Line Noro Movies
French actor Line Noro worked on stage and screen from the late '30s through the late '50s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1952
Originally titled Nous Sommes Tout des Assassins, We Are All Murderers was directed by Andre Cayette, a former lawyer who detested France's execution system. Charles Spaak's screenplay makes no attempt to launder the four principal characters (Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin, Antoinine Balpetre, Julien Verdeir): never mind the motivations, these are all hardened murderers. Still, the film condemns the sadistic ritual through which these four men are brought to the guillotine. In France, the policy is to never tell the condemned man when the execution will occur--and then to show up without warning and drag the victim kicking and screaming to his doom, without any opportunity to make peace with himself or his Maker. By the end of this harrowing film, the audience feels as dehumanized as the four "protagonists." We are All Murderers was roundly roasted by the French law enforcement establishment, but it won a special jury prize at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin, (more)
- 1946
Adapted by Pierre Bost and Jean Aurenche from a novel by Andre Gide, Symphonie Pastorale proved yet another box-office success for popular French filmmaker Jean Delannoy. Michelle Morgan stars as a blind orphaned girl who is adopted by kindly pastor Pierre Blancher. The pastor's paternal affection for the girl blossoms into romantic love, despite the fact that he's already married. As a form of courtship, Delannoy fills the sightless Morgan's head with visions of a "perfect" world, as harmonious as her favorite musical piece, Beethoven's Symphonie Pastorale (you'll recall that composition from Disney's Fantasia). Delannoy's son Jean Desailly, likewise falling in love with Morgan, arranges for an operation that will restore the girl's sight. This plunges Delannoy into despair: once Morgan sees the world for herself, and not as an idyllic image conjured up by the pastor, she will be lost to him forever. A delicate, evenly-paced fable ending in tragedy, Symphonie Pastorale was harpooned in later years by New Wave critics who complained that Delannoy, Bost and Aurenche "trivialized" their adaptations of literary classics. The audiences, who ate up the film like cotton candy, didn't seem to be bothered in the least over the filmmakers' so-called diminishing of the Gide original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Andrée Clement, (more)
- 1945
In this French romance, a genius composer/violinist finds great success but no love because he cannot seem to connect with his soul mate, a beautiful woman whom he met and wooed when they were both young. It was he who ended the relationship. Ten years pass, and finally they meet again. Now he is ready to commit to her. Unfortunately, his current girl friend has her own ideas. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Barrault, Edwige Feuillère, (more)
- 1945
Originally Goupi Mains Rogues, this was the first new French feature film to be shown in the US since the end of WW2-though "new" was a relative term, inasmuch as the film was completed in 1943. The scene is a remote, rustic inn, managed by a scruffy family of peasants known as the Goupis. Practicing their own special brand of larceny, the Goupis fancy themselves as Runyonesque rogues, going so far as to bestow colorful nicknames upon themselves. The official head of the band is "Red Hands", played by Fernand Ledoux, but even he is answerable to the Goupis' patriarch, a 106-year-old named "The Emperor" (Maurice Schulz). Nearly plotless, Goupi Mains Rogues offers an unforgettable cast of characters and an abundance of authentic Gallic atmosphere. Picked up for American distribution by MGM, the film inexplicably disappeared from view within a few months; director Jacques Becker later claimed that MGM destroyed all the prints so that the film wouldn't compete with the studio's American-made productions, though this hardly seems to be the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Ledoux, Georges Rollin, (more)
- 1945
Filmmaker Maurice Cloche penned the original story upon which La Fille Aux Yeux Gris was based. The title, which translates as Girl with Grey Eyes, refers to the foster daughter (Claudia Genia) of a travelling medical charlatan (Blondeau). Alcoholic country doctor Bernard (Fernand Ledoux) is the girl's actual father, though neither he nor anyone else knows this for several reels. The plot shifts into gear when young Dr. Bernier (Jean Paqui), Bernard's successor, falls in love with the heroine. Running way too long, La Fille aux Yeux Gris would be an exercise in boredom were in not for the multifaceted performance of star Fernand Ledoux. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Genia, Line Noro, (more)
- 1941
