Noël Roquevert Movies

Director Henri-Georges Clouzot's maiden feature-length effort was the intricate mystery thriller The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (L'Assassin habite au 21). Businesslike homicide detective Wens (Pierre Fresnay) goes on the prowl for a methodical mass murderer, who seemingly manages to be everywhere at once. Following a confusing trail of clues to a seedy boarding house, Wens disguises himself as a clergyman in order to gain the confidence of the boarders, hoping that one of them will make "that fatal slip." All of the boarders are eventually taken into custody, only to be released when the murders continue unabated. Wens cracks the case when he figures out that the seemingly contradictory clues are the by-product of a bizarre conspiracy. Filmed in 1942 under wartime conditions, The Murderer Lives at Number 21 was finally released in the U.S. five years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite the exigencies of the Nazi occupation of France, veteran filmmaker Maurice Tourneur managed to turn out a classic psychological horror film, La Main du Diable (The Devil's Hand). A variation of the Faust legend, the film's "Mephistopheles" is a smarmy Vichy-government civil servant, brilliantly played by Palau. When struggling artist Pierre Fresnay sells his soul, Palau binds the bargain by giving the artist a severed, withered, yet "living" human hand. Years later, Pierre, on the verge of death, is forced to learn the identity of the man from whom the hand was stolen, lest he burn in eternal damnation. The film's highlight is a nocturnal gathering of all the previous owners of the hand who unfold their tales of woe to the beleaguered Pierre. Eventually, the hand is returned to its rightful owner, an ending that is at once happy and tragic. Like most of Tourneur's best works, The Devil's Hand is far better seen than described (prints are available, though most are in deplorable condition). Completed in 1942, the film finally made it to the U.S. several years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A small French village is plagued by a poison-pen writer, whose principal target is Doctor Germain (Pierre Fresnay). The vitriolic letters wreak so much havoc that soon neighbor turns upon neighbor. Eventually, even the doctor himself becomes one of the suspects, as the townspeople are driven to commit paranoia-fueled crimes and suicides. The actual culprit is revealed to be one of the least likely candidates. Though it can now be seen to be a subliminal indictment of the paranoia fomented by the Nazi occupation of France, Le Corbeau (aka The Raven) was condemned as unpatriotic after the liberation, and director Henri-Georges Clouzot was banned from filmmaking until 1947. Based on a story by Clouzot and Louis Chavance, Le Corbeau was remade in Hollywood by Otto Preminger as The 13th Letter (1951). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

La Passante (The Passerby) stars Henri Vidal as the title character, a seafaring man named Francois. While briefly stopping over in Paris, Francois makes the acquaintance of Mado (Maria Mauban), a young woman who has just killed her husband in self-defense. Mado persuades Francois to allow her passage on his barge. This leads to another potential tragedy when Mado comes between the sailor and his assistant Georges (Daniel Invernel). Any French film set on a barge inevitably invites comparison to Jean Vigo's influential L'Atlante; La Passante, however, gets by on its own merits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Spanish singing sensation Luis Mariano is the star of Andalousie. The story finds Mariano cast as an amorous bullfighter named Juanito. When he's not waving the red flag and shouting "Toro! Toro!", Our Hero is wooing such European lovelies as Dolores (Carmen Sevilla) and Fanny (Arlette Poirier). The singing and dancing numbers hold far more interest than the bullfighting sequences. Andalousie was decked out in an attractive Euro-based process called Gevacolor. Director Robert Vernay co-authored the screenplay with J. Feydeau. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Playwright Jean Anouilh was the guiding force behind the unorthodox murder mystery Le Rideau Rouge (The Red Curtain) During a provincial theatre production of Macbeth, several tragedies occur. The actors attribute these calamities to the "curse" supposedly hanging over the Shakespeare play, but police inspector Jean Brochard doesn't buy this. The plot's framework allows Anouilh to explore the differences and similarities between life on the stage and life in earnest. The cast includes Michel Simon as a despicable director (and first murder victim), Moneille Valentin as Simon's drug-addicted mistress, and Pierre Brasseur as a weakling actor who hides his failings by putting on a charade of bravado. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this French low-comedy opus refers to a fancy, family-owned hotel. Village buffoon Hippolyte (Bourvil) hopes to inherit the hotel, but he's opposed by his crafty relatives. In order to qualify for the inheritance, Hippolyte is forced to enroll in grade school, from which he'd never graduated. Romance blossoms in the form of his sexy cousin Gavotte (Brigitte Bardot), but when Hippolyte learns that her interest in him is purely mercenary, he settles for good-hearted schoolmarm Madeline (Nadine Bassile). Le Trou Normand bears a remarkable resemblance to the 1985 Adam Sandler comedy Billy Madison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide