Arlette Marchal Movies

In this costume adventure set in France during the Reign of Terror, a mysterious man known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues noblemen from the guillotine and leads them to safety across the English Channel. Chauvelin (Cyril Cusack) is determined to unmask the Pimpernel and bring him to justice. When evidence begins to suggest that the hero is actually foppish Sir Percey Blakeney (David Niven), Chauvelin blackmails Percey's wife, Marguerite (Margaret Leighton), into cooperating on the threat that he'll expose the criminal activities of her brother Armand (Edmund Audran). However, Marguerite doesn't much care for her husband, hardly believes he could be the heroic Pimpernel, and is startled when she finds out that he truly is the masked vigilante. The Elusive Pimpernel was originally shot in color as a musical, but the musical numbers were cut before the film was released, and the picture's American distributor chose to make only black-and-white prints (though the current home-video release is in color). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Tullio Carminatti, fresh from a series of successful Broadway and film appearances, returned to Europe to star in La Marcia Nuziale (The Wedding March). Carminati plays the philandering husband of long-suffering Diana Lante. Upon his introduction to Lante's school-chum Kiki Palmer, who has recently shed herself of a dreary husband, Carminati wastes no time going "on the make" for Palmer. Unable to resist his charms, Palmer is on the verge of killing herself, but decides instead that she'd be better off with her dull but dependable ex-husband than with the overwhelmingly charming Carminatti. La Marcia Nuziale was based on a play by Henry Bataille. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed with his usual dry wit by the talented and underrated Harry D'Arrast, Gentleman of Paris was based on a short story by Roy Horniman. Adolphe Menjou stars as the Marquis de Marignan, an unabashed womanizer who spends the better part of his life escaping the wrath of outraged husbands. The Marquis is regularly rescued from disaster by Joseph (Nicholas Sousannin), his faithful valet. But when it appears as though his boss has been dallying with his own wife, the valet cooks up a scheme to publicly humiliate the Marquis by "exposing" him as a card cheat. The ruse works, but the wily Marquis manages to have the last laugh by faking his own suicide and returning to "haunt" the hapless valet into confessing his ruse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wings, the first feature film to win an Academy Award, tends to disappoint a little when seen today. Too much time is afforded the wheezy old plotline about two World War I aviators (Buddy Rogers, Richard Arlen) in love with the same woman (Jobyna Ralston), while the comedy relief of El Brendel is decidedly not to everyone's taste. But during the aerial "dogfight" sequences, the film is something else again: a grand-scale spectacular, the likes of which has never been duplicated, not even by more expensive efforts like Hell's Angels (1930) and The Blue Max (1965). Twenty-eight-year-old director William Wellman, himself a wartime aviator, was fortunate enough to have the full cooperation of the US War department at his disposal (even though his legendary temper nearly lost him that cooperation on more than one occasion!) Brilliantly handled though the aerial scenes may be, they are matched by the Earthbound combat sequences, including the now-famous shot of a long trench caving in on hundreds of unfortunate doughboys. The storyline is as follows: Jack Powell (Rogers) and David Armstrong ($owell) hate each other during basic training, grow to like each other, and fall out again while competing for the affections of Sylvia Lewis (Ralston). Mary Preston (Clara Bow) sacrifices her own nursing career to save a drunken Powell from disgrace, Powell goes on a rampage when he believes his pal Armstrong has been killed, inadvertently shoots down Armstrong while decimating the German air corps, and is finally reunited with the nurse. Wrapped up in nurse's garb throughout most of the film, the ebullient Clara Bow is permitted a sequence in which, disguised as a Parisian floozie while trying to rescue a revelling Rogers, she displays a great deal of epidermis. One of the film's chief claims to fame is its "introduction" of Gary Cooper (who'd actually been in films since the early 1920s), in a brief but crucial role as veteran flyer with a cheerily fatalistic attitude. When originally released, Wings included a sequence lensed in the wide-screen "Magnascope" process; even when seen "flat", however, the film contains some of the best flying sequences ever captured on celluloid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in majestic Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, Utah, this Paramount Zane Grey Western starred Jack Holt as Nevada, a fugitive from justice left to die in the desert by his treacherous partner Bill Hall (Tom Santschi). Nevada is rescued by Ben Ide (Edmund Burns), a young rancher engaged to Ina Blaine (Arlette Marchal). Ina falls in love with the newcomer, but Nevada, out of gratitude to Ben, spurns her advances. Dejected, the girl falls into the clutches of Bill Hall, now an infamous rustler. Learning of Ina's plight, Nevada charges into Hall's stronghold, killing an associate of the villain (Christian J. Frank) along the way. Cornered by the rustlers, Nevada and Ina seek refuge on a mountain ledge where they are rescued by Ben and his posse. Nevada is cleared of all wrongdoings and, with Ben's blessings, proposes to Ina. Forlorn River, which author Grey published as a novel in 1927, was remade by Paramount in 1936 starring Larry "Buster" Crabbe. The characters of Nevada and Ben Ide also appeared in Nevada (1927) -- again directed by Waters -- and two remakes. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Germany in 1924, Michael Curtiz' Die Slavenkoenigen was intended for an American release that same year, under the title Moon of Israel. That release was suppressed by Cecil B. DeMille, who worried that his own The Ten Commandments would be compared unfavorably to the German film (By the time it arrived in the U.S. in 1927, director Curtiz had been hired by Warner Bros., largely on the strength of this one film) Set in ancient Egypt, the film recounts the oppression of the Jews under the despotic rule of Pharaoh Menapta (A. Weisse). With Divine Retribution, God punishes Menapta and his subjects by bringing about the Seven Deadly Plagues. Against this backdrop is played the romantic story of Hebrew girl Merapi (Maria Corda), the "Moon of Israel," and Prince Seti (Adelqui Miller), heir to the Egyptian throne. Suffering nobly at the hands of Menapta, Merapi survives the ordeal to become the wife of Seti, who promises fairer and more equitable treatment of her people. Die Slavenkoenigen was distributed in the U.S. by FBO Pictures, the energetic little precursor to RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a 1907 play by Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau, much ado was made of Madame Sans-Gêne when it was being filmed because it was a joint effort between the United States and France. The French government allowed the movie to be shot at various historical locations, including the Palace of Fontainebleau and the Palace of Compiegne. This historical comedy focuses on the title character (Gloria Swanson), a vivacious young washerwoman during the tumultuous times of the French Revolution. One of her clients happens to be a lieutenant by the name of Napoléon (Emile Drain). The lieutenant becomes emperor; meanwhile, the laundress becomes a duchess, and her coarse ways scandalize those around her. But she gets away with quite a lot -- after all, Napoléon still owes on his laundry bills! The release of Madame Sans-Gêne seemed to symbolize the glamour and spectacle of the '20s; while shooting the movie in France, Swanson had picked up a titled husband (the Marquis de la Falaise de la Coudraye), and the couple made a triumphant return to the States. At the time, she was making a thousand dollars a day -- an incredible amount for that era -- and not long afterwards she would turn down a contract for a million a year. Nevertheless, Madame Sans-Gêne is not one of her best vehicles. It was overlong, self-conscious about its historical significance, and the acting by the French players did not impress American critics. Like many epic costume movies, it most likely would have fallen flat without the drawing card of a superstar name. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide