Suzy Prim Movies
French actress Suzy Prim's long film career began in 1907 when she was still a child and lasted to the early '60s, by which time she had become a femme fatale. She was born Suzanne Arduini in Paris and made her stage debut as a baby. During the latter part of the '60s, Prim became a producer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1976
Francois (Jean-Paul Belmondo) was framed as a drug-trafficker by none other than the head trafficker himself and spent seven years in prison for his supposed crimes. Now an ex-con, the vengeful Francois carefully arranges things so that the kingpin's own henchmen murder him, as they believe that they are also about to fall victim to the mobster's ruthless schemes. Flashbacks show that Francois had a rewarding, though tumultuous life before his imprisonment. Now he has a new girlfriend, and a new life, in this movie based on a book by Marceau. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bernard Blier, (more)
- 1971
Deported from the U.S., Henry (Charles Southwood) and his girlfriend Marie (Nathalie Delon) just want to lay low, living the easy life on a South Sea island. Instead, they are unwillingly drawn into a series of wild adventures involving wayward Nazis (including Curt Jurgens), the Mafia, and sundry other hazardous types. This adventure comedy is in French. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Southwood, Natalie Delon, (more)
- 1952
Suivez cet Homme (Follow That Man) is, as indicated by its title, a crime drama. While celebrating his birthday, police inspector Basquier (Bernard Blier) recalls two of his most-celebrated cases. The first involves duplicitous moneylender Olga (Suzy Prin). The second concerns the brutal broad-daylight murder of innocent young Yvonne (Veronique Deschamps). The film's narrative is divided neatly into two halves, prompting some observers to conclude that Suivez cet Homme was designed as a television pilot. Suivez cet Homme was adroitly scripted by the dependable Jacques Remy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Blier, Suzy Prim, (more)
- 1949
French filmmaker Julien Duvivier had trouble regaining his popularity after the war; thus, he tried all sorts of subject matter, hoping to land the one plotline that would reap box-office success. In Au Royaume des Cieux, Duvivier aims his sights at a girl's reformatory. Falsely imprisoned after resisting the advances of a wealthy man, Maria (Suzanne Cloutier) is subjected to the spiteful behavior of unbalanced reform-school headmistress Mlle. Chamblas (Suzy Prim). When Maria's true love Pierre (Serge Reggiani) arrives with an escape plan at the ready, the other inmates try to help the couple elude the authorities. A tense, fog-laden climax caps this well-crafted melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Serge Reggiani, Suzanne Cloutier, (more)
- 1949
The fabled international clown Grock plays himself in this uneven biopic. On the occasion of his retirement, Grock relates the story of his life in flashback. A bit of melodrama is thrown in with a highly suspect WW II adventure. The film concludes with Grock performing his classic piano routine, which was later emulated by Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton in Limelight. Ted Remy portrays the title character in the film's earlier passages. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzy Prim, Helena Manson, (more)
- 1944
Les Caves du Majestic (Majestic Hotel Cellars) is based on a novel by Georges Simenon. Albert Prejean stars as Simenon's fabled Parisian sleuth Inspector Maigret, here tackling the case of a murder in "high places." While the rest of police tread delicately, fearing reprisals from the wealthy people involved in the crime, Maigret carefully and dispassionately pieces the clues together and nabs the killer. Ample comedy relief is provided by Charpin as a dry-witted judge and Gabriello as a corpulent hotel detective. Filmed in France during the Occupation, Les Caves du Majestic was released in the U.S. in 1945. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Prejean, Denise Grey, (more)
- 1943
Andre Cayatte's Shop Girls of Paris was originally released in 1943 as Au Bonheur des Dames. Adapted from a novel by Emile Zola, the story is a surprisingly contemporary one. When the first major department store is established in Paris, everyone is delighted -- everyone except the Mom-and-Pop store owners, who predict (quite rightly, as it turns out) that they'll soon be put out of business. The film concentrates on the plight of one elderly shopkeeper (Michel Simon) and his orphaned niece (Blanchette Brunoy), who, lacking a steady source of income, goes to work for the larger store. Some critics have likened Shop Girls of Paris to Orson Welles' similarly elegiac The Magnificent Ambersons, though Cayatte's film has a more blatantly tragic denouement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanchette Brunoy, Suzy Prim, (more)
Heart of a Nation was filmed in 1940, just after the Nazi occupation of Paris. The film traces the fortunes of the Froment family of Montmartre, from the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 to World War II. Comedy and tragedy are deftly blended throughout; Raimu's visit to the Moulin Rouge is as hilarious as Michele Morgan's loss of an arm during World War I is heartbreaking. When the Nazis became privy to the existence of Heart of a Nation, they ordered its director (Julien Duvivier) arrested and the negative destroyed. Both director and negative managed to escape to the U.S., where a dubbed version of Heart of a Nation was finally made available in 1943. Intriguingly enough, the man responsible for the salvation of the film was a German officer who happened to be a fan of Duvivier's work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Suzy Prim, (more)
- 1938
Crossroads is the English title for Carrefour, directed in France by German-born Kurt (later Curtis) Bernhardt. Suzy Prin and Jules Berry star in this master blend of amnesia, romance and deceit. A respected French diplomat is blackmailed by criminals, who insist that the diplomat, who'd once suffered a loss of memory, had been a crook in his previous "life". When Kurt Bernhardt emigrated to the US, he was signed by Warner Bros., thus had no opportunity to work on MGM's remake of Carrefour (again titled Crossroads) starring William Powell, Hedy Lamarr and Basil Rathbone. The story would be adapted a third time for the 1950 British melodrama Dead Man's Shoes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jules Berry, Charles Vanel, (more)
- 1938
Originally Tarakanowa, Feodor Ozep's Princess Tarakanova resurfaced under a variety of titles following its 1937 European release, including Orloff and Tarakanova and Betrayal. Annie Vernay plays the title character, an ambitious young woman of dubious heritage who aspires to the throne of 18th-century Russian monarch Catherine the Great. Princess Tarakanova is able to muster an army of fervent supporters, and for a while its seems that Catherine will be toppled from her throne. But the princess foregoes power in favor of romance when she falls in love with the dashing Count Orloff (Pierre Richard Wilm). Essentially a romantic drama, Princess Tarakanova ignores the tragic fate of the real-life princess in favor of a storybook ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Vernay, Pierre Richard-Willm, (more)
