Alexandre Rignault Movies

Jean Renoir's first sound film was a bitter and highly controversial psychological drama, so controversial that it was never shown in the United States until 1975, 44 years after its original French release. Maurice (Michel Simon) is a meek bank clerk trapped in a marriage with a harridan named Adele (Magdelaine Berubet). Maurice's sole pleasure in life is painting, a hobby he avidly pursues on weekends. One day, Maurice sees a woman on the street being beaten by a man; he steps in to rescue her, and strikes up a friendship with her. Maurice soon falls in love with Lulu (Janie Pelletier), unaware that she's a prostitute and that the man who was beating her is her pimp, Dede (Georges Flamant). Lulu admires Maurice's paintings, and he gives her several canvases; Lulu and Dede then invent an American artist named Clara Wood and place Clara's signature on Maurice's works before selling them to an art dealer, who is quite impressed. Maurice keeps giving money and artwork to Lulu, forgiving her even after he finds out that she's been selling paintings by "Clara Wood" that are earning high prices and enthusiastic reviews. However, Maurice is unaware that Lulu's a streetwalker or that she truly loves Dede until he catches the two in bed together; eventually, love leads to jealous violence and a tragic conclusion. While Pelletier gave a remarkable performance in La Chienne, she was unable to enjoy the film's wide acclaim; she died in an auto accident only a few weeks after shooting was completed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Also known as The Naked Heart, Maria Chapdelaine beautifully supports and sustains French filmmaker Julien Duvivier's gift for "poetic realism." At base, this is a simple 19th century romantic triangle. Canadian lass Madeline Renaud is adored with equal fervor by aristocratic Jean-Pierre Aumont and by crude lumberjack Jean Gabin. Her indecision paves the way for tragedy. Yes, Maria Chapdelaine is a bit old-fashioned in technique and story material, but that fact never stopped Duvivier from turning out a film of genuine merit. Though the 1984 remake, directed by Gilles Carle, is superior to Duvivier's, the earlier film shouldn't be ignored. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy that takes a sharp poke at problems within the medical profession, Dr. Knock opens a practice in a small village. He buys it from a conniving old physician who thinks he really duped the earnest young medic. The young doc is not so easily fooled. Using a wide variety of modern equipment and fancy doctor talk, he soon scares the ignorant villagers into believing that they are all very sick with a wide assortment of strange illnesses. His ruse works and soon his practice is booming. The old doc is shocked. He returns to the village to expose the young quack. Unfortunately after listening to the silver-tongued medic, the older man is convinced that he too is terribly ill. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Citadel of Silence is set in Poland in the years just before WWI. Involved in an abortive insurrection against the occupying Russians, hero Cesar Birsky (Bernard Lancret) is sentenced to a prison where the inmates are never permitted to speak (hence the film's title). Birsky's sweetheart Viana (Annabella) is so anxious to stay close to her lover that she is willing to become the bride of the prison commandant (Pierre Renoir). All loose plot ends are tied up when Birsky spearheads a mass escape from the Citadel of Silence. It is likely that this entertaining but unremarkable film might never have been released in the U.S. had it not been for the recent marriage of its leading lady Annabella to Hollywood's Tyrone Power. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This surrealistic film contains almost no dialogue even though it is a sound film. Instead of talk and subtitles, music is used to convey the action. The trouble begins when a young pianist finds that burglars have hidden stolen money in his piano. When his mother is mistaken for a gang member and arrested, the pianist grabs the loot and sets off across the snow-covered mountains; the gang follows, but eventually, they are arrested and justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The same year that the great European actor Harry Baur played mad Czar Paul I in Le Patriote, he also played another celebrated Russian looney in Rasputin (original title: La Tragedie Imperiale). Unlike most interpretations of the infamous peasant-monk, Baur's Rasputin is a multifaceted character, as much saint as sinner. He is shown to be sincere in his belief that his self-styled magic powers are best utilized in the service of Czar Nicholas and the Royal Family. Alas, Rasputin is also prone to a multitude of human frailties, notably the temptation to allow absolute power to corrupt him absolutely. Whatever one might think of the life of Rasputin, one cannot deny that he left that life in a grostequely spectacular fashion, which Baur and director Marcel L'Herbier recreate in all its vividly gory splendor. Rasputin was based on a novel by Alfred Neumann. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide