Marc Allégret Movies

By the time the 98-minute documentary Andre Gide made it to the screen, its titular subject had passed away. As a result, the scenes in which author/playwright Gide discusses his work, his life and his goals take on an eerie poignancy. Director Marc Allegret employs a combination of still photos, newsreel footage and interviews to paint a vivid portrait of Gide's role in the new French literary movement of the early 1900s. Also prominent in the proceedings are excerpts from a filmed record of Gide's trip to Africa, also helmed by Allegret. The most controversial passages of the film concern Andre Gide's flirtation with, and ultimately break from, the communist party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Long before she distinguished herself as a director, Mai Zetterling was the star of several moody melodramas. Based on a novel by Elizabeth Myers, the film casts Zetterling as Mrs. Carol Edwards, whose husband lies in a hospital bed, afflicted with asthma. Mrs. Edwards becomes a murder suspect when blackmailer Mr. Sine (James Robertson Justice) is killed on the hospital grounds. Since the film is not a mystery, it is safe to reveal that the genuine killer is Mrs. Christopher (Fay Compton), the hospital's wealthy patroness. Basically a character study, Blackmailed spends most of its time delving into the personal problems of Mrs. Edwards and the other suspects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blanche Fury combined two elements that were surefire moneymakers in postwar Britain: a brooding, Gothic-novel storyline and the dazzlingly handsome Stewart Granger. Heroine Blanche Fury (Valerie Hobson) is an impoverished governess who marries into wealth and sets herself up as the mistress of a vast estate. Enter Heathcliffe-like stable boy Philip Thorn (Granger), who intends to run the estate and eventually claim Blanche as his own. After a torrid, bodice-ripping romance between Blanche and Philip, the story segues into a no-names-please reenactment of the infamous 19th-century "Rush Murder." To "explain" the motives of the characters, the screenwriters deviate from the original Joseph Shearing novel by imposing all sorts of 20th-century "psychological disturbances" upon hero and heroine, with an abruptness and lack of logic that takes the viewer's breath away. Up until the end, however, Blanche Fury is a prime example of high-budget postwar British melodrama. Oddly, despite its $1.5 million price tag, con brio performances and superb Technicolor cinematography, Blanche Fury was a box-office disappointment, bringing an end to the "Gothic cycle" that had begun so promisingly with 1943's The Man in Grey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in 1932 as Vampyr, Sheridan LeFanu's classic psychological horror tale was given a second go round in 1961 as Blood & Roses (Et Mourir de Plaisir). While Carl Theodor Dreyer concentrated on mood and suspense in Vampyr, Blood & Roses director Roger Vadim goes directly to the jugular, so to speak, with generous doses of eerie eroticism. Annette Vadim plays Carmilla, who upon learning that she had a vampire ancestor becomes obsessed with finding out even more. Soon Carmilla has succumbed to the siren song of vampirism, and cannot quench her insatiable thirst for human blood. The lesbian subtext in the LeFanu original is played out con brio by Vadim-though not in the heavily bowderlized version made available to American audiences in 1962. Blood & Roses was subsequently remade as The Vampire Lovers and The Blood-Spattered Bride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Gribouille, Marc Allegret's Heart of Paris serves as an excellent vehicle for that matchless stage and screen favorite Raimu. The star is cast as bourgeois family man Camille Morestau, who while serving on a jury in a murder trial takes pity on the accused, waiflike Natalie Rougin (Michele Morgan). Through a series of unlikely circumstance, Morestau invites Natalie to move in with himself and his family for the duration of the trial. Morestau's son Claude (Gilbert Gil) assumes there's some hanky panky going on between his father and Natalie, whereupon he takes a serious interest in the girl himself. Realizing that her presence has caused serious dissension in the Morestau household, Natalie prepares to leave-but not before "borrowing" a few valuables to finance her exit. The ending of Heart of Paris is somewhat grimmer than the one utilized in its American remake, The Lady in Question, in which the three main characters were portrayed by Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beautiful Hedy Lamarr finds herself faced with a difficult decision when she must choose an appropriate costume for an important masquerade ball in this metaphorical fantasy that unfolds in three parts. To help her decide, she asks a trio of male friends. Their disparate suggestions that she go as either Helen of Troy, the Empress Josephine or Genieve de Brabant, and the reasons behind their choices provide the bulk of the film. Originally, the film was three hours long and purported to present the essence of being a woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

La Petite Chocolatiere (The Chocolate Girl) was based on a popular play by Paul Gavault. Jacqueline Francell plays the title character, the daughter of wealthy candy manufacturer Andre Dubosc. When her car breaks down in front of the home of government clerk Pierre Bertin, Francell is forced by circumstances to spend the night with Bertin's blue-collar family. Initially resistant at first, our heroine falls in love with Bertin, with a little assistance from the hero's best friend, eccentric artist Raimu. The film represents one of the earliest screen appearances by movie "bombshell" Simone Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide