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)
- 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)
- 1935
The final film in Marcel Pagnol's Marseilles trilogy (following Marius and Fanny), this drama follows Cesariot (Andre Fouche), an 18-year-old who has recently been led to believe that his father, Honore (Fernand Charpin), is not really his father at all. Honore dies without telling Cesariot about his true parentage, but after the funeral, his mother Fanny (Orane Demazis) breaks the news that Cesar (Raimu), who he had always been told was his godfather, is in fact his grandfather. Cesariot asks Cesar for the truth; the old man tells him that his real dad is Marius (Pierre Fresnay), an auto mechanic, and tells him how to find the garage where Marius works. Cesariot sets out to meet Marius, but when he stops by the garage, Marius isn't in. His boss, Fernand (Doumel), decides to have some fun and tells Cesariot that Marius is a notorious outlaw; the boy buys it hook, line, and sinker and returns home heartbroken. When Marius finds out what happened, he realizes that he must find the boy and see if the damage can still be repaired. While any of the three films in Pagnol's trilogy can be enjoyed separately, Cesar in particular is best appreciated when seen alongside the other two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, (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)
- 1932
In this sequel to Marcel Pagnol's Marius, which picks up roughly where the first film left off, sailor Marius (Pierre Fresney) has left for the sea, while his girlfriend Fanny (Orane Demazis) is pregnant with his child. Through she still loves Marius, Fanny bows to the pleas of her parents and agrees to marry Panisse (Fernand Charpin), an elderly sail maker, so that her baby will have a name and a father at home. Marius' father Cesar (Raimu) tries to keep Fanny's marriage and the child that Marius fathered a secret from him, but to no avail; when Marius learns of Fanny's predicament, he comes home as quickly as possible. While Marius and Fanny want to reconcile, Fanny's parents will hear nothing of it, and Panisse refuses to give Fanny up, declaring that while he is not the biological father of the child, the baby is his son in every other sense. With a heavy heart, Cesar advises his son to return to the life of the sea, and a heartbroken Marius follows his father's advice. Pagnol concluded his "Marseilles Trilogy" three years later with Cesar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, (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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 1932
La Petite Chocolatiere (The Chocolate Girl) was based on a popular play by Paul Gavault. Jacqueline Francell plays the title character, the daughter of wealthy candy manufacturer Andre Dubosc. When her car breaks down in front of the home of government clerk Pierre Bertin, Francell is forced by circumstances to spend the night with Bertin's blue-collar family. Initially resistant at first, our heroine falls in love with Bertin, with a little assistance from the hero's best friend, eccentric artist Raimu. The film represents one of the earliest screen appearances by movie "bombshell" Simone Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Simone Simon, (more)
- 1931
Sacha Guitry wrote the play on which Le Blanc et le Noir was based, but it was Hollywood-trained Robert Florey who officially handled the directorial reins. While vacationing in the mountains, child-hating Raimu leaves his wife Suzanne Dantes alone in their hotel room while he dallies with the local maidens. Feeling neglected, Dantes accepts the invitation of her neighbor, a celebrated tenor, for a nocturnal rendezvous. She enters the tenor's darkened room, whereupon she enjoys an evening of purple passion with a man whom she assumes is her host. Nine months later, however, Dantes gives birth to a black child -- her lover of the evening had been the tenor's capricious servant! The flustered Raimu scurries about trying to set things right, and in so doing finds out that he genuinely loves children -- whereupon he declares he'd like to become a daddy himself (one can only imagine that Dantes by this time has developed quite a headache). Though racy and risque, Le Blanc et le Noir remains firmly within the bounds of good taste. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 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)
- 1936
Filmed two years before the Nazi takeover of France, The King (Le Roi) made its way to the U.S. in 1941. Victor Francen plays the title character, a playboy regent who goes out for a night on the town during a visit to Paris. In the course of the evening's revelry, Francen enjoys a brief fling with gorgeous Gaby Morlay -- who happens to be the mistress of the king's host, cabinet minister Raimu. Though enraged at being cuckolded, Raimu tries to honor the usual proprieties of protocol and class distinctions, with amusing results. Like many late-1930s films, The King was obviously inspired by the pre-abdication shenanigans of the Prince of Wales. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1936
Secret de Polichinelle roughly translates as Open Secret. The "secret" in question is an illegitimate child, the offspring of young-and-foolish Henri (Bernard Lacret). The baby is adopted by its grandparents, Monsieur and Madame Jouvenol (Raimu and Francoise Rosay). At first taking charge of the child because it is their duty, the Jouvenols come to love the little nipper as if he were their own son. At this point, the film threatens to drown in a morass of sentiment, but the actors and the director manage to stem the bathos with some first-rate comedy vignettes revolving around the care and feeding of the bouncing baby boy. Charles Spaak adapted the screenplay from a stage piece by Pierre Wolff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Janine Crispin, (more)
