Odette Joyeux Movies
After training as a dancer she appeared on the Paris stage while still in her teens. She debuted onscreen at age 14 in 1931, appearing in two or three more films before her first important role, in Marc Allegret's Entree des Artistes/The Curtain Rises (1938). In the '40s she was one of the top French film stars. After 1950 she appeared onscreen only rarely, devoting herself to writing novels, plays, and scripts. She appeared in one film based on one of her novels, The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful (1956), for which she wrote the dialogue. Her first husband was actor Pierre Brasseur. She is married to director Philippe Agostini. ~ Rovi- 1962
Pierre Brasseur stars in this undistinguished drama about a pianist who is traumatized by an accident. He is so much affected, in fact, that the talent that fueled his career is killed off. Desperate to find a way to make money anyway, he starts to put together a plan to defraud an insurance company. At first, his wife (Michele Morgan) goes along with this scheme but then she meets a writer (Gabriele Ferzetti) and her head and heart get distracted, with serious consequences for her husband. This was among the last feature-length films directed by Philippe Agostini. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Michèle Morgan, (more)
- 1958
Michel Serrault plays the title character in Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants (The Innocent with 40 Children). The hero is a naïve young teacher who hopes to impose modern methods on a small-town school. Instead, he falls in love with the gorgeous mother (Silva Koscina) of one of the students. His subsequent dereliction of duty results in professional disaster, but there's a happy ending all the same. Despite the considerable thespic talents of stars Michel Serrault and Silva Koscina, Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants is effortlessly stolen by its dozens of child performers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, (more)
- 1957
Sois Belle et Tais Toi is more popularly known by its American-release title Be Beautiful but Shut Up. Mylene Demongeot plays a birdbrained young lady who gets mixed up with a gang of juvenile-delinquent smugglers. The crooks use the heroine as their go-between, intending to leave her holding the bag if and when the cops show up. Fortunately, a handsome police inspector (Henri Vidal) catches on to their scheme. One of the screenwriters for Sois Belle et Tais Toi was no less Roger Vadim. When the film was first released, its direction was often erroniously credited to Marc Allegret. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Henri Vidal, Mylène Demongeot, (more)
- 1956
Producer/director Sacha Guitry's contribution to the 1956 film season was the free-flowing historical pageant Si Paris Nous Etait Conte (If Paris Were Told to Us). Guitry himself appears as the ghost of King Louis XI, who relates the story of Paris to a group of fascinated modern-day students. As usual, Guitry manages to "humanize" history by depicting the great men and women of France in amusing warts-and-all fashion. Symbolizing the indomitable spirit of Paris is Robert Lamoureaux as Latude, a prisoner of the Bastille who repeatedly tries to escape, and just as repeatedly is captured and thrown back in jail. A note of pathos is provided by Jacques de Feraudy as the dying Voltaire. Though Sacha Guitry suffered a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair throughout much of the filming of Si Paris Nous Etait Conte, he still had two more films left in him before his death in 1957--just 10 days after Bastille Day. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sacha Guitry, Jean Marais, (more)
- 1956
In this frothy romantic comedy, the lovely Brigitte Bardot plays Chouchou, a successful model. Chouchou is single but hoping to change that soon; she's become infatuated with Michel (Louis Jordan), the editor of a fashion magazine, but Michel, apparently unaware of an opportunity when it presents itself, seems unaware of her interest in him. The harder Chouchou tries to make herself noticed, the less Michel seems to understand, until she takes drastic measures by making him chase her though the woods while she wears sheer lingerie which leaves little to the imagination. La Mariée est trop belle was one of a number of light comedies starring Brigitte Bardot which arrived in American theaters after the international success of ... And God Created Woman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brigitte Bardot, Micheline Presle, (more)
- 1950
An exercise in style, La Ronde was one of the few films of the 1950s to contain overtly sexual themes. The story is a series of character vignettes, set in Vienna in the early 1900s and held together by a narrator (Anton Walbrook). As the title implies, both the story and the film's visual motifs are circular. Director Max Ophuls uses an old-fashioned merry-go-round to foreshadow the film's events, in which each segment introduces a new character, who has an affair with a character from the previous scene. The film demands that the audience pay attention to the structure, to the interplay among the characters, and to the opulent visual elements; and the effect is synergistic delight, in which the viewer is engaged both visually and intellectually. Because it was filmed in black-and-white, La Ronde does not have the garish look of some of Ophuls' other films, notably Lola Montès. La Ronde is among the few foreign language films to receive multiple Oscar nominations, for Black & White Art Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anton Walbrook, Simone Signoret, (more)
- 1946
Also known as Pour une Nuit d'Amour, Passionnelle was based on a novel by Emile Zola. On the verge of an arranged marriage with a wealthy rake, convent-bred Theresa (Odette Joyeaux) flirts with postal clerk Julien (Roger Blin), all the while carrying on a more torrid romance with handsome servant Colombel (Raymond Galle). When the latter threatens to tell all to the girl's fiancé (Jacques Catellot), she murders him and persuades Julien to help her dispose of the body. Poor, misguided Julien ends up as the all-around fall guy when Colombel's body is discovered, and not even the 11th-hour confession of Theresa can save him from his inexorable fate. Filmed in 1946, Passionnelle arrived in the U.S. in a discreetly censored version two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Odette Joyeux, Roger Blin, (more)
