Raymond Pellegrin Movies

In this modernized adaptation of the much-filmed Alexandre Dumas story, The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes was sent to prison on a trumped-up charge of betraying the revolution, but he managed to escape to South American and earn a fortune. Now he his back in France and is attempting to bring some sort of justice to those who betrayed him. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A U.S. Treasury Department agent is sent to Morocco to find a fortune in counterfeit money hidden by the Nazis during World War II. The agent escapes from prison with the only man who knows the location of the bogus bills. The duo is shadowed by a group of former Nazi soldiers who hope they will lead them to recover the lost loot. The feature plays as a crime drama with overtones of international espionage. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A kidnapped soccer player leads to a gang of young thugs demanding the release of a jailed comrade in this routine crime drama. The soccer player will be released only when a killer is set free. Meanwhile, a hard-boiled gumshoe suspects a respected restaurateur of being in cahoots with the mob. He soon discovers the kidnapped soccer star is the brother of the man in question. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

O.S.S 117 (Frederick Stafford) is an American CIA operative who is sent to South America to thwart the attempt of a group of underground subversives who want to take over the world. Although classified as a Bond-style spy feature, it lacks the humor and gloss of other films of the genre. Location shots from Brazil are impressive as the sight of routine gun battles. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this romantic drama, a middle-aged gambler tells a casino croupier her life story. The story is told in flashback and chronicles the woman's romantic exploits with men. Though she was involved with many men, only one really touched her heart. He was a bartender who was tragically shot and killed during an attempted robbery. She later marries and has a daughter. Unfortunately she alienates herself from her daughter when she has an affair with her daughter's fiance. Her remorse is short lived. The film jumps back to the present with the woman leaving the casino on the arm of a handsome millionaire. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This routine drama set during World War II in Algeria is based on a true and tragic incident. A French garrison has been demoralized by the strength of the German forces in the region, so when the Allies land, it gives them some hope. They are put under orders to take and hold a bridge, allowing no one to cross it. When a German company wants to use the bridge (peacefully), a narrow-minded French captain gives the orders not to let the Germans through. At first, the Germans are put off by a series of tricks, but that cannot last forever. Sooner or later, if the captain's orders are followed, an ill-equipped and outnumbered French unit will find itself up against the superior strength of the German contingent. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

One of several versions of a steamy novel by Eugene Sue, Les Mystères de Paris is set at the turn of the 20th century and begins when the carriage of Count Rodolphe (Jean Marais) runs over a man and as he dies, the Count vows to help his poor, orphaned daughter Marie (Jill Haworth). And so the Count penetrates the "thieves' quarter" in Paris looking for Marie, and he is emotionally overcome by the poverty he sees everywhere. After he meets Marie, he is attracted to her -- but then she is kidnapped and eventually, the Count learns the truth about her paternity. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Following the pattern of a classical Greek tragedy, this first-time drama by director Andre Veraini focuses on a vendetta originating in Corsica and ending in Paris. Accomplished French singing star Charles Aznavour plays Horace, the gentle pacifist who is forced into becoming a tool in the vendetta without ever realizing it. When he finally violates his true nature to commit murder, the real essence of the tragedy is as much his betrayal of himself as the act of killing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A retired gangster leaves his life of crime and settles down on a ranch to raise bulls. The local rice farmers complain his bulls are grazing on their cash crop. When an old crime crony hides out at the ranch, trouble escalates when the fugitive makes a pass at the rancher's girlfriend. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This uneven crime drama by director Tony Saytor is based on a tale by novelist Peter Cheney (author of the 1945 La Mome Vert de Gris). The story here has nothing innovative to offer; it is essentially what happens when a decent man (Raymond Pellegrin) is framed for a crime he never committed by some mafia-types. Rather than sit back and accept his misfortune, the good guy changes his colors and goes after the gangsters, one by one. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In Nicholas Ray's WWII drama, two British officers, Captain Leith (Richard Burton) and Major Brand (German character actor Curd Jürgens, who would later play Bond foe Karl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me), a South African, are being considered to lead a daring raid to steal crucial documents from a Nazi stronghold in Libya. The two don't seem particularly fond of each other. Brand's wife, Jane (Ruth Roman of Strangers on a Train), arrives on the base. There's an odd awkwardness when Brand introduces her to Leith at the officers' club. It turns out the two already know each other, intimately. They were romantically involved long ago, until Leith broke it off without warning. Jane later met Brand. Leith and Jane keep their relationship a secret from Brand, but he realizes something's up when he goes out for a bit and comes back to find them dancing together. He later gets angry when his wife slips up and refers to Leith as "Jimmy." Brand and Leith are chosen to lead the mission together. Jane says goodbye to Leith, and Wilkins (Nigel Green of The Ipcress File) and some other soldiers see them together. The raid goes fairly smoothly, until Brand can't bring himself to kill a German sentry, and Leith feels compelled to step in and do it for him. Brand's resentment of Leith grows. The team steals the documents and heads out across the desert to make their escape. They're attacked by a German patrol, and after the melee, Brand arouses suspicious when he orders Leith to stay with three badly wounded soldiers while the rest of the group leaves for the rendezvous point. Bitter Victory is based on the novel by René Hardy. Jean-Luc Godard famously said of the film in his review, "Nicholas Ray is cinema." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide