Louis de Funès Movies
French actor Louis de Funès started out as a comic in Paris nightclubs and as a radio performer. He began appearing in French films in 1945 and between then and 1979 made over 100 films. Through the 1950s and '60s, he was the most popular comedian in France. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1954
The world of the theater is the backdrop for this sublimely assembled whodunit. A stage director (Raymond Rouleau) becomes the prime suspect in the death of his assistant, who may or may not have been messing around with the director's wife (Jeanne Moreau). The wife helps her husband hide out from the police, taking over his responsibilities in the theater. Soon she is flourishing in the world of make-believe, and she has fallen under the spell of the duplicitous rat who started all of the trouble in the first place. Saving the day is the director's good-hearted secretary (Etchika Choureau), who has long harbored a crush on her boss. Le Intrigantes was released stateside as The Plotters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Pellegrin, Raymond Rouleau, (more)
- 1954
La Bie en Herbe (The Flowering Herb) was the second of Autant-Lara's two directorial efforts for 1953. Philippe (Pierre-Michele Beck) is 16; Vinea (Nicole Berger) is 15. Friends since infancy, Philippe and Vinea have always regarded themselves as brother and sister. But as adolescence segues into puberty, the two youngsters fall in love. Though their parents are oblivious to their growing ardor, an older woman (Edwidge Feuillere) sums up the situation. She takes Philippe under her wing and initiates him sexually, so that Vinea's virtue will remain intact -- at least for the time being. When released in America in 1954, La Bie en Herbe was rechristened The Game of Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edwige Feuillère, Nicole Berger, (more)
- 1954
Escalier de Service (Service Entrance) charts the misadventures of gorgeous maidservant Marie-Lou (Etchika Choreau). After fainting in public, Marie-Lou is allowed to convalesce in the apartment of a handsome photographer. Feeling a bit frisky one morning, our heroine begins to recall isolated incidents in her past, which are then enacted by an all-star supporting cast. Mischa Auer, Robert Lamoreaux, Danielle Darieaux and Jacques Morel are among those who have had the benefit (in more ways than one) of Marie-Lou's services. Escalier de Service was directed by Carlo Rim, best known for his work on the Fernandel comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Robert Lamoureux, (more)
- 1954
Les Corsaires du Bois de Boulogne (Pirates of the Bois de Bouglogne) can't possibly be taken seriously, but that was the filmmakers' intention. Marginally based on a true story, the film is predicated on a misfire publicity stunt. A street singer, his sweetheart and his best friend cook up a phony shipwreck, hoping to attract attention--and job offers--to themselves. Conspiring with the trio are a wealthy girl and her fun-loving father. Practically everything goes wrong, and soon the singer and his three young companions are bobbing up and down on a raft in the middle of the ocean. It all ends happily, of course, with plenty of chucklesome complications along the way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Mam'zelle Nitouche represented Fernandel's only 1954 film vehicle. The horse-faced comic actor is cast as Celestin, an organist at a girl's school. By day, Celestin is the meek and mild target of the girls' incessant practical jokes. By night, however, he is the celebrated composer of popular operas -- and the romantic vis-à-vis of a celebrated stage star. When schoolgirl Denise (Pier Angeli) stumbles onto Celestin's secret, she threatens to tell all -- but only if Celestin refuses to escort her to the opening night of his latest opera. As a result, Denise falls in love with a handsome young soldier, while Celestin is accidentally shipped off to an army camp. A series of silly coincidences brings happiness to all concerned by fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1954
A popular attraction in French cinemas, Papa, Maman la Bonne et Moi (Papa, Mama the Maid and I) later became equally popular on the Late-TV-Movie circuit in America. The hero, Robert (Robert Lamoreaux) is fired for making a pass at one of the girls in his office. It wasn't his freshness that got him canned, but his clumsiness with the opposite sex. Normally, Robert would go to his parents (Fernand Ledoux and Gaby Morlay) for advice, but this is a more delicate situation. To learn more about "l'amour", Robert hires a lovely young girl (Madeline Barbulee) whom he passes off as his maid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lamoureux, Gaby Morlay, (more)
- 1953
