André Alerme Movies
- 1946
Also known as Pour une Nuit d'Amour, Passionnelle was based on a novel by Emile Zola. On the verge of an arranged marriage with a wealthy rake, convent-bred Theresa (Odette Joyeaux) flirts with postal clerk Julien (Roger Blin), all the while carrying on a more torrid romance with handsome servant Colombel (Raymond Galle). When the latter threatens to tell all to the girl's fiancé (Jacques Catellot), she murders him and persuades Julien to help her dispose of the body. Poor, misguided Julien ends up as the all-around fall guy when Colombel's body is discovered, and not even the 11th-hour confession of Theresa can save him from his inexorable fate. Filmed in 1946, Passionnelle arrived in the U.S. in a discreetly censored version two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Odette Joyeux, Roger Blin, (more)
- 1942
Le Voile Bleu is a tear-stained "perservering through the years" drama starring Gaby Morlay. During WW1, Red Cross nurse Louise (Morlay) loses her soldier-husband in battle. Shortly thereafter, her newborn baby dies. Once she's come to terms with her grief, Louise vows to devote her life to caring for other people's children, which she does for the next four decades at great personal sacrifice. The fruits of her selfless efforts are revealed at the climax, when several of Louise's grown-up charges gather to honor their surrogate mother in a glorious "family" reunion. The Blue Veil was remade in Hollywood in 1952, with Jane Wyman in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1941
Based on a stage play by D'Hennequin and Veber, the saucy 1936 sex farce Avez Vous N'Avez Rien a Declarer? was released in the US five years later as Confessions of a Newlywed. The original title translates as Having You Nothing to Declare, a double-entendre referring to the sexual prowess-or lack thereof-of entymologist Pierre Brasseur. Overly preoccupied with his work, Brasseur seems unwilling or unable to satisfy the carnal urges of his young bride Sylvia Battalie. When a week passes without marital consummation, Brasseur asks Battalie's scientist father Raimu for advice. A subsequent visit to a psychiatrist and a nightclub, followed by a tete-a-tete with Brasseur's former lover (Germaine Aussey), seems to straighten things out (if that is the appropriate choice of words), while the connubial progress of the newlyweds is paralleled (and gently mocked) by a pair of insects in Brasseur's laboratory. Confessions of a Newlywed was directed by Leo Joannon, who seems far more at home with this sort of material than he would with Laurel & Hardy in 1951's Atoll K. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Sylvia Bataille, (more)
- 1940
Originally released in 1939 as Paradis Perdu (Paradise Lost), Abel Gance's Four Flights to Love is typical of the great director's entertaining but insignificant later efforts. The storyline spans the years between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second. Unable to reconcile himself to the death of his wife, Parisian fashion designer Pierre (Fernand Gravey) withdraws into himself, refusing to make contact with his daughter (Micheline Presle) Eventually he "opens up" enough for a reconciliation with the girl, and even begins a new romance with woman several years younger than himself. Fernand Gravey ages and ages convincingly in Four Flights to Love, delivering a well-rounded portrayal of an underdeveloped character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Micheline Presle, Elvire Popesco, (more)
- 1939
The English-language title of this French diversion is The Man Who Seeks the Truth. Raimu stars as the modern-day Diogenes, a wealthy banker who feigns deafness to test the love and loyalty of his friends and relatives. Not surprisingly, Raimu is sorely disappointed by what he finds out, especially when his mistress Jacqueline Delubac, the only person he thoroughly believes in, turns out to be just as two-faced as everybody else. The first French film to be completed since the outbreak of WWII, L'Homme Qui Cherche la Verite deals with the current international crisis by studiously ignoring it. The film was directed by Hungarian native Alexandre Esway, who shortly thereafter temporarily abandoned movies to serve in the French Foreign Legion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacqueline Delubac, Gabrielle Dorziat, (more)
- 1938
This French melodrama was originally released in 1938 as Education de Prince. Comic actor Fernand Charpin plays the Bargekeeper, whose daughter (Josette Day) falls in love with prince-in-exile Sascha (Robert Lynen). Wealthy baron Cercieux (Louis Jouvet) raises enough money to restore Sascha to his throne, but this will require a marriage of convenience to a worthy member of royalty. Refusing to renounce his sweetheart, Sascha cleverly arranges to ascend to the throne and marry the girl of his dreams -- but it takes a heap of operetta-style plotting to do so. By the time the New York censors were finished with The Barge-Keeper's Daughter, it had been shorn by nearly three reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvire Popesco, Josette Day, (more)
- 1938
Danielle Darrieux stars as a scatter-brained college coed who miraculously becomes a lawyer. Her father would prefer that she give up the law in favor of marriage, but our heroine intends to out-Portia Portia in the courtroom. She gets her big chance when she's hired to defend Henry Garat, a charming but unregenerate crook. While trying to reform her client, Darrieux falls head over heels in love with him. The story ends when Garat reveals his true identity, which takes everyone's breath away. Utterly forgettable, Avocate D'Amour (Counsel for Romance) is also infinitely charming, with both stars at their peak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Henri Garat, (more)
