Michel Simon

  • Jean Renoir – Clo-Cloche AKA A Bum Deal (1935)

    1931-1940FranceJean RenoirShort Film
    Clo Cloche (1935)
    Clo Cloche (1935)

    In 1932, Michel Simon plays in “Boudu sauvé des eaux” under the direction of Jean Renoir.
    Three years later, he was again invited to don the clothes of the famous tramp on the sets of Boulogne.
    But it’s to shoot a film for advertising …Read More »

  • Julien Duvivier – La fin du jour (1939)

    Julien Duvivier1931-1940DramaFrance

    Synopsis wrote:
    Aged penniless actors are living in a old people’s home. They always talk about their past glory or failures. One day Raphael Saint-Clair comes; he has been a famous actor and had a lot of love affairs. Passions come back, and jealousies… A bitter film about aging, failure and the entertainment.Read More »

  • Marc Allégret – Sous les yeux d’occident aka Under Western Eyes (1936)

    Drama1931-1940FranceMarc Allégret

    Political turmoil convulses 19th-century Russia, as Razumov, a young student preparing for a career in the czarist bureaucracy, unwittingly becomes embroiled in the assassination of a public official.

    Based on Joseph Conrad’s novel.Read More »

  • Sacha Guitry – La vie d’un honnête homme (1953)

    1951-1960ClassicsFranceSacha Guitry

    Plot: Through a combination of hard work and ruthlessness, Albert Ménard-Lacoste (Michel Simon) has become a wealthy businessman, although his austerity prevents him from being loved, even by his family. One day, he is confronted by his worst nightmare in the form of his estranged brother Alain, who is his polar opposite – an easy-going, penniless drifter. Albert’s first reaction is to dismiss Alain from his sight. But then he has a change of heart and drops in on the shabby lodgings where Alain is living. Albert is about to offer his brother a job when the latter suffers a fatal heart-attack. Immediately, the cunning businessman sees a way to make a fresh start and perhaps settle a few scores with his family. He swaps his clothes with Alain and assumes the dead man’s identity. Little by little, Albert’s eyes are opened to the shallowness of his erstwhile life and to the grotesque hypocrisies of his everyday existence… (filmsdefrance.com)Read More »

  • Marcel Carné – Drôle de drame AKA Bizarre, bizarre (1937)

    Marcel Carné1931-1940ComedyFrance

    Synopsis: “A French farce set in Victorian London where a botanist and his wife get into trouble when they pretend to go missing in order to hide from their sanctimonious cousin – an Anglican bishop who is leading a campaign against such writing.”
    – IMDbRead More »

  • Maurice Lehmann & Claude Autant-Lara – Fric-Frac (1939)

    1931-1940Claude Autant-LaraComedyCrimeFranceMaurice Lehmann

    Synopsis:
    Marcel works as assistant to a jeweller whose bossy daughter Renée keeps hitting on him. When he meets lovely Loulou and her lazy friend Jo, he is fascinated by the girl and somehow attracted by their world : Loulou and Jo are crooks. As Marcel naively tries to bring some morality in their lives, the pair turn him into an unwilling accomplice in the robbery of his boss’s jewels.Read More »

  • René Clair – La beauté du diable AKA Beauty and the Devil (1950)

    René Clair1941-1950DramaFantasyFrance

    Synopsis:
    Professor Henri Faust, retiring after 50 years as an alchemist in a circa-1700 university, despairs at still knowing nothing of the true secrets of nature…whereupon his old acquaintance Mephistopheles, servant of Lucifer, appears and grants him youth and a new life. But with youth, Faust’s interest is diverted from science to women. And Mephistopheles, who has taken on the guise of the elderly Faust that was, sets many snares for his young friend’s slippery soul…Read More »

  • Jacques Poitrenaud – Ce sacré grand-père (1968) (HD)

    1961-1970DramaFranceJacques Poitrenaud

    Quote:
    Plot: Jacques spends his summer vacation with his grandfather, Jericho, in the company of his wife Marie. The malicious ancestor quickly realizes that his grandson’s marriage is on the brink of breakdown. He does everything to save him.Read More »

  • Claude Berri – Le vieil homme et l’enfant AKA The Two of Us (1967)

    1961-1970ClassicsClaude BerriDramaFrance

    Synopsis:
    A young Jewish boy living in Nazi-occupied Paris is sent by his parents to the countryside to live with an elderly Catholic couple until France’s liberation. Forced to hide his identity, the eight-year-old, Claude (played delicately by first-time actor Alain Cohen), bonds with the irascible, staunchly anti-Semitic Grampa (Michel Simon), who improbably becomes his friend and confidant. Poignant and lighthearted, The Two of Us was acclaimed director Claude Berri’s debut feature, based on own childhood experiences, and gave the legendary Simon one of his most memorable roles in the twilight of his career.Read More »

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