Robert Arnoux Movies

This modest, unpretentious French film is a streamlined version of the true story previously cinematized as The Song of Bernadette (1943) Daniele Ajort plays the simple 19th-century French peasant girl who insists that she has experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. Once this sighting becomes common knowledge, Bernadette's very existence becomes a religious and political hot potato. Thousands of people flock to the grotto at Lourdes where Bernadette claims she has seen the Holy Mother, believing that the waters therein contain recuperative powers. Bernadette dies under a cloud of controversy, but is ultimately elevated to sainthood by the Vatican. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jean Gabin stars in Voici le Temps des Assassins as Chatelin, a soft-spoken, middle-aged restauranteur. His life is unexpectedly complicated when Catherine (Daniele Delorme), the daughter of his ex-wife, pays a visit. Catherine tells Chatelin that her mother is dead, and that she's all alone in the world. The good-hearted Chatelin comes to regret his decision to allow the girl to stay when it develops that she's not only a liar, but a psychotic, who plans to murder him. Voici le Temps des Assassins was released in the US as Deadlier Than the Male. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this fluffy comedy-drama, Manina (Brigitte Bardot) is a beautiful young woman who lives with her father, who tends a lighthouse near the ocean. One day, Manina meets two men who are working along the coastline, searching for treasure. Manina becomes infatuated with the younger of the two treasure hunters, and a romance blossoms between the two. In time, Manina must come to the rescue of her new beau when his parter commits an act of betrayal which could cost him his life. Manina, la Fille Sans Voile was one of Bardot's first starring roles; the film was shot in 1952 (when she was just 18), but was little-seen outside France until five years later, after ... And God Created Woman made her an international star. It was shown in America as The Girl In The Bikini and in the UK as The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The English-language title of this curious French drama is The Night is My Kingdom. Considered one of the best offerings from the highly variable director Georges Lacombe, the film stars Jean Gabin as Raymond, whose career as a railroad engineer is cut short when he is blinded in an accident. Unable to resign himself to his sightlessness, Raymond prefers to sit at home feeling sorry for himself. After much cajoling by friends and family, he enrolls in a school for the blind, where with the help of sensitive instructor Louise (Simone Valere) he comes out of his shell and starts life anew. La Nuit est Mon Royaume was released around the same time as a similarly-themed American film, Bright Victory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Circonstance Attenuantes (Circumstantial Evidence) stars Michel Simon as a judge known as Le Sentencier because of his stern adherence to the letter of the law. In private life, however, the judge is hardly a bastion of severity, concocting an elaborate excuse to visit his mistress while on vacation with his terrifying wife. En route to his assignation, the judge stumbles onto a criminal gang headed by the lovely Marie (Arletty). Because of his thorough knowledge of the law, the judge is mistaken for a criminal mastermind whom the gang has been waiting for. Revelling in this misapprehension, our hero decides to supervise a series of robberies, using his knowledge of due process and rules of evidence to escape detection--though he soothes his conscience by secretly paying for all his ill-gotten gains. As a climax to his short life of crime, the judge leads the gang to his own home, where he gleefully orders them to remove all the hideous furnishings with which his wife has adorned the place over the past several years! Delightfully acted, Circonstance Attenuantes arrives at a moralistic conclusion, though one half-wishes that the judge and his new friends will escape scot-free. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "une femme" (one woman) of the title is a young widow (Vera Korene). Upon discovering that her late husband was far from faithful, the woman decides to make up for all the fun she missed out on in life. She invites the "sept hommes" (seven men) who have been her most ardent suitors for a weekend of "fun and games" at her lavish chateau. Once the seven have arrived, however, the widow realizes that she has eyes only for one: her childhood sweetheart, an impoverished nobleman (Fernand Gravey). For the record, the remaining six suitors include a gigolo (Roger Duquesne), a self-made businessman (Pierre Larquey), a writer (Felix Oudart) and a bureaucrat (Saturin-Fabre). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide