Lazare Meerson Movies
Art director Lazare Meerson is the father of French poetic realism, a movement that became popular in the late '30s. A native of Russia, Meerson fled the country after the Bolshevik Revolution and after living briefly in Germany. By 1924, he was a resident of France. Looking at contemporary French cinema, Meerson was not impressed by cinematic styles such as naturalism and impressionism. His vision lay in between, and so he began designing sets that were simultaneously stark, gritty, and realistic and yet somehow romanticized with the hopelessness they evoked. Meerson's designs were quite popular with directors such as Feyder and Rene Clair and soon were emulated internationally. Meerson moved to England in the mid-'30s and worked for Alexander Korda Productions until he died two years later. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1938
Filmed in lavish Technicolor and given Tiffany production values by producer Alexander Korda, the British comedy Divorce of Lady X is at base a trivial little farce, buoyed by the sprightly performances of star Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier. Ms. Oberon plays a costume-party guest who is forced to stay in a hotel overnight due to inclement weather. There are no rooms available, so the management prevails upon handsome but stuffy lawyer Olivier to give up half of his suite to the lovely Oberon. After a chaste evening together, Olivier becomes obsessed with Oberon, deducing that her elusiveness is due to the "fact" that she is married. Actually, she is nothing of the kind, but when an old school chum (Ralph Richardson) comes to Olivier's office to arrange for a divorce, Olivier jumps to the conclusion that Oberon is his old friend's soon-to-be "ex". Based on Gilbert Wakefield's play Counsel's Opinion, Divorce of Lady X has become a familiar presence on cable TV because of its public domain status; less familiar is an earlier movie version of the Wakefield play, filmed in 1932 by director Allan Dwan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, (more)
- 1938
- NR
Robert Donat stars as Dr. Andrew Manson in this adaptation of A.J. Cronin's best-selling novel. Manson devotes himself to treating the residents of a poverty-stricken Welsh mining community. Tuberculosis runs rampant in the village, and Manson is determined to help stem its tide and bring good health back to people who desperately need it. Through a series of unforeseen circumstances, Manson eventually leaves the community and begins working out of London, where he looks after wealthy hypochondriacs who don't really need his services but are willing to pay from them. While Manson gains money and prestige, he has turned his back on his friends, his wife (Rosalind Russell), and the people who need him most in the process. To give the film a more realistic "English" atmosphere, MGM shot The Citadel at their British studios, although they did import an American director (King Vidor) and leading lady (Russell) for the occasion. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, (more)
- 1938
Set in England in the early 1900s, South Riding is a political and personal drama about a nearly bankrupt estate owner who is trying to keep himself solvent by buying into a real estate plan which he doesn't realize is morally suspect. The original British cut of South Riding ran 90 minutes, but for its American release, several Depression-era scenes were cut from the print. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edna Best, Ralph Richardson, (more)
- 1937
The war between England and Spain in the late 16th century serves as backdrop for the fictional machinations of Fire Over England. Laurence Olivier plays a British naval officer who offers his services to Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson) after his father is executed by the Spaniards. The queen dispatches Olivier to the court of Spain, there to determine which of her courtiers are actually spies for King Philip (Raymond Massey). Working under cover, Olivier learns that the Spaniards intend to send an armada to decimate the British navy. Barely escaping with his life, Olivier relays this information to his queen and also dispatches the traitors in her midst. Cast as one of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, Vivien Leigh appears in the role that brought her to the attention of Gone With the Wind producer David O. Selznick. Directed by Hollywood's William K. Howard, Fire Over England was based on a novel by A.E.W. Mason of Four Feathers fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Flora Robson, Raymond Massey, (more)
- 1937
Marlene Dietrich and Robert Donat star in this gripping melodrama about the Russian revolution, based on the novel by James Hilton. Donat plays A.J. Fothergill, a British interpreter in St. Petersburg who is ordered to leave Russia after writing an article that criticized the czar. Fothergill meets a British secret agent who can arrange for him to stay in Russia if he will agree to spy for England and monitor revolutionary groups trying to depose the czar. Fothergill infiltrates a group planning to kill Russian nobleman Vladinoff (Herbert Lomas); the radicals bomb Vladinoff's coach, but he and his daughter, Alexandra (Marlene Dietrich) escape unharmed. Fothergill is arrested and sent to Siberia. When the monarchy is deposed during the Russian Revolution in 1917, Alexandra is arrested by Communist forces and put on trial. Fothergill is freed from prison with his friend Axelstein (Basil Gill), and they are now revolutionary heroes. Alexandra must go to Petrograd to face trial and Fothergill is chosen to escort her. When they reach the train station, Fothergill discovers the White Army (fighting to restore the czar) is coming. He leads Alexandra to safety behind the White Army lines, but the Red Army has surrounded the city and Fothergill, smitten with Alexandra, rescues her again before the city is shelled. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat, (more)