- 1945
Messieurs Ludovic serves as a showcase for the considerable thespic talents of Odette Joyeaux. Escaping from her grimy coal-mining hometown, Joyeaux intends to seek her fortune in the big city. Within what seems like minutes, she is romantically entangled with trouble-making Jean Chevrier, idealistic engineer Bernard Blier, and rough-hewn but likeable millionaire Marcel Herrand. The film's most inventive sequence, an homage to the silent dramas of old, occurs at the very beginning. Messieurs Ludovic is based on Ludo, the French stage hit by Pierre Scize. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julien Carette, Bernard Blier, (more)
- 1945
Claude Autant-Lara's literally haunting romantic tale Sylvia and the Phantom stars Odette Joyeaux as Sylvia, an imaginative young girl who lives in an old French castle. Fascinated by a portrait of the lover of her deceased grandmother, Sylvia fantasizes about having a romance with the lover's ghost. On Sylvia's 16th birthday, her father decides to amuse the girl by having the "ghost" make an appearance, and to that end engages the services of three men--a valet, a ham actor and a burglar--to impersonate the wraith. Though confused by the fact that the ghost seemingly has three distinct personalities, Sylvia nonetheless falls in love with the burglar, the most handsome of the trio. Disillusioned upon learning of her father's subterfuge, Sylvia is unfortunately unresponsive when the real ghost (poignantly enacted by comedian Jacques Tati) makes a surprise appearance. Unfairly lambasted by American critics as "worthless," Sylvia and the Phantom has since taken its place in cinema history as one of Claude Autant-Lara's most beguiling works. The film was adapted from a play by Alfred Adam. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Odette Joyeux, Julien Carette, (more)
- 1943
Filmed in 1943, Autant-Lara's Douce (English title: Love Story) made it to American screens six years later. Overshadowed by his later works, Douce nonetheless has much to offer for the director's legions of devotees. The title character, played by Odette Joyeaux, is a young girl of wealth growing up in her lavish family estate in the late 19th century. Douce is hopelessly in love with the estate's much-older manager Fabien Marani (Roger Pigaut). Her starry-eyed illusions are ripe for shattering, and Douce's insanely jealous governess (Madeline Robinson) is just the person to do this "service." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Odette Joyeux, Roger Pigaut, (more)
- 1942
Jean Cocteau wrote the dialogue for this acclaimed and atmospheric tale of the supernatural, in which he also plays a small role. When a baron suddenly vanishes from his estate, his friends and family organize a search party to find him, little realizing that what they're chasing is in fact a ghost. A major box-office success in Europe upon its initial release, Le Baron Fantome stars Odette Joyeux and Jany Holt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Odette Joyeux, Jany Holt, (more)
- 1938
Entree des Artistes details the lives and loves of several artistically-inclined students at the Paris Conservatory. Wealthy Cecilia (Odette Joyeux) and not-so-wealthy Isabelle (Janine Darcey) vie for the affections of wise-guy Francois (Claude Dauphin). Isabelle finally lands Francois, forcing him to work as a gigolo to support the two of them. Things take a melodramatic turn when Cecilia is murdered, casting suspicion upon the now-chastened Francois. Trying to make sense of all this is Professor Lambert (Louis Jouvet), one of the Conservatory's leading lights, and the Examining Judge (Marcel Dalio). The throbbing musical score by Georges Auric makes Entree des Artistes seem a lot more profound than it really is. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Louis Jouvet, Claude Dauphin, (more)
- 1938
Altitude 3200 refers to the above-sea-level elevation of the French mountain retreat where most of this film takes place. Jean-Louis Barrault plays an idealistic sandwich-board man who joins his equally high-minded friends on a weekend excursion. Their hopes for rest and relaxation are dashed when a group of young girls take refuge in their lodgings during a storm. Devoted to the concept of a perfect, utopian society, in which men and woman are equals, the girls talk the boys into forming such a society-at least for the duration of the weekend. But by the time Monday rolls around, everyone has come to the conclusion that they'll be better off returning to the "imperfect" real world. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Odette Joyeux, Dolly Mollinger, (more)
- 1930
Le Secret du Docteur is a Gallic rendition of The Doctor's Secret, a play by James M. Barrie. Marcelle Chantal plays Lilian Garner, the bored, disenchanted wife of Richard Garner (Leon Bary). Preparing to run off to parts unknown with her lover Jean Colman (Jean Bradin), Lilian is prevented from doing so when Jean is killed in a motor accident, right before her eyes. The attending physician at the scene of the tragedy is Dr. Brady (Maxaudian), Garner's best friend. Brady is aware that Lilian and Jean were lovers, but he intends to remain mum when invited for a weekend party at the Garland's home. The method by which the truth is revealed is at once clever and cruel but in complete accordance with the mood of the rest of the story. This adaptation of The Doctor's Secret is the French version of the 1929 English-language talkie, which starred Ruth Chatterton as the errant wife and Robert Edeson as the discreet physician. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marcelle Chantal, Leon Bary, (more)
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