The Well-Digger's Daughter served to reunite star Raimu and writer/director Marcel Pagnol, who'd earlier scored an international hit with the "Marseilles trilogy" (Fanny, Marius, Cesar). The title character played by Josette Day, is impregnated by aviator George Gray. Her father, Raimu, orders Josette out of the house so that her younger sisters won't be likewise "corrupted". There's many a moment of pathos and hilarity before Raimu realizes the folly of his behavior. Filmed in 1940, just after France's acquiescence to their Nazi conquerors, The Well-Digger's Daughter didn't make it to the US until 1946. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Josette Day, (more)
- 1940
Released several times under several titles in the U.S. during WWII, Apres Mein Kampf Mes Crimes (aka My Crimes After Mein Kampf) was perhaps the last anti-Nazi film produced in France before the Germans moved into Paris. The film traces the life story of Adolph Hitler, from his first involvement in fascist activities to his takeover of most of Europe. The story ends on a hopeful note, delineating the possibility of Hitler's imminent downfall (which, alas, was still 5 years in the future). Actual photographs and newsreel shots of Der Fuhrer's rise to power are utilized, with various continuity gaps plugged by re-enactments. One can only speculate on the fates of the various production personnel involved in the making of Apres Mein Kampf Mes Crimes, many of whom simply vanished from the face of the earth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Line Noro, Simone Bourday, (more)
Pepe le Moko (Jean Gabin) is a well-known criminal mastermind who eludes the French police by hiding in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows he is safe in this labyrinthine netherworld, where he is surrounded by his fellow thieves and cutthroats. Police inspector Slimane (Lucas Gridoux), who has developed a grudging respect for Pepe, bides his time, waiting for Pepe to try to leave the Casbah. When Gaby Gould (Mirielle Balin), a Parisian tourist, falls in love with Pepe, the inspector hopes to use this relationship to his advantage. He tells Gaby that Pepe has been killed, knowing that the heartbroken girl will return to Paris -- and that Pepe will risk everything to go after her. The French Pepe le Moko was remade in the US as Algiers, which followed the original so slavishly (except for changing its ending) that the American producers were able to utilize generous amounts of stock footage from the French film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, (more)
- 1937
This 1938 sci-fi and horror-tinged war drama from writer/director Abel Gance is an updated remake of Gance's own 1919 silent feature of the same name. J'accuse stars Victor Francen as Jean Diaz, a scientist who, after witnessing the unspeakable horrors of the battlefield during the First World War, dedicated his life to ensuring that history doesn't repeat itself. Diaz eventually invents a device that promises to bring an end to war forever. However, with WWII on the horizon, the government instead opts to use the machine against its enemies rather than for peace. This drives Diaz to the brink of insanity and leads him to resort to more unexpected measures to get his point across. Line Noro and Marie Lou also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Line Noro, Renee Devillers, (more)
- 1936
One of the earliest French color films, La Terre qui Meurt (The Land That Dies) tells the story of farmer Luminau (Pierre Larquey) and his restless offspring. Hoping to keep his sons and daughters home with him so that they can eventually take over his farm, Luminau is both angered and disillusioned when they leave him one by one. The story then goes off in several tangents, detailing the hardships (and occasional triumphs) facing Luminau's progeny as they assert their independence. The most tragic of the subplots concerns the farmer's daughter Felicite (Germaine Sablon), who is ultimately forced into a life of prostitution. The Francia Color process tends to blur the images, but nothing can dull the edge of the film's poignancy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Line Noro, Simone Bourday, (more)
- 1934
L'Or is the French-language version of the simultaneously filmed German melodrama Gold. Brigitte Helm repeats her leading-lady role of Fronce Wills, but the alchemist Maisslot, originally played by Friedrich Kayssler, is herein portrayed by Jacques Dumesnil, while his assistant Berthier, enacted by Hans Albers in Gold, is essayed by Jean Gabin in the French version. Maisslot and Berthier perfect an atomic reactor (20,000,000 volts of power!) for the purpose of manufacturing gold, which is highly coveted by the villains. When the scientists realize that their invention will ruin the world's economy, they set about to destroy it, setting the stage for a near-apocalyptic climax. The original Gold was directed by Charles Hartl, who served as a consultant when Serge De Poligny occupied the director's chair for L'Or. Stock footage from both versions were later utilized in the 1953 Ivan Tors production Magnetic Monster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Rosine Derean, (more)