This film version of the famed Shakespearean comedy features Laurence Olivier as Orlando and Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind. As the story goes, Rosalind, smitten by Orlando and not able to get his attention, disguises herself as a boy to more easily remain in Orlando's vicinity. Eventually Orlando grows to like his new friend and Rosalind is stuck playing a boy with a boy with whom she'd rather be a girl. Confusing? Maybe only Shakespeare could come up with the idea, but director Paul Czinner does a fine job executing the concept. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Ainley, Felix Aylmer, (more)
- 1935
Released in France as La Kermesse Heroique, Carnival in Flanders is set during the long-ago war between the Dutch and Spanish. A tiny village in Flanders is invaded by Spanish troops. The townsfolk have heard of Spanish cruelties in other towns, and decide to deflect the vanquishers by playing dead. This isn't terribly effective (you have to take a breath once in a while), so the wife of the burgomaster tries to soften up the invaders with a lavish carnival. So successful is this venture that the Spaniards allow the village to escape being decimated, or even taxed. An award-winner many times over, Carnival in Flanders was banned in Germany; evidently, Goebbels caught on that director Jacques Feyder and scenarists Bernard Zimmer and Charles Spaak were drawing deliberate parallels between the Spanish and the then-burgeoning Nazis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Jean Murat, (more)
- 1934
Jacques Feyder's sole directorial contribution in 1934 (and his first film since 1931) was the superior Foreign Legion melodrama Le Grand Jeu (The Full Deck). Scripted by frequent Feyder collaborator Charles Spaak, the film focuses on Pierre Martel (Pierre Richard-Willm), whose efforts to support his beloved Florence (Marie Bell) in the style to which she's accustomed cause him to run afoul of the Law. Escaping a charge of embezzlement, Pierre signs up with the Foreign Legion, intending to "forget." After a particularly violent skirmish with the natives, Pierre briefly loses his memory, whereupon he begins keeping time with Irma, a sexy camp-follower whom he imagines to be Florence. When his tour of duty is over, Pierre prepares to return home to Paris to collect an unexpected inheritance. Reunited with the real Florence, he finds he cannot get over Irma, the little trollop who gave him a new lease on life back in the desert. Unwilling to go back to France without Irma, Pierre returns to the Foreign Legion -- where, inevitably, he meets his doom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Vanel, Marie Bell, (more)
- 1932
Quatorze Juliet translates to "July 14th"--and if you know your French history, you'll know that July 14th is Bastille Day. This Rene Clair films deals not with the tumultuous events of the French Revolution, but with a 1932 celebration of that particular French holiday. Clair made the film hoping to capture the freewheeling, anecdotal style of his earlier Under the Roofs of Paris. The hero, George Rigaud, is a Parisian cabdriver; the heroine, Annabella, is a flower peddler. As the Bastille Day festivities stretch on into the night, the young lovers come in contact with several of Paris' more eccentric citizens. Director Clair felt that Quatorze Juliet was better in parts than in sum total; modern audiences will most likely enjoy the film as a whole, excusing the weaknesses of its structure while revelling in its music and atmosphere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annabella, Raymond Cordy, (more)
- 1931
Never one to do anything by halves, director Abel Gance delivers just what the title La Fin du Monde promises: The End of the World. As a comet speeds along on a collision course with Planet Earth, the world prays for a miracle. Scientist Victor Francen races against time to avoid the cataclysm, while Francen's religious-fanatic brother (played by director Gance) puts his fate in the hands of God. Meanwhile, the governments of the world adopt near-fascistic methods to keep their panicking minions under control. Once all hope is abandoned, virtually all of civilization degenerates into a drunken orgy, replete with rape and bestiality. The worst is reserved for last, as the ever-approaching comet causes a plethora of natural disasters before the final "Big Bang." For its premiere engagements in 1929, La Fin du Monde was outfitted with a primitive but effective stereophonic-sound system, the aural equivalent to Abel Gance's Cinerama-like "Triptychs" in his 1927 masterpiece Napoleon. With his typical flair for the messianic, Gance originally released his film as Abel Gance's La Fin du Monde. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colette Darfeuil, Abel Gance, (more)
René Lefèvre and Annabella are sheer delights, as is everything else in Le Million, René Clair's bright and winning early sound comedy. Clair has his actors sing their dialogue in a blithe and breezy way and utilizes a succession of surrealistic and Dadaesque touches to chronicle this lighthearted extended chase, concerning an artist racing through the streets of Paris (an amazing studio set constructed by Lazare Meerson) in order to retrieve a winning lottery ticket left in the pocket of a discarded jacket. Many of Clair's comic embellishments (like the dubbed-in sound effects of a football game over a portion of the chase) have been used endlessly in comedies ever since, but in Clair's hands, the old jokes still look fresh and magical. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- René Lefèvre, Annabella, (more)
À Nous la Liberté is an early talkie from French filmmaker René Clair. Louis (Raymond Cordy) and Emile (Henri Marchand) are a pair of convicts whose lives take decidely different paths after prison. Emile works his way up the ladder of capitalism, becoming a phonograph factory boss, a job that finds him overseeing a bleak outfit of automatous drones. Louis, on the other hand, lives the life of a poverty-stricken vagabond. Despite their contrasting lots, the pair meet up again later in life. À Nous la Liberté is perhaps best remembered for being the main inspiration for Charlie Chaplin's 1936 classic Modern Times. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henri Marchand, Raymond Cordy, (more)
Rene Clair's Under the Roofs of Paris is one of the first French films shot in sound. The film is a relaxed melodrama where a Parisian street singer (Albert Prejean) and his friend (Edmond Greville) pursue the love of the same woman (Pola Illery). Clair chose to use sound only when needed, preferring to tell the story through his visuals as well as through his dialogue. The result is a striking film, boasting beautiful photography and sets, as well as a moving story. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Prejean, Pola Illery, (more)
- 1929
Based on a play by Francis de Croisset, The New Men (Les Nouveaux Messieurs) was adapted for the screen by its director, Jacques Feyder, in collaboration with Charles Spaak. The plot focuses on Gaillac (Albert Prejean), an electrician employed by the Paris Opera. In love with gorgeous ballerina Suzanne (Gaby Morlay), Gaillac must play second fiddle to Suzanne's wealthy "protector," powerful politician Count Montoire (Henry Roussell). When the Opera personnel go on strike, Gaillac is appointed leader of the strikers, doing his job so well that he is ultimately elected Secretary of Labor in the French cabinet. Now on equal footing with Montoire, Gaillac is at last a "worthy" suitor for Suzanne -- who can't make up her mind between her two well-connected admirers, leading to a political rivalry the likes of which Paris has never seen. This harmless political satire ended up being banned by the French government for undermining "the dignity of Parliament and its ministers"; on a more positive note, the film earned Jacques Feyder a contract with MGM studios in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaby Morlay, Albert Prejean, (more)
- 1929
This French production was based on a novel by Emile Zola, of the same title. Pierre Alcover stars as Saccard, a ruthless and untrustworthy banker who is all but ruined by speculating on the European stock market. Exulting in Saccard's imminent destruction are two old enemies, rival businessman Gunderman (Alfred Abel) and cast-off mistress Countess Sandorf (Brigitte Helm). Briefly rescued from poverty when he aligns himself with Hamelin (Henry Victor) a war hero-turned-petroleum profiteer, Soccard once more faces ruination when Hamelin is reported missing and presumed dead. Upon being assured that Hamelin is safe, Saccard cold-bloodedly sets about to stab his new partner in the back and assume control of his petroleum holdings. But Saccard is foiled by the last-minute manipulations of Gunderman, who ends up inviting Hamelin to join his operation. L'Argent was adapted for the screen by Marcel L'Herbier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Alcover, Brigitte Helm, (more)
- 1927
Eugene Labiche and Marc Michel's effervescent French farce An Italian Straw Hat was gracefully adapted for the screen by director René Clair. Albert Prejean plays a well-meaning fellow who is on the way to his wedding. While en route, Prejean's horse has the bad manners to eat the expensive hat of a lovely young woman. The girl is beside herself, so Prejean gallantly offers to postpone his wedding until he can locate an identical chapeau, thereby setting in motion an endless series of comic misunderstandings. More than one historian has noted that Albert Prejean is made up to look like American two-reel comedian Charley Chase, most of whose "Imagine my embarrassment!" films were constructed pretty much along the same lines as An Italian Straw Hat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marise Maia, Olga Tschechowa, (more)
- 1926
The oft-filmed Prosper Merimee novel Carmen was again committed to celluloid in 1926, this time under the skilled hand of French director Jacques Feyder. Raquel Miller plays the title character, an unbridled gypsy girl fated to bring about the ruin of herself and her soldier lover Don José (Louis Lerch). Tragedy is inevitable when, after thoroughly debasing Don José, Carmen falls for sexy toreador Escamillo (Guerrero de Xandoval). Director Feyder manages to transform this timeworn story into a feast for the eyes, especially during the climactic bullfighting sequence. When released in America in 1928, Carmen did surprisingly well, considering that Fox Pictures had recently produced its own version of the same story, with Dolores Del Rio as the ill-fated heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raquel Meller, Louis Lerch, (more)
- 1925
Originally released in 1926 in hand-tinted prints, for years this silent classic, based on the novel by Luigi Pirandello (1867-1937) was only available in low-quality and incomplete black-and-white prints. It was restored by the Cinémathèque Française and was re-released in 1990. Pirandello's novels and plays were all the rage among the avant garde thinkers of his day: of them, perhaps the best known today is Six Characters In Search Of An Author. In 1934, Pirandello won the Nobel prize for literature. This film stars the legendary (and legendarily difficult) Ivan Mosjoukine as Mathias Pascal. In the story, Pascal is a timid man, and has lived a very constricted life in the midst of a claustrophia-inducing family. When, as a result of his being in an accident, his family believes that he has died, Pascal decides to let them continue to believe it. He has just won some money at roulette, and he can manage quite nicely on that. At first he is overjoyed by his newfound freedom. However, he soon discovers a serious drawback in being an identityless person when he falls in love with the daughter of his landlord in Rome, but has no documents which will permit him to marry her. This film, in addition to being considered a classic, also marks the first onscreen appearance of the extraordinary Swiss actor Michel Simon, as Pascal's best friend Jerome. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lois Moran, Ivan Mosjoukine, (more)
