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
- 1952
The Seven Deadly Sins is a portmanteau film (a la Quartet and O. Henry's Full House) assembled by some of the biggest talents in the Italian and French film industry. The film's six sections (one containing two sins) are designed by separate titles, which should be self-explanatory. "Avarice and Anger" stars its director, Eduardo DeFilippo, as a miser who comes to grief. "Lust," directed by Yves Allegret, contrasts minor flirtation with major sexual passion. "Pride," directed by Claude Autant-Lara, details the fall from grace of a snooty mother and daughter. The other episodes include "Sloth," directed by Jean Dreville; "Envy," directed by Roberto Rosselini; and "Gluttony," directed by Carlo Rim. An eighth sin, directed by Georges Lacombe and starring Gerard Philipe, is thrown in as a comic bonus. Seven Deadly Sins is a lot of fun, though each of the individual episodes could use a little work in the continuity department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Philipe, Viviane Romance, (more)
- 1952
Slovenly Parisian cabdriver Pierre (Michel Simon) wants nothing more than to get through the day, go home, and knock off a bottle of wine. One day, Pierre looks into the back seat of his cab and finds a huge amount of money. Though he's never really done anything dishonest in his life, he is sorely tempted to keep the money for himself. Meanwhile, Pierre's brother-in-law, a policeman, senses that something is weighing on the cabbie's mind. After a promising start, Monsieur Taxi settles into a rut of familiarity, but any film with Michel Simon is well worth the time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Simon, Jean Brochard, (more)
One of the most pretentious "apocalypse" films ever made, Five is set in a lavish Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house--owned by Arch Oboler, the film's writer/producer/director. The "five" of the title are the only survivors of a nuclear disaster, all of whom have rather illogically converged in this house. William Phipps, the hero, was left untouched by the explosion because he'd been alone in an Empire State Building elevator! He is the first to arrive at the house, and is joined in quick succession by a pregnant woman (Susan Douglas), a fascistic soldier of fortune (James Anderson), an African American doorman (Charles Lampkin) and a shell-shocked bank clerk (Earl Lee). The clerk mercifully dies of radiation early on, leaving the remaining four to converse at great and boring length on all things philosophical. At long, long last, only the hero and the woman are left alive to do the "Adam and Eve" bit. Though Arch Oboler was one of the greatest radio writers of all time, Five proves that he was in over his head as a filmmaker; the dialogue evokes laughter rather than profound thought, and the plotline has logic holes big enough to drive trucks through. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Phipps, Susan Douglas, (more)
- 1951
Set in a fancy resort hotel, Le Dindon is based on a stage farce by the inimitable Georges Feydeau. The title, which translates to "The Turkey," refers to the sort of fellow who spends his time romancing the wives of others. All the usual stock characters are in attendance, including the amorous fashion plate, the wry playboy, the ripe-for-cuckolding husband, his impressionable wife, and a pompous, easily deflatable authority figure, in this case a cavalry officer. It was de rigeur for Feydeau to include at least one character with a "funny" physical or vocal impairment. This time, it is the stone-deaf wife of a lecherous bellhop. There's a plot, to be sure, but that plot is soon forgotten amidst a maelstrom of assignations, misunderstandings, misrepresentations and ever-slamming doors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadine Alari, Jacqueline Pierreux, (more)
- 1951
Fernard Gravet may look like a natural-born philanderer in Ma Femma est Formidable, but appearances are deceiving. Condemned without evidence as a "rake" by his dimwitted wife Sylvia (Sophie Desmarets) and his monstrous in-laws, Raymond Corbier (Gravet) is further bedeviled by the unwarranted advances of man-chasing Marguerite Rival (Simone Valere). Before long, the whole melange looks like a Leon Errol 2-reeler, complete with fake suicides, slapstick and a wisecracking parrot. While it may not seem like such a much to American viewers, Ma Femme est Formidable was a hit in France; in fact, it won several awards at various French film festivals. The film was directed by Andre Hunebelle, who was undoubtedly gratified that he gave up his previous occupation of glassmaker when the box-office take began rolling in. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Gravey, Sophie Desmarets, (more)
- 1951
Sacha Guitry both wrote and directed the witty black comedy La Poison. This time, however, Guitry does not star in the film, relinquishing that honor to Michel Simon. Through a series of circumstances and plot twists too numerous to mention, an enterprising man (Simon) manages to get away with murdering his wife, even though he cheerfully admits his guilt in court. The murderer's defense strategy is targeted towards every man who has ever wished that his wife would simply disappear. If this notion seems familiar, it is because La Poison was loosely remade in 1966 as the Jack Lemmon comedy How to Murder Your Wife. While the original is more clever, the remake has more popular appeal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Simon, Jean Debucourt, (more)
- 1951
Noel (Bernard Blier), a grown-up mama's boy, falls heir to a busy matrimonial bureau. Assuming command of the operation, Noel becomes fascinated with the various degrees of loneliness which prompt his clients to seek out his services. As a result, he begins to place his own loneliness and sense of inadequacy in perspective. The supporting characters are drawn in broad strokes, though they never lapse into ridiculous caricatures. Agence Matrimoniale would make a piquant double feature with the Hollywood comedy-drama The Model and the Marriage Broker (1952). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Blier, Michele Alfa, (more)
- 1949
Pierre Fresnay heads the cast of Vient de Paraitre as Moscat, a mean-spirited, thoroughly untrustworthy publisher. Possessed of a messianic complex, Moscat thinks nothing of toying with the lives and destinies of his authors, as long as such behavior boosts book sales. Right now he is endeavoring to win a coveted literary award, using a young, self-effacing novelist as his conduit. When the novelist chooses another publisher, Moscat's revenge is swift, terrible, and ultimately self-defeating. Still, this is one picture where virtue doesn't triumph. Vient de Paraitre must have been quite an eye-opener for American filmgoers who knew Pierre Fresnay only for his saintly portrayal of the title character in Monsieur Vincent (1946). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanchette Brunoy, Rellys, (more)
