André Luguet Movies

Une Jeune Fille Savait translates as A Young Girl Knew, and that girl is Corinne, played by Dany Robin. Evidently the word "knew" is used in the Biblical sense, inasmuch as Corinne is seduced by her fiance Coco (Francois Perier)-on direct orders of Coco's father, ageing stage star Levaison (Andre Luguet). Jilted by his own lover, Levaison is of the opinion that all women are whores, and poor Corinne is no exception. But when he comes to his senses, Levaison is forgiven by Corinne, who when all is said and done really hasn't suffered all that much. The film is based on a stage play by Andre Haguet, who wrote the piece while serving in a German POW camp and never got to see its theatrical premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released in France in 1943, The Honorable Catherine (L'Honorable Catherine) wasn't distributed in the U.S. until 1948. The ironically nicknamed title character, played by Edwige Feuillere, is a blackmailer who has made a comfortable living through her married lovers. Now ready to retire and settle down, Catherine yearns for genuine romance. She thinks she finds it in the form of a handsome young rake named Jacques (Raymond Rouleau), but this time it is Catherine who is victimized by a clever con artist. A quaintly old-fashioned bedroom farce, The Honorable Catherine was more warmly received in France than in the States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Le Collier de Chanvre (Hangman's Noose) is one of the lesser-known works of prolific actor-director Leon Mathot. A death occurs at the country estate of a venerable and highly respected British family, and the local constabulary is willing to write off the tragedy as an accident. But amateur detective Andre Luguet suspects that the decedent was murdered and sets out to prove it despite opposition from the authorities. Upon discovering the guilty party, the class-conscious Luguet offers him the "gentleman's way out" by suggesting a quick and painless suicide. Heroine Annie Vernay is called upon to widen her eyes in terror but little else. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Heart Throbs is the rather prosaic English title of the French romantic comedy Battlements de Coeur. Danielle Darrieux plays an impoverished reform-school escapee who finds a new lease on life when she enrolls in a school for pickpockets run by Fagin-like Saturnin-Fabre. Before long, Darrieux is the school's prize pupil, though she intends to abandon her life of crime should the right man come along. But Saturnin-Fabre has other ideas, and grooms Darrieux for her entree into High Society, the better to divest foreign ambassador Andre Luguet of his valuables. Unfortunately for her mentor, Darrieux falls in love with Luguet, and the plot takes off from there. Battlements de Coeur was remade in Hollywood as Heartbeat (1946), with Ginger Rogers as the elegant cutpurse and Basil Rathbone as her suave instructor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This medium-budget aviation yarn was based on a novel by Jean-Michael Renaitor. Lily Damita, the tempestuous French leading lady who was at one time the wife of Errol Flynn, heads the cast as Edwige, the darling of the North African Air Squadron commander. Edwige falls in love with a dashing American pilot, who leaves her in the lurch when forced to leave on a secret mission. Hiring a personal secretary named Harry (Andre Luguet) to locate her flyboy sweetheart, Edwige is heartbroken to discover that he has wed another. In the meantime, of course, Harry has fallen for Edwige himself, clearing the path for a happy ending. The story serves as an unobtrusive backdrop for several fascinating aerial sequences high above the Moroccan desert. Evidently L'Escadrille de la Chance was Lily Damita's final screen appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

La Dame de Pique is the first talkie version of the frequently filmed Alexander Pushkin parable The Queen of Spades. Pierre Blanchar stars as Hermann, an officer in the Russian army whose chronic gambling brings him in contact with a wealthy old countess (Marguerite Moreno) known as "La Dame de Pique." Fascinated by the countess' incredible luck at the gaming tables, Hermann is determined to learn her secret. With the help of the old woman's niece (Madeleine Ozeray), Hermann gains access to the Countess's boudoir and tries to romance the secret out of her. When this fails, he produces a gun and demands that she tell all -- whereupon the Countess falls dead from a heart attack. From this point on, Hermann's own doom is sealed. The most famous version of the Pushkin original was filmed 12 years later, with Anton Walbrook as the foolhardy protagonist and Edith Evans as the enigmatic Queen of Spades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide