Madeleine Robinson Movies
In her heyday, French actress Madeleine Robinson (born Madeleine Svoboda) was one of her country's most respected actresses of stage and screen. Noted for the intensity of her performances, Robinson made her screen debut in Soldats sans Uniforms (1934). Later in her career, Robinson became a character actress. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1971
In this French romance by documentary director Frederic Rossif, a young woman whose life has lost its savor after she has had an abortion, finds new reason for living as she embarks on a seaside romance with a married, bird-watching professor. The romance flowers in seaside walks and long discussions in which they read quotations from favorite authors. When they are not alone together, they encounter colorful locals. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
The troubled life of French sculptor Camille Claudel and her long relationship with legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin are portrayed in this passionate biographical drama, featuring an acclaimed performance by Isabelle Adjani. Beginning in the 1880s with a young Claudel's first meeting with Rodin, the film traces the development of their intense romantic bond. The growth of this relationship coincides with the rise of Claudel's career, helping her overcome prejudices against female artists. However, their romance soon sours, due to the increasing pressures of Rodin's fame and his love for another woman. These difficulties combine with her increasing doubts about the value of her work to drive Claudel into an emotional tumult that threatens to become insanity. First-time director Bruno Nuytten had previously served as a cinematographer, and he brings this experience to bear in his loving presentation of Claudel's sculpture and the lavish period setting. The dramatic approach is in tune with the impressive visuals, which present Claudel's life as a grandiose melodrama, a transformation that irritated some critics. However, few questioned the film's value as a dramatic showcase for Adjani, whose fervent portrayal was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The American release version was cut to 159 minutes. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
- 1978
Pierre (Nicholas Silberg) is a garage mechanic in his mid-30s with a considerable yen for the ladies. It comes as something of a surprise even to him, though, when he falls passionately in love/lust with Jeanne (Helen Surgere), a much older woman in her 50s. She is unmoved by his advances, but despite her sharp rebuffs, he moons over her and hangs on every phone call, expecting it to be from her. Her heart thaws when she learns she is suffering from an incurable and fatal disease, and she is not sorry. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Silberg, Hélène Surgère, (more)
- 1963
In this melodrama a prodigal son returns to his home village after he is acquitted of his stepfather's death to find that most of his former neighbors now shun him. At least his best friend sticks by him. Soon the young man finds himself drawn to his loyal buddy's lover. He and the woman have an affair. Later his friend finds out and vows to kill him. He cannot do it. At the same time, the young man cannot keep hurting his only true friend. As a result he spurns the woman, who runs off into the darkness and gets hit by a car driven by her first lover's mother's car. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
French filmmaker Jean Dellanoy once again combines visual poetry with box-office savvy in Dieu a Besoin des Hommes. Set on a remote French coastal island in the 19th century, the film stars Pierre Fresnay as a peasant named Thomas. In the absence of a priest, Thomas, the village sacristan, is coerced into conducting religious services. Suddenly, and much against his will, he becomes the spiritual leader of the community. He eventually runs afoul of both the Church and the Law by administering last rites, an illegal act for a non-clergyman. Despite its rather remonstrative attitude towards organized religion, the film won an award from a major Catholic organization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Fresnay, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
- 1943
Filmed in 1943, Autant-Lara's Douce (English title: Love Story) made it to American screens six years later. Overshadowed by his later works, Douce nonetheless has much to offer for the director's legions of devotees. The title character, played by Odette Joyeaux, is a young girl of wealth growing up in her lavish family estate in the late 19th century. Douce is hopelessly in love with the estate's much-older manager Fabien Marani (Roger Pigaut). Her starry-eyed illusions are ripe for shattering, and Douce's insanely jealous governess (Madeline Robinson) is just the person to do this "service." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Odette Joyeux, Marguerite Moreno, (more)
- 1949
Writer/director Henri Decoin serves up another sure-fire box-office winner in Entre Ouze Heures et Minuit (Between 11 O'Clock and Midnight). Louis Jouvet stars as Inspector Carrel, who is quite surprised to learn that he has an exact double, a notorious criminal. When his look-alike is killed, Carrel assumes the dead man's identity, hoping to pick up a few clues concerning a few unsolved cases. The first thing he learns is that his double had a very healthy sex life. When he's not up to his kneecaps in dead bodies, Carrel is fending off a steady stream of lovely young ladies. Filmed in 1948, Entre Ouze Heures et Minuit received a limited American release the following year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Jouvet, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
- 1962
In this effective though still slightly uneven drama about mental illness, the worsening condition of a highly disturbed son wreaks havoc on the rest of the family. Dario (Thomas Milian) has episodes when he becomes violently insane yet his mother (Madeleine Robinson) refuses to put him in an institution where he can be professionally helped. Her desperate clinging to the belief that Dario will get better starts to wear away the equilibrium of the two other members of the family, the father (Tino Carraro) and Dario's brother, Gabriele (Nino Castelnuovo). In the end, the continued presence of Dario and his mother's near-fanatical insistence that he will recover create tragic consequences for everyone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tomas Milian, Nino Castelnuovo, (more)
- 1982
A young woman is abandoned by her lover after she tells him she is pregnant. Deeply depressed and longing for home, she boards a train out of town. Unfortunately a terrible train wreck ensues. She survives and ends up taking on the identity of one of the dead passengers. Now comfortable and secure that her child will have some claim to legitimacy, the woman is happy. Unfortunately, her dead-beat lover shows up and promises to make trouble if she doesn't pay up. The melodramatic plot is based on a story by Cornell Woolrich and was made twice before as No Man of Her Own (1932 and 1949 respectively). In 1996 it was remade again as the romantic comedy Mrs. Winterbourne starring Riki Lake and Shirley MacLaine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathalie Baye, Francis Huster, (more)
- 1978
At 25, Helena (Mimsy Farmer) is "middle-aged" for a prostitute. When 15-year-old Julien's callow friends try to pick her up (not knowing that she is a prostitute), she allows Julien (Pascal Sellier) to win her favors. Something about him appeals to her, and she sees him from time to time. Bespelled by his first sexual and romantic experiences with her, he is at first blind to the nature of her profession but gradually understands it. Meanwhile, she has come to care for the boy more than she planned to, and to keep from causing him further harm, she breaks off with him. Even though Julien is devastated, his father, an understanding man, is able to help. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mimsy Farmer, Andréa Ferréol, (more)
- 1951
L'Homme De Ma Vie (Man of My Life) stars Madeleine Robinson as Madeleine, who after being abandoned by her lover is forced to raise her baby all by herself. Supporting herself and her child as a prostitute, Madeleine manages to give her daughter an expensive girl's-school education, all the while keeping her own identity and profession a secret. The girl grows up to be an insufferable snob; nonetheless, Madeleine attempts to re-establish a relationship. Things take a sorry turn when the daughter takes drastic actions to defend her mother's honor. L'Homme de Ma Vie served as a stepping-stone to stardom for Jeanne Moreau, here cast as Suzanne, the daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Jeanne Moreau, (more)
- 1950
Loving husband Charles (Bernard Blier) brings his handsome young friend Maurice (Michel Auclair) home to meet his wife, Fernande (Madeleine Robinson). Charles' equally loving missus is delighted to have Maurice as a guest. A little too delighted, as it turns out. In the course of a single evening, Fernande and Maurice become lovers, then conspire to murder poor Charles. There are too many plot twists to detail here--and besides, it isn't fair to give away surprise endings. Suffice to say that, despite the farcical nature of the plot, L'Invite du Mardi is anything but amusing...especially to the character played by Bernard Blier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Nadine Alari, (more)
- 1994
This Italian psychological thriller is based on as novel by Georges Simenon. Delon is an immoral, gynecologist who frequently cheats on his wife. He is also very successful and has a richly appointed office in Brussels. His good life begins to change when he finds himself receiving death threats and a mysterious teddy bear. After he finds himself responsible for two deaths, he relinquishes his womanizing ways and goes back home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Francesca Dellera, (more)
- 1949
The heroine of La Bonne Tisane (Good Medicine) is a young nurse (Estella Blain) on her first tour of duty. No sooner has she begun making her rounds than she is accosted by a wounded gangster (Bernard Blier), who'd been caught in the crossfire of a territorial takeover. The gangster tries to use the girl as a hostage in an escape bid, but he softens his adversarial attitude towards her as the night wears on. Offering contrast to the sensitive dedicated nurse is the gangster's blowsy, hardbitten gun moll (Madeline Robinson). Standing on the sidelines throughout most of the proceedings is Raymond Pellegrin as the nurse's would-be boyfriend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Pellegrin, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
