Odette Florelle Movies

Emile Zola's obscure novel entitled "L'Assommoir" has been made into several films. This is one of the best. In this two hour movie an entire mini-series worth of problems have been compressed about a young woman to whom life has dealt hard blows. Set in the 19th-century, this woman deals with an alcoholic husband while doing everything within her power to keep the family together. An incredibly depressing movie in which the protagonist keeps on trying no matter what besets her, the performances are creditable and the direction superb. Self-involved characters give viewers no one to cheer for, but this movie received multiple awards, ranging from Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival to an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. The music was composed by Georges Auric. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Jean Renoir was the director of The Crime of Monsieur Lange, but this French film might just as well have been made in Hollywood by Frank Capra. The titular Lange (Rene Lefevre) is an author of wild west novels. When the owner of the company that publishes Lange's works absconds with the company funds, Lange rallies the employees together to create their own publishing house. The publisher returns, disguised as a priest, and demands a share of the profits. Lange responds by killing the bounder. The grateful employees help Lange to escape prosecution, allowing him to leave the country with his lovely fiancee (Florelle). Jacques Prevert adapted the screenplay of The Crime of Monsieur Lange from a story by Renoir and Jean Castanier. Stage actor Jules Berry makes his film debut in the role of the shady publisher. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

In this mythical fantasy, the evil queen of Atlantis lives in a magnificent palace, the halls of which are filled with the mummified remains of former lovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi