Marcel Dalio

The great French actor, Marcel Dalio, who has the lead role in Jean Renoir's THE RULES OF THE GAME, also appears in Renoir's GRAND ILLUSION. In both films he plays a character who is Jewish, as Dalio was in real life. In fact, in most of the French films he's in the 1930s, he almost always plays shady characters, informers, blackmailers and gangsters. In other words, he is always "the Jew." When the Nazis invaded France in 1940, he fled to America and appeared in CASABLANCA and TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. In America, he was no longer the Jew but The Frenchman. He became, in dozens of films, America's idea of a typical Frenchman. His film career has these two strands in which he has two different identities. Are you defined by other people and their perceptions of who you are? Are you always a creation of the way people want to see you? Or can you exist outside of the arbitrary boundaries which are placed on you?

Cannes Film Festival 1978

A young woman, elegant, cold and inhuman, who is none other than Death, reigns over a universe dominated by electronics, the firm Thanatos Unlimited Corporation. A file in a computer and life stops. But death is also capable of knowing love. Thus she keeps Robert, a worker in eternal youth and forces him to love her until he falls in love with Marie, a barmaid. But can we defy Death with impunity?

Charles Duchemin, a well-known gourmet and publisher of a famous restaurant guide, is waging a war against fast food entrepreneur Tri- catel to save the French art of cooking. After having agreed to appear on a talk show to show his skills in naming food and wine by taste, he is confronted with two disasters: his son wants to become a clown rather than a restaurant tester and he, the famous Charles Duchemin, has lost his taste!

A number of strange characters come to Corecheux, in France: the Lalyre famille, an homossexual notary, a severe-looking governess, a female witch, a veterinarian, a journalist, and possibly the most chaste of them all, a few young girls ready to lift their skirts up at anything... A young priest takes over the mission to preach at this country estate village - but maybe he is too vigorous for the task.

No overview found.

Sex comedy.

French drama.

Britt, deluxe call-girl, is punished by the brothel owner because she was not accomodating enough to a customer. From now on, she must obey to all customers sadistic wishes, or else.

In this riot of frantic disguises and mistaken identities, Victor Pivert, a blustering, bigoted French factory owner, finds himself taken hostage by Slimane, an Arab rebel leader. The two dress up as rabbis as they try to elude not only assasins from Slimane's country, but also the police, who think Pivert is a murderer. Pivert ends up posing as Rabbi Jacob, a beloved figure who's returned to France for his first visit after 30 years in the United States. Adding to the confusion are Pivert's dentist-wife, who thinks her husband is leaving her for another woman, their daughter, who's about to get married, and a Parisian neighborhood filled with people eager to celebrate the return of Rabbi Jacob.

The boyfriend of Isabelle has just committed suicide. Therefore Isabelle roams the streets of Paris until she decides to change her life radically and leave the city. She travels to the coast where she meets a young history professor on the beach...

In a cul-de-sac in the Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, Leon shares two rooms with his sister Marie. In one, he receives his clients: he is a tailor. In the other, Marie receives her own: she is a clairvoyant. Leon was happy until he learned what Marie was hiding from him. She is actually a prostitute, and Maxime, her supposed fiancé, is her pimp. On the same day, Leon also discovers love in the form of Arlette, a provincial young woman picked up by Marie.

A black champion boxer and his white female companion struggle to survive while the white boxing establishment looks for ways to knock him down.

A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation.

In Alexandria, in 1938, Darley, a young British schoolmaster and poet, makes friends through Pursewarden, the British consular officer, with Justine, the beautiful and mysterious wife of a Coptic banker. He observes the affairs of her heart and incidentally discovers that she is involved in a plot against the British, meant to arm the Jewish underground in Palestine. The plot finally fails, Justine is sent to jail and Darley decides to return to England.

In the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.

Jean-Paul Belmondo is a lovable lothario who delights in his womanizing ways in this ribald comedy adventure. When two women can't get enough of him, he is chased to Tahiti and back to Paris by admiring females. His experiences are exhausting to the point that he considers giving up his life as a ladies man.

A dedicated layabout (Jean-Pierre Cassel) bounces from relationship to relationship, moving on only when the prospect of employment presents itself.

The owner of a travel agency in Paris tries to help fellow Americans in trouble.

A French agent goes after a gang of Asian terrorists who plan to blow up an American nuclear aircraft carrier.

Via Something Weird: "Four men representing the world’s great criminal organizations unite to locate a cache of sunken treasure. The treasure is in fact a fortune in diamonds and secret documents that was lost by the Germans in the seas off Monte Carlo during the war. Following their every move are representatives from every secret agency in the world, amongst them, the British, the Russians, the Germans, and the Americans, all seeking the important papers contained within the treasure."

Cognac, a pampered poodle and popular star on French television, creates marital problems for his pretty owner Giselle when he becomes jealous of her new husband.

Adrian Messenger, a famous writer, asks his friend Anthony Gethryn, a former British agent, to help him investigate the whereabouts of the people who appear on a list, without asking him the reason why he should do so.

