Christopher Frank Movies

This suspenseful French thriller examines the actions of a predatory woman who must eventually face the consequences of her actions. It is the final film of writer/director Christopher Frank, released after his death. Julien is a self-confident executive working at a Paris debt collection company. Julien impetuously invites Angela to dinner after his wife Anna and his son go on vacation. Angela is aggressive and wants to have sex with Julien. He does not rise to her bait. Angered, Angela leaves little reminders behind so that Anna will know she was there. Soon Angela moves into the same building as the couple. She becomes Anne's baby-sitter and begins doing everything she can to make it seem as if she and Julien are having an affair. The effect is not lost on Anne who begins to doubt her husband. Angela confronts Julien at the site of a building renovation. Julien hits Angela in the head with a shovel and kills her. He conceals her body in a hollow wall, then buys and moves into the apartment where it is hidden. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Malone (Burt Reynolds) has been a "wet" operative for the CIA for many years, serving his country by performing assassinations. He is tired of his job and wants to get out of "the company" (as it is called) and live a normal life. He is looking along the Pacific Northwest for a place to settle down when his much-cherished classic Mustang breaks down outside the town of Comstock. He manages to get to a small gas station and is treated like family by a Vietnam veteran, who is the station's owner, and his daughter. They are suffering from the nefarious activities of a local bigwig (Cliff Robertson) to take over all the land in the city in a hare-brained development scheme. He soon runs afoul of the town sheriff, who is basically an employee of the developer, but eventually wins his respect. Meanwhile, the CIA is none too pleased to hear of Malone's intended retirement and send a succession of hit-men after him to ensure that he divulges none of their dirty secrets. Malone destroys the first two killers at some cost to his own well-being. The next assassin turns out to be a woman who is susceptible to his charms. Meanwhile, he has a thorough-going local scoundrel to put out of business. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This drama, spiced with sexual innuendo, is directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre, and features Jeanne Kern (Elizabeth Bourgine) as a pretty, somewhat repressed schoolteacher who suffers a smear campaign at work. Someone has been sending her director (Michael Aumont) letters accusing her of lewd and immoral conduct. Matters take a turn for the worse when a photograph of an orgy is sent to all the faculty with one face cut out; presumably, the face is hers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This standard erotic thriller set in St. Tropez involves an unusual ménage à trois first there is Claude, a mother approaching 40 who is also approaching a liaison with the second and pivotal figure in the trio; Romain (Bernard Giraudeau), a Don Juan who is not above pimping on occasion and who is also attracted to Claude; and thirdly, the neurotic Chris (Valèrie Kaprisky), Claude's sexually fixated young daughter. As flashbacks show Chris seducing a former lover and symbolism likens her to a jellyfish whose sting can be fatal, the scenario is set for real trouble -- especially since Chris is angered that Romain obviously avoids her and just as obviously will end up as her mother's lover. Sex, hatred, and fear combine to bring the unbalanced relationships to their final resolution. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Alain Delon produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred in this story about a solitary thief, jailed for a jewel robbery and the murder of the jeweler, and set free after serving his prison term. His objective is to get his hands on the stolen jewels before a crowd of gangsters reaches them and/or kills him, and before the police can catch up with him again. The hero-thief-murderer manages to romance an attractive woman in the meantime, suggesting his future might be rosier than his past. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a private detective disregards the many warnings he has been given and continues searching for a missing blind girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Louis (Gerard Lanvin), an advertising executive in a Paris department store, is not the world's most ambitious man, but he has a good marriage and is content with his job -- until his world is turned upside-down by a new, manipulative, controlling manager (Michel Piccoli) who slowly starts to dominate his life. Once given privileged entry into the inner circle of the boss' confidantes, Louis does everything so as not to lose his advantaged position: he works overtime, he fawns, he fetches, his house is at the manager's disposal. His wife (Nathalie Baye), who sees right through the arrogant manager, is getting fed up with her husband's behavior but is not able to make him aware of the extent of his own personality changes. In a pique of anger, she leaves him -- and it looks as though Louis cannot "unlearn" his lesson, especially when the manager disappears as mysteriously as he came. Michel Piccoli won the "Best Actor" award at the 1982 Berlin Film Festival for his role in this film. The film itself also won the Louis Delluc award for the "Best French Film" of 1981. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Marie (Miou-Miou) is a young girl from a working-class family who falls for Gerard (Daniel Duval) before she discovers he is a vicious, sadistic pimp. She is degraded, abused, and beaten regularly by Gerard as she is forced into a life of prostitution. Marie later decides she must leave her pimp to regain control of her body, mind, and soul. Maria Schneider co-stars with Neil Arestrup in this voyeuristic and disturbing story. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This disturbing French drama comments upon the effects of excessive television violence on children. It's set within a seaside villa, where under the care of a nanny, a group of children spend most of their days watching violent television shows. One day they all go to the beach. The nanny dozes while they frolic. For a joke, they load the snoozing servant into a rubber raft and set her out to sea. She panics when she wakes up and ends up drowning. The kids do try to save her, but when they fail they decide to run wild instead of reporting the incident. The death means nothing to them until a threatening stranger appears and tells them he witnessed it all. He then proceeds to terrify them with his predictions about what the authorities will do with such killers. The children turn around and get their own kind of revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Freelance photographer Servais (Fabio Testi) meets luckless Nadine Chevalier (Romy Schneider) an aging, world-weary, would-be movie star who thus far has only been able to find work in cheap exploitation movies. Trying to win her affection, Servais borrows the money from his underworld employers to launch a theatrical production of Richard III starring Nadine as Lady Anne. Though cold and skeptical at first, Nadine gradually falls in love with Servais, and eventually finds herself torn between him and her husband Jacques (Jacques Dutronc), to whom she feels morally obligated. Set in a world of losers and futile talents, this dark and moody drama depicts love as the only source of salvation. Memorable performances and skillful direction make this film a powerful experience. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide