Georges Marchal Movies
Active in France from 1940, actor Georges Marchal branched out into Italian productions after WWII. He was at his best in swashbucklers and costume pictures, co-starring in the likes of Jupiter (1952), Messalina (1952), and Theodora, Slave Empress (1953). In 1951, he assumed the title role in Robinson Crusoe (1951). For Sacha Guitry, he played the young Louis XIV in Affairs of Versailles; and for Luis Bunuel, he essayed such parts as the dissipated duke in Belle de Jour (1967). On a less lofty note, Marchal was the villain in the kiddie flick Seven Dwarfs to the Rescue (1965) and was one of the stars of TV's Chateauvillon (1985). Georges Marchal was married to actress Dany Robin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1982
When Patricia Caron (Nicole García) watches a television debate, she is shocked to hear her long-dead husband described as a war criminal and a torturer. Her husband Marcel (Jacques Perrin) had died more than two decades earlier when French troops fought in Algeria -- and although she had been married only a short time before he went off to his death, she was certain that he could never have tortured anyone. Irate and determined to clear her husband's name, she takes the television speaker to court -- where once the case progresses, there are flashbacks to the war and the activities of Captain Marcel Caron. As the court case drags on, director Pierre Schoendoerffer has hewn to acceptable topics and avoided the controversy surrounding the French army's behavior in Algeria. (French forces took over Algiers in 1830 and ruled Algeria as a colony for 132 years. In 1954, Algerian independence fighters started an armed revolt; in 1957, French troops were sent to quell the revolt, but by 1961, French insurgents were fighting alongside Algerians against the loyal French army and were defeated. Finally, on July 3, 1962, France granted independence to Algeria. The French sensitivity to their conduct in this war was still running high when this film was released.) ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jacques Perrin, Nicole Garcia, (more)
- 1977
Nicola (Lou Castel) bears the psychological scars of unbearable guilt. As a boy, he was given the job of looking after his mentally unstable mother and protecting her from herself. One day, he and his sister went instead into a large closet and enacted a childishly intensive "I dare you" bonding ritual, marking one another with the blade of their father's sword cane. While he was occupied in this manner, the boy's mother hung herself and died. Now an adult, he still has an unhealthily strong fixation on his sister. This is so obvious that a girlfriend of his sister's, with whom he has an affair, breaks it off, complaining that she is not interested in being a stand-in for the sister. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brigitte Fossey, Lou Castel, (more)
- 1972
Faustine (Muriel Catala) suffers the wounds of first love in this gentle French film. During a summer when she is staying with her grandmother, she comes to know the nearby neighbors. Two brothers live in the large house. One is divorced and one has recently remarried, both of them live there with their teenaged and adult children. Though the boys of the household are drawn to Faustine, she grows ever more smitten with the divorced older man. During one visit she has to hide in his room to avoid the unwelcome attentions of his sons. As the summer draws to a close she has her first amorous kiss. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1967
In this mysterious crime drama, a down-and-out Parisian woman finds herself entangled in a white slavery-narcotics ring. They send her on a boat for South America. There she gets engaged to a sailor, and upon her arrival decides to fight against those who have enslaved her. She suffers terribly, but eventually she learns that the mysterious stranger who has been causing friction between rival rings is a clever Interpol agent on assignment to destroy the gang. This allows the woman to return to her beloved; happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Belle de Jour dramatizes the collision between depravity and elegance, one of the favorite themes of director Luis Buñuel. Catherine Deneuve stars as a wealthy but bored newlywed, eager to taste life to the fullest. She seemingly gets her wish early in the film when she is kidnapped, tied to a tree, and gang-raped. It turns out that this is only a daydream, but her subsequent visits to a neighboring brothel, where she offers her services, certainly seem to be real. This illusion/reality dichotomy extends to the final scenes, in which we are offered two possible endings. Thanks to a question of copyright and ownership, Belle de Jour disappeared from view shortly after its 1967 release, not even resurfacing on videotape. When it was reissued theatrically in 1994, many critics placed the perplexing but mesmerizing film on their lists of that year's best films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, (more)
- 1966
Napoleon's son is stopped from claiming the throne from his father by their enemies. ~ Rovi
- 1965
Dangerous elements threaten a young, inexperienced man as he becomes immersed in a plot embroiling murder and theft. ~ Rovi
- 1965
La Guerre Secrete is divided into four separate vignettes, each scene representing a day in the life of international espionage agents. Stories involve a secret agent (Vittorio Gassman) who goes undercover as a kidnapper, an attempt to impede a Russian attack on two submarines, and an undercover agent confronting a traitor in the Berlin offices of the CIA. Linking the stories is Robert Ryan as a US Intelligence chief. Terence Young directed the English-language sequences, while Christian-Jacques and Carlo Lizzani handled the French and Italian sequences, respectively. German director Werner Klinger's name does not appear on the US credits of The Dirty Game, inasmuch as his scenes were cut from all American prints. Dirty Game sank without a trace on its initial release, only to pop up on television, intermittently, throughout the '70s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bourvil, Robert Ryan, (more)
- 1962
The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan borrows a handful of the characters and little else from the works of Dumas. Like many Italian films of the early 1960s, this swashbuckler stars an American actor, George Nader, in hopes of broadening its market. Nader plays D'Artagnan along more mature lines than most actors; he's even something of a ladies' man, a fact which very nearly gets him killed on several occasions. Confounding D'Artagnan's efforts to work on behalf of Louis XIII is Magali Noel as a buxom Milady De Winter. The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan became an American TV standard in the late 1960s thanks to its sumptuous color photography. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Sergio Leone's first solo directorial effort was this colorful sword-and-sandal epic set in ancient Greece. Rory Calhoun stars as Dario, a captain in the Greek army who must travel to the island of Rhodes to destroy the huge bronze statue of Colossus, which hurls molten lead at its attackers. Dario also battles for his life in the arena and saves victims from a torture chamber before the climactic earthquake which brings the Colossus down. Many of the supporting players in this Italian-French-Spanish co-production went on to become regulars in the exploitation films of Jesus Franco. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Lea Massari, (more)
- 1960
In what must be the longest lapse of time between a film and its sequel, 70-year-old Abel Gance continues his nearly legendary, 1927 historical drama Napoleon with this tale of Napoleon's life after his victories in Italy. The first half of Austerlitz delves into the private life of Napoleon Bonaparte (Pierre Mondy), the prodigal son of Corsica. The supreme commander of the French armed forces goes about his family life and dallies with Josephine (Martine Carol) and mistress Mlle. de Vaudey (Leslie Caron). He occasionally displays bursts of temper that presage some of the macho violence of the battle scenes in the second half of the film, after Napoleon has proclaimed himself Emperor. This sequel shows that Gance has not lost his directorial touch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rossano Brazzi, Pierre Mondy, (more)
- 1959
Released not long before a much more spectacular Cleopatra came along to make Elizabeth Taylor even more famous, this routine drama by Vittorio Cottafavi, a director who favors historical epics, is no competition. The prelude to Cleopatra's demise is the main focus of attention, but in this drama Mark Antony's presence is usurped by the Roman envoy Curridius (Ettore Manni). Curridius travels all the way from Rome to warn Antony that the powers-that-be are not thrilled with his behavior. Along the way, he faces one danger after another and then encounters Cleopatra (Linda Cristal) to make it all seem worth the effort. Gladiators in combat, underwater fights, and other impressive action scenes enliven the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Linda Cristal, Georges Marchal, (more)
- 1959
In a series of comedic episodes, wildly disparate individuals pass through the French Riviera and live out their dramas and traumas in this uneven but happy farce by director Vittorio Sala. Of all the sketches, that of top Italian comic Alberto Sordi as a fruit vendor going with his wife for a film shoot on location on the Riviera is the most notable. After the wife is deleted from the cast, the vendor mistakes the director's interest in him as a play for his acting talents. His wife eventually wises him up that his thespian abilities are not the attraction here, and so another career in film bites the dust. The rest of the skits, including an over-the-top jealous husband who is having a hard time on his honeymoon, are amusing enough to keep an audience entertained. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elsa Martinelli, Alberto Sordi, (more)
- 1959
This sword and sandal epic set in 217 AD follows the exploits of a courageous gladiator who is taken prisoner on behalf of the Queen of Palmyra. To win her confidence, the gladiator pretends to hate his Roman masters, but as soon as she trusts him, he has his soldiers take her prisoner. Because he has fallen for her, the gladiator has her released and then saves her by claiming that her crimes against the Empire were precipitated by her counselor. Fortunately, the Senates believe it and romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anita Ekberg, Folco Lulli, (more)
- 1958
This is a standard drama by Maurice Cloche about an uneven struggle against the excesses of pimps and gangsters. Father Herman (Claus Holm) runs a shelter for hookers, and while he takes care of them, he tries to get them away from the pimps and other men who pose a continual threat to their lives. When a young woman is sought after by one of the gangsters, the good Father and several of the hookers, as well as the woman's fiance, band together to protect her. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Georges Marchal, Nicole Berger, (more)
- 1958
The ancient Roman empire is the setting for this sword-and-sandal costume drama about the villainous Princess Amira (Gianna Maria Canale) who plans to poison the rightful heir to the Armenian throne, her younger brother. She has cast her lot with the Scythians, a foreign tribe who want to expand their territory. But a resistance movement is led by Asclepio (Georges Marchal), and when the Roman tribune Marcus Numidius (Ettore Manni) thunders in to set things right, he has Asclepio's underground force as an ally. Large-scale battles and smaller contests in the gladiatorial arena provide plenty of rousing action. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gianna Maria Canale, Georges Marchal, (more)
- 1957
The title Marchands de Filles translates to Girl Merchants. This doesn't mean that the characters are female businessmen. Far from it: the "protagonists" are the heads of a white slavery ring, "merchandising" girls to salacious customers. The plotline is the old one about the innocent young aspiring dancer who is sweet-talked into selling her sexual favors, only to be rescued from a Fate Worse Than Death But Better Than Starving by the timely arrival of the authorities. Agnes Laurent plays the imperiled heroine. Marchands de Filles contains a few rough scenes, but the film seems rather restrained when seen today. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Georges Marchal, Agnes Laurent, (more)
- 1956
Luis Buñuel's Cela S'Appelle L'Aurore was briefly released in English-speaking countries as That is the Dawn. The story concerns a humane doctor (Georges Marchal) who is aghast at how the residents of a small Island near Corsica are being exploited by a cruel factory owner. Unfortunately, the doctor is unable to extend his concern to his wife, who walks out on him. The arrival of a beautiful stranger (Lucia Bose) and the death of a close friend galvanize the doctor into taking direct action against the villain. The film's anti-capitalist, anti-aristocracy stance is very much in keeping with Buñuel's better-known works. Even so, Cela S'Appelle L'Aurore is a more conventional film than one might expect from its director. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Georges Marchal, Lucia Bosé, (more)
- 1956
Recharging his creative batteries with a "commercial" venture, director Luis Bunuel came up with the stylish if undistinguished La Mort en ce Jardin (Death in This Garden). Set in a steaming jungle, the film concerns a disparate group of refugees from a despotic military regime. Among these worthies is "good time girl" Djin (Simone Signoret), ageing miner Castin (Charles Vanel) and deaf-mute Marie (Michele Girardon). The deeper the protagonists venture into the jungle, the more Bunuel's patented surrealism begins to surface. Only two of the escapees survive the ordeal, and they aren't necessary the two whom the viewers are rooting for. Some prints of La Mort en ce Jardin bear the title Gina. hel) F Lorsque L'Enfant Paris (When the Child Appears) was adapted from the hit play by Andre Roussin. The story revolves around the efforts of a well-meaning, highly moralistic minister, who wants the government to clamp down on illegitimacy. Complications ensue when the minister's own wife become pregnant--and all evidence indicates that the child is not his. Adding to the protagonist's headaches, his daughter, on the eve of her wedding to a wealthy young man, announces that she, too, may well be in the family way. Not to be left out, the minister's son declares that he thinks he's impregnated his father's secretary! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Charles Vanel, (more)
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