In the 18th century, Louis de Bourguignon is working with the Malichot's gang, but their ways are too 'unethical' for him. He creates his own band, acting under the name of Cartouche, making audacious robberies of the rich people, and even distributing the takings with the poor. Thus, cartouche attracts the people's sympathies, Venus's love, and hate from the Police and Malichot... Cartouche can escape all the traps they set at him - except the entrapments of love. Eventually, he will be saved by a woman, at her own cost.

The film consists of seven roughly 15 minute episodes, each showing what will happen if one or more of the Ten Commandments will be broken: Jérome Chambard is warned that he will lose his job if he continues to swear; Françoise Beaufort enamored of a stripper calls on her only to find her married to a janitor who doesn't know what kind of dancing his wife performs; Denis, a Jesuit novice, leaves the order to avenge his sister's suicide, which was provoked by Garigny, who seduced her into prostitution and drug addiction; Philip buys a necklace for Micheline though he is bored with her; a young man find out that his real mother is not Madeleine, but actress Clarisse Ardant; Didier Marin, cashier of a bank, was fired by his boss; the Devil appears as a serpent for Jérome Chambard and the bishop are eating.

The Marquis de Villemaur reunite strange visitors in his Castle, to meet a survivor of the Third Reich. There is an Italian fascist, Heinrich; a German, Matthias; a Russian; and Dromard, a blind French war hero with a black monocle. - from IMDB

On crowded Milan streets, two men execute a split-second payroll heist-in broad daylight-then begin a lightning-paced getaway, via every conveyance available. But after all, when a tough guy's returning to France (where he's been sentenced to death in absentia) after holing up in Italy for nearly a decade, he's got to have some startup money--particularly if he's going back with the wife and kids.

The romantic story of Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt, whose scandalous love affair forced him to abandon his adoring audiences.

An "inside" Hollywood drama about a film director (Henry Fonda) who turns his actress wife (Leslie Caron) into a star, leading to marital problems.

A love-starved soldier stationed at an Arctic base wins a furlough in Paris, but a pretty, no-nonsense military psychologist is ordered to accompany him as chaperone to keep him out of trouble.

Near the end of the French phase of the Vietnam War, a group of mercenaries are recruited to travel through enemy territory to the Chinese border.

Bill Benson and Ted Adams are to appear in a Broadway show together and, while in Paris, each 'discovers' the perfect leading lady for the plum female role. Each promises the prize role to the girl they selected without informing the other until they head back across the Atlantic by liner - with each man having brought his choice along! It becomes a stormy crossing as each man has to tell his 'find' that she might not get the role after all.

Henri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable - and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection - or destroy it. Only... the Police are following his every step.

Daniel Gelin plays a soldier who is acquitted after committing a crime of passion. Relocating to Lisbon, and still feeling remorse over his impulsive killing of his faithless wife, Gelin manages to find love in the form of gorgeous widow Francoise Arnoul. Alas, it turns out that Arnoul has a sordid past of her own, leaving our hero sadder but wiser.

At the Tangier airport, a group of people await the arrival of a mysterious plane from behind the Iron Curtain. The reception committee includes Susan, an American; Gil Walker, a free-booting pilot; Danzer, a black market operator; and Danzer's girlfriend, Nicki. The plane crashes and burns. No survivors are found, nor are any corpses. Soon the search begins for a missing courier worth $3 million.

Marshovia, a small European kingdom, is on the brink of bankruptcy but the country may be saved if the wealthy American Crystal Radek, widow of a Marshovian, can be convinced to part with her money and marry the king's nephew count Danilo. Arriving to Marshovia on a visit, Crystal Radek change places with her secretary Kitty. Following them to Paris, Danilo has a hard time wooing the widow after meeting an attractive young woman at a nightclub, the same Crystal Radek who presents herself as Fifi the chorus girl. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.

Three broke Broadway producers are desperately looking for backers for a new show. When they are about to give up, one of them discovers that they are an heir to a Parisian dress salon. Off to Paris they go!

A violinist (Charles Boyer) and his brother (Louis Jourdan) guide one's son through his crush on the family maid in 1920s Ottawa.

When a measles epidemic forces the temporary closing of a child care center, the son of a film star and her estranged husband, a concert pianist, is mistakenly delivered to a touring musician.

A man who lost everything in the war now smuggles contraband into and out of Spain, but the law's closing in.

Angelo, a glass-blower from Murano, and Georgia Maglia, the pretty daughter of a fallen fascist magistrate, are chosen to be the stand-ins for the stars of a film version of "Romeo and Juliet" being shot on location in Venice and Verona. It is not long before they fall in love and their romance parallels that of Shakespeare's timeless heroes. Indeed their union is threatened by the schemings of Raffaele, the Maglia family's dubious tout...

Three powerhouse European screen personalities--Pierre Brasseur, Erich Von Stroheim, Maria Montez---elevate the tawdry melodramatics of Le Portrait d'Un Assassin.

