Pierre Larquey Movies

Producer/director Sacha Guitry's contribution to the 1956 film season was the free-flowing historical pageant Si Paris Nous Etait Conte (If Paris Were Told to Us). Guitry himself appears as the ghost of King Louis XI, who relates the story of Paris to a group of fascinated modern-day students. As usual, Guitry manages to "humanize" history by depicting the great men and women of France in amusing warts-and-all fashion. Symbolizing the indomitable spirit of Paris is Robert Lamoureaux as Latude, a prisoner of the Bastille who repeatedly tries to escape, and just as repeatedly is captured and thrown back in jail. A note of pathos is provided by Jacques de Feraudy as the dying Voltaire. Though Sacha Guitry suffered a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair throughout much of the filming of Si Paris Nous Etait Conte, he still had two more films left in him before his death in 1957--just 10 days after Bastille Day. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mon Mari est Merveilleux (My Husband is Marvelous) stars Fernand Gravey as Claude, a misogynistic author. Because Claude refuses all interviews, newspaper columnist Sylvia (Soprie Desmarets) resorts to subterfuge to get a story, posing as the servant girl of a wealthy friend. By the time Claude figures out that he's been taken, he's also been smitten by Sylvia, of course. As always, director Andre Hunebelle relies strictly on formula material. And as always, Hunebelle makes the tried-and-true situations seem far fresher and funnier than they are. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A Simple Case of Money (originally released in 1950 as Millionaires d'un Jour) is set in motion when a greenhorn reporter (Bernard Lajarrige) carelessly prints the wrong winning number in the French national lottery. As the reporter and his boss (Leon Bellieres) defend themselves in court, they are confronted with several people whose lives were profoundly affected by the error. Gradually, these "victims" come to realize that they are far better off as losers than they ever would have been as winners. This is especially true of estranged husband and wife Pierre (Jean Brochard) and Helene Berger (Gaby Morlay), whose tattered marriage is patched together by the experience. Simple Case of Money is most effective as a character study, and least effective as a satire of provincial manners and mores. Coming off best in the large cast is Pierre Laquey as a lovably antisocial centenarian. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Previously filmed twice in 1933, Marcel Pagnol's satirical stage comedy Topaze was again adapted to the screen in 1936, this time with Pagnol himself as director (he would have directed the first version, but was contractually prohibited from doing so). This time around, Arnaudy stars as M. Topaze, the incorruptible schoolteacher who loses his job when he refuses to pass the unruly son of a wealthy and powerful businessman. Topaze decides to apply his intelligence and integrity to the world of business, only to discover that he's as susceptible to corruption as the next man. But though he loses his "soul," he gains the love of the beautiful mistress (Delia-Col) of his ex-business partner. Pagnol later directed the fourth version of Topaze in 1951, this one starring Fernandel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Venerable French character actress Francoise Rosay heads the cast of On Aime Qu'une Fois. Rosay is cast as the self-sacrificing mother to end them all. Determined that her son (Jacques Berthier) will be able to attend medical school, she denies herself everything -- including her one and only opportunity for true romance. What could have been maudlin in the extreme is handled with subtlety and delicacy by the matchless Francoise Rosay. Providing some welcome avuncular comedy relief is Pierre Larquey as a small-town general practitioner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi