Robert Ozanne Movies
- 1939
Circonstance Attenuantes (Circumstantial Evidence) stars Michel Simon as a judge known as Le Sentencier because of his stern adherence to the letter of the law. In private life, however, the judge is hardly a bastion of severity, concocting an elaborate excuse to visit his mistress while on vacation with his terrifying wife. En route to his assignation, the judge stumbles onto a criminal gang headed by the lovely Marie (Arletty). Because of his thorough knowledge of the law, the judge is mistaken for a criminal mastermind whom the gang has been waiting for. Revelling in this misapprehension, our hero decides to supervise a series of robberies, using his knowledge of due process and rules of evidence to escape detection--though he soothes his conscience by secretly paying for all his ill-gotten gains. As a climax to his short life of crime, the judge leads the gang to his own home, where he gleefully orders them to remove all the hideous furnishings with which his wife has adorned the place over the past several years! Delightfully acted, Circonstance Attenuantes arrives at a moralistic conclusion, though one half-wishes that the judge and his new friends will escape scot-free. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arletty, Michel Simon, (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)
- 1936
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viviane Romance, Charles Vanel, (more)
- 1936
Voted 1936's best picture by a circle of prestigious French critics, Jean Renoir's The Lower Depths (Les Bas-Fonds) is based on the "gutter" play by Russian author Maxim Gorky. Louis Jouvet plays The Baron, forced by circumstance to give up his life of luxury and to set up residence in the slums of Paris. As Jouvet observes the passing parade, he bears witness to the frustrated romance between Jean Gabin and Junie Astor, the thwarted dreams of actor Robert Le Vigan, and the oppressive cruelties of landlord Vladimir Sokoloff. The Lower Depths surprised Renoir's admirers, who weren't used to seeing the director involve himself in so sordid and depressing a tale. Actually, the project was brought to Renoir by a producer friend of his, who secured the director's services by promising to provide Louis Jouvet and Jean Gabin as the leading actors. Renoir's The Lower Depths would make a fascinating companion piece to Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's 1957 adaptation of the same Gorky play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Louis Jouvet, (more)
