Marcel Vallee Movies

Assassins et Voleurs (Killers and Thieves) was the penultimate offering from French filmmaker Sacha Guitry. Though seriously ill and confined to a wheelchair, Guitry was still able to invest a great deal of energy in the project. Surprised by a burglar (Michel Serrault), the doleful Philippe (Jean Poiret) regains his composure, then asks the thief for his assistance. It seems that Philippe wants to commit suicide but hasn't the nerve to pull off the deed himself. In flashback, Philippe recounts the events that led up to this critical and anxious moment. As it turns out, our "hero" is a bigger criminal, both actual and moral, than the nonplused burglar could ever be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a jeweler's helper jilts the boss's daughter for another girl, who turns out to be a gem thief's moll. Unknown to the assistant, she is awaiting her lover's release. His relationship with the moll gets him involved with another who leads him into the burglary of his boss's store, something he didn't even know he was involved in. Fortunately, he figures it all out, goes straight and returns to his first love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmed during the war, this little-known Fernandel vehicle finally attained an American release in 1951. The star plays Lavarede, an obnoxious braggart and spendthrift who falls heir to his uncle's fortune. But there's a condition to the will: in order to claim his uncle's millions, Lavarede must first spend three months travelling around the world with but five sous to his name. Reportedly, the film ran into censorship problems with the provisional German government. Whatever the case, existing prints of Les Cinq Sous de Lavarde are obviously incomplete, with co-star Josette Day's role sliced into near-nonexistence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This murder mystery is set in a Parisian cafe and examines the mysterious murder of a famed journalist and extortionist who is killed at his table in the cafe. Though the prime suspects are gathered together( including his wife and her lover, the gun-runner, the creditor, and a playboy) and all of them have motives, none of them did it. So whodunit? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmed in 1936, Maurice Tourneur's Avec le Sourire (With a Smile) finally attained an American release in 1939. The film represented the very first French starring vehicle for Gallic musical comedy favorite Maurice Chevalier, here cast as jaunty but penniless boulevardier Victor Larnois. In search of a quick franc, he waylays the doorman of a Parisian theatre and takes over the job himself, eventually working his way up to the theatre manager's job. After falling in love with and marrying a cute chorus girl (Marie Glory), Larnois dedicates himself to transforming his bride into a high-society doyenne. Having behaved rather callously throughout the proceedings, Larnois regains his humanity by helping out his former employer, now reduced to doorman status himself. Though it occasionally crosses over into Ernst Lubitsch territory, Avec le Sourire is distinctively Maurice Tourneur's film all the way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A play by Paul Gavault and Robert Charvay was the source for L'Enfant du Miracle (Miracle Child). In order to inherit a fortune, widow Blanche Montel must produce the child she claims to have had by her late husband. Of course, there is no such child, but that doesn't stop Montel from seeking out a likely candidate for fatherhood. With ten months to spare, our heroine tries her best to get pregnant, but it's not as easy as she thought. Meanwhile, the village clerk keeps a diligent watch on Montel so that she won't skip town -- and her unpaid debts -- without delivering the requisite baby. The music in L'Enfant du Miracle was composed by director Jean Renoir. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mirages de Paris was the first French film effort by Russian director Fedor Ozep. Jacqueline Francel plays Madeline, a young girl of modest talents who hopes to become a musical-comedy star. Her somewhat naïve efforts to achieve this goal includes a campaign to impress theatrical "luminary" Francois (Roger Theville). Little does she know that Francois is no more a star than she -- in fact, he's merely a lowly understudy, likewise seeking his big break. Lots of complications and misunderstandings follow, leading to the inevitable romantic clinch at the fade-out. American prints of Mirages de Paris were handicapped by some barely literate English-language subtitles, but the storytelling prowess of Ozep and the appealing performances of his stars still manage to shine through. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sola (Damia) is a Parisian cabaret singer, at present stranded in Singapore. For lack of anything better to do, Sola enters into a romantic relationship with Jeff (Henri Rollan), a French planter. Hardly the life of the party to begin with, Jeff withdraws deeper and deeper into his own melancholia the closer he gets to Sola. Finally he kills the girl then does away with himself. There seems to be no logical purpose for the existence of this film beyond the presence of popular French stage personality Damia, who admittedly is much better than the material she's given (though she's clearly well-past the age of her character). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide