Jacqueline Audry Movies
French director Audry made 18 feature films from 1944 to 1972. Her earliest films are prime examples of the French 'tradition of quality.' She favored plots adapted from French literature. Audry is most distinguished from her peers in that her films were primarily focused upon female leads, whereas traditional French cinema is centered around the lives of men. Her most notorious film was 1951's Olivia, which dealt with lesbian relationships. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1967
Soledad Emmanuelle Riva is a revolutionary in an mythical Latin American country who is captured by government police agents. When she is released, she discovers it is because her sister is having an affair with one of the police chiefs. Soledad is suspected of being a government informant and shoots her accuser in order to escape with her sad but wiser sister. Poor editing, dubbing, and other technical deficiencies plague this plodding drama that suffers from undeveloped characterizations of the principle performers. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Emmanuelle Riva, Laurent Terzieff, (more)
- 1962
This specialized film by femme director Jacqueline Audry is strictly a lightweight, skim-the-surface drama with a touch of insider irony (well-known actors do cameos in which they parody their own screen personae, or simply spoof themselves). As in most of her films, Audry focuses on a female lead, this time an eighteen-year-old named Sophie (Agathe Aems) who is attractive enough to draw the active attention of a series of men. Sophie is hitchhiking from her native Belgium to the French Riviera, and along the way she meets various "types" -- a boxer (Roger Coggio), a manager (Pierre Mondy), a masher (François Perier), and several others. Nothing here to give competition to Audry's daring Olivia, a film before its time about lesbians. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fernand Gravey, François Perier, (more)
- 1959
Director Jacqueline Audry spent her career swimming against the current in the male-dominated film industry, a female director making movies, like this one set in the 17th century, with female leads. In this curious story, a young girl has had to pose as a male all her life because her uncle would only give her father his inheritance if his lone offspring was male. Aside from the potential for humor in that situation alone, the young woman/man later finds herself enlisted in the French army. France and Prussia are in competition for a treaty with the Czarina of Russia, and the young soldier is secretly sent to the Czarina with a note from the French king, meant to trump the Prussians. The Czarina herself is quite a trip, with interesting issues raised by the dual identity of the hero/heroine. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andree Debar, Gabriele Ferzetti, (more)
- 1958
L'Ecole des Cocottes was based on a popular stage sex farce by Paul Armont and Marcel Gerbidon. Dany Robin plays a gaminlike coquette who captures the heart of famed concert pianist Fernand Gravey. She becomes the pianist's prize courtesan, which enables her to travel in high-society circles, bedecked with jewels and furs. She also finds herself much in demand by other wealthy middle-aged roues. With all her wealth and prestige, however, Robin misses the "good old days" when she wasn't the most sought-after female in Paris. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dany Robin, Fernand Gravey, (more)
- 1957
La Garconne was based on a once-scandalous novel by Victor Marguerite. Set in Paris in the 1920s, the film stars Andree Debar as a rebellious lass who believes that the "double standard" concerning men and women should be abolished. Thus she makes love to as many partners as she wishes, without ever falling in love. Eventually, of course, she finds a soul-mate for life, but not before a good time is had by practically all. La Garconne ran into some censorship interference in the U.S. because of a discreetly handled homosexual subtext. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andree Debar, Fernand Gravey, (more)
- 1957
Per its title, C'est La Faute D'Adam (It's Adam's Fault) is a comedy about romance. En route to his wedding, the hero picks up a pretty hitchhiker who is suffering from amnesia. Naturally, his fiancee takes a dim view of this, and the marriage is promptly called off. But that's not the end of the protagonist's problems: it seems that a gang of crooks believes that the amnesiac girl is a gun moll, with all sorts of "trade secrets" floating around in her pretty head. Dany Robin plays the forgetful heroine, while the luckless bridegroom (who, of course, will fall in love with Robin before the final fadeout) is essayed by Jacques Sernas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dany Robin, Jacques Sernas, (more)
- 1956
Like so many previous cinemadaptations of Colette's novels, Mitsou was directed by Jacqueline Audry. The title character, played by Daniele Delorme, is a virginal chorus dancer who falls in love with jaded, middle-aged roue Duroy-Leong (Ferdinand Gravey). Mitsou becomes the older man's mistress, a decision she begins to regret when handsome young lieutenant Bleu (Francoise Guerin) enters her life. Considered daringly frank in its time, the film seems a model of restraint when seen today. Odette Laure has some of the best lines as Mitsou's worldly-wise confidante. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danièle Delorme
- 1954
Arletty heads the cast of this first film version of Jean-Paul Sartre's existential theater piece No Exit. The scene is a tawdry hotel room in Limbo, where several damned souls are gathered. At first, the group fails to comprehend where they are or why they're there. When the horrible truth dawns upon them, they carp and snipe at one another, blaming everyone but themselves for their dismal fate. The Sartre original had only one setting and three characters. Pierre Laroche's screenplay unnecessarily "opens up" the play, adding four more characters and several sequences in the "real" world. A more successful (but no more faithful) version of No Exit was filmed in Argentina in 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Arletty, Gaby Sylvia, (more)
- 1954
Jacqueline Audry, the director of the 1948 hit Gigi, called the shots on 1954's La Caraque Blonde (The Blonde Gypsy). Tilda Thamar plays the title character, a voluptuous golden-haired gypsy lass named Myra. Rising to fame as a dancer, Myra soon finds herself trapped by her celebrity. She decides to don a brunette wig and travel about incognito -- but just for a while. While thus disguised, Myra falls head over tambourine in love with handsome rice planter Antoine (Roger Pigaut). Their future happiness is threatened by the mean-spirited Pedro (Gerard Landry), Myra's blackmailing ex-lover. La Caraque Blonde was filmed in the Camarque district, the French equivalent to Chatsworth, California in terms of its overuse on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tilda Thamar, Roger Pigaut, (more)
- 1951
Olivia was directed by Jacqueline Audry, who burst onto the worldwide cinema scene with 1949's Gigi. The title character, played by Claire Olivia, is a naïve new student in a fashionable finishing school. Denied affection in her own home, Olivia latches onto her headmistress Julie (Edwige Feuillere). The relationship between the older and younger woman is observed with white-hot jealousy by Cara (Simone Simon), Julie's business partner and would-be lover. Nothing good can come of this, and nothing does. Though the material lends itself to sensationalism, director Audry handles Olivia with discretion and taste. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edwige Feuillère, Simone Simon, (more)
- 1950
The titular Minne, played by Daniele Delorme, is a starry-eyed young girl whose notions about romance have been culled from cheap novels. Upon marrying her handsome cousin, Minne is immediately disillusioned by her new husband's philandering and inattentiveness. Deciding "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," Minne wearily embarks on a series of desultory love affairs. Few of the male characters are treated sympathetically in this film, with the exception of the likeable ageing rake portrayed by Jean Tissier. Minne, l'Ingenue Libertine was based on a novel by Colette, of Gigi fame (Incidentally, the 1949 film version of Gigi also starred Daniele Delorme). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danièle Delorme, Frank Villard, (more)
- 1949
This French film version of Colette's best-selling novel Gigi predated both the 1950 stage adaptation and the 1958 Hollywood musical of the same name. Set in fin de siecle Paris, The story is the familiar one about 16-year-old Gigi (Daniele Delorme), a waif-like creature who is trained to become a Parisian courtesan by her worldly wise Aunt, Mme. Alvarez (Yvonne de Bray). The girl's first assignment is to serve as the "arm ornament" of wealthy playboy Gaston (Frank Villard), whose previous experiences with women have turned him into something of misogynist. When Gigi falls genuinely in love with Gaston, Mme. Alvarez is appalled: after all, true love is bad for business. Gaston is likewise taken aback by Gigi's devotion -- until he realizes with startling suddenness that he has fallen for her. Long unavailable in the U.S. due to the Oscar-winning MGM musical remake, Gigi happily resurfaced on American cable television in the mid-1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danièle Delorme, Yvonne de Bray, (more)
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