Alfred Adam Movies

Released in France as La Kermesse Heroique, Carnival in Flanders is set during the long-ago war between the Dutch and Spanish. A tiny village in Flanders is invaded by Spanish troops. The townsfolk have heard of Spanish cruelties in other towns, and decide to deflect the vanquishers by playing dead. This isn't terribly effective (you have to take a breath once in a while), so the wife of the burgomaster tries to soften up the invaders with a lavish carnival. So successful is this venture that the Spaniards allow the village to escape being decimated, or even taxed. An award-winner many times over, Carnival in Flanders was banned in Germany; evidently, Goebbels caught on that director Jacques Feyder and scenarists Bernard Zimmer and Charles Spaak were drawing deliberate parallels between the Spanish and the then-burgeoning Nazis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Claude Autant-Lara's literally haunting romantic tale Sylvia and the Phantom stars Odette Joyeaux as Sylvia, an imaginative young girl who lives in an old French castle. Fascinated by a portrait of the lover of her deceased grandmother, Sylvia fantasizes about having a romance with the lover's ghost. On Sylvia's 16th birthday, her father decides to amuse the girl by having the "ghost" make an appearance, and to that end engages the services of three men--a valet, a ham actor and a burglar--to impersonate the wraith. Though confused by the fact that the ghost seemingly has three distinct personalities, Sylvia nonetheless falls in love with the burglar, the most handsome of the trio. Disillusioned upon learning of her father's subterfuge, Sylvia is unfortunately unresponsive when the real ghost (poignantly enacted by comedian Jacques Tati) makes a surprise appearance. Unfairly lambasted by American critics as "worthless," Sylvia and the Phantom has since taken its place in cinema history as one of Claude Autant-Lara's most beguiling works. The film was adapted from a play by Alfred Adam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Fernard Gravet may look like a natural-born philanderer in Ma Femma est Formidable, but appearances are deceiving. Condemned without evidence as a "rake" by his dimwitted wife Sylvia (Sophie Desmarets) and his monstrous in-laws, Raymond Corbier (Gravet) is further bedeviled by the unwarranted advances of man-chasing Marguerite Rival (Simone Valere). Before long, the whole melange looks like a Leon Errol 2-reeler, complete with fake suicides, slapstick and a wisecracking parrot. While it may not seem like such a much to American viewers, Ma Femme est Formidable was a hit in France; in fact, it won several awards at various French film festivals. The film was directed by Andre Hunebelle, who was undoubtedly gratified that he gave up his previous occupation of glassmaker when the box-office take began rolling in. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lantern-jawed French comedian Fernandel plays a dual role in Most Wanted Man. He stars as an ordinary Joe (or ordinary Pierre, perhaps) who is the exact double of a notorious gangster. In the tradition of Edward G. Robinson's The Whole Town's Talking, Fernandel must take the place of the criminal, and vice versa. The toughest hurdle in the charade is fooling the gangster's mistress "Mademoiselle", played by Zsa Zsa Gabor (who unlike Fernandel has trouble playing one role). Eventually Zsa Zsa takes a liking to the "nice" Fernandel and helps him collar the rest of the crooks. Most Wanted Man was first released in the U.S. as Most Wanted Man in the World; it was initially screened in France in 1953 as L'Ennemi Public No. 1. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A novel by James Hadley Chase was the source for Une Manche et la Belle (Beauty Up His Sleeve). Bank clerk Henri Vidal ingratiates himself to middle-aged heiress Isa Miranda. Once they're married, however, Vidal's eyes begin to wander. Falling for Mylene Demongeot, Vidal and his new paramour cook up a scheme to knock off Isa and claim her money. But Mylene has an evil agenda all her own. More than one reviewer noted the resemblances between Une Manche et la Belle and the American noir masterpiece Double Indemnity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Jean Bastia has created another amusing comedy in this story about Claudius (Jean Richard), a local policeman who is plagued by the local bandit, Vittorio (Roger-Pierre). In reality, Claudius has become Vittorio's friend, which makes chasing after him in all seriousness a difficult proposition. Assisted by an able supporting cast and an upbeat spirit, this farce may be a bit too specialized in its regional humor and jargon to reach a general, non-French audience. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Love and the Frenchwoman (La Francaise et L'Amour) concentrates on the nature of love by illustrating seven separate aspects of the emotion. In "Childhood," 9-year old Pierre-Jean Vaillard suffers a traumatic experience when he takes his parents' "cabbage patch" theory of conception too literally. In "Adolescence," a little girl (Annie Sinigalla) constructs an elaborate fantasy world on the occasion of her first kiss. "Virginity" is a study in frustration, as betrothed couple Valerie Lagrange and Pierre Michel agonizingly await their wedding-night consummation of their ardor. "Marriage" finds a union ending almost before it begins as a pair of newlyweds (Marie-Jose Nat and Claude Rich) bicker all the way to their honeymoon rendezvous. "Adultery" allows husband Paul Meurisse the opportunity to calmly provide an object lesson to his wife's lover Jean-Paul Belmondo. In "Divorce", a couple (Annie Girardot and Francois Pierer) find that it's impossible to have a "civilized" breakup. And in "A Woman Alone," bigamist Robert Lamoreaux meets his Waterloo in the forms of Martine Carol and Sylvia Montfort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide