flee to Rudolph's hunting lodge in Mayerling. Here they spend an exquisite last night together, then formulate a death pact. The following day, Marie and Rudolph are found lying side by side-united in death. Transforming this grim story into a tender, moving romance was quite an undertaking, but the end result was worth it: Mayerling was a huge international hit, and the winner of several industry awards, including the New York film critics' "best foreign picture" prize. Mayerling was remade in surprisingly cold and distant fashion in 1968, with Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though the Czechoslovakian film industry had been "nationalized" by the Nazis after the 1938 invasion, a few pre-war productions managed to sneak into the U.S. without German interference. One of these was Port Arthur, originally released in 1936. Set in the Russian city of Port Arthur, the story takes place in 1904, at the height of the Russo-Japanese war. Heroine Youki (Danielle Darrieux) is half-Russian and half-Japanese, putting her in quite a bind in terms of loyalty. Also affected by Youki's contrary fidelities is her Russian-officer husband Boris (Anton Walbrook) and her enemy-spy brother Ivamoura (Jean-Max). In the end, Youki betrays the Russians on behalf of the Japanese, but it turns out that her motives were pure; Ivamoura had threatened to kill Boris unless Youki agreed to stab her homeland in the back. Port Arthur was released in America in two different versions; one of these, dubbed into English, made the rounds in 1939 as I Give My Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This French musical comedy was based on the stage play Mademoiselle Mozart, written by Yvan Noe, who also co-directed the screen version. Danielle Darrieux plays Denise, the owner of a music shop that is facing closure. Wealthy young Maxime (Pierre Mingand) falls in love with Denise but knows full well that she despises rich folks and would refuse to accept his charity. Thus, Maxime arranges to secretly buy the store then takes a job with the establishment as a humble sheet-music salesman. When Denise finds out that her new employee is actually her boss, she is furious, but rest assured that Love Will Find a Way. The lovely Danielle Darrieux is permitted to sing on several occasions, which she does enthusiastically if not altogether expertly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Retour a L'Aube (Return to the Dawn) exists primarily as a showcase for the delectable Danielle Darrieux. Fascinated by train travel, Darrieux impulsively marries railroad stationmaster Pierre Dux. Upon receiving an inheritance from a relative in Budapest, our heroine seizes the opportunity to make a long and portentously glamorous rail trip to the Hungarian capitol. In the course of her subsequent adventures, she falls in love with a handsome jewel thief (Jacques Dumesil) and a likable playboy (Pierre Mitaud), but by film's end, the chastened Darrieux returns to the arms of her understanding husband. The film was based on a story by Vicki Baum, of Grand Hotel fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide