Robert Darene Movies
- 1962
An African physician returns home after studying medicine in Paris. He marries and settles down to life in the bucolic splendor of his native land. When he has a confrontation with a white plantation owner, the white man sees red and casts a spell on the African doctor. Although he realizes the curse is an ancient tribal superstition, he still is plagued by the ghost of his late first wife. The black doctor and the white man are assimilated into cultures in which neither of them were born in this vexing jungle tale. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marina Vlady, Jean Servais, (more)
- 1961
This modest, unpretentious French film is a streamlined version of the true story previously cinematized as The Song of Bernadette (1943) Daniele Ajort plays the simple 19th-century French peasant girl who insists that she has experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. Once this sighting becomes common knowledge, Bernadette's very existence becomes a religious and political hot potato. Thousands of people flock to the grotto at Lourdes where Bernadette claims she has seen the Holy Mother, believing that the waters therein contain recuperative powers. Bernadette dies under a cloud of controversy, but is ultimately elevated to sainthood by the Vatican. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
This 105-minute religious drama is based on the life of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the woman who at the age of fourteen -- in February and March of 1858, had a total of eighteen visions of the Virgin Mary. Bernadette (played by Daniele Ajoret) was told to go to a specific grotto. She left with 300,000 people joining her in this pilgrimage and when at the grotto, the Virgin Mary appeared to tell her to dig by a large rock. She did as instructed, and a spring gushed forth that is still visited today by those seeking to be healed -- at Lourdes. Soubirous goes on to a life of contemplation but is plagued by sickness and succumbs at the age of thirty-five, a saintly legend in her own time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniele Ajoret, Bernard Lajarrige, (more)
- 1958
This Gallic costume farce is set in the 18th century. The plot concerns a group of fun-loving French soldiers who manage to circumvent a band of cutthroat pirates and win the undying loyalty of a tribal potentate. In so doing, our heroes secure possession of a group of unclaimed islands for the French Crown. Considering the ongoing problems in Indochina and Algeria, one would think that the history of French colonization would be the last subject any producer would pick for a film, let alone a comedy like La Bigorne, Caporal de France. For the record, the film's romantic throughline is carried by Francois Perier and Rosanna Podesta. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- François Perier, Rossana Podestà, (more)
- 1958
Dany Robin plays the title character in the French comedy Mimi Pinson. The plot is strictly formula stuff, with Mimi being thwarted on all sides by those who have designs on her money and her virtue. Happily, our heroine triumphs over her foes and predators, finding true romance in the arms of Raymond Pellegrin. Critics weren't too keen on Dany Robin's arch, self-conscious performance, but audiences enjoyed every minute of it. The English-dubbed (and censor-trimmed) version of Mimi Pinson later became a mainstay of American "Late Late Show" telecasts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dany Robin, Raymond Pellegrin, (more)
- 1955
Les Chiffoniers D'Emmaus (The Rapickers of Emmaus) is based on a novel by Boris Simon. Andre Reybaz stars as the Abbe Pierre, a real-life religious leader who rescued hundreds of homeless people during the deadly European winter of 1953. Taking over a deserted mansion, the Abbe opens his doors to the tired, the poor, the wretched refuse of France. The individual stories of these unfortunates, told in flashback, make up the bulk of the film. Particularly good are Pierre Trabaud as an ex-convict who can't get a break, and Charles Moulin as a likeable, washed-up boxer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- André Reybas, Gaby Morlay, (more)
- 1953
When first released in the US, this Gallic drama was given the pun-ny title Knight of the Night. Thus, the viewer was left unprepared for the grimmer aspects of this romantic period piece. Renee St. Cyr plays Bella, the ballerina wife of Georges (Jean-Claude Pascal). Once the bloom is off the rose of her marriage, Bella yearns to rekindle the flames of passion. At this point, her husband splits into two distinct personalities: the "good" Georges and the "bad" Chevalier de la Nuit. Thrilled at first, Bella is eventually nagged by guilt and doubt: by falling in love with her husband's bad side, is she being unfaithful to the man she married? Playwright Jean Anouilh was responsible for the film's perplexingly multitextured screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Le Schpountz (Heartbeat) stars Fernandel as a feckless country boy named Saturnin. Convinced that he's a great lover (if only he could find someone to love), Saturnin is derisively labelled a "schpountz" by his friends and neighbors. He eventually proves that he's got a lot more compassion than anyone around him when his stepsister Angele (Orane Demaxis) returns home in disgrace with an illegitimate child in tow. "Le Schpountz" also surprises one and all when he makes good in the French movie industry! Director Marcel Pagnol uses the plot of this bucolic comedy drama to mercilessly drub his producers and their often questionable methods of raising production money. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Orane Demazis, (more)
