Guy de Maupassant Movies

In this comedy, teamwork takes on a new meaning when four friends fall in love with the same woman. Four guys with an interest in competitive rowing -- ad executive Scott (Jason Lewis), architect Michael (Chris Rydell), stockbroker Bob (Sean Astin), and college professor Walter (Robert Mailhouse) -- decide their crew needs some help. They learn that the daughter of an Olympic rowing champion lives in town, and she's no slouch at the sport herself. The four approach Kimberly (Gabrielle Anwar) and discover that she happens to be a very beautiful woman; for the sake of the team, all four make a solemn vow not to make any romantic overtures to Kimberly while they're in training, but predictably the flesh is weaker than the spirit and all four end up dating her at one time or another. The real dilemma comes when Kimberly becomes pregnant, and she isn't sure which one of the four men is the father. Rather than fight, all four take turns guiding Kimberly through pregnancy and childbirth as she continues to guide the rowing team. The supporting cast includes appearances by Patty Duke as a doctor and Molly Ringwald as Walter's significant other. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Even with careful handling, this sordid story based on a tale by the famed French writer Guy de Maupassant might repel would-be viewers, but add in scatology and high-blown philosophical maunderings by the lead characters, and you have a recipe for a cinematic disaster. In the story, a sailor has grown tired of his oceangoing life, so he leaves his ship on the sly and beds down in a local Mexican whorehouse. He is startled to discover that his own mother is the house's madam, and that his sister is one of the girls. However, after his sister turns a trick or two with him, he begins to fall in love with her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This video presents the comic opera Albert Herring, staged at Glyndebourne in 1985. Peter Hall directs the cast in the coming of age story of a repressed young man whose life takes unexpected turns after he is named "King of May" in his English village. No honorable young woman can be found to be queen on May Day, and so the virtuous Albert takes the part. The performance stars John Graham-Hall in the title role, along with Patricia Johnson and Felicity Palmer. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

The Spanish Night Fiend is a showcase for the talents of Fernando Rey. By day, Rey is a highly respected judge. By night, he's the most brutal of serial killers. When does the poor man sleep? And how did Fernando Rey find time to churn out Night Fiend the same year that he was busy with Elissa My Love and That Obscure Object of Desire? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Masculine Feminine was Jean-Luc Godard's first (but not his last) foray into the burgeoning "Children of the Sixties" generation -- or, as Godard described it, "the children of Marx and Coca-Cola." Impressionable teenager Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud) tries to make sense of the world by working as an interviewer for a research firm. Meanwhile, Paul cohabits with aspiring singer Madeleine (Chantal Goya), with two additional young ladies joining the nocturnal festivities. Paul jumps or is pushed from a window, leaving a pregnant Madeleine to move on to the next aimless youth she meets. While the nominal hero has failed to find fulfillment in personal relations, another male protagonist (Michel Debord), a political activist, is luckier -- an indication that the director favored revolutionary politics over simple emotionalism at this point in his career. Though Godard's free-form style is usually opposed to linear storytelling, Masculine Feminine has solid literary roots, having been inspired by two Guy de Maupassant stories. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the story "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant, this grim low-budget potboiler stars Vincent Price as Simon Cordier, a ruthless magistrate in 19th-century Paris who becomes possessed by the malevolent spirit (or "horla") of a condemned murderer whom Cordier was forced to kill in self-defense. Driven by the madman's ghost to continue his pattern of brutal crimes, Cordier comes to the realization that the only way he can purge the violent demon from his soul is to immolate himself in a blazing pyre. Though the riveting Price (whose very presence can enliven even the most dismal of horror duds) does an admirable job as the tormented Cordier, he is unable to bear the ponderous weight of this tedious production. Although a parallel between the callousness of Cordier's office and the insensate evil of his crimes would have provided an interesting subtext, the script forfeits this potential, relying instead on a pat, self-righteous finale with religious overtones. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Released in the US by 20th Century-Fox, Boccaccio '70 is a compendium of short subjects directed by three of Italy's top filmmakers. Each story is written in the style of the famed Italian essayist Boccaccio, albeit told in contemporary terms. First up is "The Raffle", written by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica: Sophia Loren (wife of Boccaccio '70 producer Carlo Ponti) plays the sexy operator of a shooting gallery, who offers herself as first prize to the best shot. In "The Job", written by Suso Cecchi D'Amico and directed by Luchino Visconti, Romy Schneider carries a torch for her philandering boss Tomas Milian. The final segment is "The Temptation of Dr. Antonio", directed by Federico Fellini and scripted by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli; in this one, Anita Ekberg is an image on a poster who comes to life for the benefit of a drooling middle-aged professor (Peppino De Filippo). A fourth episode, "Renzo and Luciana", directed by Mario Monicelli, was cut from U.S. release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Life is based on a novel by Guy De Mauppasant. Maria Schell plays Jeanne, who enters into a loveless marriage with impoverished Julien (Christian Marquand). Having married Jeanne only for her money, Julien has no qualms about carrying on an affair with Gilberte (Antonella Lualdi), the family maid. Even after Gilberte gives birth to Julien's child, Jeanne forgives her husband, but he fails to learn his lesson and suffers spectacularly as a result. The physical and psychological isolation of the long-suffering heroine is emphasized by director Alexandre Astruc's decision to film Un Vie almost exclusively in a remote, sterile country mansion. Un Vie was released in the U.S. as End of Desire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Swedish The True and the False was produced by actress Signe Hasso, who also stars in the film, which was lensed in two different languages to broaden its appeal. On the eve of her wedding a young bride-to-be (Hasso) decides to do a little light reading. Her first selection is Balzac's La Grande Breteche, a story of infidelity and revenge in which the girl imagines herself and her fiancé (William Langford) in the leading roles. She then looks over DeMaupassant's The Old Maid, imagining herself as the tragic heroine and her future husband as the soldier who loves her. As she puts down her books, the girl sees her marital future in a whole new light. Signe Hasso does just fine in her multiple roles; less successful are the other cast members, who seem to have been hired for their physical suitability rather than their thespic talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The short stories of Guy de Maupassant enjoyed a renaissance in the early 1950s, thanks in great part to the Max Ophuls production Le Plaisir. In Trois Femmes, three De Maupassant stories are dramatized, each conveying the central theme of women falling in love. In the first, a black female carnival entertainer causes an uproar when she falls in love with a white soldier. In the second, a young bride is pressured into having a baby to collect a huge inheritance. And in the final episode, a pregnant girl is "adopted" and protected by a small circle of friends. In standard De Maupassant fashion, each of the three stories in Trois Femmes is capped by a surprise twist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The works of Guy de Maupassant have likely been adapted by more French filmmakers than those of any other author (with the possible exception of Georges Simenon). Max Ophuls harnesses three Maupassant short stories to suit his artistic purposes in Le Plaisir (House of Pleasure). In "The Mask," an aging lothario (Jean Galland) learns more about himself than he cares to when he dons a mask to cover his wrinkles. In "The House of Madame Tellier," the proprietress of a brothel (Madeline Renaud) closes up shop one day for an unusual (for her) personal mission. And in "The Model," both the title character (Simone Simon) and her artist-lover (Daniel Gelin) pay the price for her romantic impulsiveness. Each of the playlets in Le Plaisir explore conflicting sides of human nature -- a theme common to both the works of Maupassant and the films of Ophuls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Ways of Love grew from an unfinished film: Jean Renoir's A Day in the Country, of which 46 minutes had been completed before funds ran out. In this French/Italian compendium, Country is combined with Marcel Pagnol's 1933 short subject Jofroi and Roberto Rosselini's 1948 character study The Miracle. It was this last component, the story of an impressionable woman who is seduced by a man whom she thinks is Jesus Christ, that prevented The Ways of Love from being released in the US in 1950. In a landmark court decision, the US Justice Department decreed that The Miracle was not the dire threat against morals that its detractors made it out to be, and permitted the film to be shown in New York. For the record, A Day in the Country is based on a Guy de Maupassant story of unrequited love during a family picnic, while Jofroi tells the tale of a peasant who sells his land--but not the trees on that land. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in Germany in 1939, Guy de Maupassant's "history of a scoundrel" Bel Ami was good for another go-round in this Mexican adaptation. Armando Calvo plays the eponymous "hero," a duplicitous journalist who advances himself in society by seducing and abandoning women of wealth, all the while denying himself true love. This essentially Gallic tale is given a Latin flavor by director Antonio Momplet. Calvo's quartet of leading ladies -- Gloria Marin, Patricia Moran, Emilia Guau and Andrea Palma -- are gorgeous, deserving far better treatment than afforded them by the ruthless Bel Ami. In an incredible "coincidence," Bel Ami was distributed in the U.S. just before the release of United Artists' The Private Affairs of Bel Ami. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide