Jean Poiret Movies

The title of this French sex farce translates to That Darn Kid. The "kid" in question is nymphet Brigitte Bardot, here cast as a wide-eyed innocent. While her father hides out from the police, Bardot is protected by nightclub singer Jean Bretonniere. The two eventually fall in love, but a series of humorous complications keep them apart. Brigitte Bardot is quite convincing as the breathless (and sometimes clueless) heroine, while Mischa Auer provides a few laughs as an overly demonstrative ballet teacher (not unlike his character in You Can't Take it With You). The plot of Cette Sacree Gamine was later reworked for the 1965 Elvis Presley vehicle Girl Happy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Assassins et Voleurs (Killers and Thieves) was the penultimate offering from French filmmaker Sacha Guitry. Though seriously ill and confined to a wheelchair, Guitry was still able to invest a great deal of energy in the project. Surprised by a burglar (Michel Serrault), the doleful Philippe (Jean Poiret) regains his composure, then asks the thief for his assistance. It seems that Philippe wants to commit suicide but hasn't the nerve to pull off the deed himself. In flashback, Philippe recounts the events that led up to this critical and anxious moment. As it turns out, our "hero" is a bigger criminal, both actual and moral, than the nonplused burglar could ever be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Michel Serrault plays the title character in Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants (The Innocent with 40 Children). The hero is a naïve young teacher who hopes to impose modern methods on a small-town school. Instead, he falls in love with the gorgeous mother (Silva Koscina) of one of the students. His subsequent dereliction of duty results in professional disaster, but there's a happy ending all the same. Despite the considerable thespic talents of stars Michel Serrault and Silva Koscina, Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants is effortlessly stolen by its dozens of child performers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Love and the Frenchwoman (La Francaise et L'Amour) concentrates on the nature of love by illustrating seven separate aspects of the emotion. In "Childhood," 9-year old Pierre-Jean Vaillard suffers a traumatic experience when he takes his parents' "cabbage patch" theory of conception too literally. In "Adolescence," a little girl (Annie Sinigalla) constructs an elaborate fantasy world on the occasion of her first kiss. "Virginity" is a study in frustration, as betrothed couple Valerie Lagrange and Pierre Michel agonizingly await their wedding-night consummation of their ardor. "Marriage" finds a union ending almost before it begins as a pair of newlyweds (Marie-Jose Nat and Claude Rich) bicker all the way to their honeymoon rendezvous. "Adultery" allows husband Paul Meurisse the opportunity to calmly provide an object lesson to his wife's lover Jean-Paul Belmondo. In "Divorce", a couple (Annie Girardot and Francois Pierer) find that it's impossible to have a "civilized" breakup. And in "A Woman Alone," bigamist Robert Lamoreaux meets his Waterloo in the forms of Martine Carol and Sylvia Montfort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An uninspired satire that tweaks the movie and publicity industries, Auguste is about an eponymous bank clerk who finds fame and fortune. Auguste (played by comic Fernand Raynaud) happens to be in the right place at the right time to save young starlet Francine (Valerie Lagrange) from killing herself -- or more accurately, pretending to kill herself. His supposed heroism hits the news, and before Auguste knows what is happening, a Machiavellian publicist is using him for his own ends. The bank clerk is no fool and soon thinks of a way to come out on top. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The French omnibus feature Tales of Paris is made of four separate romantic playlets, each with its own cast, director, and scenarist. "The Tale of Ella," directed by Jacques Poitrenaud, stars Dany Saval as an ambitious nightclub performer who very nearly messes up her chances for success by bullying a mild-looking but important producer. "The Tale of Antonia," directed by Michel Boisrond, finds housewife Dany Robin exacting a sweet revenge on her cheating husband. "The Tale of Francoise," directed by Claude Barma, concerns the efforts of Francoise Arnoul to test the fidelity of her best friend's lover. And "The Tale of Sophie," directed by Marc Allegret, features Catherine Deneuve as a goody-two-shoes who fabricates a torrid romance in order to be accepted by her sexually knowledgeable schoolmates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The four "truths" are in this instance, four different romantic or dramatic vignettes in a slightly uneven compilation film. All four segments are loosely related to fables by the 17th-century French poet Jean de la Fontaine. In the first fable "Death and the Woodcutter" directed by Luis Berlanga, a well-adjusted, normal organ grinder runs up against the obstacles of torpidity and bureaucracy combined, driving him to the brink of despair. In the second story "The Crow and the Fox" directed by Hervé Bromberger, an insecure husband keeps his beautiful wife locked up, though an amorous neighbor is determined to outsmart him and get to her. In the third fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" directed by Allesandro Blasetti, a wife is unwilling to share her husband with a mistress. In the last fable "Two Pigeons" by René Clair, a fashion model (Leslie Caron) and a lowly worker (Charles Aznavour) are thrown together by unexpected circumstances. The American release of this film cut the first segment, reducing the fable parodies to three. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide