Jean Grémillon Movies
French filmmaker Jean Grémillon was a true iconoclast, who during his relatively brief feature-film career was highly touted by French intellectuals for such films as Garden de Phare (1930). He later became known for making highly personal, darkly emotional post-WW II films such as the allegorical Lumiere D'ete (1943). Born in Bayeux, France, Grémillon originally trained to become a professional violinist at the Paris Schola Cantorum. Later he worked in an orchestra as a silent-film accompanist. After meeting cinematographer Georges Perinal, Grémillon became interested in making films. Beginning in 1923, he directed many documentary shorts and avant-garde films. Grémillon made his feature-film debut in 1927, but soon gave it up because he felt artistically repressed by the commercialism of the French film industry--while his films impressed the literati, they were not particularly successful with mainstream audiences-- and he eventually went to work in Germany and Spain during the 1930s. Grémillon's cinematic visions did not reach full flower until the late 1940s when he created such films as Stormy Waters (1946) and Le Ciel Est a Vous (1957). He frequently composed the soundtracks of his films. Grémillon aspired toward ambitious projects and once again began feeling constrained by the film industry. Eventually he returned to making short documentaries during the 1950s. Between 1943 and 1958, he was president of the Cinémathèque Française. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1954
L'Amour d'une Femme (The Love of a Woman) stars Micheline Presle as a woman doctor named Marie. Dispatched to a small coastal island to tend to the needs of the residents, Marie must first overcome the local male population's built-in misogynism. Gradually, she convinces everyone that she's as qualified for her job as any man. The community nearly loses Marie when she falls in love with a visiting engineer named Andre (Massimo Girotti), but she elects to do The Right Thing by the final fadeout. A bit hokey in the dialogue passages, L'Amour d'une Femme succeeds thanks to the winning performance of Micheline Presle and the evocative location photography of Rene Wheeler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Micheline Presle, Gaby Morlay, (more)
- 1950
Though French director Jean Gremillon's postwar films were nowhere near as brilliant as his prewar efforts, they still afforded plenty of entertainment value. L'Etrange Madame X stars Michele Morgan as Irene, a woman torn between two lovers. Married to aristocratic Jacques (Maurice Escande), Irene is devoted to her husband, yet she cannot resist the charms of low-born laborer Etienne (Henri Vidal). Her passionate affair with Etienne results in a pregnancy, which Jacques accepts with dignified resignation. Etienne, however, is less understanding, especially when he learns that Irene is not the humble housemaid she has pretended to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Henri Vidal, (more)
- 1949
In the traditions of Jean Renoir and Jean Cocteau, Pattes Blanches is a heady mixture of stark realism and fairytale artifice. The title translates to "white spats", said spats being worn constantly by the wealthy, eccentric Fernand Ledoux. Already an object of derision from the villagers, Ledoux is in danger of physical assault when he begins making advances towards the girl friend of the town's saloon keeper. The lady in question is played by Suzy Delair, a vibrant actress who (as proven in this film) should not be judged by her lackluster performance in Laurel and Hardy's Utopia (1951). Pattes Blanches is a freeflowing adaptation of a play by Jean Anouilh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Ledoux, Suzy Delair, (more)
- 1944
The all-purpose title Woman Who Dared was trotted out for the American release of Jean Gremillon's Le Ciel et a Vous. Madeline Renaud stars as Therese, the wife of aviator Pierre Gauthier (Charles Vanel). Seeking an outlet for her own adventurous spirit, Therese decides to become a pilot herself. Weaving in and out of the proceedings dispensing worldly-wise philosophy is a piano teacher played by Jean Debucourt. Filmed in 1944, Woman Who Dared made it to American shores five years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Renaud, Jean Debucourt, (more)
- 1943
The French upper class is chastised in this socially conscious drama that centers on a naive young woman who travels to a mountain resort to be with her fiancé. She is expecting a romantic weekend, but she is terribly disappointed to discover that the wealthy patrons are naught but soulless vessels living only to suck the life out those less fortunate. She is really shocked to discover that her own lover has become one of these useless dilettantes who unfeelingly destroys their relationship when he finds it boring. The young woman then meets a man who works on a local dam. It is he that instills real values in her and saves her from a greedy fellow who wants her. In the end, the girl and the worker run away together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Renaud, Paul Bernard, (more)
- 1941
Originally filmed and released in 1941 as Remorques, this heavy-breathing French melodrama was distributed stateside in 1946 as Stormy Waters. The film was a typical Jean Gabin vehicle, replete with two-fisted action, star-crossed romance and intense emotional turbulence. Gabin plays Laurent, a salvage-boat captain who rescues a merchant vessel from a storm-tossed sea. The vessel's far-from-grateful captain (Jean Marchat) manages to skip without paying Laurent his salvage money, leaving behind his wife Catherine (Michele Morgan). Tending to Catherine's injuries until they reach port, Laurent falls in love with the woman, despite the fact that he is already married to the seriously ill Yvonne (Madeleine Renaud). It takes a lot of doing, but Laurent eventually ends his affair and allows his own wife to expire believing that he's been 100% faithful. An enormous success in France, Stormy Waters was picked up for American distribution by MGM, which surprisingly buried the film in its second-string houses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Madeleine Renaud, (more)
- 1937
The English-language title of this French slice-of-life drama is Lady Killer, an apt description of anti-hero Lucien (Jean Gabin). A colonial cavalry officer, Lucien gives his love to whomever he fancies, then forgets about them as he moves from post to post. The one he can't forget is Madeline (Mireille Balin), and the feeling is mutual. Years later, Lucien is the wretched, embittered proprietor of a rundown Parisian café. Who should come back into his life but Madeline -- a reunion that ends tragically for them both, literalizing the film's title and leaving Lucien even more devastated than before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, (more)
- 1937
The title character of L'Etrange Monsieur Victor is a seemingly respectable storekeeper, happily married to the lovely Madeleine. As the film opens, Victor and Madeleine have just become the proud parents of an adorable baby boy. Everything seems perfect for Victor, a man admired for his good works and love of children. But Victor has a secret life; he is leader of a criminal gang. Now that he is a father, he decides to leave behind his life of crime, but one member of his gang doesn't like this and threatens to expose him. Almost without thinking, Victor kills the man. He escapes suspicion, however, and an innocent man named Bastien is sent to prison instead. As time passes, Victor becomes overcome with guilt and remorse; he loses his temper easily and is likewise easily agitated. Eventually Bastien escapes, and Victor takes him in and hides him -- but doing so threatens to bring about the truth about the murder. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raimu, Pierre Blanchar, (more)
- 1931
The title of this French musical comedy translates as For One Cent's Worth of Love. Star Andre Bauge sings a great deal during the first few reels, meaning that the plot proper doesn't get under way until the picture is half over. The story begins as a shipboard romance between Bauge and heroine Josseline Gael, with an abundance of product-placement "plugs" for a prominent French steamship line. Once our hero and heroine disembark in Africa (courtesy of library footage), Bauge sings some more, thoroughly enchanted Gael -- and, it is assumed, a goodly portion of the audience. Andre Bauge was a huge draw in France but was virtually unknown in the U.S.: accordingly, Pour un Sou D'Amour didn't receive much play in the States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maximilienne, Josseline Gael, (more)
- 1928
Maldone was one of the first feature-length efforts of French filmmaker Jean Gremillon. The title character is a footloose bargee who returns to his ancestral home upon receiving a huge inheritance. At first, Maldone is reluctant to give up his carefree lifestyle, especially his lusty romance with a toothsome gypsy girl. Eventually, however, he accedes to the responsibilities of his social position, marrying the daughter of a wealthy neighbor and fathering a child. Though he tries to be a faithful husband and good father, Maldone simply can't get over his gypsy sweetheart, who has since become a famous actress. Finally, Maldone "breaks down," donning old clothes and scurrying back to his former haunts, in the vain hope that he will be reunited with his former love. Charles Dullin stars as Maldone, while among the supporting actors is an up-and-coming starlet named Annabella (later the wife of Tyrone Power). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annabella, Charles Dullin, (more)
