Pierre Brasseur Movies
Brasseur was born Pierre-Albert Espinasse. The son of an actress, he began his drama studies with film actor Harry Baur. Onstage from age 15, he made his film debut five years later in La Fille de l'Eau (1924). With his role in Marcel Carne's Port of Shadows (1938) Brasseur moved into the front ranks of the French cinema. A distinguished, imposing actor, he was very skillful in giving voice to irony and wit. Brasseur appeared in a wide variety of roles in over 80 films, most notably those written by Jacques Prevert. He was also a poet who wrote several plays and an autobiography, Ma Vie Envrac. He and his former wife, actress Odette Joyeux, are the parents of film actor Claude Brasseur. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1963
Distributed in the US in 1963, Agent of Doom was originally released in France four years earlier. The plot is set in motion when a famed atomic scientist makes a remarkable discovery. Unfortunately he may not live long enough to reveal it to the world; he becomes the target of sinister secret agents who'd prefer that he keep his mouth shut. But who can he trust? Annette Stroyberg and Michel Le Royer star in this plot-counterplot-countercounterplot espionage yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Josefa (Anna Magnani) is an Italian immigrant operating a small grocery store in France. The people of the town are indifferent to her until the rumor she will receive a monetary fortune from an American gangster relation. The mayor tries to butter her up, and a stranger poses as her long-lost son. Everyone in town treats her with respect over her impending financial windfall. Eventually, the townsfolk are incited to riot and burn down her store before she escapes with the young stranger, who is really the partner of her estranged offspring, and she vents her frustrations on the hypocritical people who again turn their back on her when she doesn't produce the money. French comedian Bourvil adds his patented touches of humor. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bourvil, Anna Magnani, (more)
- 1962
Gentle Art of Murder is comprised of a trio of short crime tales: "The Spider's Web," "The Fenyrou Case" and "The Mask." An international all-star cast appears in these filmed playlets, wherein each perfect murder turns out to be less than perfect. The stories are linked by "bookend" scenes in which an aspiring wife murderer goes to a movie house and watches the three cautionary tales unreel. Nearly three hours long, Gentle Art of Murder holds both the audience--and the would-be killer--in thrall. The film's original title was Crime Does Not Pay, though it bears no relation to the MGM short-subjects series of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edwige Feuillère, Pierre Brasseur, (more)
- 1962
Various genres -- social satire, comedy, and romance -- come together in this routine tale by Denis de la Patellière about a family and greed. The well-heeled family gets its fortune from the canning of fish, and all its members are thrown into disarray when a long-lost brother comes back home. They would rather he stay lost, and now to get even with them, the terminally ill prodigal son deeds over his share of the company to his illegitimate son, Emile (Lino Ventura). Emile is a little rough around the edges and lives on a boat with a dubious-looking girlfriend -- just the type the family despises. At the same time, no one in the family considers whether or not Emile feels the same about them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Girardot, Lino Ventura, (more)
- 1962
Pierre Brasseur stars in this undistinguished drama about a pianist who is traumatized by an accident. He is so much affected, in fact, that the talent that fueled his career is killed off. Desperate to find a way to make money anyway, he starts to put together a plan to defraud an insurance company. At first, his wife (Michele Morgan) goes along with this scheme but then she meets a writer (Gabriele Ferzetti) and her head and heart get distracted, with serious consequences for her husband. This was among the last feature-length films directed by Philippe Agostini. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Michèle Morgan, (more)
- 1962
A lovely young nurse finds herself framed for the murder of a hospital patient who died after she administered an injection. She goes to court where eventually, the real killer is revealed by his own jilted lover in this French drama. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Pleins Feux sur l'Assassin is a passable murder mystery by Georges Franju set in the atmospheric interior of an old chateau and involving the heirs to a fortune. The dying man whose fortune it is has played an unusual trick on those who would have his riches. He has hidden himself in a secret room inside the chateau, knowing that his body has to be found before the castle can be passed on as an inheritance. The would-be heirs are caught in a dilemma but decide to turn the venerable structure into a light-and-sound show extravaganza in order to attract tourist money. That is just fine, except a series of accidents among them soon begins to look like murder. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Pascale Audret, (more)
- 1961
This standard melodrama by director Robert Siodmak, active in Germany, France, and the U.S., is nuanced with shades of film noir and tells the story of some underhanded corporate execs and their Nazi past. A big-name engineering company in West Germany is involved with high-rollers in the industrial business who are getting together a lucrative package for investing in the development of Third World countries. Along comes an enigmatic figure who finds out that the executives in the engineering company are ex-Nazis with murky pasts to conceal, and he uses his knowledge as leverage to take over the development project. In the meantime, his personal life is a shambles. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadja Tiller, Pierre Brasseur, (more)
