Michel Galabru Movies

Molière's play about a "bourgeois gentleman" was the basis for this cinematic interpretation of the same story, which illustrates the differences between theater performances and the silver screen. The play has interludes of music, it is performed as a ballet, and stage sets tend to remain right where they are for the duration of a long scene or an act, or more. In contrast, this film is not a ballet, though music is interwoven with the scenes, the action is emphasized more than on a static stage set, and the "gentleman" of the title, Monsieur Jourdain, is played by Michel Galabru with facial expressions necessary for the stage, though a bit much for the close-up shots of a camera. Monsieur Jourdain is a wealthy man who wants to rise up the social ladder but only succeeds in giving away his lack of sensibility at every turn, and soon he has some of the impoverished nobility wanting to use his lucre as a springboard back into the good life. He is easily fooled, as when the marriage of his daughter is arranged behind his back -- if only he would listen to his wife (Rosy Varte), who has so much more common sense. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Gerard Louvier (Gerard Lanvin), a young criminal trying to stay a few steps ahead of a police manhunt, winds up with Julie Boucher (Miou-Miou), a journalist searching out another story -- who thinks he is an up-and-coming judge with leads on her own case. The confusion is a catalyst for some misunderstandings and general uproar, before the different protagonists sort themselves out and their untenable situation is resolved. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this routine, somewhat disconnected story, Louis Alban (Jean Rochefort) has been divorced from his wife for awhile when a ruse perpetrated by his son sends him rushing to see her, but not exactly in a direct line. After Louis reads a New Year's card from his son indicating the boy is being abused by his stepfather Bob, Louis takes off for Paris to take care of Bob. But when Louis arrives at the apartment complex where his wife and son live with the infamous Bob, he is overwhelmed by the many buildings there -- and distraught over his lack of an exact address. As he wanders around, he encounters a few others who end up about as lost as he is, including a garage mechanic and his young accountant -- both searching for a party given by the real Bob, and a militant apartment resident who lends his support and his gun to Louis' desperate search. This disparate group of people meander around the building, but in the end they fit into the carefully crafted plans of Louis' deceptive son to bring his mother and father back together. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A clever adaptation of Moliere's play Les Fourberies de Scapin, this cinematic re-creation was directed by Roger Coggio who also plays the lead, Scapin -- a tramp who thrives on mischief. In this version, however, Coggio interprets Scapin's antics as clever put-ons, meant to help him obtain his objectives. The story starts out as a stage performance which Coggio then transforms into cinema, as though transforming the story from the "fiction" of play-acting to the "verite" of cinematic realism. That is a neat 20th-century trick that Scapin himself may have appreciated. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Spiced with French humor and insouciance, this otherwise routine comedy is carried by the acting talents of Jean-Luc Bideau as Jean-Luc and Jean-Pierre Sentier as Mathieu. Jean-Luc is a wood carver of decorative, functional works that keep baguettes on the table while he longs to write his first mystery novel. Mathieu sculpts in spite of a lack of evidence of any talent. His real problem lies in his anxiety over marrying the woman he loves: whenever he walks up to the altar he turns around and exits in a hurry. Meanwhile, Jean-Luc has fallen in love with a woman who has about as much enthusiasm for the altar as Mathieu. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This standard comedy thriller is more a vehicle to show off Jean-Paul Belmondo's stunts than to convey a suspenseful tale to a hoodwinked audience. Belmondo plays a conman who gets tangled in a complex series of hassles that involve some well-placed kicks to straighten out. Everyone is after a microfilm he has, and when he is not hanging from a helicopter to escape his enemies he is bedding down one woman or another. Life, after awhile, seems fairly predictable as he goes from being airborne to bedridden or vice-versa. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Haragon Louis De Funes is such a miserable miser that he even steals oats from horses in this comedy from celebrated playwright Moliere. The story remains true to the original, but the combined effort between Girault and De Funes remains uneven. Still, the film will satisfy the fans of De Funes, one of France's more beloved screen comics. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

When the local police inspector was found dead in a prostitute's house, police division commissioner Stan Borowitz (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is sent to investigate the situation. Posing as the prostitute's long-lost brother "Antonio Cerruti," he discovers a mare's nest of police corruption. In fact, in this comedy thriller the whole town is corrupt. If they were closely examined, Stan's methods for pursuing this investigation might embarrass the police. For instance, he drives into a criminal's house in a fancy, expensive race car. In another incident, he callously blows up a casino owned by Musard (Georges Geret), one of the town's crime bosses. On that occasion, he first forces Musard to remove his clothes, and the poor criminal watches his casino explode from across the square while standing naked in a phone booth. Meanwhile, Stan seduces the lovely Edmonde (Marie Laforet). This box-office smash was the first of four wildly successful collaborations between Belmondo and director Georges Lautner. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide