Synopsis :
Catherine’s technique to sell her clocks is to blackmail illegitimate couples such as Jacques and Gisèle. However when Gisèle’s husband Pierre walks in on them, Catherine pretends to be Jacques’s lover to save the day. Jacques then gets caught up in her schemes when the next couple she deals with turn out to be jewel thieves who kidnap them.Read More »
A violinist passes on to his daughter three rings which represent three passions of his romantic past, and urges her to save each for men who truly deserve one.She squanders them all on one man who is undeserving.
On paper this looks promising; a beautiful actress, Edwige Feuilliere, an actor who’s just come off a starring role opposite Arletty in Les Enfants du paradis, a respected director, Jean Delannoy and one of THE four best scriptwriters in French cinema, Charles Spaak. Sometimes it all goes wrong but always with artists of this calibre in front of and behind the camera there are moments to savour and so it is here. Barrault doesn’t really convince as a violinist whereas Feuilliere has only to convince us she is in love. There are promising visuals and nine times out of ten Delannoy has the camera in the right place and when that is in front of Feuilliere’s face you won’t hear a peep out of me. Interesting as opposed to memorable.Read More »
Synopsis:
The story of a once-respectable woman who re-encounters her first love, now a successful doctor. Reduced to nude-dancing in a sleazy dive, with a son to support, Evelyne (Edwige Feuillère) borrows money at an outrageous interest rate in order to create a facade of respectability–and, it goes without saying, Georges falls in love with her all over again. But how can Evelyne maintain her bourgeois value and save son and “father” from the consequences of her fall?Read More »
Quote:
Olivia captures the awakening passions of an English adolescent sent away for a year to a small finishing school outside Paris. The innocent but watchful Olivia develops an infatuation for her headmistress, Mlle. Julie, and through this screen of love observes the tense romance between Mlle. Julie and the other head of the school, Mlle. Cara, in its final months. Although not strictly autobiographical, Olivia draws on the author’s experiences at finishing schools run by the charismatic Mlle. Marie Souvestre, whose influence lived on through former students like Natalie Barney and Eleanor Roosevelt. Colette wrote the screenplay for the 1951 film adaptation of the novel.Read More »
A young woman, Claire, escapes from a lunatic asylum and falls under the protection of Louis Delage, a loner who rears horses for a living. When the man whom Louis has been sheltering is killed, both Claire and Louis become targets for a pair of unknown assassins. In the adventure that follows, Claire discovers why she was locked away in an asylum – her aunt wanted to prevent her from inheriting her father’s fortune. When the two killers make the same discovery, they kidnap Claire in order to extort a ransom, whilst continuing their pursuit for Louis. The outcome is far from pleasant…Read More »
Olivia captures the awakening passions of an English adolescent sent away for a year to a small finishing school outside Paris. The innocent but watchful Olivia develops an infatuation for her headmistress, Mlle. Julie, and through this screen of love observes the tense romance between Mlle. Julie and the other head of the school, Mlle. Cara, in its final months. Although not strictly autobiographical, Olivia draws on the author’s experiences at finishing schools run by the charismatic Mlle. Marie Souvestre, whose influence lived on through former students like Natalie Barney and Eleanor Roosevelt. Colette wrote the screenplay for the 1951 film adaptation of the novel.Read More »
Erotic diary of a young bridegroom who, just out of church, swears eternal love to his wife (A. Lualdi), naive, but not too much. Meanwhile, we go through his previous experiences: adulterous wife (D. Darrieux), luxury cocotte (Carol M.), widowed millionaire (E. Feuillère).
Written by Charles Spaak and Jacques Companeez, it is a libel against women in form of hilarious, smiling and amiable comedy, but imbued with poisons. An episodic film cleverly disguised. The underlying cynicism melts in foam of champagne.
(Morandini)Read More »
Synopsis:
In the late 1800’s, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, falls for Sophie Chotek, a Czech countess. He’s already a problem to the Crown because of his political ideas; this love affair with someone not of royal blood breeches protocol. The Crown allows the union only after the couple agrees to a morganatic marriage. The emperor further neutralizes Franz by making him inspector general of the army, sending him afield for months at a time. In June of 1914, fearing for his safety, Sophie seeks permission to accompany Franz to Sarajevo; protocol dictates that no army troops attend Franz while she is present. An assassin strikes. Their deaths spark World War I.Read More »
Episodes from the life of Lucrecia Borgia’s. Spoiled and willful, she has many love affairs and tries to resist her ruthless and scheming brother César Borgia’s plans to marry her off for political advantage.
Episodic and hard to follow to those not familiar with Italian geography and with the political situation of the time. Nice sets and costumes but the 16 millimeter print I saw did not show them well.
The kind of movie the French New Wave rebelled againstRead More »