Alfred Adam Movies
- 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
- 1945
This French morality play is fraught with cynical undertones as it tells the tale of a group of French people from every social strata trying to flee the Nazis who have just invaded Paris. En route they meet a cruel German officer who threatens to kill the others if the heroine Presle refuses to sleep with him. The others, fearing for their own lives, force her to submit. Soon afterward another enemy officer makes the same threat. The woman, disgusted by the selfishness of her companions, decides that she has had enough and kills the would-be rapist, causing her companions all sorts of problems. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Micheline Presle, Louis Salou, (more)
- 1954
The Gallic swashbuckler Cadet-Rousselle stars Francois Perrier in the title role. In love with the mayor's daughter, Rousselle is separated from her by money and by his low-born parentage. He heads off to Paris, there to find fame and fortune and make himself worthy of his sweetheart. En route, however, Cadet-Rousselle gets mixed up with a band of gypsies who plan to help the Royalists topple the New French Republic. Adventure piles upon adventure as Rousselle narrows escapes death at every turn. With him all the way is the new love of his life, fiery gypsy lass Violetta (Dany Robin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bourvil, François Perier, (more)
- 1963
An overly ambitious young man hopes to rise to the top of the advertising business. When he feels his progress is being impeded, he conspires to murder his way up the corporate ladder. He uses the bodies of his victims as rungs to climb to the top in this macabre comedy of errors. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Brialy, Michel Serrault, (more)
- 1951
Also known as Dear Caroline, Caroline Cherie is one of the best of Martine Carol's movie vehicles. Set during the French revolution, the film relates the story of Caroline (Carol), who, to dredge up a couple of old clichés, is no better than she ought to be but is more sinned against than sinning. Faithful in her fashion to a young nobleman, Caroline undergoes several amorous misadventures before she is reunited with her true love. She also wears a variety of lavish period costumes, each one more eye-popping than the last. The screenplay for Caroline Cherie was written by playwright Jean Anouilh, whose light and delicate touch is most welcome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martine Carol, Marie Déa, (more)
- 1974
In this French drama, when magazine journalist Juliette (Annie Giradot) goes to work on a story, she gets serious. This gets her into trouble when she interviews the other Juliette (Marlene Jobert), the winner of her magazine's contest, and she discovers a real person with a job instead of a housewife or a mini-celebrity. Her interview with Juliette has inspired her to write about "real" women, and this determination gets her fired from her job. Undaunted, she starts a women's liberation magazine. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlène Jobert, Annie Girardot, (more)
- 1954
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
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Zsa Zsa Gabor, (more)
- 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
This popular, standard French spy drama is the second in a series that stars tough guy Lino Ventura as Paul, a man who really would like to come in from the cold. Paul has established himself in the ordinary world with an on-going, successful business and has settled down with his wife Nadine (Estella Blain) and their two children. Thanks to his former chief and the fact that some sensitive plans have been stolen, Paul is coerced to going back to work undercover to retrieve the plans, knowing that the assignment is dangerous. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Estella Blain, (more)
- 1946
A corrupt, lecherous farming son and the destruction he brings to his family is featured in this melodrama. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Vanel, Bourvil, (more)
- 1935
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
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Jean Murat, (more)
- 1960
Intermittent sexual encounters and a sleazy group of protagonists provide some interest in this otherwise undistinguished story about avarice and love. A chain of similar events begins when a young woman decides to bilk her middle-age "sugar daddy" of some money. She is temporarily living with him while his family is out of town and pretends she needs an abortion. So he plays on the sympathies of a lonely widow he keeps dangling on a romantically tinted string and gets the funds under false pretenses. The money then goes to his girlfriend but does not stay in her hands long because her young boyfriend needs it for his own purposes. The girlfriend does not know that those purposes involve another woman, and the boyfriend does not know that he is being bilked. And so the beat goes on.... ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Charrier, Macha Meril, (more)
- 1958
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
- Starring:
- Jean Richard, Roger-Pierre, (more)
- 1965
Martin (Jean Gabin) is a venerable gardener who passes counterfeit currency to make ends meet in this situation comedy. When a tax bill puts him further in debt, his nephew convinces him to pass bigger bills to pay off the taxes and live the good life. Soon the nephew and his girlfriend buy a villa on the Riviera and some fancy cars. Martin wants out of the deal but agrees to pull off one more caper before retiring. He meets a wealthy man who takes a liking to him and helps the man win a fortune while gambling at the casino. He brings the money to his nephew who does not realize the currency is real, and when police show up looking for an escaped lion, the nephew and his girl burn what they believe are the bogus bills to avoid being arrested. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Liselotte Pulver, (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)
- 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)
