Nicole Berger Movies

In this French crime drama, an ex-Resistance fighter has a ruined reputation after he succumbed to Nazi torture during the war and spilled vital information. After the war, he witnesses a killing and finds himself considered the prime suspect. He is brought in for questioning. The leader of an underground political group, the real killer, is also questioned. Fearing that the fighter will rat on him, the leader has the fighter, who kept quiet, murdered. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A Belgian girl, accused of stealing weapons, looks for protection in a cabaret and is helped by a German soldier in this World War I drama. ~ All Movie Guide

A real-life incident became the basis for this highly fictionalized drama about a January 1911 confrontation between political anarchists and London police in that city's Whitechapel district that resulted in an infamous, blazing gun battle. Sara (Nicole Berger) is an orphaned Russian girl who works as a singer in a nightclub. There she meets Peter (Peter Wyngarde), anarchist leader of expatriate Latvians agitating for the independence of their home country following the failed revolt of 1905. At first, Sara is sympathetic to Peter and his cause, but she soon discovers that the rebels are using whatever means necessary, including robbery and murder, to raise money for their crusade, and that Peter himself has an overly pragmatic, callous attitude toward the taking of innocent life. The group's nefarious activities have attracted the attention of London police, and an inspector, Mannering (Donald Sinden) goes undercover with the anarchists in order to help bring them to justice. Mannering feels sympathy for Sara and befriends her, coming to understand her lonely attraction to Peter. The gang's violent onslaught continues unabated and results in a raid that pits gang members against hundreds of armed police. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

This is the first film directed by the well-known Jean-Pierre Mocky who at this stage in his young life had something in common with the age group in question -- two youths out on the night circuit, looking for women. Freddy (Jacques Charrier) and Joseph (Charles Aznavour) have high hopes as they set out one evening in search of, if not the perfect woman, at least someone in the ballpark. Alas, most of the women they meet fall short of their minimal expectations, except in one case. It looks as if one of the pair will miss the brass ring again. Mocky has created a great Parisian night scene, adding some sharp nuances in the mating habits of young French men. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Yves Montand, who has so often portrayed an unflappable man of the world, is rendered virtually helpless by a small boy in Man to Man Talk. The plot (actually little more than an anecdote) has us believe that Montand is a suburban husband whose wife is expecting a baby. Montand's son must be told about those birds and bees before the baby arrives. Father and son go on a long walk in the countryside, where Montand's carefully prepared "facts of life" speech is constantly interrupted by passersby, by his son's tendency to wander, and by Montand's own reticence. Man to Man Talk ran for years on the American Late-Show circuit before the film was withdrawn and retitled as Premier May. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a standard drama by Maurice Cloche about an uneven struggle against the excesses of pimps and gangsters. Father Herman (Claus Holm) runs a shelter for hookers, and while he takes care of them, he tries to get them away from the pimps and other men who pose a continual threat to their lives. When a young woman is sought after by one of the gangsters, the good Father and several of the hookers, as well as the woman's fiance, band together to protect her. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Filmed on the island of Crete and set in the early 1920's, when Greece was occupied by the Turks, Jules Dassin's Celu Qui Doit Mourir (He Who Must Die) tells the story of a small village's efforts to stage their Passion Play, an event that occurs once every seven years. The leading citizens, including the wealthy Patriarcheos (Gert Frobe) and the priest Grigoris (Fernand Ledoux), have managed to keep the local Turkish military ruler (Carl Mohner) satisfied with their quiet subservience, each protecting his status and authority within the community in the process. But when Grigoris makes his selections for the roles in the Passion Play, there are unintended consequences, particularly for Manolios (Pierre Vaneck), a tongue-tied, stammering young shepherd who is chosen to play Jesus. On the eve of the celebration and the play, a large group of refugees, survivors of a town burned by the Turks, led by the priest Photis (Jean Servais), arrives seeking help. Grigoris and the other town leaders turn them away, at first spreading the lie that the refugees carry cholera to make the townspeople fearful of them. But Manolios and two others are troubled by the seeming contradiction between the priest's behavior and the teachings of Jesus -- which Manolios is starting to take very seriously. Confronted by the starvation deaths of children and old men among the refugees, Manolios soon finds himself facing an array of unpleasant truths about the failings of the men he has always respected. The village is soon divided, friend against friend and father against son, as Manolios appeals to the better nature of his neighbors -- his closest allies include Patriarcheos's son and Katerina (Melina Mercouri), the village prostitute. These events further enflame Grigoris's anger over what he perceives a open rebellion and the threat of disorder, which the Church will not condone -- and he soon must appeal to the Turkish occupiers, to stop Manolios and all that he represents. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Perhaps because its American distribution was brief, Le Printemps, L'Autumne et L'Amour is one of the lesser-known Fernandel vehicles. The lantern-jawed comedian plays a confirmed middle-aged bachelor, whose life is radically altered when he rescues 18-year-old Nicole Berger from drowning. Out of gratitude, the girl marries Fernandel, but predictably the union is far from satisfactory. Complications arise when Berger falls in love with Phillipe Nicaud, a boy closer to her own age. If one must have a May-December drama, better one with Fernandel than those overheated Hugo Haas-Cleo Moore extravaganzas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

La Bie en Herbe (The Flowering Herb) was the second of Autant-Lara's two directorial efforts for 1953. Philippe (Pierre-Michele Beck) is 16; Vinea (Nicole Berger) is 15. Friends since infancy, Philippe and Vinea have always regarded themselves as brother and sister. But as adolescence segues into puberty, the two youngsters fall in love. Though their parents are oblivious to their growing ardor, an older woman (Edwidge Feuillere) sums up the situation. She takes Philippe under her wing and initiates him sexually, so that Vinea's virtue will remain intact -- at least for the time being. When released in America in 1954, La Bie en Herbe was rechristened The Game of Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jocelyn was inspired by the Lamartine poem of the same name. Played by Jean Desailly, the title character is a 16th-century divinity student who is forced to hide from the authorities. He befriends a young boy, and before long the two have sworn eternal loyalty and fidelity. It comes as quite a shock, then, when Jocelyn discovers that his faithful chum is actually a girl (Simone Valerie). Can he remain loyal to his religious vows with such a beautiful young creature in such close proximity? A bit stilted at times, Jocelyn works best during its exterior sequences, attractively lensed in the French mountain regions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide