Annie Ducaux
- 1961
In this French variation on Mark Twain's Man with a Million story, a man's life is completely changed by the acquisition of a new car. Marcel, a Chaplainesque factory worker, sets out to buy an old motorcycle and ends up getting a new Cadillac convertible (the "beautiful American" of the title) for $100. He loses his job and suffers other misadventures, but is then amazed at how people treat him when they learn he owns the prestigious vehicle. Amusing little farce makes a few telling points about the pretensions of the very rich. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset, (more)
- 1958
Jean Gabin stars as Noel, patriarch of a large and wealthy family of industrialists. Noel sees no reason not to run his home in the same ruthless, coldhearted manner in which he runs his business. "Black sheep" Lucien (Pierre Brasseur), however, sees Noel for the pompous fraud that he is. And it is Lucien who topples Noel's dictatorship in a climactic series of cutthroat maneuvers on the stock exchange. Based on actual people and events, Les Grandes Families concludes with the sort of profound tragedy that is merely the logical extension of "business as usual." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Jean Desailly, (more)
- 1950
In this comedy, a charming (at least he thinks so) king comes to Paris to sign a treaty and quickly learns more about French customs and temperament than he ever wanted to. When the senator he has come to see learns that the king is interested in his wife and mistress, the conniving fellow arranges it so he can have both of them. Following the signing of the treaty, the king, dreadfully pleased with himself, returns to his home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Though it took Maurice Chevalier a long time to regain his American popularity after WW II, he remained a favorite in France. In Le Roi, Chevalier stars as--what else?--a king. Making a goodwill visit to France during the era of the First Republic, the merry monarch stirs up trouble with the stauncher anti-royalists. Fortunately, he doesn't lose his head, but he does sacrifice his dignity to a well-aimed cream puff, administered by one Mme. Beaudrier (Sophie Desmarets) who is the wife of a diplomat (Alfred Adam). To avoid a scandal, the diplomat tries his best to get in the king's good graces--which, of course, results in plenty of boudoir shenanigans. Based on a nonmusical stage play, Le Roi manages to find a few opportunities for Maurice Chevalier to sing, which he does with his usual panache. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Ducaux, Sophie Desmarets, (more)
- 1946
Reves D'Amour is a fictionalization of events in the life of pianist-composer Franz Liszt. The story concerns the torrid romance between Liszt and the Comtesse d'Agoult, which scandalized Europe in the mid-19th century. Richard Willm stars as Liszt, with Annie Ducaux as his aristocratic paramour. The film was adapted from the play by Rene Fauchois, with Liszt's compositions woven into the musical score as an added treat. Reves d'Amour was released outside France as Love Dreams, with several minutes trimmed by the censors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Ducaux, Jules Berry, (more)
- 1940
Two Women was adapted by Charles Spaak from L'Empreinte de Dieu, a novel by Maxence Van der Meerck. Terrified of her violent-tempered husband Gomar (Jacques Dumenil), Karelina (Blanchette Brunoy) takes refuge in the home of Wilfrida (Annie Ducaux), her best friend. The one who suffers most from this set-up is Wilfrida's kind-hearted husband Van Bergen (Pierre Blanchard), who falls in love with Karelina. Upon learning that Karelina has been rendered pregnant, Gomar insanely charges into the Van Bergen household and murders the erstwhile good samaritan. Much of the film was lensed on the coast of Holland, a scant few months before the Nazi invasion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Blanchar, Annie Ducaux, (more)
- 1939
This disturbing melodrama centers upon the relationship between two sisters. One sister is married, but unable to bear children; her husband, who wants kids, is ready to leave her. The other sister is single and pregnant. The baby's father left her. The married sister talks her sister in to giving her the child, so she can save her marriage. The little sister does so, and then falls in love herself and gets engaged. Trouble ensues when the baby's father reappears and blackmails her. Now the sister must decide when and how she is going to tell her fiance the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corinne Luchaire, Annie Ducaux, (more)
- 1939
