Hubert Noel Movies
- 1984
This is a rather complex thriller that fails to deliver very much suspense or fear, in spite of the requisite shock scenes and mystery over who is perpetrating them. The story opens with a pending marriage, tragically aborted when the groom dies under suspicious circumstances, and continues several years later when Nathalie (Carole Laure), a single mother, receives "breather" phone calls and finds the bloody heart of an animal on her car seat. That is followed by another such donation sent to her workplace and labeled as the heart of her little daughter. Although gruesome, these incidents alone are not enough to create an atmosphere of foreboding, anxiety, or apprehension -- as Nathalie seems just a few steps from unconcerned. If she is not affected, any tension created by the scenario is diffused, leaving the audience in neutral. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Laure, Guy Marchand, (more)
In this farcical look at a female detective/mystery story writer, Cathy Palmer (JoBeth Williams) is an ordinary housewife living in Ohio with a condescending husband who is far from ideal. When Cathy wins a writing contest and has the chance to go to Paris and meet the author of the romance novels she loves, her husband tries to prevent the trip. In the end, Cathy's interests prevail, though her husband still refuses to go with her. After arriving in Paris, Cathy is knocked down by a car and wakes up in the hospital with all memory of her past life erased. In its place, she believes she is Rebecca Ryan, the heroine in the romance novels she has read. Carrying her unconscious role to the hilt, she dresses in elegant clothes and meets the comically rattled Alan McMann (Tom Conti) who becomes her partner, of sorts. Little does she know that Alan is not Rebecca's secretary, but the actual ghost writer of the Ryan novels. Cathy begins to suspect that villains are lurking everywhere, and her intuition in that regard is unerring -- she has doubts about the klutzy leader of the French opposition party (Giancarlo Giannini), and it turns out her doubts are well-founded. As the plot thickens, it becomes apparent that sooner or later Cathy-cum-Rebecca will have to realize the truth about her identity, but in the meantime, much skullduggery awaits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- JoBeth Williams, Tom Conti, (more)
- 1977
The fourth of the feature-length Quincy, M.E. episodes produced for the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie anthology takes place on the Fourth of July, as medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is relaxing on the beach with the girlfriend Lee (Lynette Mettey). Quincy's idyll is cut short when a seriously injured swimmer washes onto the shore. During the subsequent lab examination, Quincy discovers that the swimmer had been poisoned by a fish--one that is usually found thousands of miles away, in warmer waters. Convinced that the swimmer was the victim of foul play, Quincy launches an investigation which leads him to a multimillion-dollar jewel robbery and a conspiracy spreading across two different countries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
One man's past comes back to haunt his family in this low-budget Canadian horror story. George Gimble was just five years old in 1947 when his mother abandoned her husband and young daughter, taking George with her. George's father and sister drove off into the night to look for them, but died in a freak auto accident. Thirty years later, George (Alan Scarfe) is married to Vivian (Beverly Murray), an unhappy woman who is recovering from a nervous breakdown, and they have a seven-year-old daughter, Cathy (Randi Allen), who keeps to herself. George has moved his family into the house his parents used to own, and before long Cathy finds a ragged old doll that she carries with her at all times. The doll carries the ghost of George's late sister, and as the angry spirit takes control of Cathy, the child develops demonic powers and uses them to punish her parents and playmates. Shot in Montreal, Cathy's Curse (aka Cauchemares) was the first English-language project from French director Eddy Matalon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- PG
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In this Canadian thriller, Jodie Foster plays the title character, a reclusive, fiercely self-reliant teenager who lives alone in her father's house. When visitors call, Foster explains that her father is away on business. He's away, all right...far, far, away. And Foster, determined not to lose her independence, will go to any lengths to protect her secret, a fact that nosy neighbor Alexis Smith learns to her regret. A new danger to Foster's well-being looms in the form of pedophile Martin Sheen, who schemes to place the girl in a compromising position. Offering a helping hand to Foster is misfit teenager Mario (Scott Jacoby). Laird Koenig adapted his own novel to the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1967
Adapted from his autobiography The Eddie Chapman Story, this is the story of a British safecracker who was in prison when WWII broke out. When the Germans occupied the area, he offers to work for them if they will set him free and they do so, sending him as a spy to England. Once there, however, he offers his services to the British and becomes a double agent. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Yul Brynner, (more)
- 1965
An Englishman finds himself on the holiday from hell in this horror movie. He had gone to Britanny for rest and relaxation. Instead he finds himself involved in a satanic cult run by a sophisticated vampire. Two of the man's friends are killed there because the cult requires human sacrifices. The man really gets mad when the vampire kidnaps his girlfriend. The angered Englishman soon exposes the creature's identity leaving the bereft vampire to wander through a cemetery. There, he stumbles upon a cross and dies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Dany Carrel is an amnesiac girl who is supposed to be a rich heiress. Her guardian Jeanne (Madeleine Robinson) tries to help her to regain her memory. The mystery unfolds in a series of flashbacks in which the girl finally realized who she is. This psychological mystery is based on the bestselling, virtually unfilmable novel by Sebastien Japrisot. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dany Carrel, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
- 1960
Set in the 18th century, this French swashbuckler centers on Lagardere (Jean Marais), an adventurer whose life is affected when he decides to help out a nobleman in distress. Lagardere's comic companion Passepoil (Bourvil) adds a light touch to the proceedings. But when the nobleman is vilely murdered by a villainous courtier, Lagardere is duty-bound to raise the victim's little daughter as though she were his own. Time goes by, though not enough to erase the memory of the murder from the adventurer's mind. He decides to disguise himself as a hunchback in order to be accepted into the faction that had the nobleman killed, and from the inside as it were, plots his revenge. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Bourvil, (more)
- 1960
A routine wartime tale of double-crossing spies and Nazi evils, The Enemy General is about the stereotypical, not exceedingly brilliant, and crass fascist Gen. Bruger (John Van Dreelen) who is one of the targets of the French Resistance movement. When Lemaire (Van Johnson) gets the unwanted assignment of safely escorting the evil general to England, he is especially torn up about the job. Gen. Bruger was responsible for killing a dozen hostages, among them Lemaire's fiancée. As he sets off with the general, Lemaire has been told that the man has valuable information to give to the British, and that is why he needs to get him safely to England. On the other hand, Lemaire begins to piece things together and eventually realizes that the general is as Nazi as ever and has every intention of betraying British secrets to the German high command. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Jean-Pierre Aumont, (more)
- 1960
A routine, wordy romantic drama about far-from-routine relationships, this tale by Pierre Kast looks at the personalities and love life of two couples. One couple is comprised of a writer and his wife, the writer being egocentric and out of inspiration after his one good novel. His wife is occupied with her own obsessions. The other couple is formed by a young diplomat and his tough, hard-nosed spouse. No one is faithful. As the foursome interact with each other, one of the women ends up with both of the men, and the remaining wife gets her husband's land for herself. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Arnoul, Daniel Gélin, (more)
- 1959
Feeling hamstrung and confined by Hollywood, writer/director Robert Siodmak returned to Europe to make most of his latter-day films. Produced in France, Magnificent Sinner stars Curt Jurgens as Czar Alexander II, with Romy Schneider as schoolgirl Katja. The Czar takes Katja as his mistress, elevating her to princess status. The romance leads to court intrigue, and is instrumental in Alexander's ultimate assassination. Magnificent Sinner was originally released as Katia; it was a remake of a 1938 French film of the same name, which starred Danielle Darieaux. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Romy Schneider, Curd Jürgens, (more)
Max Ophüls' masterpiece stars Danielle Darrieux as the titular Madame Louise de..., who in the film's opening scenes is forced to discreetly sell a pair of earrings, a gift from her military officer husband Andre (Charles Boyer), in order to make good on her debts. After she claims the earrings to be lost, the story of their possible theft hits the newspapers, prompting the jeweler who bought them (Jean Debucourt) to secretly sell them back to Andre, who then gives him to his mistress Lola (Lia Di Leo) as she prepares to leave for a holiday in Constantinople. There, the earrings again change hands as Lola pawns them to cover her gambling losses. They are then purchased by Donati, an Italian diplomat (Vittorio de Sica) on his way to France to meet with Andre. Of course, the earrings soon find their way back to Louise. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