- 1960
Directed by the comparatively unknown Mauro Bolognini, the Italian Bell' Antonio is distinguished by its screenplay, cowritten by directorial giant Pier Paolo Pasolini. Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale are happily married until she finds out he's impotent. It takes her a year to find this out, which ought to give an indication of how seriously we're supposed to take this film. Also risible is the fact that Mastrioanni bears the reputation of a fabulous lover, as do practically all the members of his family. Nonetheless, he stands by like a dummy when Cardinale's father forces her to annul the marriage and wed another. It's all nonsense, of course, but Pasolini and his collaborators weave their tale so persuasively that one forgives the film's utter lack of credibility. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
French director Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage) is an unsettling, sometimes poetic horror film. Pierre Brasseur plays a brilliant plastic surgeon, Prof. Genessier, who has vowed to restore the face of his daughter, Christiane (Edith Scob), who was mutilated in an automobile accident. With the help of his assistant (Alida Valli), he kidnaps young women, surgically removes their facial features, and attempts to graft their beauty onto his daughter's hideous countenance. This naturally has an adverse effect on the "donors," some of whom commit suicide rather than go through life faceless. Franju's haunting, muted handling of basic horror material is what lifts Eyes Without a Face out of the ordinary and into the realm of near-classic. When the film failed to draw crowds under its original title, however, the distributors decided to exploit it as a two-bit "scare" flick with the new title The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, (more)
- 1960
Jean-Pierre Cassel is ideally cast as the hopelessly optimistic Candide in this noir updating of Voltaire's classic 18th-century social satire. Candide has been assured by his ivory-tower professor (Pierre Brasseur) that whatever fate befalls him, he will be all the better for it. Armed with the confidence of the ignorant, Candide is abused by practically everyone he comes across (he has a particularly rough time in a German POW camp), but somehow emerges with his faith in humanity unscathed. His picaresque adventures take him all the way to the Americas, both North and South. Just as in most stage versions of Candide, some of the supporting actors play double and triple roles: Robert Manuel, for example, portrays all the German officers Candide meets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Michel Simon, (more)
- 1960
This costume drama with spectacular special effects but a less-than-adequate storyline was one of the last films by director Carmine Gallone. The tale is set in 200 BC when Rome and Carthage were going at it, sending warships into battle over control of Carthage. Against this backdrop of warfare is a romantic tangle between two women in love with the same warrior and two men in love with the same woman. As the romantic and military battles progress, it becomes clear that Carthage will burn and at least a few of the erstwhile lovers are going to get burnt as well, in more ways than one. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Heywood, José Suárez, (more)
- 1959
Jules Dassin, blacklisted during the McCarthy era, directs this routine, ostensibly romantic tale that really courts an underlying theme of the misuse of power. Based on a popular French novel and set in a small Mediterranean town, the story involves a small group of men and the woman several of them desire. The men gather around in the local tavern each evening to play a rather vicious game called "The Law." One man is chosen to dictate to the others, and they have to do what he says, no matter how humiliating. Marietta (Gina Lollobrigida) is the gorgeous servant of Don Cesare (Pierre Brasseur), desired by Francesco, the son of a crime boss (Yves Montand), and by her brother-in-law. She herself has fallen in love with Enrico (Marcello Mastroianni), a poor engineer. Determined to get a dowry and thereby be able to marry Enrico, Marietta turns the tables on the men who play "The Law." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Pierre Brasseur, (more)
- 1958
Juvenile actor Joel Flateau is the center of attention in Sans Familie (Nobody's Boy). Heir to a fortune, the young protagonist is kidnapped by an unscrupulous uncle who wants to put the boy out of the way and thereby get his own mitts on the money. The villain turns the kid over to an assassin (Pierre Brasseur), who hasn't the heart to murder the wide-eyed moppet. Thus, the boy is left in the care of a happy-go-lucky travelling troubadour (Gino Cervi), and thus begins a series of delightful misadventures. Sans Familie was based on a novel by Hector Malot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel Flateau, Gino Cervi, (more)
- 1958
