Raoul Marco Movies
- 1965
This war-drama centers more on the effects of battle on civilians than it does on the bravery of the fighters as it tells the story of a courageous squadron of Yankee soldiers endeavoring to protect and bring to safety a village full of French civilians whom they saved from German captors following the Allied invasion of Normandy. During the battle to free them, the soldiers also capture a German officer. They then begin heading toward the beach with the civilians so they can go to England. Unfortunately, the beachmaster does not know they are coming and regretfully sends them back. Twice more the squadron and the civilians go back to the beach, but they are still not allowed to go. Things get even worse when the Germans begin bombing the remains of their town and they are forced to find some place to hide until help arrives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, (more)
- 1961
Jean Gabin carries this conventional political drama set in pre-World War II France. He is Emile, a retired politico with a long memory, a curmudgeon who is not yet prepared to stand on the sidelines and watch others wield power. Flashbacks fill in the details about his earlier career -- and why he wants to block the new cabinet proposed by a politician he knew in his former days of government service. A bit long at almost two hours, director Henri Verneuil worked often enough with Gabin in his films to elicit a strong portrayal. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Bernard Blier, (more)
- 1958
La Tete Contre Les Muirs (U.S. title: The Keepers) was director Georges Franju's 2nd cinematic offering for 1958, and his first purely fictional film. Franju's prior training in documentaries helps to bring a veneer of reality to this harrowing glimpse within the walls of an insane asylum. Pierre Brasseur plays Marbeau, a traditionalist "head doctor" who takes on the case of young Francois (Jean-Paul Mocky). Though not really insane, Francois has been institutionalized for daring to defy his wealthy father. The story is told from Francois' point of view, as he teeters on the edge of madness during his involuntary internment. The film is essentially a plea for more sensible treatment of the mentally disturbed and the emotionally distressed, calling for much-needed widespread reforms -- something that, alas, was not readily forthcoming in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Paul Meurisse, (more)
- 1957
The raincoated gent of the title is horse-faced French comedian Fernandel, who plays luckless jazz musician Albert Constantin. Thanks to the chicanery of a slick gangster boss, Albert finds himself up to his ears in murder and treachery. The farcical elements of the film are juxtaposed with moments of startling violence, but in the end laughter wins out. American actor John McGiver, in France to film his supporting role in Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon, is herein cast as a pivotal character. The Man in the Raincoat (L'Homme à l'Impermeable) was not officially remade as The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972), though the similarities between the two films are quite pronounced. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Jean Rigaux, (more)
- 1948
This little-known Marcel Pagnol production stars his wife Jacqueline as a miller's daughter. The film concerns her romance with the rich and powerful Schubert, played by Tino Rossi. However, the storyline of La Belle Meuniere is not as fascinating as the film's technical history. It was lensed in an experimental process called Rouxcolor, wherein four black-and-white images were projected on the screen simultaneously through special tinted lenses, thereby giving the illusion of color and depth. Pagnol had intended to make film in the usual "flat" black-and-white process, but when he became intrigued with Rouxcolor he scrapped his completed footage and started all over. Unfortunately, Rouxicolor proved too cumbersome for widespread distribution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacqueline Pagnol, Raoul Marco, (more)
Jean Cocteau's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (originally released in France as La Belle et la Bête) stars Josette Day as Beauty and Jean Marais as the Beast. When a merchant (Marcel André) is told that he must die for picking a rose from the Beast's garden, his courageous daughter (Day) offers to go back to the Beast in her father's place. The Beast falls in love with her and proposes marriage on a nightly basis; she refuses, having pledged her troth to a handsome prince (also played by Marais). Eventually, however, she is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. The film features a musical score by Georges Auric. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josette Day, Jean Marais, (more)
- 1944
The all-purpose title Woman Who Dared was trotted out for the American release of Jean Gremillon's Le Ciel et a Vous. Madeline Renaud stars as Therese, the wife of aviator Pierre Gauthier (Charles Vanel). Seeking an outlet for her own adventurous spirit, Therese decides to become a pilot herself. Weaving in and out of the proceedings dispensing worldly-wise philosophy is a piano teacher played by Jean Debucourt. Filmed in 1944, Woman Who Dared made it to American shores five years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Renaud, Jean Debucourt, (more)
- 1934
L'Or is the French-language version of the simultaneously filmed German melodrama Gold. Brigitte Helm repeats her leading-lady role of Fronce Wills, but the alchemist Maisslot, originally played by Friedrich Kayssler, is herein portrayed by Jacques Dumesnil, while his assistant Berthier, enacted by Hans Albers in Gold, is essayed by Jean Gabin in the French version. Maisslot and Berthier perfect an atomic reactor (20,000,000 volts of power!) for the purpose of manufacturing gold, which is highly coveted by the villains. When the scientists realize that their invention will ruin the world's economy, they set about to destroy it, setting the stage for a near-apocalyptic climax. The original Gold was directed by Charles Hartl, who served as a consultant when Serge De Poligny occupied the director's chair for L'Or. Stock footage from both versions were later utilized in the 1953 Ivan Tors production Magnetic Monster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Rosine Derean, (more)
Liliom, Ferenc Molnar's bittersweet fantasy play, was first filmed in Hollywood in 1930, with Charles Farrell as ne'er-do-well carnival barker Liliom and Rose Hobart as his long-suffering wife Julie. While that version is not available for public viewing, the 1935 French-language version directed by Fritz Lang and starring Charles Boyer is currently being offered by several home-video warehouses--albeit in an undubbed, unsubtitled print. Boyer plays Liliom, who runs the carousel at a Budapest amusement park. He impulsively quits his job when he falls in love with mill-worker Julie (Madeleine Ozeray). A terrible husband and provider, Liliom panics when he discovers he's about to become a father. He enters into a get-rich-quick robbery scheme with his unsavory pal Alfred (Alcover), but the plan goes awry. Rather than allow himself to be arrested, Liliom kills himself, whereupon his soul is transported via an art-deco express train to the waiting room of Heaven. A celestial judge determines that Liliom will not get his wings until he returns to earth to do one good deed. Liliom materializes before his now-teenaged daughter, and tries to give her a star that he's stolen from heaven; when she panics, he impulsively slaps her. Considering himself a failure, Liliom wearily heads for Purgatory, but a coda shows that his visit has done a world of good for both his widow and his daughter. Liliom was later musicalized by Rodgers & Hammerstein as Carousel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Ozeray, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1933
A choice early example of esoterica from the great Max Ophuls, On a Vole un Homme (Man Stolen) is a bit more lighthearted than later Ophuls efforts. Typical of the director's best works, the film's strongest character is the heroine, a young adventuress named Annette (Lily Damita). Hired by the business rivals of young banker Jean de Fayate (Henry Gayat), Annette lures the youthful millionaire into a kidnap trap. Eventually falling in love with her victim, Annette helps Jean to escape -- and to get even with those who've been plotting against him. Gorgeously photographed on the French Riviera and other such eye-catching locations, On a Vole un Homme was the first of a brace of films produced in France by Erich Pommer on behalf of Hollywood's Fox Films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lili Damita, Charles Fallon, (more)
