Noël Roquevert Movies
Strabismic French actor Noel Roquevert played comic character roles in over 150 of his country's films. He was usually cast as a close-minded, opinionated member of the bourgeois class. Roquevert got his start on-stage. In the early '20s, he and beloved French comic Max Linder traveled to Hollywood to make The Three Must-Get-Theres. Back in France, Roquevert returned to the stage. He began making frequent film appearances after the mid-'30s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
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
- Starring:
- Luis Mariano, Maurice Baquet, (more)
- 1947
Jacques Becker's Antoine et Antoinette bears echoes of the early-talkie Rene Clair classic Le Million. Roger Pigaut plays Antoine, a foreman in a bookbinding factory, while Claire Maffei portrays his salesgirl wife Antoinette. The story gets under way when a valuable lottery ticket is lost, sending hero and heroine into a tizzy. Before a happy ending can be attained, Antoine and Antoinette come in contact with a wide variety of supporting characters, many of whom have a vested interest in that ticket. By filming his story against a backdrop of actual locations and realistically appointed studio sets, co-writer/director Jacques Beckerhas transformed this wafer-thin comedy romance into an encapsulation of the Parisian working class. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Pigaut, Claire Mafféi, (more)
- 1959
In this drama, a Parisian vagabond decides to get himself arrested so he can spend the winter in a warm, cozy jail. Unfortunately his attempts fail until his pal shows him how to steal purebred dogs and then bring them back for a reward. He does well, and decides to winter in the Riviera, but first he must figure out how to keep from getting arrested since another "pal" has ratted on him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Darry Cowl, (more)
- 1957
Per its title, C'est La Faute D'Adam (It's Adam's Fault) is a comedy about romance. En route to his wedding, the hero picks up a pretty hitchhiker who is suffering from amnesia. Naturally, his fiancee takes a dim view of this, and the marriage is promptly called off. But that's not the end of the protagonist's problems: it seems that a gang of crooks believes that the amnesiac girl is a gun moll, with all sorts of "trade secrets" floating around in her pretty head. Dany Robin plays the forgetful heroine, while the luckless bridegroom (who, of course, will fall in love with Robin before the final fadeout) is essayed by Jacques Sernas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dany Robin, Jacques Sernas, (more)
- 1954
It's the Paris Life (C'est La Vie Parisienne) is set at the turn of the century. The point of the film is summed up by the old French adage which begins "Plus ca change": The more things change, the more they remain the same. Director Alfred Rode uses two romantic subplots -- one set in the 1890s, the other in the 1950s -- to illustrate how little "affaires d'amour" have changed in 60 years. The characters in the modern portion of the film are the descendants of the people introduced in the earlier scenes, with the actors introduced in the 19th century scenes playing their own 20th-century grandchildren. The most interesting performance is offered by Philip Lemaire, cast in the dual role of a dissipated nobleman and a jaded jazz trumpeter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudine Dupuis, Raymond Bussières, (more)
- 1954
The Gallic swashbuckler Cadet-Rousselle stars Francois Perrier in the title role. In love with the mayor's daughter, Rousselle is separated from her by money and by his low-born parentage. He heads off to Paris, there to find fame and fortune and make himself worthy of his sweetheart. En route, however, Cadet-Rousselle gets mixed up with a band of gypsies who plan to help the Royalists topple the New French Republic. Adventure piles upon adventure as Rousselle narrows escapes death at every turn. With him all the way is the new love of his life, fiery gypsy lass Violetta (Dany Robin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bourvil, François Perier, (more)
Jean-Paul Belmondo romps his way through the role of 18th century French bandit chief Cartouche. At first robbing from everyone in sight (he has to -- he's head man of a Parisian crime syndicate) Cartouche is rechanneled into becoming a Gallic Robin Hood by beauteous gypsy Venus (Claudia Cardinale). In Highwayman fashion, Venus eventually sacrifices her own life to save Cartouche from harm. He vows to continue his activities to avenge her death, but still manages to have a riproaring good time doing so. Hilarious without being condescending, Cartouche was reissued under the completely inappropriate title Swords of Blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1957
