Michéle Girardon Movies
- 1968
A group of five member of the French underground resistance muse over their upcoming plan. Spouting political rhetoric, the characters reveal their motives and hopes for the movement against the Vichy government and the occupying Nazi army. A pleasure-seeking journalist has quit his job and left his party-boy lifestyle behind to fight against the Germans. The story is taken from a novel by Roger Vailland and attempts to give psychological and personal reasons as to why each member joined the resistance in the first place. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Garrel, Remy Longa, (more)
- 1966
Jean-Paul Belmondo is a lovable lothario who delights in his womanizing ways in this ribald comedy adventure. When two women can't get enough of him, he is chased to Tahiti and back to Paris by admiring females. His experiences are exhausting to the point that he considers giving up his life as a ladies man. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Nadja Tiller, (more)
- 1965
This uninhibited Italian comedy was originally titled Il Magnifico Cornuto. Ugo Tognazzi plays a philandering businessman, inordinately proud of his hyperactive libido. Claudia Cardinale is his sexy wife, which makes one wonder why Tognazzi would ever want to stray. Be that as it may, Cardinale decides to take revenge on her roving hubby by launching an affair of her own. The beauty part is that she's almost able to get away with her hanky-panky without her self-absorbed husband ever catching on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Cardinale, Ugo Tognazzi, (more)
- 1964
Rafael Sabatini's swordsman-turned-strolling actor Scaramouche is brought to life by Gerard Barry in this French/Italian/Spanish adaptation. Denied his noble birthright by the villains, the fugitive Scaramouche hides out with a theatrical troupe, stealing the heart of lusty leading lady Gianna Maria Canale. But Scarmouche's true love is the ladylike noblewoman Michelle Giradon, whom he woos and wins after vanquishing principal baddie Alberto de Mendoza. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
La Boulangere De Monceau (The Girl at the Monceau Bakery is the first of six short films that make up the Six Moral Tales series by French New Wave director Eric Rohmer. This 25-minute segment was shot in Paris with 16 mm black-and-white film. Barbet Schroeder (who also produced) plays a young university student who is initially attracted to a girl he sees on the street. While searching for her over several days, he makes frequent stops to a bakery. When he finally finds the girl and arranges a date, it conflicts with the date he has made with the bakery salesgirl. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbet Schroeder, Michéle Girardon, (more)
Hatari! is Swahili for "danger"--and also the word for action, adventure and broad comedy in this two-fisted Howard Hawks effort. John Wayne stars as the head of a daring Tanganyka-based group which captures wild animals on behalf of the world's zoos. Hardy Kruger, Gérard Blain and Red Buttons are members of Wayne's men-only contingent, all of whom are reduced to jello when the curvaceous Elsa Martinelli enters the scene. In tried and true Howard Hawks fashion, Martinelli quickly becomes "one of the guys," though Wayne apparently can't say two words to her without sparking an argument. The second half of this amazingly long (159 minute) film concerns the care and maintenance of a baby elephant; the barely credible finale is devoted to a comic pachyderm stampede down an urban African street, ending literally at the foot of Martinelli's bed. The other scene worth mentioning involves comedy-relief Red Buttons' efforts to create a fireworks-powered animal trap. Not to be taken seriously for a minute, Hatari is attractively packaged and neatly tied up with a danceable-pranceable theme song by Henry Mancini. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Hardy Kruger, (more)
- 1962
The seven major sins receive treatment from some of France's greatest directors in this lively portmanteau. "Anger" by Dhomme, chronicles a single horrific day when every bowl of soup in France is found to contain a fly. This causes a devastating nationwide revolt. "Envy" by Molinaro tells the story of a chambermaid whose dream of sleeping with a millionaire comes true. Unfortunately, she goes back to work and finds herself still consumed with jealousy. De Broca's "Gluttony" provides one of the film's most enjoyable episodes as it follows the exploits of a voracious family heading off for a funeral. "Lust" by Demy is set at a Parisian sidewalk cafe and eavesdrops upon the lusty conversation between two young men, one of whom has x-ray eyes that enable him to see through women's clothing. "Laziness" by Godard features real life matinee idol Constantine as a movie star who finds himself too sluggish to respond to the starlet trying so hard to seduce him. "Pride" by Roger Vadim tells the satirical tale of a philandering wife who changes her mind and stays with her husband after learning that her happy home is being threatened by another woman. Finally in Chabrol's "Greed," young men who have pooled their meager resources to buy a prostitute, fight for the chance to be with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Charrier, Marie-José Nat, (more)
- 1962
This was the penultimate film directed by Jean Boyer who began his career in 1930, focusing mainly on lightweight, commercial movies. In this case, Virginie might be a bit too fluffy, since the romantic comedy never gets very far below the surface, just like the boat on which it takes place. Olivier and Pierre (Jean-Marc Thibaut and Roger Pierre) have decided to sail to Argentina on their own large boat, and while on the ocean they plan on studying fish and filming their adventure (one is a scientist and the other a journalist). But fate steps in when the two rescue a pair of women, Betty and Brigitte (Michele Girardon and Mireille Dare), and as might be expected, a series of bumpy circumstances lead to romance all around. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger-Pierre, Jean-Marc Thibault, (more)
- 1962
In this adventure, a dozen imprisoned women are sent to America to become slaves. The year is 1675, and the women must sail aboard the ill-fated Albatross. A few well-heeled passengers are also aboard the ship, and among them is a political prisoner. Somehow the prisoners escape and commandeer the ship. Exciting mayhem on the high seas ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Purdom, Ivan Desny, (more)
- 1960
Director Alexandre Astruc is known for his abstract, avant-garde works such as this interesting film about a woman longing for independence. Anna (Annie Girardon) is married to Eric (Daniel Gelin) who has old-fashioned ideas about a woman never working (outside the home, that is). But Eric is also magnanimous enough to "give" Anna the freedom to run her own gallery. His ambivalence remains unresolved, contributing to Anna's sense of loneliness. Her plight, in turn, leads her into a love affair with Bruno (Christian Marquand), a man much more romantic than her husband. But as she becomes more committed to her art gallery, the men in her life -- legitimate and otherwise -- start to fade for several reasons. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Girardot, Daniel Gélin, (more)
Maciste, here played by Kirk Morris, is instead a legendary Italian superhero of long standing. In this one, the mighty Mr. M journeys to seventeenth-century Scotland (this is Hell?) His foe is a fearsome Scottish witch who holds awesome power over the local wildlife, and for a while it looks like our hero will get killed. As with many other Maciste films, this Technicolor opus was bundled into the "Sons of Hercules" package syndicated to local TV stations in the mid-1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Morris
- 1959
This was the first film directed by Eric Rohmer, and although it is not without flaws, this story of a down-and-out foreigner in Paris has its merits. Pierre (Jess Hahn) is a music student and already living on a shoestring when he hears that he has inherited a large sum of money. But just when it looks like his luck is changing for the better, his so-called inheritance is suddenly ephemeral. Saddled with debts, he wanders around the shadier side of the city throughout the summer, trying to survive but instead sinking deeper and deeper into the morass of poverty. His friends help out, and at the end it looks like his luck will be changing once again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
The Lovers (Les Amants) furthered the reputations of both director Louis Malle and star Jeanne Moreau -- and also pushed the boundaries of American censorship (1959 vintage) to the breaking point. Moreau plays a humdrum housewife whose life brightens considerably when she meets a handsome young archeologist (Jean-Marc Bory). The two enjoy an exquisite evening in the boudoir, and when comes the dawn, Moreau has gained a whole new outlook on things. She abandons her family in favor of Bory, even though neither has the slightest notion of what the future will hold. The Lovers gained notoriety upon its first release as the Movie With the Nude Scene: though a model of decorum by today's standards (the most suggestive moment is a shot of Moreau's hand falling limply on the bedsheets), the scene provided fodder for outraged guardians of public morals for several years. One hapless Cleveland theatre owner was arrested on an obscenity charge, a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Venice Film festival took a more liberal stance on the matter, awarding The Lovers a special jury prize. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Moreau, Alain Cuny, (more)
- 1956
Recharging his creative batteries with a "commercial" venture, director Luis Bunuel came up with the stylish if undistinguished La Mort en ce Jardin (Death in This Garden). Set in a steaming jungle, the film concerns a disparate group of refugees from a despotic military regime. Among these worthies is "good time girl" Djin (Simone Signoret), ageing miner Castin (Charles Vanel) and deaf-mute Marie (Michele Girardon). The deeper the protagonists venture into the jungle, the more Bunuel's patented surrealism begins to surface. Only two of the escapees survive the ordeal, and they aren't necessary the two whom the viewers are rooting for. Some prints of La Mort en ce Jardin bear the title Gina. hel) F Lorsque L'Enfant Paris (When the Child Appears) was adapted from the hit play by Andre Roussin. The story revolves around the efforts of a well-meaning, highly moralistic minister, who wants the government to clamp down on illegitimacy. Complications ensue when the minister's own wife become pregnant--and all evidence indicates that the child is not his. Adding to the protagonist's headaches, his daughter, on the eve of her wedding to a wealthy young man, announces that she, too, may well be in the family way. Not to be left out, the minister's son declares that he thinks he's impregnated his father's secretary! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Charles Vanel, (more)
