Pierre Larquey Movies
Zou Zou is one of a handful of French musical films made by the flamboyant African-American entertainer Josephine Baker. The star plays a Creole laundress who becomes an overnight stage success when she subs for a tempestuous diva. She goes on to experience the requisite professional highs and personal lows, and to briefly enjoy the attentions of French matinée idol Jean (Jean Gabin). La Baker's costumes reveal virtually everything but what she's eaten for breakfast, and her dancing is just a step away from obscenely erotic. In short, the film represents Josephine Baker at her outrageous best, making this film a must for fans and casual admirers alike. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josephine Baker, Yvette Lebon, (more)
- 1935
Released in the U.S. as Happy Days, Les Beaux Jours was Simone Simon's last French vehicle before she launched the Hollywood phase of her career. The story revolves around the lives and loves of a group of attractive young Parisian students. The most attractive, of course, is our girl Simon, who is wooed by such eligible males as Raymond Rouleau and Jean-Pierre Aumont. The unexpected star of the proceedings, however, is the brilliant pantomimist Jean-Louis Barrault, whose first film this was. Barrault of course was later the star of the wartime classic Les Enfants du Paradis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Barrault, Simone Simon, (more)
- 1935
Un Oiseau Rare (Rare Bird) is a wide-ranging satire of several mid-1930s aberrations, including giveaway contests, advertising campaigns and pretentious summer resorts. In a virtual repeat of his role in Rene Clair's Last Billionaire, Max Dearly plays Melleville, an eccentric millionaire who wants to find out how those less fortunate than himself muddle through life. Disguising himself as an impoverished contest winner, Melleville signs in at a fancy hotel. Meanwhile, the actual winner, impecunious Jean Berthier (Pierre Brasseur), also shows up at the hotel, where through a series of silly misunderstandings he's assumed to be the wealthy Melleville. The mistaken-identity angle is played to the hilt, with both Melleville and Berthier learning a lot of life's lessons the hard way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Dearly, Pierre Brasseur, (more)
- 1935
Based on a novel by Charles Robert Dumas, Deuxieme Bureau is another espionager of the "Mata Hari" and "Fraulein Doktor" school. Vera Korine stars as Erna Flieder, notorious female spy of the WWI era. Though she seemingly has ice water in her veins, Erna forgets all about her mission in life when she falls in love with her AEF adversary Captain Benoit (Jean Murat). In time-honored tradition, our heroine ultimately lays down her own life to save Benoit from harm. Reviewers in 1935 felt that the film was stolen by Pierre Larquey in the supporting role of Benoit's adjutant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viviane Romance, Jean Murat, (more)
- 1936
In this comedy that takes a sharp poke at problems within the medical profession, Dr. Knock opens a practice in a small village. He buys it from a conniving old physician who thinks he really duped the earnest young medic. The young doc is not so easily fooled. Using a wide variety of modern equipment and fancy doctor talk, he soon scares the ignorant villagers into believing that they are all very sick with a wide assortment of strange illnesses. His ruse works and soon his practice is booming. The old doc is shocked. He returns to the village to expose the young quack. Unfortunately after listening to the silver-tongued medic, the older man is convinced that he too is terribly ill. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Jouvet, Palau, (more)
- 1936
One of the earliest French color films, La Terre qui Meurt (The Land That Dies) tells the story of farmer Luminau (Pierre Larquey) and his restless offspring. Hoping to keep his sons and daughters home with him so that they can eventually take over his farm, Luminau is both angered and disillusioned when they leave him one by one. The story then goes off in several tangents, detailing the hardships (and occasional triumphs) facing Luminau's progeny as they assert their independence. The most tragic of the subplots concerns the farmer's daughter Felicite (Germaine Sablon), who is ultimately forced into a life of prostitution. The Francia Color process tends to blur the images, but nothing can dull the edge of the film's poignancy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Line Noro, Simone Bourday, (more)
- 1936
Its title translates as Record 413, but Disque 413 is actually the French-language version of the British Guilty Melody. Singing star Gitta Alper repeats her role as opera diva La Salvini, who falls in love with British intelligence agent Richard Maury (Jules Berry, replacing the English version's John Loder). She is confronted by her despicable husband (Larquery), who threatens to ruin her career unless La Salvini does his bidding. He forces her to make a phonograph record containing a secret code message intended for the Enemy. For a while, the British secret service think that our heroine is a musical Mata Hari, but all is set right in the final moments. Both Guilty Melody and Disque 13 are based on a novel by Hans Rehfisch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gitta Alpar, Gaby Basset, (more)