The title of this French seriocomedy translates to This Pretty World. Yves Denaud plays a gangster boss who decides to infiltrate High Society, the better to become reacquainted with the son he hasn't seen for 25 years. Much to Denaud's chagrin, Sonny Boy (played by comic actor Darry Cowl) is as prudish and moralistic as his dad is not. This personality conflict pays off in some big laughs, though not all the humor is in the best of taste. The ever-increasing popularity of Darry Cowl enabled Ce Joil Monde to attain excellent bookings throughout France. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yves Deniaud, Darry Cowl, (more)
This slight comedy-mystery is another late '50s vehicle for Brigitte Bardot who repeats her sex-kitten persona with ease. She plays Virginie, an instructor at a dance studio that one day is hit with a tragedy -- the owner of the studio is murdered. That is bad enough, but to make matters worse, Virginie's husband has been accused of the crime. She knows he could not be the killer and so she sets out to prove his innocence to the police, and maybe find the real culprit at the same time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Bardot, Henri Vidal, (more)
- 1962
This routine sex comedy by director Michel Boisrond stars Jean Poiret as Bernard, a young, up-and-coming publisher who has inexplicably fallen in love with Sophie (Dany Saval) a woman working with a 25-watt bulb, when it is turned on at all. Sophie is as well-grounded as daisy fluff and just as serious, yet Bernard goes after her with all the determination of a man blinded by love. After a wild and crazy courtship, the couple marry, but Sophie's personality does not change and she gets him into trouble -- to the point where he almost loses his job. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Dany Saval, (more)
The greatest film that Alfred Hitchcock never made, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Diabolique is set in a provincial boarding school run by headmaster Michel Delasalle (Paul Meurisse). A ruthless lothario, he becomes the target of a murder plot concocted by his long-suffering invalid wife Christina (Vera Clouzot, the director's own spouse) and his latest mistress, an icy teacher played by Simone Signoret. A dark, dank thriller with a much-imitated "shock" ending, Diabolique is a masterpiece of Grand Guignol suspense. The simple murder plot goes haywire, and Michel's corpse disappears, prompting strange rumors of his reappearance which grow more and more substantial as the film careens wildly towards its breathless conclusion. Later remade as a greatly inferior 1996 Hollywood feature with Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, (more)
- 1959
Three Murderesses stars Alain Delon as a French playboy who gets more than he bargained for when he begins romancing three women at once. All three ladies (Mylene Demongeot, Pascale Petit and Jacqueline Sassard) are sisters, of wildly divergent personalities. Eventually all three tire of Delon toying with their emotions and plot a wry revenge. Director Michel Boisrone can't completely avoid the healthy vulgarity that is his trademark, but Three Murderesses strives to please without unduly offending. Released in France in 1957 as Faibles Femmes, Three Murderesses was initially distributed in the US under the title Women are Weak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mylène Demongeot, Pascale Petit, (more)
Pauline Kael once characterized the French adventure film Fanfan the Tulip as a "Louis XV western". This is a pretty broad interpretation, though it is true that the film never stops moving--an excellent method of sustaining audience attention and plugging up the plot holes. Gerard Philipe plays Fanfan, a handsome, athletic and self-impressed young peasant soldier. Fanfan is as adept in the boudoir as on the battlefield; it has been prophesied that he will wed the king's daughter, thus he wants to get as much practice as possible. Fanfan's many conquests include Gina Lollobridgida and Genevieve Page, which may be why this film did so well in the States. Fanfan the Tulip is available in several shorter versions, one of which has been redubbed Soldier in Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1963
A flamboyant, scatterbrained divorced woman allows a pompous composer to use her home to finish his unfinished symphony. He becomes involved in a accidental murder in this dark comedy of errors. Maria Schell stars as the pleasure seeking woman whose heartstrings are played by Paul Meurisse as the egocentric, self proclaimed musical genius. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Schell, Paul Meurisse, (more)
- 1942
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
- Starring:
- Suzy Delair, Pierre Fresnay, (more)
