Raimu Movies
French actor Raimu (sometimes billed as Jules Raimu) was on-stage from the age of 15, performing at "coffee concerts" and appearing as a supernumerary in casino shows in his native Toulon. After several years' ascendency in music halls and regional shows, Raimu was "discovered" for the legitimate stage in 1916 by writer/director Sacha Guitry. Throughout the 1920s, Raimu was a leading light of the Parisian theater scene, alternating between classic comedy roles, modern-dress fare, and well-received appearances at the Cigale and the Folies Bergere. In 1929, Raimu was cast in what was considered his finest role to date, the philosophical Marseilles tavern keeper Cesar in Marcel Pagnol's Marius. When time came to commit Marius to film in 1931, it was a "given" that Raimu would re-create his roles. An unhappy fling at moviemaking some 20 years earlier had made him reluctant to stand before the cameras, but Raimu agreed to make his talkie debut in Le Blanc et le Noir (1931), directed by old mentor Sacha Guitry. After this pleasant experience, Raimu, as enthusiastic as a schoolboy, agreed to appear in Marius (1931); he would go on to repeat his Cesar characterization in the two remaining entries in Pagnol's "Marseilles Trilogy," Fanny (1932) and Cesar (1935). Though little known in America outside the big cities that could support "art" cinema houses, Raimu was regarded by the rest of the world as one of France's greatest actors; some observers, notably Orson Welles, considered him the greatest. In 1943, Raimu took a three-year sabbatical from filmmaking when he was invited to join La Comedie Francaise, where he excelled in the plays of Moliere. At war's end, Raimu made one last film, The Eternal Husband (1946), before his death at age 63. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1947
In this drama, set after the Napoleonic Wars, the aristocratic Chabert comes back to his palatial home to find that his wife has remarried. She had given Chabert, whom she never really loved, up for dead. Her new husband, who is also richer, makes her much happier. To protect her new life, the wife calls Chabert an imposter and has him committed to an asylum. He sneaks out and wanders the streets where he meets and becomes friends with the impoverished street folk. By the time his true identity is revealed it is too late. Chabert has decided to renounce his aristocracy and opts to live with the poor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Marie Bell, (more)
- 1946
This dark drama, based on Dostoyevsky's novella, chronicles the exploits of a jealous widower who is enraged to discover that his child is really the product of a union between his wife and her secret lover. For revenge, the widower forces the lover to take the child. Unfortunately, the child dies, and both men feel horribly guilty. The widower is so angry that he wants to kill the lover. Instead, he simply wanders away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1946
The great French actor Raimu made his final screen appearance in L'Homme au Chapeau Rond (The Eternal Husband) as Nicolas Pavlovitch. The star is cast as an embittered widower who seems to love the bottle more than his young daughter Lisa (Lucy Valnor). Upon learning that Lisa is not truly his child but the offspring of his late wife's love, Nicolas permits the poor girl to die. This startling denouement is a sharp contrast to the somewhat ribald comic byplay of the film's earlier scenes, but Raimu was an accomplished enough actor to bridge the gap between comedy and tragedy without a ripple on the water. L'Homme au Chapeau Rond was based on a novel by Dostoyevsky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gisele Casadesus, Louis Seigner, (more)
- 1945
Les Gueux Au Paradis (Hoboes in Paradise) stars two of Marseilles' favorite sons, Fernandel and Raimu. Set during the reign of Louis XV, the film casts Raimu as an innkeeper and Fernandel as his best friend. Dressed up as saints for a masquerade, the two pals are killed in a carriage mishap. They take a quick trip to Hell, where it is decided that they are inappropriately garbed, then ascend to Heaven, where it is determined that it isn't yet "their time." Our heroes are returned to life just in time to foil an attempt by the undertaker to seduce Raimu's "widow." Ironically, Les Gueux au Paradis was Raimu's next-to-last film; he died in 1946, shortly after the picture's release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Andreu, Fernandel, (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)
- 1942
Midnight in Paris was originally titled Monsieur La Souris, the character played by the incomparable Raimu. M. La Souris is a downtrodden nobody who stumbles upon a corpse and dutifully reports his find to the constabulary. Alas, La Souris is himself suspected of murdering the victim, throwing the police off the track and allowing the genuine killer to elude capture. When the identity of the killer is finally revealed, it comes as a genuine surprise, especially since there's no logic or credibility to the revelation. Filmed in 1941, Midnight in Paris was released in the U.S. in 1947, one year after Raimu's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Aimé Clariond, (more)
