Mischa Auer

In this tuneful Italian holiday film a scroogy old miser decides to evict Santa Clause and Company from the North Pole because the dead-beats are behind on their rent. Children from around the world rally 'round the Jolly One and send him their pennies and save the day. Songs include: "Christmas Is Coming," "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't," "Hustle Bustle," "I'm Bad," "Kids Get All the Breaks," "The Name of the Song Is Prune," "Nothing to Do But Wait," "Santa Claus (Round)," "Time for Christmas," "What Are Children Like When They're Fast Asleep?" and "Why Can't Every Day Be Christmas?" ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This was the last film for British director Wendy Toye whose special interests were always comedies and fantasies. In this light farce, the talented Kenneth More is Lt. Commander Bodger, a man with a penchant for honesty in moments when silence is much more diplomatic. Bodger offends the Navy higher-ups, and so he is first sent to work in Dartmouth, training cadets. That does not really keep him out of trouble and so the Navy, in desperation, sends him to work as a liaison officer with the American Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, Bodger goes with three aides that are just like him, and they create havoc -- made much worse when a revolution begins in one of the nearby countries. The British foursome get inadvertently mixed up in the events, never really knowing exactly what they are doing until the dust settles. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this French family-oriented comedy, a man with a passion for all animals takes on the Russians to protect a mouse and a dog from being sent up into space, via a satellite. He obtains them after the creatures escape and all the prompting from French and Russian scientists is to little avail, compelling them to try even stronger measures that lead to merry mix-ups. The film is also known as A Dog, a Mouse and a Sputnik. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Marlene Dietrich and Vittorio De Sica grace this comical yet dramatic Italian tale of a tumultuous love affair between two compulsive gamblers who meet in Monte Carlo. Though both are down on their luck, they dress affluently and that is what attracts them to each other. Romantic sparks fly until they learn the truth about each other. This leads Dietrich to begin an affair with a rich American widower. His teenage daughter falls for De Sica but he feels himself too old for her and rejects her. Eventually Dietrich and the American decide to marry, but before the wedding takes place, De Sica has a major winning streak. But being an addict, he does not know when to stop and begins losing again. Fortunately, his valet intervenes by knocking him unconscious. Later, when he awakens, De Sica vows that he will never gamble again and prepares to go home to his native Naples. When Dietrich learns this she is distraught and realizing she cannot marry the Yankee, tells him the truth about her feelings for De Sica thereby freeing herself to follow him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The title of this French sex farce translates to That Darn Kid. The "kid" in question is nymphet Brigitte Bardot, here cast as a wide-eyed innocent. While her father hides out from the police, Bardot is protected by nightclub singer Jean Bretonniere. The two eventually fall in love, but a series of humorous complications keep them apart. Brigitte Bardot is quite convincing as the breathless (and sometimes clueless) heroine, while Mischa Auer provides a few laughs as an overly demonstrative ballet teacher (not unlike his character in You Can't Take it With You). The plot of Cette Sacree Gamine was later reworked for the 1965 Elvis Presley vehicle Girl Happy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as Mr. Arkadin, this flawed late effort by director Orson Welles recalls the structure of Citizen Kane, centering around an investigation into the past of a powerful millionaire. This time around, however, the millionaire is very much alive; in fact, it is Gregory Arkadin (Welles) himself who orders the inquiry, claiming to suffer from amnesia. The investigator soon gets a taste of the difficulty of his task, however, when several witnesses to Arkadin's past suspiciously turn up dead. Indeed, the closer he comes to the truth about Arkadin, the more he fears that he himself may be the next victim. While it aspires to intense suspense, Confidential Report suffers more than most of Welles' films from budgetary limitations and erratic shooting habits, with the final result often seeming choppy and needlessly confusing. Nevertheless, any Welles effort is by definition at least partially worthwhile, if only for further demonstration of his brilliant visual sensibility. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Released in some markets as The Toy Wife, the French Frou-Frou stars Dany Robin in the title role. The heroine is a WW1-era cigarette girl who captures the hearts of four wealthy, middle-aged cabaret patrons. The jovial foursome take it upon themselves to pluck Frou-Frou out of her tawdry surroundings and transform her into "a lady". Through their sponsorship, she emerges as one of the top singing attractions of the Roaring Twenties--and, eventually, as the wife of one of her "fairy godfathers." A few early scenes, in which Frou-Frou is shown living without benefit of clergy with one of her benefactors, were trimmed for American consumption. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of British director John Guillermin's two 1952 offerings was Song of Paris. Dennis Price stars as stomach-pill sales representative Matthew Ibbetson, who goes to Paris to close a business deal. While taking in the sights, Ibbetson inaugurates a casual affair with French chanteuse Clementine (Anne Vernon). Upon returning to London, Ibbetson finds to his dismay that Clementine has followed him. How can he keep his Parisian rendezvous secret from his veddy proper mother (Hermione Badderly). In his British-film debut, dour character comedian Mischa Auer chews the scenery as a seedy nobleman who covets the affections of the hapless Clementine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Al Diavolo con Celebrita is one of two Italian films hurriedly made in 1948 by comic actor Mischa Auer. Like the first (Snow White and the 7 Thieves), it is hardly representative of Auer at his best. The star plays U.S. diplomat Bernard Stork, whose timid young interpreter Professor Bricci (Leonard Cortese) is hopelessly in love with Stork's secretary Ellen Rawlins (Marilyn Buford). Somehow, Bricci comes into possession of a magic artifact that enables him to assume the bodies and personalities of recently deceased individuals. The Professor hopes to profess his love for Ellen in one of these guises, but is always prevented from doing so. When Mr. Stork dies suddenly, Bricci takes over his body, resulting in a bizarre finale at the United Nations, with look-alikes for President Truman, Churchill, and Stalin engaging in silly slapstick. Somewhere there's an antiwar message in Al Diavolo con Celebrita, but it's buried under mounds of nonsense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As Cold-War melodramas go, Sofia goes pretty well. Set in a backlot version of Turkey, the film stars Gene Raymond as former OSS man Steve Roark. Assigned to rescue two atomic scientists from Russia and spirit them across the Iron Curtain, Steve discovers that one of the scientists is his ex-lover Linda Carlsen (Sigrid Gurie). Meanwhile, sultry cabaret singer-turned-spy Magda Onescu (Patricia Morison) offers her services to both the Allies and the Communists, hoping to be financially renumerated by both sides (Guess how she ends up?) Some of the espionage techniques are amusing, especially when the rascally Russians are so easily fooled by the simplest subterfuges. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a puritanical math teacher at a midwestern university is forced by the dean's wife to go to New York to collect the royalties for a naughty romance the latter wrote under a penname. Unfortunately, while there, the professor suffers a blow to the noodle and wakes up believing that she wrote the torrid little tome. Now she finds herself being manipulated by a clever publisher who has the phony writer become passionately involved with a bogus Russian nobleman. Later the woman's memory returns and she goes back to her dull, well-ordered life on campus. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on the classic novel by mystery author Agatha Christie that was later adapted as the Broadway hit Ten Little Indians , And Then There Were None begins with ten characters, each with a skeleton in his or her closet, on a remote island off the English coast. They soon realize that they have been brought there by an insane judge, who has tried each of them for criminal behavior in the past, and who now feels it is his duty to render proper justice for each. The struggle to stay alive begins as each "guest" is eliminated in a fashion that corresponds to the titular nursery rhyme. Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, and C. Aubrey Smith are among those marked for death. The film's ending differs from that of the novel, and later remakes in 1966, 1975, and 1989 (all using the title Ten Little Indians), alternated between Christie's original finale and this film's climax. Depending on one's taste, the film's pacing is either excruciatingly slow or suspenseful, but the storyline has become a cinematic staple in everything from horror (Theatre Of Blood) to satire (Murder By Death). ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide