Gambling Hell

The knight Henri de Lagardère wants to avenge the death of his friend, the duke Philippe de Nevers assassinated by the prince de Gonzague, a few years before.

During the Rif War, a lieutenant commands a torpedo boat. He finds in an abandoned yacht, a beautiful portrait of a woman, and soon meets this one who is married to a brutal and jealous baron.

This is a love story, a story of rivalry and revenge but, above all, a story about sport. The great passion is about union rugby.

A tale of the tender relationship between a twelve-year-old boy and the fourteen-year-old upperclassman who is the object of his desire, all set within the rigid atmosphere of a Jesuit-run school.

On the morning of 30 January 1889, the Archduke Rodolphe de Habsbourg and his mistress Marie Vetsera are found dead. The remains of Rodolphe are discreetly repatriated to Hofburg, while those of Marie are hastily thrown disposed into the depths of a tomb.

Four women are murdered, each knifed and, despite torn garments, remain virtuous. As famed police inspector Jules Maigret pieces the clues together, he comes to realise that for the elusive man that he suspects to be unmasked, he has to set a trap.

La Venus D'Or (Golden Venus) was based on Business, a play by Pierre Sabatier. Mirielle Balin stars as Judith, the mistress of ruthless oil magnate Harfstrong. What Harfstrong doesn't know is that Judith is a spy for his hated business rival. When he does find out, he cannot get rid of her because she knows too much about his own crooked dealings. After several more reels of mutual betrayal and recriminations, the story suddenly shifts to the "good" characters, clean-limned young pilot Andre and his sweetheart Michelle. Set up as a fall guy for the villains, Andre somehow emerges from the experience none the worse for wear.

Director Jean Delannoy's immediate followup to his brilliant Les Jeux sont Faits was the more conventional Aux Yeux du Souvenir (aka Souvenir and To the Eyes of Memory). The film is based on a true story, wherein an France airliner managed to survive a journey from Rio De Janeiro to Dakar with two of its engines incapacitated. To this already intensely dramatic situation has been added a romantic subplot involving Claire Magny (Michele Morgan) and Jacques Forester (Jean Marais). The love story adds very little to the film; fortunately, neither does it detract from the film's overall quality. As was the case with many French productions of the 1940s, Aux Yeux du Souvenir benefits immeasurably from the Wagnerian musical score by Georges Auric.

Police Commissioner Jules Maigret returns to the small village where he spent his childhood at the request of the Countess of Saint-Fiacre, who has received a disturbing anonymous letter.

Judge Julien Lamy regularly deals with the welfare of children, namely delinquents. When orphan Alain burns down a barn belonging to his abusive foster family, Lamy has no choice but to send him to a juvenile jail. There, he meets elder Francis, desperate to escape and reunite with his girlfriend. The boys eventually flee, as Francis goes in search of his lost love and Alain continues seeking his biological family.

Hélène and Aldo Giovanni are a circus trapeze double act and a couple. Aldo is temporarily replaced by former-partner Alexandre when the former is injured. The two get into a fight and the following day Alexandre is discovered dead. Hélène suspects her husband is responsible for the murder.

In 1482 Paris, Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, becomes infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback Quasimodo, Frollo's protégé and bell-ringer of Notre Dame, lives in peace among the bells in the heights of the immense cathedral until he's involved by the twisted magistrate in his malicious plans to free himself from Esmeralda's alleged spell, which he believes to be the Devil's work.

Lucky Baron Jérôme Napoléon Antoine wins a boat in a card game and takes off with his former lover in search of new adventures. Adverse circumstances land them in a small town, where the Baron's seafaring companion departs for more attractive scenery offered by a wealthy local. Meanwhile, there's a certain charming café owner that the Baron finds irresistible – at least for awhile.

The inhabitants of the windswept island of Sein, in the 19th-century Brittany, follow their own religion without need for clergy, but as strangers arrive, their faith and beliefs face a deep crisis.

Based on the novel of the same name by writer Edouard Peisson, this Jean Delannoy film display one boy’s unconditional love for his mother, despite her tragic mistreatment of him. After being raised by a shepherd for the past 12 years, Simon (Pierre-Michel Beck) is reunited with his mother Marie (Madeleine Robinson). Marie is a prostitute in Marseilles and is now stable enough to welcome Simon back into her life. Unaware of her profession at first, Simon is happy to have his mom back, but in time he learns how she makes her living. This troubles Simon but he continues to love her, despite not loving her chosen profession. His anger toward this issue gets directed toward Marie’s louse of a boyfriend, Paul (Frank Villard), and the result is a heartfelt tale about love and family.