A bevy of beautiful strippers team up with a handful of risqué comedians in this feature that documents a typical burlesque show from 1953. Filmed at the Follies Theater in Los Angeles, CA, Peek-a-Boo includes pulse-quickening dance numbers from Venus (billed as "the World's Most Exciting Body"), Virginia Valentine, Suzette, Jennie Lee, and Sherry Winters, with additional routines from the DuPonts and the glamorous hoofers of the Peek-a-Boo Lovlies. Funnymen Leon DeVoe, Jack Mann, Billy Foster, and Johnny Maloney deliver the laughs, and Pat O'Shea's vocals add some class to the proceedings. While a bit more daring in its humor than most of its brethren and willing to let its dancers briefly go without pasties, Peek-a-Boo did undergo a brief bit of prerelease censorship that removed the punch line from a comedy routine, which still appears in bowdlerized form on all existing prints. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1953
A risque nightclub show cast is featured in this funny French musical. (In French with English subtitles) ~ All Movie Guide
- 1953
Michel Simon plays the title character in L'Etrange Desir de Monsieur Bard (The Strange Desire of Mr. Bard). Employed as a bus driver in Monte Carlo, M. Bard is told that he only has a short time to live. Retiring from his job, Bard finds no comfort at home, where he is deluged by relatives who can't wait to get their hands on his insurance money. Turning his back on these vultures, Bard decides to "create" a person who will love him for himself; in other words, he wants to father a child. After a run of good luck at the casino gaming tables and a chance meeting with equally lonely dancer Donta (Genevieve Page), it looks as though Bard will get his wish. The outcome is predictable, but Michel Simon can make practically anything work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Innocents in Paris is a series of anecdotes bundled together by geography. First we see the efforts by British diplomat Alastair Sim to loosen up Soviet-agent Peter Illing long enough to forge an economic plan between Russia and England. Then we watch as dotty artist Margaret Rutherford purchases a copy of the Mona Lisa. Next we see British officer Jimmy Edwards go off on a toot in a Parisian bistro. The next vignette involves impressionable Claire Bloom, who is swept off her feet by a local rake (the human variety, not the garden implement). And so it goes for 102 minutes in the British version of Innocents in Paris, and 93 minutes in the American print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, (more)
- 1953
When first released in the US, this Gallic drama was given the pun-ny title Knight of the Night. Thus, the viewer was left unprepared for the grimmer aspects of this romantic period piece. Renee St. Cyr plays Bella, the ballerina wife of Georges (Jean-Claude Pascal). Once the bloom is off the rose of her marriage, Bella yearns to rekindle the flames of passion. At this point, her husband splits into two distinct personalities: the "good" Georges and the "bad" Chevalier de la Nuit. Thrilled at first, Bella is eventually nagged by guilt and doubt: by falling in love with her husband's bad side, is she being unfaithful to the man she married? Playwright Jean Anouilh was responsible for the film's perplexingly multitextured screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
La Vie d'un Honnette Homme was the sole 1953 contribution from indefatigable French filmmaker Sacha Guitry, who scripted and directed. Surprisingly, Guitry does not play the film's titular "honest man." Michel Simon essays that role -- or rather, "roles," since Simon plays twin brothers, ant-and-grasshopper types. Secretly, the wealthy and industrious Albert has always envied his carefree brother's lifestyle. When his brother dies, Albert takes his sibling's place, experiencing true happiness for the first time in his life. Despite Albert's duplicity, the film's title is still appropriate: Guitry argues that it's possible to lie to the world so long as you're honest with yourself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marguerite Pierry, Michel Simon, (more)
- 1952
Few American theatres in 1952 would have run Je T'ai ete Trois Fois under its highly suggestive original title, which translates as I Did it Three Times. The film was directed by the inimitable Sacha Guity, who also co-wrote the script and played the leading role of elderly actor Jean Renneval. A notorious roue, Renneval is currently making time with the wife (Lana Marconi) of a ripe-for-cuckolding merchant named Henri (Bernard Blier). Having already been married twice to cheating spouses, Henri isn't psychologically prepared to find his third wife in the arms of Renneval. Fortunately, the aging actor is dressed as a clergyman (the part he's playing in his latest production), and thus is able to wriggle out of an uncomfortable situation by preaching an impromptu sermon about trust and fidelity! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Lana Marconi, (more)