- 1942
The great French character Raimu stars in Strangers in the House. He is cast as Loursat, the father of teenager Nicole (Juliette Faber). When Nicole's petty-thief boyfriend (Andre Reybas) is accused of murder, Loursat, a once-great attorney who has taken to drink, cleans up his act and defends the lad in court. Filmed in 1942, Strangers in the House attained an American release in 1949, three years after Raimu's death. Based on a novel by Georges Simenon, the film was remade in 1967 as Cop-Out, with James Mason and in 1992 as L'Inconnu dans la Maison with Jean-Paul Belmondo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Juliette Faber, (more)
- 1941
The Well-Digger's Daughter served to reunite star Raimu and writer/director Marcel Pagnol, who'd earlier scored an international hit with the "Marseilles trilogy" (Fanny, Marius, Cesar). The title character played by Josette Day, is impregnated by aviator George Gray. Her father, Raimu, orders Josette out of the house so that her younger sisters won't be likewise "corrupted". There's many a moment of pathos and hilarity before Raimu realizes the folly of his behavior. Filmed in 1940, just after France's acquiescence to their Nazi conquerors, The Well-Digger's Daughter didn't make it to the US until 1946. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Josette Day, (more)
- 1941
Based on a stage play by D'Hennequin and Veber, the saucy 1936 sex farce Avez Vous N'Avez Rien a Declarer? was released in the US five years later as Confessions of a Newlywed. The original title translates as Having You Nothing to Declare, a double-entendre referring to the sexual prowess-or lack thereof-of entymologist Pierre Brasseur. Overly preoccupied with his work, Brasseur seems unwilling or unable to satisfy the carnal urges of his young bride Sylvia Battalie. When a week passes without marital consummation, Brasseur asks Battalie's scientist father Raimu for advice. A subsequent visit to a psychiatrist and a nightclub, followed by a tete-a-tete with Brasseur's former lover (Germaine Aussey), seems to straighten things out (if that is the appropriate choice of words), while the connubial progress of the newlyweds is paralleled (and gently mocked) by a pair of insects in Brasseur's laboratory. Confessions of a Newlywed was directed by Leo Joannon, who seems far more at home with this sort of material than he would with Laurel & Hardy in 1951's Atoll K. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Sylvia Bataille, (more)
- 1939
Derniere Jeunesse (Second Childhood) attempts to translate the Irish sentiments of Liam O'Flaherty's novel Mr. Gilhooley into purely Gallic terms. Raimu plays the central character, a middle-ager of the "old school" who offers shelter and comfort to sluttish Jacqueline Delubac. Despite his own reservations, Raimu falls in love with the much-younger girl, remaining faithful to her even after he realizes that she cares only for his money. But when pimp Pierre Brasseur reenters Delubac's life, it is too much for Raimu to bear -- and this, coupled with the return of a mental sickness that Raimu had contracted years earlier in colonial Africa, leads to tragedy. Set in Rouen rather than O'Flaherty's Dublin, Derniere Jeunesse is an uncomfortable but generally satisfying melding of two diametrically opposite styles and sensibilities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Pierre Brasseur, (more)
- 1939
The English-language title of this French diversion is The Man Who Seeks the Truth. Raimu stars as the modern-day Diogenes, a wealthy banker who feigns deafness to test the love and loyalty of his friends and relatives. Not surprisingly, Raimu is sorely disappointed by what he finds out, especially when his mistress Jacqueline Delubac, the only person he thoroughly believes in, turns out to be just as two-faced as everybody else. The first French film to be completed since the outbreak of WWII, L'Homme Qui Cherche la Verite deals with the current international crisis by studiously ignoring it. The film was directed by Hungarian native Alexandre Esway, who shortly thereafter temporarily abandoned movies to serve in the French Foreign Legion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacqueline Delubac, Gabrielle Dorziat, (more)
- 1939
The inimitable Raimu heads the cast of the frothy farce Monsieur Brotoneau. Known for his infallible punctuality, bank president Brontoneau (Raimu) causes a panic when he shows up 45 minutes late. When Brontoneau reveals that his tardiness was due to discovering his wife in bed with her lover, his faithful secretary Louise (Josette Day) is most sympathetic. Thus encouraged, Brontoneau allows his wife to go her own way and settles down to a hopefully blissful romantic relationship with Louise. All this changes when the wife's lover tires of her and she tearfully returns to Brontoneau, begging forgiveness. The banker is all for remaining with Louise, but his employees, shocked at such impropriety, try to arrange a reconciliation between Monsieur and Madame Brotoneau. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josette Day, Marguerite Pierry, (more)
- 1938
This emotional WWI drama centers around a wealthy French farming family, headed by Raimu. Before the outbreak of hostilities, Raimu had interfered with the personal lives of his three sons. He comes to regret this when his eldest boy loses his life on the battlefield. The father himself is further punished when a barrage of gunfire renders him sightless. Paving the way for a happy ending is Raimu's second oldest boy, who selflessly agrees to marry a peasant girl whom the dead son had rendered pregnant before marching off to war. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Germaine Dermoz, Jacqueline Porel, (more)
- 1938
Noix de Coco (Cocoanut) was adapted by Marcel Archard from his own stage play. The incomparable Raimu plays a prosperous horticulturist, happily married to his young second wife Marie Bell. Raimu's blissful existence is threatened when he discovers that Bell was previously a sexy nightclub chanteuse in a notorious Saigon watering hole called the Noix de Coco. He further discovers that his beloved wife may well have shared more than her singing talents with her fans. Now Raimu is obliged to keep his wife's past a deep dark secret from his snooty, super-judgmental daughter-in-law Suzet Mais. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Bell, Suzet Mais, (more)
- 1938
The Baker's Wife (La Femme de Boulanger), though based on a novel by Jean Giono, was specially tailored by writer/director Marcel Pagnol for the talents of the incomparable Raimu. The star plays the new baker in the French community of Provence. One of Raimu's first customers is shepherd Charles Moulin, who is immediately smitten by the middle-aged baker's young, toothsome wife Ginette LeClerc. In short order, Ginette runs off with Moulin, a turn of events that the stubborn Raimu refuses to acknowledge. As he grows more taciturn, he neglects his work, and soon the whole village anxiously awaits the wife's return, else they'll never see another loaf of bread. The local Marquis (Charpin) takes matters in hand by leading the townsfolk in a search party for the wayward wife. The charms of The Baker's Wife are both captivating and fragile; an attempt in 1976 to turn the property into a Broadway musical proved the fragility by ignoring the charm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Ginette Leclerc, (more)
- 1937
Originally titled Gribouille, Marc Allegret's Heart of Paris serves as an excellent vehicle for that matchless stage and screen favorite Raimu. The star is cast as bourgeois family man Camille Morestau, who while serving on a jury in a murder trial takes pity on the accused, waiflike Natalie Rougin (Michele Morgan). Through a series of unlikely circumstance, Morestau invites Natalie to move in with himself and his family for the duration of the trial. Morestau's son Claude (Gilbert Gil) assumes there's some hanky panky going on between his father and Natalie, whereupon he takes a serious interest in the girl himself. Realizing that her presence has caused serious dissension in the Morestau household, Natalie prepares to leave-but not before "borrowing" a few valuables to finance her exit. The ending of Heart of Paris is somewhat grimmer than the one utilized in its American remake, The Lady in Question, in which the three main characters were portrayed by Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Raimu, (more)
- 1937
The title character of L'Etrange Monsieur Victor is a seemingly respectable storekeeper, happily married to the lovely Madeleine. As the film opens, Victor and Madeleine have just become the proud parents of an adorable baby boy. Everything seems perfect for Victor, a man admired for his good works and love of children. But Victor has a secret life; he is leader of a criminal gang. Now that he is a father, he decides to leave behind his life of crime, but one member of his gang doesn't like this and threatens to expose him. Almost without thinking, Victor kills the man. He escapes suspicion, however, and an innocent man named Bastien is sent to prison instead. As time passes, Victor becomes overcome with guilt and remorse; he loses his temper easily and is likewise easily agitated. Eventually Bastien escapes, and Victor takes him in and hides him -- but doing so threatens to bring about the truth about the murder. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Pierre Blanchar, (more)
