Jean Ferry Movies

In this Belgian film, love must be its own reward, because other circumstances steadfastly refuse to cooperate. Paul (Roger Van Hool) and Pierre (Andre Van den Heuvel) are homeless vagabonds. Louisa (Willeke Van Ammelrooy) is the rebellious daughter of a nobleman. She encounters and is attracted to both Paul and Pierre, and the loving threesome set up housekeeping in an abandoned farm. The local inhabitants will not tolerate these goings-on and burn them out of the farmhouse. Louisa returns to her family mansion. As long as she says nothing about what went on while she was away, she is welcomed there. As soon as she confides her love for these two men, who are still around, she is booted out. They take off down the road together, only to meet with tragedy in a German poison-gas attack. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Le Rouge aux Levres is a stylish, fascinating, very erotic vampire film based on Sheridan le Fanu's Camilla, the classic tale of a lesbian vampire. A young married couple, Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Daniele Ouimet), honeymoon at a deserted oceanside resort where they meet Countess Elisabeth Bathory (Delphine Seyrig) and her companion Ilona (Andrea Rau). Valerie has discovered that Stefan is a brutal sexual sadist and is drawn to the Countess because of her warmth and sensuality. Ilona attempts to seduce Stefan but is accidentally killed, and the Countess takes her revenge on his wife. Director Harry Kumel directs with stunning visual style and maintains the erotic intensity and tension between the characters with skill, getting a particularly good performance from the magnificent Delphine Seyrig, who resembles in both mood and looks the young Marlene Dietrich. Erotic, unusual and extremely violent, Le Rouge aux Levres, also released as Daughters of Darkness is one of the finest vampire films ever produced, making up with style and class what it might have lacked in budget. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

In this adventure, a secret society, the Sons of the Panther, stop a ring of jewel thieves from stealing diamonds from a downed plane in Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on a 1907 comedy by Victorien Sardou and Emile Moreau, Madame Sans-Gene was first interpreted by Gloria Swanson in 1923. In this version of the free-wheeling laundress who joins the nobility, Sophia Loren plays the lead and the man she falls in love with, the soldier Lefebvre, is played by Robert Hossein. Madame Sans-Gene does the laundry for a little-known lieutenant named Napoleon (Julian Bertheau), but after she falls for Lefebvre, she takes off, following him around the French Revolution and loses track of Napoleon, who has other things to do. Circumstances bring Lefebvre a noble title and even more -- Napoleon decides to make him the local ruler over a large territorial fiefdom. But trouble brews when Madame Sans-Gene, now elevated to the nobility along with her man -- cannot keep her frank observations under control. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Brigitte Bardot was at the height of her fame when she starred in this engagingly silly military comedy. Babette (Bardot) is a beautiful but unfortunately clueless young French woman who, in 1940, becomes a refugee when she seeks safe haven in England as the Germans move in to occupy her land. Babette is recruited as part of a scheme to help British military intelligence foil a German plot to invade England. The idea is for Babette to use her good looks to win the confidence of German officers and learn their secrets; however, despite her enthusiasm, Babette's striking ineptitude when it comes to military espionage makes her as much of a threat as an asset to Allied forces. Babette s'en va-t-en Guerre (released in the United States as Babette Goes To War) also stars Ronald Howard, Jacques Charrier, and Michael Cramer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The most frequently filmed of Emile Zola's works, Nana was given a slick, polished cinemazation by French- filmmaker Christian-Jacque in 1955. Martine Carol is well (if predictably) cast in the title role, playing a poverty-stricken Parisian girl who rises to prominence as a high-priced whore. Nana is content to love 'em and leave 'em until she becomes the mistress of government-official Charles Boyer. Her genuine love for Boyer results in disgrace and disaster for them both. While less inhibited than the bowdlerized 1934 Sam Goldwyn production of Nana, this French/Italian co-production is rather far afield from the Zola original. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally titled Spartaco, Sins of Rome is a highly suspect retelling of the 1st-century B.C. slave revolt which rocked the Roman Empire to its foundations. Spearheading the rebellion is Thracian slave Spartacus (Massimo Girotti), who is no Kirk Douglas but who handles the role with panache. To enhance the film's box-office appeal, the scriptwriters contrive to bestow upon Spartacus two leading ladies: Sabina (Gianna Maria Canale), the sensuous daughter of a Roman aristocrat, and Sabina's personal slave Amitys (played by ballerina Ludmilla Tcherina). There's plenty of gladiatorial combat, exciting battle scenes and out-of-synch English dubbing. Sins of Rome was distributed in the U.S. by RKO Radio Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The short stories of Guy de Maupassant enjoyed a renaissance in the early 1950s, thanks in great part to the Max Ophuls production Le Plaisir. In Trois Femmes, three De Maupassant stories are dramatized, each conveying the central theme of women falling in love. In the first, a black female carnival entertainer causes an uproar when she falls in love with a white soldier. In the second, a young bride is pressured into having a baby to collect a huge inheritance. And in the final episode, a pregnant girl is "adopted" and protected by a small circle of friends. In standard De Maupassant fashion, each of the three stories in Trois Femmes is capped by a surprise twist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Following a three-year suspension from filmmaking after his Le Corbeau (1943) was judged too critical of his native France, director Henri-Georges Clouzot returned with this thriller that's equal parts crime drama and character study. Suzy Delair stars as Jenny Lamour, an ambitious music hall singer who wants to be a star and is willing to befriend the lecherous old men who ogle her act, inspiring the jealousy of Jenny's husband Maurice Martineau (Bernard Blier). One particular fan of Jenny's is a wealthy financial backer who extends repeated invitations to the entertainer to join him at fine restaurants and his expansive mansion. Armed with a gun, Maurice goes to the estate to confront his rival one night but discovers that the master of the house is already dead, his wife having smashed a bottle of champagne over his head to stave off a sexual advance. Soon, a gruff but dedicated detective, Inspector Antoine (Louis Jouvet) is on the case, with Maurice taking the heat for Jenny. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi