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
Love and the Frenchwoman (La Francaise et L'Amour) concentrates on the nature of love by illustrating seven separate aspects of the emotion. In "Childhood," 9-year old Pierre-Jean Vaillard suffers a traumatic experience when he takes his parents' "cabbage patch" theory of conception too literally. In "Adolescence," a little girl (Annie Sinigalla) constructs an elaborate fantasy world on the occasion of her first kiss. "Virginity" is a study in frustration, as betrothed couple Valerie Lagrange and Pierre Michel agonizingly await their wedding-night consummation of their ardor. "Marriage" finds a union ending almost before it begins as a pair of newlyweds (Marie-Jose Nat and Claude Rich) bicker all the way to their honeymoon rendezvous. "Adultery" allows husband Paul Meurisse the opportunity to calmly provide an object lesson to his wife's lover Jean-Paul Belmondo. In "Divorce", a couple (Annie Girardot and Francois Pierer) find that it's impossible to have a "civilized" breakup. And in "A Woman Alone," bigamist Robert Lamoreaux meets his Waterloo in the forms of Martine Carol and Sylvia Montfort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darry Cowl, Sophie Desmarets, (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)
- 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)
- 1959
British actress Belinda Lee stars in this her third film within several months, once again for a company outside of her native England. This time around the setting is the 17th century, somewhere on a group of tropical islands, and she plays Marie, a damsel in distress. The upright governor of the islands is kidnapped by pirates on the orders of an ambitious and villainous nobleman. Knowing full well that Marie is likely to fall prey to the villains and fearing for the lives of his friends, the governor escapes. He manages to return and begins to dismantle the defenses of the usurpers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belinda Lee, Alain Saury, (more)
- 1959
A familiar plot and a lovable, sexual, somewhat ditsy female are at the core of this frothy comedy-crime drama found in various incarnations in movies of this type. This is a lesser sequel to the more successful Nathalie. The Nathalie of the title is a lithesome, big-hearted model played by Martine Carol (wife of French director Christian-Jacque, who ceded her position to Brigitte Bardot as France's top sex-symbol). Nathalie inadvertently gets involved with a group of spies out to steal the secret of an atomic engine. The usual inept Inspector (Felix Marten) is on the case, but in the end Nathalie manages to outwit the Inspector in thwarting the spies, not that difficult a task, apparently. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martine Carol, Felix Marten, (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)
- 1958
Fernandel plays a French customs sergeant who conducts an ongoing war of nerves with Italian smuggler Toto on the Franco-Italian border. The French sergeant discovers that, through a long-ago hospital mix-up, he is actually an Italian citizen. Now Fernandel is legally prevented from arresting Toto--and to make matters worse, he is the lawbreaker in Italian eyes because of his divorce and remarriage! The publicity attending the long-anticipated teaming of France's favorite funnyman Fernandel (born Fernand Joseph Desire Contandin) and his Italian counterpart Toto (born Antonio de Curtis Gagliardi Ducas Comneno di Bisanzio) helped to make The Law Is the Law one of the most successful films in both comedians' careers. The film, incidentally, was a French production (originally titled La Loi c'est la Loi), so in fact it was Toto, not Fernandel, who was the "alien." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Director Jean Bastia has created another amusing comedy in this story about Claudius (Jean Richard), a local policeman who is plagued by the local bandit, Vittorio (Roger-Pierre). In reality, Claudius has become Vittorio's friend, which makes chasing after him in all seriousness a difficult proposition. Assisted by an able supporting cast and an upbeat spirit, this farce may be a bit too specialized in its regional humor and jargon to reach a general, non-French audience. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Richard, Roger-Pierre, (more)
- 1958
Variously titled La Parisienne and Une Parisienne, Parisienne, this Franco-Italian co-production is one of Brigitte Bardot's best vehicles. The daughter of the Premier of France (no, not DeGaulle!), La Bardot is married to Henri Vidal, the premier's chief aide. When Vidal shows signs of straying from his marital vows, Bardot decides to fight fire with fire. She enchants visiting nobleman Charles Boyer, who invites her to a romantic rendezvous on the Riviera. The outraged Vidal tracks down the would-be lovers, only to discover that nothing has happened-both Bardot and Boyer fell victim to head colds, and spent the weekend sneezing rather than smooching. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Bardot, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1958
In this French family-oriented comedy, a man with a passion for all animals takes on the Russians to protect a mouse and a dog from being sent up into space, via a satellite. He obtains them after the creatures escape and all the prompting from French and Russian scientists is to little avail, compelling them to try even stronger measures that lead to merry mix-ups. The film is also known as A Dog, a Mouse and a Sputnik. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Noël-Noël, Denise Grey, (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)
- 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)
- 1956
Toute la Ville Accuse (The Whole Town Accuses) unfolds the tale of writer François Nerac (Jean Marais), who sets up camp in a small village so he can work in peace. Through a series of unfortunate coincidences, Nerac finds himself in possession of a bagful of stolen money. Hoping to get rid of the loot in a hurry, he donates the cash to charity -- which immediately arouses the suspicion of the villagers who peg the stranger as a thief. Filmed on an obviously tight budget, Toute la Ville Accuse is the sort of "small" movie that grabs attention immediately and refuses to let go until the final shot. The film represents the impressive directorial debut of Claude Boissol, whose career surprisingly never really took off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Etchika Choureau, (more)
- 1956
Noel-Noel is the nonplused star of the aptly titled Le Terreur des Dames (The Terror of Women). The film's central character is a mild-mannered provincial soul who goes off on a drunken toot in Paris. The next morning, our hung-over hero discovers that he's somehow earned the reputation as a sex maniac! He spends the rest of the film searching for the women he's supposedly "disgraced," hoping to make profuse apologies. Yves Robert co-stars as a worldly-wise Parisian who observes Noel-Noel's plight with detached amusement. Le Terreur des Dames was adapted from a story by Guy de Maupassant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Noël-Noël, Yves Robert, (more)
Showing no signs of slowing down in his 70th year, Sacha Guitry served as director and writer of the lavish historical epic Napoleon, and also costarred as Talleyrand. It is now hard to assess the quality of the film, since most American prints are severely edited, and the color photography appallingly washed out. Reviewers in 1955 admired the effort that went into this $1,800,000 production, but complained that the viewer left the film with no deeper understanding of Napoleon Bonaparte than the viewer had had when coming in. Daniel Gelin poses impressively as the young Bonaparte, registering emotion only when things go wrong in his conquest of Europe, while Raymond Pellegrin is somewhat better as the older, more jaded Napoleon (the transition between the two actors is handled in a near-comic fashion). The Revolution is reduced to a few fleeting scenes, while the rest of the film is devoted to political infighting and betrayal. The huge supporting cast includes Michele Morgan as Josephine and Lana Marconi and Dany Robin, respectively, as Napoleon's mistresses Waleska and Desiree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Pellegrin, Daniel Gélin, (more)
The most frequently filmed of Emile Zola's works, Nana was given a slick, polished cinemazation by French- filmmaker Christian-Jacque in 1955. Martine Carol is well (if predictably) cast in the title role, playing a poverty-stricken Parisian girl who rises to prominence as a high-priced whore. Nana is content to love 'em and leave 'em until she becomes the mistress of government-official Charles Boyer. Her genuine love for Boyer results in disgrace and disaster for them both. While less inhibited than the bowdlerized 1934 Sam Goldwyn production of Nana, this French/Italian co-production is rather far afield from the Zola original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martine Carol, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1955
The title of this French noir drama translates to The Black File. Jean-Marc Bory plays Jacques Arnaud, an idealistic young investigator who comes to work in a small French town. He is soon involved in a mysterious case incriminating a town notable. Arnaud devotes himself to the case but the upshot of this is rather surprising to all concerned, not to mention the audience. Like Cayatte's previous efforts, Le Dossier Noir is based on the proposition that the phrase "French justice" can at times be oxymoronic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Marc Bory, Bernard Blier, (more)