A Canadian sailor (Jean-Pierre Aumont) becomes a fugitive for love after a night with a woman (Maria Montez) in Marseille.

Based on a venerable Legend of the Sea, the story concerns a pliable prostitute named Bella (Romance) who is all things to all men. No matter what sort of woman her client wants, she will become that woman -- at least for the night. When a middle-aged man named Jean (Marcel Dalio) insists that Bella is his long-lost sweetheart, she plays along, hoping to escape her sordid lifestyle. The emotional tragedy that follows is meant to explain how Bella became "Maya," the living embodiment of Lost Souls.

Shortly before the War, Jan Lazlo, a Hungarian musician who has emigrated to France, falls for a young woman. Alas, the lady forsakes him and the poor man tries to overcome his grief by writing "Gloomy Sunday", a song so desperate that it can drive its listeners to suicide. Max, a music publisher, likes the song and decides to launch it by all means, foul or fair. Bob, his accomplice, manages to talk his mistress Michèle into committing a fake suicide. She obeys him and the scheme is a success as a result. On this occasion, Jan gets to know Michèle and the two young people fall in love. Happiness seems to be in store for Jan again but this is without counting with Bob. Jealous of Jan, the naughty fellow indeed tells him that Michèle's attempted suicide was nothing but an advertising pretense.

Good and bad characters are stuck in a ski chalet near buried Nazi gold in the Alps.

Dedee is a prostitute, working in Monsieur Rene's night club on Antwerp's harbour. The porter is Marco, her pimp. Dedee is not happy, until she meets Francesco, an italian sailorman. They fall in love and Dedee begins to dream about an escape of her daily dullness.

Robert Newton is the harbor signalman who retrieves a suitcase full of money after witnessing a murder, fails to report it to the police, and finds himself the object of murderous and mercenary interest.

Director Henry King's WWII drama about American soldiers occupying a tiny Italian village stars John Hodiak, Gene Tierney, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Glenn Langan, Harry Morgan and Eduardo Ciannelli.

Andre Marbel is the upper-class doctor who is able to continue his practice above suspicion even though he is a leader in the French Resistance. His nurse supports his activities, but her Nazi-brainwashed husband provides the tension.

A British commando is on a one-man raid to destroy a bomb factory in Nazi-occupied France. He must enlist the aid of French farmers to complete his mission.

Paul Hudson, leads a group of desert bandits against some Nazis, who want to use them as cheap labor for their railroad.

A disgraced pilot determines to regain the respect of both his son, now a test pilot for the Army, and the men he once flew with.

Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed by its tailor has on those who wear it. The video release features a W.C. Fields segment not included in the original theatrical release.

A crusading newsman starts up a tabloid with a gangster as his 50-50 partner.

A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint.

Five people are gathered in a cafe because of a phone call they have all received. The plot thickens when they discover a dead body in a bedroom upstairs.The five people all become suspects.

Mireille, a Frenchwoman, marries a westernized Turkish diplomat and, thinking that she will live a dream life in an Arabian Nights setting, follows him back to his native country, only to discover that, in a staunchly traditional society, she will not be a free woman there any longer.

Despite her success, writer Francine Margerie is let down to see that she is not nominated for the Legion of Honor award. One solution could be to sleep with Champmorel, the Director of Fine Arts and one of the judges for the awarding of the coveted medal.

Captain Justin Mollenard works for a company that sells armaments to the Far East. After an eventful stay in Shanghai, where he and his cargo are the victim of a malicious attack, he returns to his hometown of Dunkirk. Mollenard receives a frosty welcome from his wife Mathilde, who resents the way in which he has neglected his family for so many years. Mollenard’s only wish is to get back to sea as soon as he can, but a sudden heart-attack leaves him paralysed and entirely in his wife’s power...

Town trollop Safia, much against her better judgment, falls in love with Matteo, a beggar and mystic in the native quarter of Sirocco. She flees to France, first as the mistress and then wife of a wealthy archaeologist, and bears him Matteo's child, whom he believes to be his own. Complications arise years later when Matteo finds Safia, and a ring of blackmailers uncover her past and exposes her to her husband.

Claire Buisson becomes enamored with Gerard and soon afterwords she becomes pregnant. Gerard advises her to abort the child but, at the last moment, Claire decides to keep her child and leaves for her sister's place in the province.

Two journalists from different papers are looking for the same story. They want to know, who a group of gangsters getting young women from Europe to South America, where they are forced to work in brothels. But the gangsters have their own battels against each over, so the journalists can escape the danger, in which they've brought themselves.

The story of the seven pearls of the English Crown, from Henry VIII to 1937; three of them missing.

The Golem, a giant creature created out of clay by a rabbi, comes to life in a time of trouble to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.

Lyrical biography of the classical composer, depicted as a romantic hero, an accursed artist.

A slapstick comedy centered around two neighboring republics, Crogandia and Miremia, and the various disasters that befall the ceremonial unveiling of a statue, the launching of a ship, and the crash-landing of a Miremian pilot in Crogandian territory.