La Tempete (The Tempest) is based loosely on characters created by Honore de Balzac. In one of the strangest roles of his career, Erich Von Stroheim plays an international criminal whose latest scheme involves the selling of a hair-straightening potion to African Americans. In order to gain the confidence of his customers, Von Stroheim applies shoe polish to his countenance and poses as a black man! Eventually tracked down by the law, Von Stroheim takes refuge in an apartment owned by blackmailing newspaper reporter Marcel Dalio, who delights in shaking down his "guest." The plot is indirectly resolved by Annie Ducaux, the honorable wife of another of Dalio's victims, who manages to exhume Von Stroheim's long-dormant sense of decency. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Ducaux, Arletty, (more)
- 1939
L'Homme du Niger (The Man from the Niger) is set in the Sudan, which in 1940 was still under French colonial rule. The story revolves around three individuals: Doctor Harry Baur, colonial commander Victor Francen, and Jacques Dumesnil, Francen's second-in-command. When Parisian tourist Annie Ducaux pays a visit to the Sudan, both Francen and Dumesnil fall in love with her. Eventually, Baur discovers that Francen has contacted leprosy, forcing the commander to remove himself from the romantic triangle. Upon Francen's unexplained disappearance, the heartbroken Ducaux marries Dumesnil, but three years later returns to Francen when the latter shows up again to complete a long-delayed dam project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Ducaux, Victor Francen, (more)
- 1939
Based on a novel by Gina Kaus, The Affair Lafont is the tragic tale of two sisters. Claire (Corinne Luchaire) is 20 years old, unmarried and incredibly naïve; Catherine (Annie Ducaux), nearing thirty, is terrified that her husband will leave her because she's never borne him a child. When Claire is rendered pregnant by her casual beau, Catherine adopts the baby, intending to pass it off as her own when her archeologist husband returns from a long expedition. Unfortunately, the father of the child sees this set-up as an ideal opportunity for blackmail; once this problem has been dealt with, Claire begins having second thoughts and demands her baby back. Told in flashback, this series of events is offered as explanation for the burst of gunfire that opens the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corinne Luchaire, Annie Ducaux, (more)
- 1938
Viere Folle (Foolish Virgin) was the latest in a long line of cinemadaptations of Henri Bataille's famous story. Married to faithful but frigid Annie Ducaux, attorney Victor Francen finds contentment with dewey-eyed naif Juliet Faber. Entranced by Faber's youth and innocence, Francen tries to behave himself with the girl, but her family suspects the worst. Eventually they have good reason for their suspicions, and the result is unhappiness for everyone the audience cares about. Director Henri Diamant-Berger manages (none too gracefully) to inject a bit of arbitrary politicizing into the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Ducaux, Juliette Faber, (more)
- 1937
Prison Sans Barreaux (Prison Without Bars) takes place in a private correctional institution for young women. Annie Duchaux stars as Yvonne, the new director of the institution, who is of the opinion that her charges will respond better to kindness than brutality. One who benefits greatly from Yvonne's progressive policies is an inmate named Nelly (Corinne Luchaire), who transforms from a hardened sociopath to a useful member of society. Alas, this triumph proves to have its price when Nelly falls in love with Yvonne's doctor fiancé (Roger Duchesne). Handled with subtlety rather than sensationalism, Prison Sans Barreaux remains one of the better "girls in jail" efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Ducaux, Corinne Luchaire, (more)
- 1936
Director Abel Gance was several degrees removed from his silent masterpiece Napoleon when he called the shots on the conformist crime melodrama Le Voleur de Femmes (aka Woman Thief and A Thief of Women). Annie Ducaux plays a young girl named Anna, who is blackmailed into a life of crime. Leading Anna astray is the slimy Sadoc Torner, played with full "Peter Lorre" repulsiveness by the inimitable Jules Berry. Ultimately, Sadoc is foiled by one of his victims, who steadfastly refuses to submit to extortion. Relieving the overall grimness of the story is the charming comic performance of Saturnin-Fabre as the archetypal absent-minded professor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Ducaux, Suzanne Desprès, (more)
- 1936
This fascinating biography chronicles the years in which the master composer began to lose his hearing. The director's use of sound to represent Beethoven's affliction is notable. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Baur, Annie Ducaux, (more)
