Charles Vanel Movies

A venerable banker from Paris leaves for America when he discovers there will be an investigation into his questionable business deals. Accompanied by his faithful protégé Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo), the pair travels to New York by plane and eventually to New Orleans by car. Michel plans to make off with the boss's money, but feelings of loyalty for the old man prevent him from carrying out his planned heist. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This French-Italian romantic crime thriller is titled The Truth in English. Henri-Georges Clouzot directed sexpot Brigitte Bardot as Dominique Marceau, who is accused of killing her boyfriend. The question for the jury is whether the murder was premeditated or a crime of passion. Marceau had come from a small town to take up a sexually adventuresome life on the Left Bank in Paris. She has an affair with Gilbert Tellier (Sami Frey), the boyfriend of her sister Annie (Marie-Jose Nat). Dominique moves on to other romances, but Tellier won't let go of her. They fight and eventually separate. Tellier becomes a renowned orchestra conductor while Dominique descends into prostitution. She eventually learns that her sister and Tellier are engaged, and this knowledge leads up to the events that lead her to court. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

This is the third feature in a series about an intrepid French spy by the nickname of "The Gorilla," but unlike the earlier films, this time around Roger Hanin replaces Lino Ventura in the title role. A West German scientist has discovered a way to recover missiles shot into space, and the major Western powers are after his secret. Even though the scientist is willing to pass his discovery on to NATO, it is guarded by an elite, undercover West German police force. As foreign agents, including the Russians and Americans, try to get their hands on the secret, "The Gorilla" is forced into the affair by his surly, aging boss -- he has to make sure that the scientist's discovery ends up with NATO. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The best thing going for this period piece set during the time of the last Russian Czar is its visual atmosphere, defined by gorgeous sets, costumes, and scenery. Alexey (John Derek) is a soldier in the Czar's army whose fiancée is raped by a general. In retaliation, Alexey attacks the general and is sentenced to prison in Siberia. Thanks to the heroics of his bride-to-be he escapes, but she is killed in helping him. Alexey ends up with some boatman plying their trade on the Volga, and he bides his time as he plots to bring justice to the general. Meanwhile, an attractive gypsy woman (Elsa Martinelli) enters his life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Crosses, double-crosses and triple-crosses abound in Les Suspects. The plot concerns an imminent Arab uprising in Algeria. The government of France sends one of its most trusted operatives to investigate, but it soon becomes obvious that no one can be trusted. In 1957, Les Suspects had the advantage of topicality; viewers' reaction to it today will be contingent upon one's sentiments towards the European colonization of Africa. The impressive cast is headed by Charles Vanel as a man intimately involved in the uprising's outcome (and it isn't until the end of the film that the viewer is aware how involved). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Recharging his creative batteries with a "commercial" venture, director Luis Bunuel came up with the stylish if undistinguished La Mort en ce Jardin (Death in This Garden). Set in a steaming jungle, the film concerns a disparate group of refugees from a despotic military regime. Among these worthies is "good time girl" Djin (Simone Signoret), ageing miner Castin (Charles Vanel) and deaf-mute Marie (Michele Girardon). The deeper the protagonists venture into the jungle, the more Bunuel's patented surrealism begins to surface. Only two of the escapees survive the ordeal, and they aren't necessary the two whom the viewers are rooting for. Some prints of La Mort en ce Jardin bear the title Gina. hel) F Lorsque L'Enfant Paris (When the Child Appears) was adapted from the hit play by Andre Roussin. The story revolves around the efforts of a well-meaning, highly moralistic minister, who wants the government to clamp down on illegitimacy. Complications ensue when the minister's own wife become pregnant--and all evidence indicates that the child is not his. Adding to the protagonist's headaches, his daughter, on the eve of her wedding to a wealthy young man, announces that she, too, may well be in the family way. Not to be left out, the minister's son declares that he thinks he's impregnated his father's secretary! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A jewel thief is at large on the Riviera, and all evidence points to retired cat burglar Cary Grant. Escaping the law, Grant heads to the Cote D'Azur, where he is greeted with hostility by his old partners in crime. All of them had been pardoned due to their courageous activities in the wartime Resistance, and all are in danger of arrest thanks to this new crime wave. But Grant pleads innocence, and vows to find out who's been copying his distinctive style. With the reluctant aid of detective John Williams, Grant launches his investigation by keeping tabs on the wealthiest vacationers on the Riviera. One such person is heavily bejeweled Jessie Royce Landis, who is as brash and outspoken as her daughter Grace Kelly is quiet and demure. But "still waters run deep," as they say, and soon Kelly is amorously pursuing the far-from-resistant Grant. Part of Kelly's attraction to Grant is the possibility that he is the thief; the prospect of danger really turns this gal on. Being Cary Grant, of course, he can't possibly be guilty, which is proven in due time. But by film's end, it's obvious that Kelly has fallen hard for Grant, crook or no crook. Occasionally written off as a lesser Alfred Hitchcock film (did we really need that third-act fashion show?), To Catch a Thief is actually as enjoyable and engaging now as it was 40 years ago. Though the Riviera location photography is pleasing, our favorite scene takes place in a Paramount Studios mockup of a luxury hotel suite, where Grant and Kelly make love while a fireworks display orgasmically erupts outside their window. And who could forget the scene where Jessie Royce Landis disdainfully stubs out a cigarette in an expensive plate of eggs? Adapted by frequent Hitchcock collaborator John Michael Hayes from a novel by David Dodge To Catch a Thief won an Academy Award for cinematographer Robert Burks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi