In this, one of his most highly rated films, Jacques Becker uses the plot of René
Clair’s 1931 musical farce, Le Million, as a pretext for an intimate portrait
of working class life in France... [More...]
After his career had fallen into near-obscurity in the 1940s, Jean Gabin made a remarkable
come back in La Nuit est mon royaume. This film gave Gabin the opportunity
to deliver one of his finest performances... [More...]
A fine example of French comic farce from the 1950s, Jean Boyer’s Le Passe-muraille
is best known for effectively launching the film career of its star... [More...]
War-time heroes reduced to mercenary activities in some remote colonial backwater.
The desperation of a passionate woman to escape a loveless marriage and find some meaning
in her life... [More...]
Whilst he is perhaps best known for his social dramas revolving around the deficiencies
of the French legal system, director André Cayatte also made a number of more conventional
melodramas... [More...]
Possibly the biggest influence on cinema in France of the 1960s (as in most other western
countries at the time) was the emergence of television as a competitive threat... [More...]
La Grande vadrouille is one of the great comic achievements of French cinema.
A magnificent action comedy, it had until very recently the distinction of being
the most popular film ever shown in France... [More...]
After the immense success of Le
Corniaud (1964) and
La Grande vadrouille (1966) – two of the
most popular films ever made in France – director Gérard Oury had great ambitions
for his next film... [More...]
After the staggering success of Le Corniaud (1964) and La Grande Vadrouille
(1966), director Gérard Oury was eager to make a third film featuring the surprisingly
popular pairing of Bourvil and Louis de Funès... [More...]
