Fernand Gravey Movies
The son of Belgian actors Georges Mertens and Fernande Depernay, Fernand Gravet was a stage performer at age 5, appearing under his father's direction. Thanks to his British education and his service in His Majesty's merchant marine, Gravet was able to thrive as a stage actor in several different countries, the usual language barriers posing no problem to him. Billed as Fernand Gravey, he made his first film, L'Amour Chante, in France in 1930. He was brought to Hollywood in 1937 amidst an elaborate publicity campaign which instructed filmgoers in the proper pronunciation of his name: "Rhymes with 'Gravy'." Curiously, Hollywood insisted upon billing him as "Gravet" rather than "Gravey," possibly in anticipation of film-critic wisecracks. He starred in standard urbane-continental roles in The King and the Chorus Girl (1937) and Fools for Scandal (1938) and was cast as Johann Strauss in MGM's expensive biopic The Great Waltz. He returned to France just before the Nazi occupation. Though he agreed to star in German-approved French films, he did his utmost to undermine the invaders as a member of the French Secret Army and the Foreign Legion. Gravet returned to films a war hero, continuing to star in such productions as La Ronde (1950) and Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954). Among Fernand Gravet's last English-language performances were How to Steal a Million (1966), Guns for San Sebastian (1968) and The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), in which he played the Police Inspector. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1946
The title of this French romantic comedy translates as Once is Enough, which was hardly conducive to the film's repeat business! Veteran movie heartthrob Fernand Gravey stars as a famed explorer, who falls in love with gorgeous sculptress Edwige Feuillere. Their romance is blighted by a series of lover's quarrels, which range from minor spats to all-out guerilla warfare. It is up to philosophical art critic Henri Guisol, friend to both Gravey and Feuillere, to bring the couple back together. A minor star vehicle, Il Suffit d'une Fois would have benefited from more comedy and less quarrelling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edwige Feuillère, Fernand Gravey, (more)
- 1942
Originally titled La Nuit Fantastique, this French romantic farce was filmed in 1942, during the Nazi occupation. Little did the Germans suspect that star Fernand Gravey was spending his "leisure" time serving with the French Secret Army on behalf of the Resistance. In the film, Gravey plays a medical student, while the luscious Michelene Presle is the girl of his dreams. In fact, it is during one of his dreams that he rescues the girl from a Byzantine plot to rob her of her fortune. It's hardly surprising that French audiences would respond to escapist fare like this while the Germans patrolled their streets outside the theater. Fantastic Night finally received U.S. bookings in 1949, by which time Michelene Presle was preparing to make her first Hollywood film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Gravey, Micheline Presle, (more)
- 1941
Released in France in 1941 as Histoire de Rire, Foolish Husbands made its American debut in 1948. It all begins when Adelaide (Micheline Presle), wife of Gerard (Fernand Gravet), enters into a weekend affair with young Achille (Gilbert Gil). This she does because her best friend Helene (Marie Dea) is conducting her own affair, and seems to be having a good time. Sadder, wiser, and a bit out of breath, Adelaide eventually returns to Gerard on Monday. Foolish Husbands was based on a stage play by Armand Salacrou, which from all reports was better than the movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Micheline Presle, Marie Déa, (more)
- 1940
Originally released in 1939 as Paradis Perdu (Paradise Lost), Abel Gance's Four Flights to Love is typical of the great director's entertaining but insignificant later efforts. The storyline spans the years between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second. Unable to reconcile himself to the death of his wife, Parisian fashion designer Pierre (Fernand Gravey) withdraws into himself, refusing to make contact with his daughter (Micheline Presle) Eventually he "opens up" enough for a reconciliation with the girl, and even begins a new romance with woman several years younger than himself. Fernand Gravey ages and ages convincingly in Four Flights to Love, delivering a well-rounded portrayal of an underdeveloped character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Micheline Presle, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1939
Long before James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice was filmed by MGM, there were two intriguing foreign versions, one (unauthorized) from Italy and the other from France. The French version, directed by Pierre Chenal, was titled Le Dernier Tournant and released in English-speaking countries as The Last Turning. Fernand Gravet fills the role of anti-hero Frank, who goes to work for crude but likeable garage mechanic Nick Marino (Michel Simon). Whipped into an erotic frenzy by Nick's sexy young wife Cora (Corinne Luchaire), Frank cooks up a scheme with her to bump off Nick for the insurance money. Once the dirty deed is done, Frank and Cora are arrested for murder but manage to beat the rap. Fate, however, has other things in store for the conscience-stricken couple. One of the highlights of Le Dernier Tournant, a cross-examination in a hospital room, was supervised by real-life French jurist Henry Torres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Gravey, Corinne Luchaire, (more)
- 1938
The Great Waltz was the first of two films bearing the same title which told the life story of Austrian "Waltz King" Johann Strauss. European singing sensation Fernard Gravet stars as Strauss, while MGM's two-time Oscar winner Luise Rainer is top-billed as Poldi Vogelhuber. Poldi is the wife of Strauss, but she is forced to sit and sulk as her husband carries on a lengthy affair with opera singer Milza Korjus (in her only American film). Husband and wife mend their differences shortly before being introduced to the court of Emperor Franz Josef. The scene everyone remembers is the one in which Gravet and Korjus improvise "The Tales of the Vienna Woods" while taking a buggy ride in the country. It's as corny as all get out, but never fails to earn applause when seen today. Dmitri Tiomkin was given the unenviable task of adapting the original Strauss tunes to conform with the concept of the film, while an uncredited Josef Von Sternberg assisted official director Julien Duvuvier in several crucial scenes. The 1972 The Great Waltz, which starred Horst Buchholtz, is generally conceded to be a disaster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravey, (more)
- 1938
In her only Warner Bros. starring film, Carole Lombard plays a Hollywood movie actress who makes the park-bench acquaintance of an impoverished French marquis (Fernand Gravet). Hoping to coerce Carole into marriage, the nobleman poses as a butler and enters her household. His plan is to compromise Lombard and force her to make him an "honest man"--with the attendant cash settlement. Ralph Bellamy, as ever, is the poor clod who really loves Lombard but who loses her in the end to the chastened Gravet. Rodgers and Hart were commissioned to write several songs for this film, but found most of their efforts consigned to the cutting room floor. Fools for Scandal was based on Nancy Hamilton's stage play Return Engagement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Fernand Gravey, (more)
- 1937
Groucho Marx received co-writer credit (along with his old friend Norman Krasna) for King and the Chorus Girl, though very little Marxian wit is in evidence. What remains is a fun but forgettable comedy about a European monarch (Fernand Gravet) who woos and wins a down-to-earth American chorine (Joan Blondell) who works at the Folies Bergere. Edward Everett Horton and Jane Wyman (fifth-billed) provide comic relief as the respective best friends and severest critics of the leading players. The film had a topical edge in that it was released the year after Britain's King Edward renounced his throne for American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson. Significantly, King and the Chorus Girl was released in England as Romance is Sacred, effectively downplaying the touchy "royal" angle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Gravey, Joan Blondell, (more)
- 1937
Le Mensonge de Nina Petrova (The Lie of Nina Petrova) was filmed in 1937, one year before its director, Russian-born Victor Tourjansky, set up shop in Germany. The titular Nina, played by Isa Miranda, wants to romantically pursue the dashing Lieutenant Franz Korff, played by Fernand Gravet. To do this, it is necessary for Nina to tell a lie, which starts harmlessly but snowballs into a disastrous situation. The film's Continental ambience didn't play well in the American hinterlands, but did go over in larger, more cosmopolitan communities. Critics in 1938 were moved to comment that star Fernand Gravet was infinitely more effective in this film than he's been in his recent Hollywood efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isa Miranda, Gabrielle Dorziat, (more)
- 1936
Filmed in 1936 as Mr. Flow, this Robert Siodmak production was based on a novel by Gaston Leroux. Set in summertime Paris, the labyrinthine plotline is set in motion by the title character, a gentleman safecracker played by Louis Jouvet. To recount the entire plotline would require a dictionary-sized synopsis, but its essence can be captured in a single sentence: the clever Mr. Flow is finally outmaneuvered by his beautiful but chronically unfaithful mistress, Lady Helena Scarlett (Edwidge Feuillere). At the time of the film's release, Robert Siodmak was brought to task by critics who felt that the director was trying too hard to imitate Ernst Lubitsch. Such an accusation could never be levelled against Siodmak's Hollywood films, which relied heavily upon horror and melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edwige Feuillère, Mila Parély, (more)
- 1936
Also known as La Grande Refrain, Symphonie D'Amour was filmed in 1936 but wasn't released in America until a decade later. Fernand Gravet plays Panard, a young composer who has yet to receive his big break. His actress girlfriend (Jacqueline Francell) inveigles a wealthy marquis to finance a production of Panard's latest operetta. To improve the box-office take, a rumor is spread that Panard has committed suicide. When the show becomes a hit, our hero is forced to go into hiding lest he be exposed as a fraud. Finally his conscience gets the better of him, and all is rosy. Though the direction of Symphonie D'Amour is credited to Robert Siodmak, he was actually the supervising director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Gravey
- 1936
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
- Starring:
- Vera Korene, Fernand Gravey, (more)
- 1935
In this musical, set in the mythical country of Ruritania, a princess finds herself exiled by revolutionaries before she can ascend her rightful throne. She returns and takes over as soon as the revolution fails; soon she and the former leader fall in love, marry, and form a democratic monarchy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Varietes started out as a remake of E. A. DuPont's silent German classic Variety. Unfortunately, DuPont himself made his own remake, so writer-director Nicholas Farkas was obliged to whip up a new story. Annabella, Jean Gabin and Fernand Gravey star as a trio of circus trapeze artists. Both Gabin and Gravey love Annabella, but she has eyes only for Gravey. Seething with jealousy, Gabin plots revenge against his rival. He "accidentally" drops Gravey into a net during rehearsal -- but does he plan to do the same during a performance, when the trio works without a net? Though the audience may have thought that it was a step or two ahead of the story, there's a last-minute surprise in Varietes that never failed to elicit gasps from the viewers back in 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annabella, Jean Gabin, (more)
