Jules Berry Movies
After a false start in silent films, prominent French stage star Jules Berry achieved prominence in talking pictures, beginning with the French-German co-production Quick (1932). He is best remembered for his superb character work in the films of Jean Renoir and Marcel Carne. His most famous screen appearances were as the sadistic nightclub owner in Carne's Le Jour se Leve (1939) and as a bureaucratic Satan in the same director's Les Visiteurs du Soir (aka The Devil's Envoy [1942]). A more benign Jules Berry was seen as the title character in 1937's Arsene Lupin Detective. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Baccara takes place in the late 1920s, as disillusioned WWI hero Jules Berry falls in love with beautiful Marcelle Chantal. For her sake, he gets involved in some highly suspect European financial dealings. Implicated in the ensuing scandal, Berry is forced to fight for his reputation -- and by implication his life -- in the courtroom. Baccara was clearly inspired by the recent Stavisky case, which resulted in lost fortunes, disgrace and suicide throughout Europe. The same historical ground was covered in the a clef Hollywood production Stolen Holiday, in which Claude Rains played another character based on the infamous Stavisky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jules Berry, Lucien Baroux, (more)
- 1938
This murder mystery is set in a Parisian cafe and examines the mysterious murder of a famed journalist and extortionist who is killed at his table in the cafe. Though the prime suspects are gathered together( including his wife and her lover, the gun-runner, the creditor, and a playboy) and all of them have motives, none of them did it. So whodunit? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jules Berry, Vera Korene, (more)
- 1937
Although the title of this French melodrama translates as White Cargo, it has nothing to do with the steamy stage play of the same name. Instead, its source was Chemin di Rio, a novel by Jean Masson. A very young Jean-Pierre Aumont plays a crusading reporter who investigates a white-slavery ring. When Aumont disappears, his sweetheart Kate von Nagy vows to continue his work. Inevitably, Nagy falls into the clutches of demonic pimp Jules Berry and jaded madam Suzy Prim. Dismissed by its director Robert Siodmak in later years as "a dirty movie," Cargaison Blanche seems rather sedate when seen today, save for a brief and tasteful nude bathing scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jules Berry, Kaethe von Nagy, (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)
- 1939
Per its title, the all-star Derriere la Facade (Behind the Facade) exposes the truth about a group of supposedly respectable citizens. Enraged that his jurist father is keeping a blowzy mistress, the judge's son heads into the Parisian "demimonde" to set things right. In short order, the mistress is murdered and the son is accused of the crime. A pair of ambitious police detectives think that there's more to the case than meets the eyes, as indeed there is. Characters essential to the action include a naïve young soldier, a nimble-fingered card sharp, a sinister knife thrower and a slimy gigolo. Oh yes, Erich von Stroheim is also on hand for intermittent moments of menace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1946
Desarrol is based on the highly regarded Sardou stage drama Odette. A classic example of Sardou's "well made play," the story concerns the amorous escapades of a carefree rake. The doleful ending of the piece is all the more powerful because the audience is thoroughly unprepared for it. Paul Achard heads an excellent cast of French performers, effortlessly shifting from farce to drama at the wink of an eye. To avoid confusion with the unrelated 1951 British film Odette, Desarrol was titled Distress for its English-language release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valentine Tessier, Jean Mercanton, (more)
- 1946
Etoile Sans Lumiere (Star Without Light) represents a rare screen appearance by French singing sensation Edith Piaf. The plot is something of a predecessor to Hollywood's Singin' in the Rain (1952), albeit with a less happy denouement. Piaf plays an aspiring singer who tries to break into films during the early talkie era. She is hired to dub the singing and speaking voice of a silent-movie favorite (Mila Parely). Sworn to secrecy, the fill-in must stand by in silence as the star receives all the praises and plaudits. When the truth is revealed, the result is disastrous for everyone concerned. Etoile Sans Lumiere is chiefly memorable as the screen debut of Edith Piaf's protégé Yves Montand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edith Piaf, Mila Parély, (more)
- 1937
Horse-faced Gallic comedian Fernandel plays Hercule in this tailor-made vehicle. Our hero is a somewhat simple-minded provincial lad, at large in wicked old Paris. Somehow, Hercule finds success in the world of newspaper journalism, where his talents are exploited by a crooked advertising executive (Jules Berry). Fortunately, Hercule can always depend upon the help and support of his secretary (Gaby Morlay) and her reporter boyfriend (Pierre Brasseur). Hercule was but one of seven Fernandel films to hit the screens in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Nane Germon, (more)
