Simone Signoret Movies
Born in Germany to French parents, Simone Signoret was raised in Paris. While working with the Free French patriotic organization during WWII, she entered films as an extra in British wartime productions. Through the auspices of her first husband, director Yves Allegret, Signoret was given the "star build-up" in the postwar years. One of the best of her unlucky-in-love characterizations was in Casque D'Or (1952), for which she won a British Film Industry award. Signoret went on to win an Oscar for her portrayal of Laurence Harvey's tragic castaway mistress in Room at the Top (1959). Her second husband was Yves Montand. Maturing into a plump but still bewitching character actress, Signoret continued appearing in choice film roles until 1982. Simone Signoret was the author of several books, foremost among them the witty, melancholy autobiography Nostalgia Isn't What It Used to Be. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1948
Set in World War II times, this drama involves a highly trained bunch of British soldiers who must parachute into Nazi-held Belgium on a rescue and destroy mission. Documentary film footage is included in the early parts of the film as the trainees get prepared for the task ahead. Robert Beatty plays the priest, Father Phillip, and Simone Signoret appears as an insurgent who falls in love with another of the trained resistors. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Beatty, Simone Signoret, (more)
- 1947
Originally released in France as Dedee D'Anvers in 1948, this tight little melodrama was both directed and co-written by Yves Allegret. The title character, played by Simone Signoret, lives in near-squalor near the docks of Anvers. Her only companions are practitioners in that left-handed form of endeavor known as petty crime. Even the man she lives with, doorman Marco (Marcel Dalio), is not immune to baser instincts: Marco is driven to murder when sea captain Francesco (Marcel Pagliero) threatens to take Dedee away from him. For his troubles, Marco is himself knocked off by Dedee and seedy café-owner Rene (Bernard Blier). And so it goes. Suspense is deliberately downplayed in Dedee in favor of characterization and mood. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Marcello Pagliero, (more)
- 1946
Generally forgotten today, Macadam opened to good reviews and excellent business when it first came out in 1946. The film takes place in the "demimonde" of Paris' Montmartre district. The incomparable Francoise Rosay heads the cast in this atmospheric, melodramatic yarn about French gangsters, their mistresses, and various and assorted "ladies of the evening." Much of the critical attention was centered around Simone Signoret, in her first major screen role. In America, Macadam was released (in a heavily expurgated version!) as Back Streets of Paris. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Paul Meurisse, (more)
- 1945
Raymond Rouleau stars in Le Couple Ideal as a French movie leading man, circa 1912. Slated to appear at a gala for President Armand Falieres, Rouleau is detained by the police at the behest of a scheming producer. To escape the clutches of the law and make it to the celebration on time, our hero is forced to adopt a series of clever disguises. Helene Perdiere costars as a "Perils of Pauline"-type actress who ends up in Rouleau's arms. As a lampoon of the early silent era, Le Couple Ideal is not quite as memorable as Rene Clair's Le Silence C'est D'Or. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Hélène Perdrière, (more)
- 1943
Pierre Prevert directed this amusing comedy, one of three which he co-wrote with his better-known brother Jacques Prevert. Pop singer Charles Trenet stars as a rich moron who is targeted for murder by a shady enemy (Pierre Brasseur). Brasseur blackmails a criminal (Julien Carette) into killing Trenet, but both escape into the countryside, where they encounter some funny situations and odd locals. Prevert was forced by the film's producer to cast Trenet, and rumors of trouble on the set were plentiful, but none of it appears to have affected the film, which remains a light and engaging romp. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Charles Trenet, (more)
- 1942
Les Demons de L'Aube was French director Yves Allegret's first film since 1943. Also known as Dawn Devils, the film was designed as a showcase for up-and-coming Gallic leading man Georges Marchal. He plays a patriotic French commando, doing battle against the Nazis in the darkest days of the Occupation. An unabashed flagwaver, Les Demons de L'Aube lacks the personal touch of Allegret's best films. This is in a way understandable; the war was finally over, and the French film industry was anxious to stress the value of teamwork in the recent decimation of the Axis powers (teamwork that wasn't always present during the war itself!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simone Signoret, Jacqueline Pierreux, (more)
- 1940
In this French drama, based on a story by Tolstoy, the public prosecutor decides to sacrifice himself so that his wife can be freed to be with the man she really loves. Just as he is about ready to kill himself, someone saves him. He then opts to become a soldier. The villagers do not know this and assume that he has been killed by his wife. She, now engaged to the lover, is arrested. When he later reappears, the philandering female begs that he return, but he ignores her pleas and walks away. She then swears to wait for him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Victor Francen, Gaby Morlay, (more)
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