Based on a story by one of France's favorite satirists, Georges Courteline, this is the second time a director has taken on the tale of bureaucracy gone mad. The first version was a 1937 film by Yves Mirande, this 1959 remake is by Henri Diamant-Berger. The story is set at the turn of the 20th century and focuses on the life and times of one government worker in one of the many Civil Service offices that dot the national map. A misunderstanding arises that sets up a series of unpredictable circumstances, all bringing down the bureaucracy to the level of the absurd. A bit old-fashioned and talky, this film would not necessarily amuse all audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Noël-Noël, (more)
- 1958
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
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Paul Meurisse, (more)
- 1958
French filmmaker Sacha Guitry had intended to direct as well as write 3DLa Vie a Deux3D (3DLife as a Couple3D), but death claimed him before he could bring his plan to fruition. Adapted from Guitry's original by Jean Martin and directed by Clement Duhor, the film offers an all-star cast in a series of seriocomic anecdotes. The narrative is tied together by a millionaire novelist (based on Guitry himself), who on his deathbed wants to bequeath his fortune to several married couples upon whom he'd based one of his books. The proviso is that the couples must have remained happily wed to claim their money. The millionaire's family anxiously hire private detectives to prove that the couples in question are not only unhappy, but shameless philanderers in the bargain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
- 1958
Jean Gabin stars as Noel, patriarch of a large and wealthy family of industrialists. Noel sees no reason not to run his home in the same ruthless, coldhearted manner in which he runs his business. "Black sheep" Lucien (Pierre Brasseur), however, sees Noel for the pompous fraud that he is. And it is Lucien who topples Noel's dictatorship in a climactic series of cutthroat maneuvers on the stock exchange. Based on actual people and events, Les Grandes Families concludes with the sort of profound tragedy that is merely the logical extension of "business as usual." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Jean Desailly, (more)
- 1957
Port de Lilias was Rene Clair's first film since 1955, and his last until 1960. It is more serious than most of Clair's efforts, ending with a death that is all the more surprising in that the director never quite prepares us for it. Pierre Brasseur plays Juju, a likeable ne'er-do-well who suddenly finds himself the "guardian" of a murderer named Barbier (Henri Vidal). When his identity is discovered by the heroine Maria (Dany Carel), Barbier wins and betrays the girl. This galvanizes the otherwise easygoing Juju into drastic action. Functioning as a Greek chorus throughout the proceedings is well-known balladeer George Brassens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Georges Brassens, (more)
Showing no signs of slowing down in his 70th year, Sacha Guitry served as director and writer of the lavish historical epic Napoleon, and also costarred as Talleyrand. It is now hard to assess the quality of the film, since most American prints are severely edited, and the color photography appallingly washed out. Reviewers in 1955 admired the effort that went into this $1,800,000 production, but complained that the viewer left the film with no deeper understanding of Napoleon Bonaparte than the viewer had had when coming in. Daniel Gelin poses impressively as the young Bonaparte, registering emotion only when things go wrong in his conquest of Europe, while Raymond Pellegrin is somewhat better as the older, more jaded Napoleon (the transition between the two actors is handled in a near-comic fashion). The Revolution is reduced to a few fleeting scenes, while the rest of the film is devoted to political infighting and betrayal. The huge supporting cast includes Michele Morgan as Josephine and Lana Marconi and Dany Robin, respectively, as Napoleon's mistresses Waleska and Desiree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Pellegrin, Daniel Gélin, (more)
- 1955
The French La Tour de Nesle (The Tower of Nesle) was the third Alexandre Dumas adaptation to be released in the first six weeks of 1955. Like the previous The Queen Margot, the film was scripted by the legendary Abel Gance, who also directed after a 12-year absence from the screen. The somewhat mystical story concerns a sensuous Queen (Silvana Pampani) who delights in luring noblemen to their doom. For this purpose, she has constructed a high tower, where she has imprisoned herself and two equally lovely lasses. Charmed by the naked trio, the noblemen are wined, dined, romanced--and then brutally murdered. Will Buridan (Pierre Brasseur), the film's nominal hero, escape this grisly fate? There's a surprising denouement in store for the wicked queen, not to mention the audience. Though not as innovative and elaborate as Gance's silent masterpiece Napoleon, La Tour de Nesle is nonetheless a lavish recreation of a long-past time and place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Silvana Pampanini, (more)
- 1955
Germany's first CinemaScrope feature, Oase (Oasis) was directed by France's Yves Allegret and distributed by Hollywood's 20th Century-Fox. Michele Morgan and Cornell Borchers stars as Francoisce and Karin, a pair of gorgeous lady smugglers. The ladies are sent by their respective gangs to halt the activities of novice gold smuggler Antoine (Carl Raddatz). Francoise gums up the plan by falling in love with Antoine, while Karin remains loyal to her compatriots. As it turns out, only Antoine emerges the winner in this contretemps. The film's title refers to its locale, a way station in the desert from which Antoine conducts his illicit operation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Cornell Borchers, (more)
