Bernard Borderie Movies

This French film is a sex comedy set in the World War I period. Franz (Leonard Whiting) is in love with the Colonel's daughter, but the Colonel will not let a mere lieutenant marry any daughter of his. In order to further his career so as to wed the woman of his dreams, Franz makes love to a succession of women. Bedroom confidences lead him to get hold of the Russian plan for an attack on his countrymen. This gets him his promotion and the hand of his girl. When he finds himself behind enemy lines, he heads off for yet another adventure involving a General (Curt Jurgens) and his mistress. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A pretty lady in waiting from the court of King Louis XIV is sold to an evil Sultan. Angelique (Michele Mercier) is separated from her husband and suffers the indignities of sexual assault. She manages to survive until her husband (Robert Hossein) comes to her rescue. Although the Sultan's encampment is heavily armed, he manages to trick the greedy Sultan by giving him a mythical recipe to change ordinary ore into gold. The ending of the film leads one to believe there will be further adventures starring the beautiful and resourceful Angelique. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A kidnapped soccer player leads to a gang of young thugs demanding the release of a jailed comrade in this routine crime drama. The soccer player will be released only when a killer is set free. Meanwhile, a hard-boiled gumshoe suspects a respected restaurateur of being in cahoots with the mob. He soon discovers the kidnapped soccer star is the brother of the man in question. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Gerard Barray heads the cast of the French swashbuckler Clash of Steel. Upon being ejected from his throne, King Henry of Navarre plots to regain his power. Upon this slight plot peg hangs a tapestry of fantastic swordplay and elaborate battle sequences. The film's 79-minute running time indicates that some of the racier scenes were lost in transit to American theatres. Italian leading-lady Giana Maria Canale provides the well-upholstered love interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This French-filmed trifle is based on the roguish character created by Ponson du Terrail. American actor Channing Pollock is Rocambole, living by wits in Paris. The film recounts his adventures as he goes from one swinging nightspot to another. Along the way, he breaks a few hearts, but holds out promise for others. A moderate success in the American art-house circuit, Rocambole did even better when released to TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lead Eddie Constantine first began his stint as Lemmy, the hard-drinking, hard-fighting, womanizing American agent, back in 1951. He continues in that well-established role in this routine spy story about blackmail and state secrets. While Lemmy is relaxing on vacation, a woman is murdered and he gets involved in discovering why. It turns out that she and four other wives have been the target of blackmail. An Eastern European government is using unsavory information from the wives' pasts to force them into prying intelligence data out of their husbands -- all of whom work in government capacities in a variety of leading Western democracies. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This costume drama by director Bernard Borderie is the first part of a two-feature combination, set in 17th-century France. In this first, 100-minute installment, D'Artagnan (Gerard Barry) arrives in Paris and joins up with the king's Musketeers. Considerable sword fights and action scenes unfold as the Musketeers are called upon to save Queen Anne (Françoise Christophe). A certain amount of wry humor pervades the action, gearing it more to the youngsters out to experience some matinee adventures. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This "B"-grade spy drama features the ubiquitous Eddie Constantine as Lemmy (a favorite role), the special agent who has an unbounded capacity for Scotch and women, though not necessarily in that order. Lemmy has come to France to help the secret police track down a dangerous spy. His ability to fight himself out of any corner and charm himself out when fighting will not work comes in handy, as he and his French colleagues start to hunt down the elusive spy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

A remake and rewriting by director Bernard Borderie and scripters of a well-made 1932 film, this routine French drama seems a little outdated. The story has changed from a Russian officer who returns home from the war to find his wife has remarried, to a former paratrooper who tries to drive a stolen truck back from Morocco and suffers an accident -- and the same fate as the Russian. As a result of his injuries and the subsequent delay, the ex-military man is unable to get home as scheduled, and the woman he loves decides that he has left her. Once she "realizes" that supposed truth, she decides to marry her boss. As in the earlier film, one of the protagonists ends up in the French Foreign Legion and all three head toward a fateful meeting in a North African desert. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide