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
- 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)
- 1962
Three screenwriters pooled their talents for the French racetrack drama Duke of the Derby. Jean Gabin plays a handicapper who's been living high on the hog (or horse) for years. While playing the ponies at Britain's Epson Downs, Gabin finally outsmarts himself. The rest of the story concerns his feverish efforts to recoup his former glory. Originally Le Gentleman D'Epsom, the film is also known as Grandes Seigneurs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
- 1961
This unlikely, somewhat clichéd European "western" by Robert Hossein (scripter, director, and lead) is set in an unnamed Latin American country suffering under a dictator. A revolution is underway, or at least there is a strong guerrilla movement here. The leader of the guerrillas manages to capture the daughter of the dictator and then has to take her as a captive back to the revolutionary forces' base. Along the way, the two exchange heated glances, not all stemming from anger. By the time they reach rebel headquarters, they are in love. Now the guerrilla leader has trouble on his hands because the men underneath have their own plans for his captive, none of which entails keeping the new couple together. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hossein, Giovanna Ralli, (more)
- 1961
In this dark drama, a married tutor in a French village finds himself obsessed by a beautiful young girl and begins to stalk her. He soon finds out that she is the mistress of the man whose son he has been tutoring. The tutor confronts her, and she denies it. He then makes a pass at her. When she strongly resists, he attempts to kill her and ends up scarring her face. He then goes on the lam. Along the way, he kills an older man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Jourdan, Lilli Palmer, (more)
- 1961
Too lugubrious and downbeat to come off as believable, this routine tragedy by director Yvan Govar contains several misunderstandings leading to multiple deaths. Gus (Karl Boehm) has just gone through a harrowing trial for the murder of his stepfather, and he was acquitted. Once back home again, he discovers that the townspeople still consider him to be a murderer. His one remaining friend soon loses that distinction when his girlfriend falls for Gus, and leaves him. That is bad enough, but then she is killed in an accident and as might be expected, everyone blames Gus. His situation goes from bad to much worse -- but the count of victims has not ended. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pascale Petit, Karl Heinz Böhm, (more)
New Wave director Claude Chabrol employs an aloof perspective in this tale of murder and a dysfunctional family. The paterfamilias Henri Marcoux (Jacques Dacqmine) is having a fling with the neighbor woman Leda (Antonella Lualdi). When she turns up murdered, police suspect the milkman, a friend of the Marcoux's sultry maid Julie. But Laszlo (Jean-Paul Belmondo) the non-conformist Hungarian boyfriend of Henri's daughter Elisabeth (Jeanne Valerie) thinks not. Was the killer Henri's unbalanced son Richard? His wife Therese (Madeleine Robinson) is a regular harridan; is she guilty? Robinson won the "Best Actress" award at the 1959 Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of Therese. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Antonella Lualdi, (more)
- 1959
Set during the French restoration in the 1830s, this conventional, verbose costume drama features Jean-Claude Pascal as Philippe, a young officer under Napoleon Bonaparte whose career during the Restoration is anything but smooth. He has an ill-advised romance with the wrong woman that prods his dormant ambition and makes him climb to the top of the social ladder. Unfortunately, society is as corrupt as usual and his gradual climb up the ladder does not mean that the descent down is going to be equally slow paced. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Jean Pascal, (more)
- 1958
Les Louves was also released as Demoniaque and She Wolves. By any name, it's a puzzler, at least until the final fast-paced scenes. Gervais (François Perier) escapes from a German concentration camp and assumes the identity of a recently deceased fellow prisoner. Knowing that the dead man has been carrying on a romance by correspondence with Helene (Micheline Presle), a woman whom he has never seen, Gervais makes the acquaintance of the woman and moves in with her. The woman's sister, Agnes (Jeanne Moreau), dabbles in the black arts, which should be warning enough for Gervais to make himself scarce. But he sticks around, intrigued that the dead man's sister, Julia (Madeleine Robinson), refuses to blow the whistle on him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- François Perier, Micheline Presle, (more)
- 1956
