Alice Tissot Movies

The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Les Petits translates colloquially as "Youngsters," a reference to pre-teen protagonists E. Roncier and C. Borrelli. Placed in a boarding school by his insensitive father, young Roncier forms a strong bond with female schoolmate Borelli. The kids' innocent relationship is unfortunately misinterpreted by a dirty-minded school supervisor. Returned to his father in disgrace, Roncier runs away, hoping to be reunited with Borelli, the only person in the world who truly cares for him. Finally, dad comes to his senses, blesses his son's platonic friendship, and promises to be a better father from here on in -- but only after agonizing over the possibility that the boy has accidentally drowned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released in 1937 as Francois 1er, Christian-Jacque's Francis the First didn't attain an American release for nearly a decade. Horse-faced farceur Fernandel plays Honorin, a failed provincial actor. Lacking self-confidence, Honorin turns to a carnival hypnotist for aid. While under hypnosis, he imagines that he's a 16th-century French cavalier in the court of King Francis the First. In the tradition of Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, our hero endears himself to the French aristocracy by teaching them 20th-century dances, expressions and card tricks. Along the way, Honorin romances King Francis' zaftig mistress (Mona Goya) and tangles with a troublesome ghost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this French romantic farce translates as You Can't Fool Antoinette. The eponymous heroine, played by Simone Renant, is the new wife of Comte Hubert de Premaillac (Armand Bernard). Having wagered that Antoinette will remain faithful to him, Hubert hopes to keep his young bride too tired to wander, so he exposes her to a surfeit of wild Parisian nightlife. It is Hubert, however, who winds up pooping out, while Antoinette continues her revelry with handsome De Varini (Pierre Stephen). Nothing of an untoward nature really happens, of course -- but Hubert suspects that something has, and that's when the plot really goes into high drive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide