Claude Dauphin Movies

Nobody expects much of the goofy prankster who teaches at a public school. When his students get word of the principal's plan to get the troublesome teacher fired by having a school inspector observe the chaos in one of his classes, they band together to ensure that all the other classes in the school are comparatively much worse. The kids cheer when the teacher sells his novel and it becomes a best-seller. Their biggest cheers come when he finally woos the woman of his dreams. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Without knowing it, newspaper photographer Daniele (Annie Girardot) is caught up in a complex international situation involving super-secret conflicts between NATO, the CIA and the Pentagon. An American politician, whom she has been photographing, is the target of an assassination conspiracy. Her husband, also a news photographer, gets wind of it, and is killed. As she investigates, she also begins to know more than is safe for her. Unfortunately for her, her charming neighbor Julien (Jacques Dutronc), an old friend, is also involved. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

With a title like Barry of the Great St. Bernard, this has to be a Disney effort. Set in the early 1800s, the story involves two trainees of a Swiss Mountain Rescue team. They are joined by an orphaned boy and a faithful St. Bernard pup. The crisis comes when the dog displays too much devotion to its young master to be an effective rescue hound. Filmed on location in the Swiss Alps Barry of the Great St. Bernard was first telecast in two parts (January 30 and February 6, 1977) on TV's Wonderful World of Disney. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Roman Polanski casts himself in the lead of the psychological thriller The Tenant. Trelkovsky (Polanski) rents an apartment in a spooky old residential building, where his neighbors -- mostly old recluses -- eye him with suspicious contempt. Upon discovering that the apartment's previous tenant, a beautiful young woman, jumped from the window in a suicide attempt, Trelkovsky begins obsessing over the dead woman. Growing increasingly paranoid, Trelkovsky convinces himself that his neighbors plan to kill him. He even comes to the conclusion that Stella (Isabel Adjani), the woman he has fallen in love with, is in on the "plot." Ultimately, Polanski assumes the identity of the suicide victim -- and inherits her self-destructive urges. Some critics found the movie tedious and overdone; others compared it to Polanski's early breakthrough, Repulsion. The film was based on Le Locataire Chimerique, a novel by Roland Topor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pierre Richard and Jane Birkin star in this madcap slapstick comedy. The director of the bank he works at has induced Pierre (Richard) to impersonate him for a brief time. During that time, some tough, muscular transvestites come in and steal some important papers under his care. In order to save his own (and the bank's) reputation, he must recover them before the theft is noticed. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Freelance photographer Servais (Fabio Testi) meets luckless Nadine Chevalier (Romy Schneider) an aging, world-weary, would-be movie star who thus far has only been able to find work in cheap exploitation movies. Trying to win her affection, Servais borrows the money from his underworld employers to launch a theatrical production of Richard III starring Nadine as Lady Anne. Though cold and skeptical at first, Nadine gradually falls in love with Servais, and eventually finds herself torn between him and her husband Jacques (Jacques Dutronc), to whom she feels morally obligated. Set in a world of losers and futile talents, this dark and moody drama depicts love as the only source of salvation. Memorable performances and skillful direction make this film a powerful experience. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

This Italian political satire explores a fictional attempted military/right-wing takeover of Italy. Grifondi (Ugo Tognazzi) is the main plotter in this scheme, but he also has the support of the police and the military. There was another, more sinister group waiting for just such an event, and when the first coup fails, the second one begins. Interestingly, this was the first film funded by Italnoleggio, a nationally supported production company . ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This film marks the final performance of the notable French film star Pierre Brasseur, who died not long after the film was shot. One of his better-known films is Children of Paradise. In this film, an Italian industrialist (Alberto Sordi) who has made his fortune using some shady tactics, unwittingly becomes the victim and entertainment for four retired jurists. These four men (Pierre Brasseur, Michel Simon, Charles Vanel and Claude Dauphin), though retired, make it a practice to keep their legal skills sharp. Whenever a suitable villain stumbles across their path, they conduct a trial with all the trimmings. It is a form of play, but these virtuoso lawyers are quite serious about it. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The press release for the TV movie Berlin Affair described how "an employee of a sophisticated international murder-for-hire syndicate is assigned to hunt down..." Fill in the blank. Is it (a) his wife, (b) his best friend, or (c) a good chili restaurant? If you answered "b", then you can fill in the rest of this predictable spy caper. Before murderer-for-hire Darren McGavin can finish his mission, he is drugged and beaten up by the bad guys, and romanced by pretty Pascale Petit. Also featured in Berlin Affair are Fritz Weaver, Claude Dauphin, and Berlin Itself. The film bears no relation to the 1985 theatrical espionager of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Taken from the popular play by Jean Giraudoux, The Madwoman Of Chaillot has an international all-star cast, but the final result falls short despite the talents of the celebrated thespians. The madwoman in question is the extremely eccentric Countess Aurelia (Katherine Hepburn). Roderick (Richard Chamberlain) is the peace-loving activist who, along with a local rag picker (Danny Kaye), warns the Countess of a plot to destroy the city. A quartet of villains led by the Chairman (Yul Brynner) are after the oil reserves that bubble under the water supply. Along with the Broker (Charles Boyer), the Commissar (Oscar Homolka), and the Prospector (Donald Pleasence), the evil developers plan to secure the oil rights to the region with or without the consent of the unsuspecting public. The Countess invites Josephine (Dame Edith Evans) to judge the villains, who are locked in the Countess's cellar for their crimes against the people of Paris in this lethargic film. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Henri (Jean-Claude Dauphin) is a young filmmmaker who convinces a nobleman to let him use his sprawling chateau to film a movie. The governess to the nobleman's children is a Polish woman in her 30s. Henri successfully talks her into a role in the film, and the two are soon engaged in a passionate romantic affair. He joins the army, but the lovestruck governess follows him wherever he goes. When he tries to end the affair, she attempts suicide. The unfortunate woman continues to follow Henri, who may never escape from her amorous obsession for him. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In preparing his romantic comedy Two For the Road, director Stanley Donen decided to utilize many of the cinematic techniques popularized by the French "nouvelle vague" filmmakers. Jump cutting back and forth in time with seeming abandon, Donen and scriptwriter Frederic Raphael chronicle the 12-year relationship between architect Wallace (Albert Finney) and his wife (Audrey Hepburn). While backpacking through Europe, student Finney falls for lovely music student Jacqueline Bisset, but later settles for Hepburn, another aspiring musician (this vignette served as the launching pad for the film-within-a-film in Francois Truffaut's 1973 classic Day for Night). Once married, Finney and Hepburn go on a desultory honeymoon, travelling in the company of insufferable American tourists William Daniels and Eleanor Bron and their equally odious daughter Gabrielle Middleton. Later on, during yet another road trip, Finney is offered an irresistible job opportunity by Claude Dauphin, which ultimately distances Finney from his now-pregnant wife. Still remaining on the road, the film then details Finney and Hepburn's separate infidelities. The film ends where it begins, with Finney and Hepburn taking still another road vacation, hoping to sew up their unraveling marriage. While critics did nip-ups over Stanley Donen's "revolutionary" nonlinear story-telling techniques, audiences responded to the chemistry between Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney, not to mention the unforgettable musical score by Henry Mancini. Note: many TV prints of Two for the Road are edited for content, robbing the viewer of Finney and Hepburn's delightful "Bitch/Bastard" closing endearments. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In 1944, with Paris on the verge of Liberation by the allies, Adolph Hitler ordered that the City of Light be blown up and burned to the ground. General Dietrich Von Choltitz, after much rumination, decided that he didn't want to go down in history as the man who destroyed Paris. His refusal to follow Hitler's orders would make him a pariah in Germany for the rest of his life; nor was his gesture ever rewarded by the Allies. From this very human story in the midst of one of the most inhuman conflicts in history grew the screenplay (by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola) of the all-star, internationally produced Is Paris Burning? Whereas the earlier The Longest Day was able to support a castful of celebrities and brief subplot vignettes, Is Paris Burning? seems more weighted down than weighty. Still, a modern audience will have fun playing "spot the star" throughout the film, especially when those spotted stars include the likes of Gert Frobe (as Choltitz), Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas (as Patton), Glenn Ford (as Bradley), Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, and even Anthony Perkins as a wide-eyed GI. Filmed on a gargantuan scale, Is Paris Burning? was based on a book by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre. The film was lensed in black and white, save for the Technicolor finale (in the original road-show prints). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi