R
Writing
René Wheeler
Born February 8, 1912 · Paris, France
Died December 11, 2000 · aged 88
René Wheeler (8 February 1912 - 11 December 2000) was a French screenwriter and film director. He co-wrote the story of the film A Cage of Nightingales (1945) with Georges Chaperot, for which they both received an Academy Award nomination in 1947. Their story would later serve as an inspiration for the hugely successful film The Chorus (2004). Wheeler also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1955 heis…
Known For
The Chorus · 2004The Chorus
★ 7.72004
MovieDramaComedy
In 1940s France, a new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration.
Rififi · 1955Rififi
★ 7.81955
MovieCrimeThriller
Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
Fan-Fan the Tulip · 1952Fan-Fan the Tulip
★ 6.71952
MovieRomanceAdventure
Fanfan is a young handsome peasant. He joins the army to escape marriage because a gypsy girl predicted he will get glory and the king's daughter as a wife. But the gypsy girl was in fact Adeline, the daughter of the recruiting officer. Once he has discovered the stratagem, Fanfan refuses to forget this dream and decides to fulfill the destiny of the fake prediction.
Peace in the Fields · 1972Peace in the Fields
★ 6.31972
MovieDrama
This is a film which was made in Belgium in the early '60s and was never released. However, it somehow got included in the American Oscar category for "Best Foreign Film," and was finally released in its home country in 1971. It explores the issues of prejudice and superstition in the Belgian countryside through the troubles of a middle-aged farmer whose mother has been accused of being a witch. In French, this picture is based on a true story which took place in the late 1920s and early '30s.
Midnight... Quai de Bercy · 1953Midnight... Quai de Bercy
★ 7.31953
MovieCrime
Having recently moved into her new apartment, Irène Cazenave, the widow of a well-known police officer, is forced by one of her husband's colleagues to take part in an investigation. The building's provocative concierge has been found murdered. We watch a parade of suspects, only to learn at the end that Irène killed the janitor under blackmail. She kills herself.
A Star to the Sun · 1943A Star to the Sun
★ 7.01943
MovieComedyDrama
Martine, who has become a major star of the song in Paris, wants to return to visit her hometown. Confronted with Merlerault, a very haughty and noble character who wants to teach her how to live, she succumbs after a time of anger, to the charms of the gentleman. They get married but she forgot to tell her husband that her father is in fact the most famous poacher in the area.
The Loves of Colette · 1948The Loves of Colette
★ 8.11948
MovieDrama
François, a young student at a provincial college, likes Colette, the daughter of the headmaster. Turlot his colleague, who commits suicide, left a diary where he writes of his relationship with Colette.
Jour de Fête · 1949Jour de Fête
★ 7.11949
MovieComedy
Jour de Fête tells the story of an inept and easily-distracted French mailman who frequently interrupts his duties to converse with the local inhabitants, as well as inspect the traveling fair that has come to his small community. Influenced by too much wine and a newsreel account of rapid transportation methods used by the United States postal system, he goes to hilarious lengths to speed the delivery of mail while aboard his bicycle.
Movies
The Chorus · 2004The Chorus
★ 7.72004
MovieDramaComedy
In 1940s France, a new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration.
Rififi · 1955Rififi
★ 7.81955
MovieCrimeThriller
Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
Fan-Fan the Tulip · 1952Fan-Fan the Tulip
★ 6.71952
MovieRomanceAdventure
Fanfan is a young handsome peasant. He joins the army to escape marriage because a gypsy girl predicted he will get glory and the king's daughter as a wife. But the gypsy girl was in fact Adeline, the daughter of the recruiting officer. Once he has discovered the stratagem, Fanfan refuses to forget this dream and decides to fulfill the destiny of the fake prediction.
Peace in the Fields · 1972Peace in the Fields
★ 6.31972
MovieDrama
This is a film which was made in Belgium in the early '60s and was never released. However, it somehow got included in the American Oscar category for "Best Foreign Film," and was finally released in its home country in 1971. It explores the issues of prejudice and superstition in the Belgian countryside through the troubles of a middle-aged farmer whose mother has been accused of being a witch. In French, this picture is based on a true story which took place in the late 1920s and early '30s.
Midnight... Quai de Bercy · 1953Midnight... Quai de Bercy
★ 7.31953
MovieCrime
Having recently moved into her new apartment, Irène Cazenave, the widow of a well-known police officer, is forced by one of her husband's colleagues to take part in an investigation. The building's provocative concierge has been found murdered. We watch a parade of suspects, only to learn at the end that Irène killed the janitor under blackmail. She kills herself.
A Star to the Sun · 1943A Star to the Sun
★ 7.01943
MovieComedyDrama
Martine, who has become a major star of the song in Paris, wants to return to visit her hometown. Confronted with Merlerault, a very haughty and noble character who wants to teach her how to live, she succumbs after a time of anger, to the charms of the gentleman. They get married but she forgot to tell her husband that her father is in fact the most famous poacher in the area.
The Loves of Colette · 1948The Loves of Colette
★ 8.11948
MovieDrama
François, a young student at a provincial college, likes Colette, the daughter of the headmaster. Turlot his colleague, who commits suicide, left a diary where he writes of his relationship with Colette.
Jour de Fête · 1949Jour de Fête
★ 7.11949
MovieComedy
Jour de Fête tells the story of an inept and easily-distracted French mailman who frequently interrupts his duties to converse with the local inhabitants, as well as inspect the traveling fair that has come to his small community. Influenced by too much wine and a newsreel account of rapid transportation methods used by the United States postal system, he goes to hilarious lengths to speed the delivery of mail while aboard his bicycle.
Robinson Crusoeland · 1951Robinson Crusoeland
★ 5.71951
MovieComedy
Stan and Ollie are marooned on an island in the south pacific ocean.
The Faceless Enemy · 1946The Faceless Enemy
★ 8.01946
MovieComedyThriller
Professor Artus, a scientist specializing in artificial life, wants to try an experiment on an automaton; he is entrusted with a death row inmate. The professor is soon found murdered. It is Inspector Wens, helped by a journalist, who must solve the case. Franck Villard in the role of Wens succeeds Fresnay.
The Seven Deadly Sins · 1952The Seven Deadly Sins
★ 6.01952
MovieComedyDrama
A compilation of segments covers the seven deadly sins of greed, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth, and gluttony.
A Cage of Nightingales · 1945A Cage of Nightingales
★ 7.61945
MovieMusicDrama
In France, in 1930, a supervisor of a boarding school for young offenders seeks to awaken the music by forming a choir, despite the skepticism of his boarding school director.
Theodora, Slave Empress · 1954Theodora, Slave Empress
★ 6.31954
MovieHistoryRomance
Teodora, a Roman courtesan and former slave girl, marries the Roman emperor Justinian and assumes the throne as Empress of Rome. But the divide between nobility and slave is too great. Teodora seeks justice for her people, and revolution and armed conflict erupt in both Byzantium and Rome.
Crime Does Not Pay · 1962Crime Does Not Pay
★ 5.51962
MovieMysteryCrime
A man walks into a movie theater in Paris and starts watching a film—the same one we're watching, consisting of four stories of best criminal intentions gone awry from the Middle Ages to the present day.
The Five Cents of Lavarede · 1939The Five Cents of Lavarede
★ 5.81939
MovieAdventureComedy
Some try to travel around the world with a time constraint, but Lavarède has to perform an even harder task than Phineas Fogg. His assignment is to go around the globe with a mere five cents coin. Worse, he can't even spend it or else he will not come into the money of his inheritance. To make sure Lavarède plays by the rules of the game, two supervisors stick to him like a shadow. Will the young man meet this unbelievable challenge?
The Wicked Go to Hell · 1955The Wicked Go to Hell
★ 6.41955
MovieDramaCrime
Two convicts attempt to escape from prison in a violent tale of deception, survival, and moral ambiguity.
The Love of a Woman · 1953The Love of a Woman
★ 6.81953
MovieDramaRomance
Marie, a young doctor, settles down on the Ouessant Island. She will be able to win the diffidence of the local population but she will have to fight for her independence after falling in love with an Italian engineer.
Young Girls Beware · 1957Young Girls Beware
★ 5.31957
MovieCrimeDrama
Raven, a mobster just released from prison, settles the score by murdering Mendetta and her partner, who had turned him in. Having taken over Mendetta's various bars, he finds himself at war with other mobsters who want to kill him.
Reproduction interdite · 1957Reproduction interdite
★ 6.31957
MovieDramaCrime
An art dealer in dire straits, after being ripped off by two crooks, one of whom owns a genuine painting by Gauguin while the other is an expert copyist, finds them again and, instead of killing them as he originally intended, joins in their game – with ultimately disastrous results.
Towards Ecstasy · 1960Towards Ecstasy
★ 10.01960
MovieDrama
Catherine married Jérôme, a wealthy landowner living in North Africa, from a bourgeois but noxious background. While living in total family harmony, she is seized by a mystical crisis following a vision of a cleric in ecstasy. She abandons her home and worldly possessions to take a job as a maid. After a bumpy road that severely tested her spirituality, Catherine found peace by returning to live with her devoted partner.
Castles in Spain · 1954Castles in Spain
★ 7.01954
MovieDrama
When the seductive Frenchwoman Geneviève Dupré, secretary to a Spanish businessman, travels to Madrid to announce the death of her boss to his brother, the famous bullfighter Mario Montes, it's love at first sight. Set in Spain, this melodrama is full of light, betrayal and blood, and takes place in the murky world of bullfighting.
Bold Adventure · 1956Bold Adventure
★ 5.81956
MovieComedyAdventure
In the 16th century, as Flanders is invaded by the Spanish, Till the Mischievous uses stratagems to enter the service of Ferdinand Alvare de Toledo, Duke of Alba, and from there organize resistance against the invaders.
The Lovers of the Pont Saint-Jean · 1947The Lovers of the Pont Saint-Jean
★ 6.91947
MovieDrama
On the banks of the Rhône, not far from Tain l'Hermitage, Alcide Garonne, an old ferryman - and incidentally a poacher - lives out of wedlock with Victorine Rousset nicknamed Maryse, a colorful tramp. When Garrone's son, Pilou, a worker, falls in love with Augusta, the mayor's daughter, the unconventional old couple tries to protect the unconventional young pair from the disapproval of self righteous villagers.
Forgive Our Trespasses · 1956Forgive Our Trespasses
★ 6.01956
MovieDrama
In a port area of France, clashes between a gang of young delinquents and a tribe of gypsies.
TV Shows
Arsène Lupin · 1971Arsène Lupin
★ 7.81971
SeriesDrama
Arsène Lupin is a French TV show which was co-produced with German, Canadian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss, Italian and Austrian TV stations. It was only loosely based on Maurice Leblancs novels.
Georges Descrières' portrayal of Arsène Lupin showed more similarity to Graf Yoster than to Maurice Leblanc's original. He behaved in the first place as a perfect gentleman who never got angry. He was always relaxed, because whatever could possibly had bothered him in daily life was taken care of by his butler. It wasn't questioned how he had come to his financial independence although the series sometimes discreetly implied that he was a professional criminal. Besides rescuing damsels in distress Lupin took on criminals, competing with their wit and intelligence. Either he stole paintings from rich people who had to be considered white-collar criminals or he acted as a detective who derailed criminal schemes. However, when he was attacked, he could defend himself effortlessly by using elegant jujutsu methods.
Among the guest stars were German actors such as Günter Strack and Sky du Mont.
Jean-Paul Salomé said in his commentary on the DVD version of his film Arsène Lupin he had like this series as a child. German TV, one the investors, would broadcast the show eventually between 18:00-20:00 o'clock because it was only allowed to show commercials within that very timeslot. For them to get a financial return on investment the show had to be appropriate for families and also for children who would watch it alone. Subsequently it was nearby to ask to defuse and flatten some of Leblanc's plots in order to avoid possible complaints that could force the station to broadcast the show beyond the "Vorabendprogramm".
La Maison des bois · 1971La Maison des bois
★ 7.01971
SeriesDrama
During World War One, in a small rural French village far away from the front, a gamekeeper and his wife take in children displaced by the war.
Les Compagnons de Jéhu · 1966Les Compagnons de Jéhu
★ 7.01966
SeriesDrama
La Porteuse de pain · 1973La Porteuse de pain
★ 8.01973
SeriesDrama
Les Mystères de Paris · 1980Les Mystères de Paris
★ 8.01980
SeriesDrama
TV mini series. An adaptation of Eugene Sue's popular novel.