Francis Ravel Movies
- 1960
Hubert Cornfield wrote, directed, and co-produced this standard suspense story about two people who commit both murder and fraud -- out of revenge on the one hand and materialistic gain on the other. Marian Forbes (Laraine Day) has been having an affair with her boss and when he drops her for another woman she sees green -- jealousy and greed take over. She convinces an acquaintance (Edmond O'Brien) to murder her former lover and then impersonate him just long enough to get their hands on a large sum of money. Everything comes off as she plans, but then as the two cover up their crime, the danger of being discovered looms larger at every turn. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmond O'Brien, Julie London, (more)
Les Girls is the Rashomon of MGM musicals. The film is told in flashback, as Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg, two-thirds of a popular cabaret trio, attempt to legally block the third, Kay Kendall, from writing her memoirs. Each of "Les Girls" has her own interpretation of the group's previous professional and amorous escapades. To make sense of these wildly diverse recollections, the court must rely upon a fourth party to straighten things out. Enter Gene Kelly, the dancing star who organized "Les Girls" in the first place. But can Kelly be believed? The "truth" of the many reminiscences in Les Girls is secondary to the dazzling beauty of its female stars, and to the delightful musical numbers, the best of which is an extended Marlon Brando parody titled "Why Am I So Gone About That Gal?" This was Gene Kelly's last musical effort for MGM, the studio he joined way back in 1943; the film was the inspiration for the short-lived 1963 TV series Harry's Girls, which starred Larry Blyden, Susan Silo, Dawn Nickerson and Diahn Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, (more)
- 1956
Still in Europe,the Ricardos and the Mertzes decide to make the trip from Italy to the French Riviera by bicycle. The journey is painful enough for Lucy (Lucille Ball), who hasn't done all that much biking since her childhood (and who, of course, encounters the usual slapstick complications en route), but the pain really intensifies when she discovers that she's left her passport in her suitcase, which has been sent ahead to their French hotel room. Unable to convince the French and Italian border guards to bend the rules for her, Lucy is sure that things just simply can't get any worse -- but it turns out they certainly can. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Dar Boggia, Felix Romano, (more)