Ugo Betti's allegorical play The Island of Goats served as the basis for the French melodrama Les Possedees. Raf Vallone heads the cast as a man who looks, and acts, like a goat. Vallone wreaks havoc upon a houseful of females, who cannot seem to resist his charms despite his ugliness. Madeline Robinson co-stars as the head of the household, whose fascination with Vallone results in near-disaster. A few of the film's sexier scenes were trimmed for American consumption, but the story, such as it is, remains intact. Also known as The Possessed, this quirky little film was given its biggest showing at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Raf Vallone, (more)
- 1956
Madeline Robinson stars in the opulent seriocomedy Mannequins de Paris. The plot is one of the oldest known to man: a busy businesswoman nearly loses her neglected husband. Robinson plays the female executive, while Ivan Desny is her spouse, a well-known clothing designer. Inasmuch as Desny is surrounded by gorgeous, undraped women, Robinson is going to have to work overtime to win him back. The film spotlights several of Paris' top fashion models, who are decidedly not on the slender side. Mannequins de Paris was filmed in a short-lived widescreen process called Anamorphoscope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Ivan Desny, (more)
- 1955
Le Couteam sous la Gorge (The Knife to the Throat) is the Gallic equivalent of Hollywood's Ransom! Jean Servais stars as a prominent physician whose son is kidnapped. The twist here is that one of the film's ostensible villains is the hero. Jean Chevrier co-stars as a gangster whose life Servais once saved, and who takes it upon himself to rescue the kid single-handedly. For a big-budget production, Le Couteam sous la Gorge is surprisingly sparse and skimpy at times. The film was lensed in Cinepanoramic, a French variation on 20th Century-Fox's CinemaScope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Servais, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
- 1953
Leur Dernier Nuit (Their Last Night) is buoyed by the performances by stars Jean Gabin and Madeleine Robinson. Gabin plays Pierre, a seemingly mild-mannered librarian who is actually the head of a gang of thieves. Schoolteacher Madeleine (Madeleine Robinson), Pierre's boarding-house neighbor, falls in love with him, a love that endures even after she learns the truth about his covert criminal activities. Escaping from prison, Pierre is joined in his flight by Madeleine, who by this time is willing to share whatever the fates have in store for her beloved. Somewhat reminiscent of such American films as You Only Live Once and They Live by Night, Leur Derniere Nuit is a choice example of that rarefied genre known as "le film noir." Columbia Pictures handled the U.S. distribution of this exciting melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
- 1952
Minuit... Quai De Bercy gets off to a violent start when a gorgeous concierge (Lysiane Rey) is knifed to death. Since the girl made an enemy of everyone she ever met, there's no shortage of suspects. Police inspector Kieffer (Erich von Stroheim), who despite his surly demeanor is the soul of compassion, tries to ferret out enough clues to identify the guilty party. He is "helped" by amateur female detective Irene (Madeleine Robinson), who's not as scatterbrained as she seems. When asked why he spoke his lines in French films slower than his dialogue in English-speaking films, Erich von Stroheim replied "It keeps me on the screen longer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Francis Blanche, (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)
- 1951
Though the title literally translates to Savage Man or Savage Boy, this French film was released in the U.S. as Savage Triangle. The title character, played by Pierre Beck, is Simon, the ten-year-old son of prostitute Marie (Madeline Robinson). Resigned to his mother's profession, Simon is nonetheless disgusted by Marie's latest lover, the slimy, avaricious Paul (Frank Villard). Tragedy of a shocking but nonetheless predictable nature follows. It is difficult to believe that director Jean Dellanoy could be so maligned by the French nouvelle vague disciples after making so powerful a film as Le Garcon Savage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Robinson, Frank Villard, (more)
- 1951
Seuls au Monde was released outside of France as Alone in the World. Social worker Francois (Rene Lefevre) is disgusted by the fact that a group of institutionalized orphans are psychologically abused by The System. Overstepping his bounds, Francois liberates the kids, then sets up his own humane orphanage with the help of a wealthy man who himself had been orphaned as child. The usual anal-retentive bureaucracy threatens this enterprise, but the arrival of Genevieve (Madeleine Robinson), the film's heroine, miraculously solves everyone's problems. Seuls au Monde boasts an appealing cast and workable storyline; however, the film's overabundance of dialogue made it difficult to market in America. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- René Lefèvre, Madeleine Robinson, (more)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
