Jean-Claude Brialy Movies

The scene is the French Riviera. Based on eyewitness testimony, three identically dressed men are accused of kidnapping and murdering a child, but two of them can possibly be guilty. Is the innocent party Anthony Perkins, an American who has fled to France in the wake of a sex scandal? Is it Italian Renato Salvatori, whose bad reputation with women has preceded him? Or is it Jean-Claude Brialy, a French businessman whose sister uses her sexual wiles to clinch her brother's big business deals? We'll never know...because Two Are Guilty director Andre Cayatte, a longtime critic of the French justice system, contrives to have all three suspects killed by an out-of-control mob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The seven major sins receive treatment from some of France's greatest directors in this lively portmanteau. "Anger" by Dhomme, chronicles a single horrific day when every bowl of soup in France is found to contain a fly. This causes a devastating nationwide revolt. "Envy" by Molinaro tells the story of a chambermaid whose dream of sleeping with a millionaire comes true. Unfortunately, she goes back to work and finds herself still consumed with jealousy. De Broca's "Gluttony" provides one of the film's most enjoyable episodes as it follows the exploits of a voracious family heading off for a funeral. "Lust" by Demy is set at a Parisian sidewalk cafe and eavesdrops upon the lusty conversation between two young men, one of whom has x-ray eyes that enable him to see through women's clothing. "Laziness" by Godard features real life matinee idol Constantine as a movie star who finds himself too sluggish to respond to the starlet trying so hard to seduce him. "Pride" by Roger Vadim tells the satirical tale of a philandering wife who changes her mind and stays with her husband after learning that her happy home is being threatened by another woman. Finally in Chabrol's "Greed," young men who have pooled their meager resources to buy a prostitute, fight for the chance to be with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by noted French author Gustave Flaubert, this routine love story centers on the romantic "education" of young student Frederic (Jean-Claude Brialy), who works for an important businessman and also lives in the servants' quarters in his boss's house. Frederic develops a passion for the wife of one of his boss's employees but is not successful in seducing her into any sort of a relationship. Without missing a beat, he ends up with the employee's mistress instead -- but not for long. By now Frederic has devised a way to get through to the wife he still desires though exactly how successful he will be this time around is questionable. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Cleo From 5 to 7 (Cleo de cinq a sept), per its title, concentrates on two hours in the life of a woman. Those hours are desperate ones, in that Cleo, a pop singer, awaits the results of her tests for cancer. Director Agnes Varda stages the film in "real" rather than subjective time, its various episodes divided into chapters, using significant Tarot cards. During the allotted time, Cleo visits her friends, tries to sing her worries away, spends money, and cries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Skimming the surface of characterization, this romance-tragedy by François Villiers is based on a novel by Jean-Jacques Gautier and concerns the relationship between Laurent (Jean-Claude Brialy), a painter, and Renée (Michele Morgan) and her daughter Daniele (Catherine Spaak). Just when Renée and Laurent are ready to make their love affair official, Renée's daughter shows up and there are immediate sparks of attraction that fly between her and the painter. Sure enough, the fickle artist drops the mom and marries the daughter -- and then they make the mistake of moving in with Renée. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Henri Verneuil directs a star-studded cast in this slight satire about love and life in the big city. Claudia Cardenale, in her first French film, appears as Albertine, a sexy divorced woman from the countryside who goes to Paris and becomes involved with the fashionable elite. Lino Ventura is Andre, a doctor to the rich and famous who falls in love with Albertine. She becomes his mistress and though he wants to marry her, he has a rival in Didier (Jean-Claude Brialy), a writer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

