Charles Aznavour Movies

La Tete Contre Les Muirs (U.S. title: The Keepers) was director Georges Franju's 2nd cinematic offering for 1958, and his first purely fictional film. Franju's prior training in documentaries helps to bring a veneer of reality to this harrowing glimpse within the walls of an insane asylum. Pierre Brasseur plays Marbeau, a traditionalist "head doctor" who takes on the case of young Francois (Jean-Paul Mocky). Though not really insane, Francois has been institutionalized for daring to defy his wealthy father. The story is told from Francois' point of view, as he teeters on the edge of madness during his involuntary internment. The film is essentially a plea for more sensible treatment of the mentally disturbed and the emotionally distressed, calling for much-needed widespread reforms -- something that, alas, was not readily forthcoming in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the first film directed by the well-known Jean-Pierre Mocky who at this stage in his young life had something in common with the age group in question -- two youths out on the night circuit, looking for women. Freddy (Jacques Charrier) and Joseph (Charles Aznavour) have high hopes as they set out one evening in search of, if not the perfect woman, at least someone in the ballpark. Alas, most of the women they meet fall short of their minimal expectations, except in one case. It looks as if one of the pair will miss the brass ring again. Mocky has created a great Parisian night scene, adding some sharp nuances in the mating habits of young French men. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this WW II adventure, a band of French soldiers must escort a group of high-ranking German officers across the North African desert. Along the way a strange bond develops between the men, one of whom is Jewish. Just before they reach their destination, they are attacked by their own troops who do not recognize them. Only one of them survives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Francois Truffaut's loving homage to Hollywood gangster films is less a plot-filled film noir than a free-associative meditation on the genre. Charles Aznavour stars as a one-time concert pianist who gained fame as Edouard Saroyan but has since changed his name to Charlie Kohler and plays honky-tonk in an out-of-the-way saloon. His self-imposed exile is shattered by the appearance of his mobster brother Richard Saroyan (Jacques Aslanian). Richard and his other brother, Chico (Albert Remy), are on the lam from gangsters they've double-crossed. Charlie helps Richard and Chico get away, but he now finds that his life, along with his younger brother Fido's (Richard Kanayan, has been put into jeopardy, having gotten mixed up with gangsters Momo (Claude Mansard) and Ernest (Daniel Boulanger) who are pursuing Richard and Chico. Momo and Ernest keep an eye on Charlie's apartment and, although they don't get Fido, they manage to kidnap Charlie and Lena (Marie Dubois), a co-worker with whom he has fallen in love. But when Ernest runs a red light and is pulled over, Charlie and Lena escape the gangsters' clutches. They take refuge in Lena's apartment, where Charlie sees a poster for a performance by Edouard Saroyan, causing Charlie to think back upon the circumstances that had led him to this moment in his life. Lena and Charlie make love, and Charlie returns to his apartment, only to discover Fido has been kidnapped. Lena and Charlie then head back to his club, where they plan to quit their jobs and try to find Fido. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Following the pattern of a classical Greek tragedy, this first-time drama by director Andre Veraini focuses on a vendetta originating in Corsica and ending in Paris. Accomplished French singing star Charles Aznavour plays Horace, the gentle pacifist who is forced into becoming a tool in the vendetta without ever realizing it. When he finally violates his true nature to commit murder, the real essence of the tragedy is as much his betrayal of himself as the act of killing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Julien Duvivier returns to the multistoried format of his earlier omnibus films Tales of Manhattan and Flesh and Fantasy with the 1962 French production The Devil and the Ten Commandments. Actually, there are only seven separate episodes in the film, covering such commandments as "Thou Shalt Not Have Any Gods Before Me", "Thou Shalt Not Steal" and "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother." Each of the vignettes seems to owe more to O. Henry or DeMaupassant than the Book of Exodus, with twist endings carrying the day. The all-star cast includes Michel Simon (Episode One), Dany Saval (Episode Two), Charles Aznavour and Lino Ventura (Episode Three), Micheline Presle, Mel Ferrer and Claude Dauphin (Episode Four); Fernandel (Episode Five); Alain Delon and Danielle Darrieux (Episode Six) and Jean-Claude Brialy (Episode Seven). Best of the batch is the fifth episode, wherein horse-faced Fernandel declares that he is God. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Red Cross ship is sunk while sailing back from war torn Korean. The four survivors, a war journalist and three ladies, end up stranded on a lonely island. One of the women is criminally insane and was en route to the U.S. with her guard to stand trial for murder. She proves to be a major troublemaker. Meanwhile, another woman vainly tries to repair the lifeboat so she can sail off to find help. Three of the women fight for the journalist's affections. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The four "truths" are in this instance, four different romantic or dramatic vignettes in a slightly uneven compilation film. All four segments are loosely related to fables by the 17th-century French poet Jean de la Fontaine. In the first fable "Death and the Woodcutter" directed by Luis Berlanga, a well-adjusted, normal organ grinder runs up against the obstacles of torpidity and bureaucracy combined, driving him to the brink of despair. In the second story "The Crow and the Fox" directed by Hervé Bromberger, an insecure husband keeps his beautiful wife locked up, though an amorous neighbor is determined to outsmart him and get to her. In the third fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" directed by Allesandro Blasetti, a wife is unwilling to share her husband with a mistress. In the last fable "Two Pigeons" by René Clair, a fashion model (Leslie Caron) and a lowly worker (Charles Aznavour) are thrown together by unexpected circumstances. The American release of this film cut the first segment, reducing the fable parodies to three. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Marcello (Charles Abnavour) is a traveling Frenchman who is stranded in Rome. Although he knows nothing about the Eternal City, he becomes a tour guide. His activities pique the interest of a pretty local girl, a reclusive rich man, and a society grand dame who takes a special interest in the gentle Marcello. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This South American adventure drama finds Charles (Charles Aznavour), a youthful Frenchman traveling to Paraguay to start a new life. Seeking out a rich uncle, the idealistic nephew is rejected by his miserly relation, and he goes on to get involved with a shady woman and a band of gun runners who supply arms for the revolution of the week. Charles and his new girlfriend head for the border after a shootout with federal troops, and a kindly railroad worker hides the couple in an abandoned copper mine. Charles is later thrown in prison while the girl becomes a concubine, but her violator is killed when Charles escapes to rescue her and exact revenge. A pretty harrowing composition could be written by the young couple on "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this French drama, a Parisian postman decides to deliver mail in the army and finds himself fighting involved in the Indochina conflict. There he becomes disillusioned with the constant battles. Then he is captured by the Communists, and when at last he is liberated, he and the Cambodian woman he has fallen in love with return to Paris. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide