Albert Prejean Movies
A former WWI flying ace, French actor Albert Prejean is best known for playing heroes in the silent films of Rene Clair. Before entering the military, Prejean had worked as a nightclub entertainer and acrobat. His popularity in film began to wane after the advent of sound and he spent the rest of his career appearing in average-quality mainstream films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1922
The Crazy Ray (Paris qui Dort) was a wild Rene Clair daydream which he deftly translated into his very first directorial effort. Deliberately invoking the early "chase" films which distinguished the French cinema, Clair weaves an improbable tale of a genially looney scientist who utilizes a magic ray (an effect created with stop-motion photography) on the unsuspecting citizens of Paris. The ray causes its victims to freeze in bizarre and often embarrassing positions. Those not affected by the ray take the opportunity to lift everything that isn't nailed down. Clair's original director's cut of The Crazy Ray ran a brisk thirty minutes. Unfortunately, several foreign distributors decided to pad the picture out with arbitrary and pointless cutaway shots; while watching one of these "improved" versions late in life, Clair muttered "I don't know where the hell that came from." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Rodrigue, Myla Seller, (more)
- 1925
One of actor/director René Clair's earliest successes, the silent Le Fantome du Moulin Rouge follows in the French cinema tradition of moody, atmospheric, morbid fantasies that began with the Les Vampires serials and continued through Jacques Tourneur's Cat People. In Le Fantome, a ghost wreaks havoc on the streets of Paris while policemen and doctors search for the dead man to whom the ghost's spirit once belonged. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Milovanoff, Madeleine Rodrigue, (more)
- 1927
Eugene Labiche and Marc Michel's effervescent French farce An Italian Straw Hat was gracefully adapted for the screen by director René Clair. Albert Prejean plays a well-meaning fellow who is on the way to his wedding. While en route, Prejean's horse has the bad manners to eat the expensive hat of a lovely young woman. The girl is beside herself, so Prejean gallantly offers to postpone his wedding until he can locate an identical chapeau, thereby setting in motion an endless series of comic misunderstandings. More than one historian has noted that Albert Prejean is made up to look like American two-reel comedian Charley Chase, most of whose "Imagine my embarrassment!" films were constructed pretty much along the same lines as An Italian Straw Hat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marise Maia, Olga Tschechowa, (more)
- 1928
Dolly Davis is appropriately cast as "Dolly" in this delightful French comedy. A dressmaker's mannequin, Dolly weds starving artist Albert Prejean, only to discover that two can't live as cheaply as one. Hoping to raise some much-needed cash, Dolly visits her wealthy, man-hating aunt Alice Tissot. Afraid to inform Auntie of her marriage, our heroine passes off her husband Prejean as her chauffeur. Things get sticky when a jealous maid, who's set her cap for Prejean, catches the "chauffeur" kissing his "employer." But by this time, the Aunt has fallen in love herself and is willing to forgive Dolly her indiscretions (which, of course, aren't indiscretions at all). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Davis, Alice Tissot, (more)
- 1929
Based on a play by Francis de Croisset, The New Men (Les Nouveaux Messieurs) was adapted for the screen by its director, Jacques Feyder, in collaboration with Charles Spaak. The plot focuses on Gaillac (Albert Prejean), an electrician employed by the Paris Opera. In love with gorgeous ballerina Suzanne (Gaby Morlay), Gaillac must play second fiddle to Suzanne's wealthy "protector," powerful politician Count Montoire (Henry Roussell). When the Opera personnel go on strike, Gaillac is appointed leader of the strikers, doing his job so well that he is ultimately elected Secretary of Labor in the French cabinet. Now on equal footing with Montoire, Gaillac is at last a "worthy" suitor for Suzanne -- who can't make up her mind between her two well-connected admirers, leading to a political rivalry the likes of which Paris has never seen. This harmless political satire ended up being banned by the French government for undermining "the dignity of Parliament and its ministers"; on a more positive note, the film earned Jacques Feyder a contract with MGM studios in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Albert Prejean, (more)
Rene Clair's Under the Roofs of Paris is one of the first French films shot in sound. The film is a relaxed melodrama where a Parisian street singer (Albert Prejean) and his friend (Edmond Greville) pursue the love of the same woman (Pola Illery). Clair chose to use sound only when needed, preferring to tell the story through his visuals as well as through his dialogue. The result is a striking film, boasting beautiful photography and sets, as well as a moving story. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Prejean, Pola Illery, (more)
- 1931
Un Soir de Rafle (Dragnet Night) details the rise and fall of headstrong prizefighter Georget (Albert Prejean). Upon winning the championship title, Georget forgets himself and spends a bacchanalian evening with a sexy adventuress. He squanders all his money and time on this new conquest, utterly forgetting his childhood sweetheart. Inevitably, he washes out in the boxing ring, a by-product not only of his new hedonistic lifestyle but also of his decision to dump his faithful manager in favor of a crooked one. Only when he gets the stuffings knocked out of him does Georget come to his senses and return to the people in his life who truly matter. Carmine Gallone directed from a screenplay by Henri Decoin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annabella, Albert Prejean, (more)
Filmmaker G.W. Pabst's adaptation of Bertoldt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera (Die Dreisgoschenoper) is every bit as good as the stage original, and sometimes even better. Filmed in both German and French versions with different casts (a planned English-language version was abandoned), Threepenny is most readily available today in its German incarnation. Rudolf Forster stars as robber captain MacHeath -- aka Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife -- who falls in love with Polly (Carola Neher), daughter of beggar king Peachum (Fritz Rasp). Despising MacHeath, Peachum plots the thief's downfall with his best friend, corrupt police official Tiger Brown (Reinhold Schunzel). The satirical "happy ending" of the original -- MacHeath, en route to the gallows, suddenly and without motivation promoted to knighthood! -- is altered somewhat by Pabst and his scenarists to accommodate a swipe against Depression-era bankers. Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife, brilliantly repeats her stage role as Pirate Jenny. Stylistically, Threepenny Opera is a Georg Grosz drawing come to life; despite its 1890s London setting, the film's calculatedly tawdry veneer is clearly meant to represent the wide-open Berlin of the 1930s. For the record: the French version of Threepenny Opera starred Albert Prejean as MacHeath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolf Forster, Carola Neher, (more)
- 1932
Un Fils D'Amerique (A Son from America) was derived from the stage play by Pierre Veber and Marcel Gerbidon. A pair of crooked pawnbrokers persuade young Pierre (Albert Prejean) to impersonate the long-lost son of perfume manufacturer Beterin (Gaston Dubosc). Pierre plays his part so well that he is able to save his "father's" flagging business from bankruptcy. Problems arise when he falls in love with Dorette (Annabella), the girl who's supposed to be his sister. Forced to confess his masquerade, Pierre escapes to parts unknown, but Dorette tracks him down with the help of some friendly gendarmes, exultantly informing our hero that all is forgiven. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annabella, Albert Prejean, (more)
- 1932
Chant du Marin (Sailor's Song) stars Albert Prejean as a happy-go-luck seafarer who'd rather sing than work -- or be faithful to his wife. Prejean and his sailor pal Jim Gerald decide to cheat on their spouses by frequenting the dives and joints in every town where their ship drops anchor. The boys are certain, however, that their wives would never behave in a similar fashion. Upon returning home, of course, Prejean and Gerald discover that their better halves are just as sexually irresponsible as their hubbies. The American Variety reviewer noted marked similarities between Chant du Marin and the "Marseilles" films of Marcel Pagnol. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginette Gaubert, Albert Prejean, (more)