For his feature-film debut, critic-turned-director François Truffaut drew inspiration from his own troubled childhood. The 400 Blows stars Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel, Truffaut's preteen alter ego. Misunderstood at home by his parents and tormented in school by his insensitive teacher (Guy Decomble), Antoine frequently runs away from both places. The boy finally quits school after being accused of plagiarism by his teacher. He steals a typewriter from his father (Albert Remy) to finance his plans to leave home. The father angrily turns Antoine over to the police, who lock the boy up with hardened criminals. A psychiatrist at a delinquency center probes Antoine's unhappiness, which he reveals in a fragmented series of monologues. Originally intended as a 20-minute short, The 400 Blows was expanded into a feature when Truffaut decided to elaborate on his self-analysis. For the benefit of Truffaut's fellow film buffs, The 400 Blows is full of brief references to favorite directors, notably Truffaut's then-idol Jean Vigo. The film won the 1959 Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival, even though Truffaut had been declared persona non grata the year before for his inflammatory comments about the festival's commercialism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The exploits of three young Roman criminals are chronicled in this socially conscious drama. The young men commit petty crimes all day begin with arms theft, and culminating with a night with three streetwalkers. After their pleasure, the boys try to cheat the hookers, but they ladies are smarter than that and have stolen their cash ahead of time. The punks then return to the city for more crimes. Exploits include the harassment of three homosexuals, and attempts to seduce some women. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this standard wartime melodrama, forty-two-year-old Danielle Darrieux plays Jeanne, an unmarried, older woman with a miserable mother who harps on the supposed "fact" that Jeanne is ugly. Jeanne comes into close association with Pierre (27-year-old Jean-Claude Brialy) a young blind man who is hunted by the Germans and temporarily hiding out in Jeanne's house. Jeanne and Pierre are irresistibly attracted to each other, and a genuine love develops and deepens between them. Unfortunately, Jeanne's mother cannot leave her alone, and circumstances contrive to make her run away from the house -- leaving her relationship in limbo, at least for the time being. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Une histoire d'eau , also known as A Story of Water , was one of five shorts Jean-Luc Godard made in collaboration with his Cahiers du Cinema cohorts in the late '50s and early '60s, prior to embarking on feature films. François Truffaut originally wrote and directed this short, about a girl trying to get to Paris from the flooded outlying countryside, but decided not to finish it. He gave the footage to Jean-Luc Godard, who re-edited it and added his own narration. The young woman, simply known as Elle (Caroline Dim), must first get out of her house, balancing on boards and exposed spots of land. She meets a young man, Lui (Jean-Claude Brialy), who offers her a ride in his car. The action concentrates on their physical comedy, conversation, and Godard's lightly philosophical commentary and their screwball journey becomes a celebration of intelligent fun. Truffaut makes great wide-angle use of the actually flooded Parisian countryside of the time. The structure, the narration, the striking open/claustrophobic visual style all work perfectly and in playful tone the short is a precursor to Bande à part. It is dedicated to Mack Sennett. ~ Michael Buening, All Movie Guide

Based on a play by Arthur Schnitzer, this is a rather flat remake of the 1932 film Liebelei that featured Magda Schneider as Christine. Director Pierre Gaspard-Huit keeps it all in the family by putting Schneider's daughter Romy Schneider in the top female slot. Opposite her is newcomer Alain Delon in his first lead role, yet to reach his stride on the silver screens in France. The setting is 19th-century Vienna and Franz (Delon) is a young lieutenant who has fallen in love with Christine, a charming opera singer. But Franz' feelings are misunderstood -- a wealthy baron is certain that the lieutenant is after his wife and as a result, challenges him to a tragic duel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Le Beau Serge was the first film of French critic-turned-director Claude Chabrol. Though not a murder melodrama, the film is heavily influenced by the works of Chabrol's idol Alfred Hitchcock, Shadow of a Doubt in particular. Ailing city dweller Francois (Jean-Claude Brialy) makes a therapeutic return visit to his home town in the country. Here he visits childhood friend Serge (Gerard Blain), and is appalled to find how far Serge has plummeted into alcoholism and self-pity. The two protagonists indulge in a transference of personal guilt, then an "exchange of redemption" (to quote Chabrol chronicler Charles Derry). Highly influential in the French New Wave movement of the 1950s, Le Beau Serge has something very special to say about the care and nurturing of friendship, especially one that has dimmed with distance and time. Both male stars, as well as leading lady Bernadette Lafont, would continue working with director Chabrol for the remainder of his career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide