Lisette Lanvin Movies

Marcel Carne's first film as director -- one of seven collaborations with screenwriter Jacques Prevert -- was this average crime story. Francoise Rosay stars as Jenny, who manages a sleazy nightclub owned by the nasty Benoit (Charles Vanel). Jenny runs afoul of Benoit, as well as her own daughter (Lisette Lanvin), when she becomes romantically involved with gangster Lucien (Albert Prejean). Miffed, Benoit and his thuggish hunchbacked assistant (Jean-Louis Barrault) try to break up the lovers while Jenny's daughter competes for Lucien's affections. Carne had previously been an assistant to director Jacques Feyder, so it should come as no surprise that his first solo assignment starred Rosay, Feyder's real-life wife. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Hotel des Etudients (Student's Hotel) was the great Tourjansky's sole directorial contribution of 1932. The scene is a Parisian rooming house, catering to students of both sexes. The heroine has a brief affair with a handsome young man, emerging from the experience a little wiser and a lot sadder. Her reputation ruined, the girl seems destined for the oblivion of the streets. But the boy finally realizes the harm he's caused, and in the last few minutes of the film finally does the "right thing." The critical consensus was that the film might have been better had their been fewer fake "exterior" sets and more genuine location filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide