Barbara Laage Movies

Action Immediate was adapted from a novel by Paul Kenny. Evidently this was quite an undertaking, since it took the combined talents of three screenwriters. Obviously inspired by Hollywood action flicks, the film concerns a set of top-secret rocket plans. When the plans are stolen by enemy agents, Gallic secret service operative Henri Vidal swings into action. Inevitably, the evidence trail leads him directly into the arms of several luscious ladies. There's a slam-bang climax pitting Vidal against the villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fourth installment of François Truffaut's Antoine Doniel series, this romantic comedy shows how Antoine (Jean-Pierre Léaud) went from being a mischievous boy to an adorably charming young man of 26. Domicile Conjugal begins with Antoine settling down with Christine (Claude Jade), his girlfriend from the previous film, Baisers volés. He finds himself accepted and loved by his wife and her family, so the young couple move in to an apartment building together. They live in a lively neighborhood of interesting characters, such as the old man who never leaves and the opera singer who fights with his wife. Antoine finds work as a florist painting roses, while Christine makes a living by teaching violin lessons. After he gets involved in an accidental fire at the florist's, he gets a new job with an American corporation where he steers radio-controlled boats around a pond all day. A big change occurs when Christine becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy, while Antoine grows increasingly distant. Eventually, he becomes infatuated with a Japanese girl, Kyoko (Hiroko Berghauer), resulting in some shifts in lifestyle. The fifth and final Antoine Doniel film L'Amour en fuite was released in 1979, picking up the story with Antoine after he reaches his thirties. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In this thriller a French woman is arrested for the death of her cruel lover. She certainly had motive as the man was a real snake. She hides him from the Nazis during WW II; he gets her pregnant, betrays her, and has her sent to a concentration camp. Even though it seems obvious that she was the killer, the woman pleads innocent. Two reporters believe her and begin investigating the stabbing. They soon find themselves entangled in a ring of international counterfeiters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Barbara Laage plays the title role in the ironic French drama The Respectful Prostitute. No one considers Lizzie (Ms. Laage) particularly respectful until one of her clients is accused of a crime. Summoned to court, Lizzie perjures herself, hoping to become socially respectable-and in so doing, she betrays her black lover. In the end, Lizzie has nothing to show for her "grand gesture". Originally titled La Putain Respecteuse, the film was adapted from a 1946 play by Jean-Paul Sartre. Now all but forgotten, The Respectful Prostitute was a runner-up in the "best picture" category at the 1952 Venice Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second film of director Martin Ritt with both Paul Newmanand Sidney Poitier, it's set in a city that has long been a haven for black musicians eager to escape the racism of the U.S. Newman is Ram Bowen, a trombone player who makes his living in a jazz group, which also includes tenor man Eddie Cook (Sidney Poitier), while studying music and aspiring to a career as a "serious" composer. Eddie stays in Paris to bask in the respect that its people feel for his music, a respect rarely accorded him in the States. A pair of tourists, Connie Lampson (Diahann Carroll) and Lillian Corning (Joanne Woodward) arrive in the city for a two-week vacation, and the two musicians lose no time in hooking up. Soon both relationships take a serious turn and the musicians are forced to make some important decisions about the possibility of returning to their native soil. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide

Quai des Blondes stars Michel Auclair as a handsome cigarette smuggler named Jacques. When his boat is robbed of its cargo, Jacques knows better than to turn to the cops. The remainder of the film could be subtitled "The Revenge of Jacques," as our anti-hero gets even with his foes. As the title indicates, Jacques also finds time for romance -- two romances, in fact, seemingly conducted simultaneously. The ladies in question are played by Barbara Laage and Madeleine LeBeau, the latter best known to American audiences for her performance as glamorous camp-follower Yvonne in Casablanca. Quai des Blondes was lensed on location in Marseilles and Algiers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Act of Love was based on The Girl on the Via Flamina, a novel by Alfred Hayes. Kirk Douglas plays an American soldier, participating in the 1944 liberation of France. Making the acquaintance of impoverished Parisian girl Dany Robin, Douglas takes pity on the girl, pretending to be married to her so that she won't be unfairly arrested as a prostitute. When Douglas attempts to make their union legal, he is denied permission by his superior officers. So far as they are concerned, Robin is just another little opportunist, marrying a GI in order to gain US citizenship. But Robin is genuinely in love with Douglas-and proves it, in a profoundly tragic manner. Producer/director Anatole Litvak and screenwriter Irwin Shaw do their best to bring some cinematic excitement to the somber goings-on. Act of Love represents the first appearance in an English-speaking film by Brigitte Bardot, here playing the minor role of "Mimi". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide