Jacques Baumer Movies

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

Yves Allegret's Maneges was released in English-speaking countries as The Riding School, The Cheat and Riding for a Fall. Allegret and his screenwriter Jacques Sigurd use their melodramatic plotline to skewer several varieties of hypocrisy. Simone Signoret plays a thoroughly mercenary young woman who offers her body to a wealthy riding-school owner (Bernard Blier). Once she's trapped the poor man into marriage, she strips him of his wealth and property, all the while consorting with lovers from her own class. The film's Ethan Frome-like climax is in keeping with the cynical, semi-satiric tone of the rest of the picture. It is difficult to "feel" for any of the characters in Maneges, since Allegret holds all of them in undisguised contempt. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, set after the Napoleonic Wars, the aristocratic Chabert comes back to his palatial home to find that his wife has remarried. She had given Chabert, whom she never really loved, up for dead. Her new husband, who is also richer, makes her much happier. To protect her new life, the wife calls Chabert an imposter and has him committed to an asylum. He sneaks out and wanders the streets where he meets and becomes friends with the impoverished street folk. By the time his true identity is revealed it is too late. Chabert has decided to renounce his aristocracy and opts to live with the poor. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The great French character Raimu stars in Strangers in the House. He is cast as Loursat, the father of teenager Nicole (Juliette Faber). When Nicole's petty-thief boyfriend (Andre Reybas) is accused of murder, Loursat, a once-great attorney who has taken to drink, cleans up his act and defends the lad in court. Filmed in 1942, Strangers in the House attained an American release in 1949, three years after Raimu's death. Based on a novel by Georges Simenon, the film was remade in 1967 as Cop-Out, with James Mason and in 1992 as L'Inconnu dans la Maison with Jean-Paul Belmondo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Maginot line, designed to be the deepest war trench in the world, provides the focus for this espionage drama. The French began building the trench during WW II. It did not matter that trench warfare had proved to be terribly ineffective during WW I, the French were determined to make it work. It didn't. The Germans simple drove their tanks around the complex maze and invaded France. The story in the film begins as the new Line commander is murdered by a machine gun. Three lieutenants are the prime suspects. One of them is a German spy. He is soon discovered by counterintelligence agents who pursue him to a blind corner in the trench. Though he is only 200 yards from the German border, the spy kills himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Entente Cordiale was adapted from Andre Maurois' Edward VII and his Times. Victor Francen heads the cast as Britain's Prince Edward, who after assuming the throne of England in 1910 strives to bring about a lasting peaceful coexistence between the United Kingdom and France. Both countries are treated with equal respect throughout the film, depicted as intelligent nations willing to avoid war at all costs, but not quite as willing to give up national pride; the infamous Fashoda Incident, which almost resulted in full-scale warfare between Britain and France, is the film's central issue. Scores of historical personages make fleeting cameo appearances, including Queen Victoria (played by Gaby Morlay), Lord Kitchener (Jean d'Yd), French president Loubet (Jean Perrier), Clemenceau (Jacques Baumer) and Lord Balfour (Andre Roanne). Not surprisingly, Entente Cordiale was produced and released at a time when France and England were seriously contemplating a united front against future Nazi incursions into Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally titled Gribouille, Marc Allegret's Heart of Paris serves as an excellent vehicle for that matchless stage and screen favorite Raimu. The star is cast as bourgeois family man Camille Morestau, who while serving on a jury in a murder trial takes pity on the accused, waiflike Natalie Rougin (Michele Morgan). Through a series of unlikely circumstance, Morestau invites Natalie to move in with himself and his family for the duration of the trial. Morestau's son Claude (Gilbert Gil) assumes there's some hanky panky going on between his father and Natalie, whereupon he takes a serious interest in the girl himself. Realizing that her presence has caused serious dissension in the Morestau household, Natalie prepares to leave-but not before "borrowing" a few valuables to finance her exit. The ending of Heart of Paris is somewhat grimmer than the one utilized in its American remake, The Lady in Question, in which the three main characters were portrayed by Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

La Belle Equipe (The Good Crew) was the fourth of six smash hits in a row for director Julien Duvivier. The fortunes of five unemployed laborers take a radical turn for the better when they jointly win a 100,000-franc lottery prize. Jean Gabin, the self-appointed leader of the bunch, suggests that they not throw their money away but instead invest it in a road-house on the river Marne. Their dreams of instant success are dashed when Vivian Romance, the common-law wife of Gabin's friend Charles Vanel, shows up demanding her portion of the winnings -- then plots the destruction of Gabin because he refuses to make love to her. In the end, "The Good Crew" collapses under the weight of treachery, jealousy and murder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi