French cinema: 1950s
La Sentence (1959)
Jean Valère
As the Allies begin their invasion of Northern France in the summer of 1944, four members of the French Resistance are arrested after an attempt to assassinate a German officer...
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Jean Valère
Les Sept péchés capitaux (1952)
Yves Allégret
At a busy fairground, a stallholder tries to drum up business by regaling passersby with stories illustrating each of the Seven Deadly Sins...
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Yves Allégret
Si tous les gars du monde (1956)
Christian-Jaque
When the crew of a Breton fishing boat in the North Sea begin to fall mysteriously ill, the captain, La Guellec, tries to summon help via radio...
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Christian-Jaque
Sous le ciel de Paris (1951)
Julien Duvivier
In a small garret in Paris's sixth arrondissement, Mademoiselle Perrier lives with her numerous cats. To feed her treasured pets, the old woman needs to find 64 francs, so she sets out one morning to see if some kind soul will give her the money...
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Julien Duvivier
Souvenirs perdus (1950)
Christian-Jaque
Four forgotten objects in a lost property office each has a story to tell. An Egyptian statue was a present that Philippe once gave to his lover Florence...
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Christian-Jaque
Les Statues meurent aussi (1953)
Chris Marker
Today when we see an African sculpture made in a previous century we are likely to be fascinated by it, perhaps mesmerised by its unfamiliar exotic beauty... [More...]
Chris Marker
Today when we see an African sculpture made in a previous century we are likely to be fascinated by it, perhaps mesmerised by its unfamiliar exotic beauty... [More...]
La Tête contre les murs (1959)
Georges Franju
Worn down by the troublesome behaviour of his rebellious son François, Maître Gérane, a well-known lawyer, has him interned in a psychiatric hospital... [More...]
Georges Franju
Worn down by the troublesome behaviour of his rebellious son François, Maître Gérane, a well-known lawyer, has him interned in a psychiatric hospital... [More...]
Thérèse Raquin (1953)
Marcel Carné
After being adopted by her aunt, Thérèse Raquin was forced into marrying her sickly cousin Camille at an early age... [More...]
Marcel Carné
After being adopted by her aunt, Thérèse Raquin was forced into marrying her sickly cousin Camille at an early age... [More...]
Touchez pas au grisbi (1954)
Jacques Becker
Max and Riton are two ageing gangsters who have just pulled off a spectacular gold bullion robbery at Orly airport. Both men hope to retire gracefully on their ill-gotten gains but their plans are jeopardised when Riton says more than he should to his mistress Josy... [More...]
Jacques Becker
Max and Riton are two ageing gangsters who have just pulled off a spectacular gold bullion robbery at Orly airport. Both men hope to retire gracefully on their ill-gotten gains but their plans are jeopardised when Riton says more than he should to his mistress Josy... [More...]
La Traversée de Paris (1956)
Claude Autant-Lara
In Paris, during the Nazi occupation, Marcel Martin is forced to give up his job as a taxi driver, and makes a modest living as a blackmarket delivery boy... [More...]
Claude Autant-Lara
In Paris, during the Nazi occupation, Marcel Martin is forced to give up his job as a taxi driver, and makes a modest living as a blackmarket delivery boy... [More...]
Les Tricheurs (1958)
Marcel Carné
Middle class student Bob Letellier enters a new world when he meets Alain, a free-thinking rebel who, along with his group of young Parisians, has opted for a life of instant gratification instead of work and commitment... [More...]
Marcel Carné
Middle class student Bob Letellier enters a new world when he meets Alain, a free-thinking rebel who, along with his group of young Parisians, has opted for a life of instant gratification instead of work and commitment... [More...]
Les Trois mousquetaires [TV] (1959)
Claude Barma
France, 1625. King Louis XIII reigns but it is the Cardinal de Richelieu who governs. As he is reprimanding Athos, Porthos and Aramis after being thrashed by the cardinal's men, Monsieur de Tréville is visited by the young Charles D'Artagnan, who is keen to serve as a musketeer... [More...]
Claude Barma
France, 1625. King Louis XIII reigns but it is the Cardinal de Richelieu who governs. As he is reprimanding Athos, Porthos and Aramis after being thrashed by the cardinal's men, Monsieur de Tréville is visited by the young Charles D'Artagnan, who is keen to serve as a musketeer... [More...]
Typhon sur Nagasaki (1957)
Yves Ciampi
Pierre Marsac is a French engineer working for a large oil company in Nagasaki, a Japanese city that was mostly devastated by an atomic bomb at the end of WWII... [More...]
Yves Ciampi
Pierre Marsac is a French engineer working for a large oil company in Nagasaki, a Japanese city that was mostly devastated by an atomic bomb at the end of WWII... [More...]
Un acte d'amour (1953)
Anatole Litvak
Some years after the war, an American, Robert Teller, pays a visit to a seaside town in the South of France. He casts his mind back to 1944, recalling his time in Paris immediately after the Liberation... [More...]
Anatole Litvak
Some years after the war, an American, Robert Teller, pays a visit to a seaside town in the South of France. He casts his mind back to 1944, recalling his time in Paris immediately after the Liberation... [More...]
Un chant d'amour (1950)
Jean Genet
In a French prison, two inmates in solitary cells try to communicate with one another. One is young, clean and handsome; the other somewhat older, unshaved and unkempt... [More...]
Jean Genet
In a French prison, two inmates in solitary cells try to communicate with one another. One is young, clean and handsome; the other somewhat older, unshaved and unkempt... [More...]
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (1956)
Robert Bresson
In 1943, with France under Nazi occupation, Lieutenant Fontaine is arrested by the Gestapo for his involvement with the Resistance... [More...]
Robert Bresson
In 1943, with France under Nazi occupation, Lieutenant Fontaine is arrested by the Gestapo for his involvement with the Resistance... [More...]
Un grand patron (1951)
Yves Ciampi
Louis Delage is one of the greatest surgeons of his time and nothing matters more to him than his career. He has a strained relationship with Dr Tannard, his cousin, who is jealous of his success... [More...]
Yves Ciampi
Louis Delage is one of the greatest surgeons of his time and nothing matters more to him than his career. He has a strained relationship with Dr Tannard, his cousin, who is jealous of his success... [More...]
Un homme marche dans la ville (1950)
Marcello Pagliero
In the late 1940s, Madeleine and André Laurent live in Le Havre, a town that appears as grimly desolate and battle-scarred as their marriage... [More...]
Marcello Pagliero
In the late 1940s, Madeleine and André Laurent live in Le Havre, a town that appears as grimly desolate and battle-scarred as their marriage... [More...]
Un témoin dans la ville (1959)
Edouard Molinaro
In the course of a violent argument, businessman Pierre Verdier pushes his mistress Jeanne out of a moving train. Tried for murder, he is subsequently acquitted through lack of evidence... [More...]
Edouard Molinaro
In the course of a violent argument, businessman Pierre Verdier pushes his mistress Jeanne out of a moving train. Tried for murder, he is subsequently acquitted through lack of evidence... [More...]
Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953)
Jacques Tati
Monsieur Hulot sets out for his summer holiday at the peaceful seaside resort of St. Marc-Sur-Mer. No sooner has he arrived, in his trusty old jalopy, than the nightmare of his fellow holiday-makers begins... [More...]
Jacques Tati
Monsieur Hulot sets out for his summer holiday at the peaceful seaside resort of St. Marc-Sur-Mer. No sooner has he arrived, in his trusty old jalopy, than the nightmare of his fellow holiday-makers begins... [More...]
La Vache et le prisonnier (1959)
Henri Verneuil
In 1943, Charles Bailly is an unhappy prisoner-of-war on a farm in Nazi Germany. After two years of captivity, he makes up his mind to escape and return to his hometown of Marseille... [More...]
Henri Verneuil
In 1943, Charles Bailly is an unhappy prisoner-of-war on a farm in Nazi Germany. After two years of captivity, he makes up his mind to escape and return to his hometown of Marseille... [More...]
La Valse de Paris (1950)
Marcel Achard
Paris, in the mid-1800s. Hortense Schneider is an aspiring young actress who is keen to appear in Jacques Offenbach's next operetta... [More...]
Marcel Achard
Paris, in the mid-1800s. Hortense Schneider is an aspiring young actress who is keen to appear in Jacques Offenbach's next operetta... [More...]
La Vérité sur Bébé Donge (1952)
Henri Decoin
François Donge, a wealthy industrialist, is seriously ill in hospital. He knows that he has been poisoned by his young wife Bébé, but he bears her no recriminations... [More...]
Henri Decoin
François Donge, a wealthy industrialist, is seriously ill in hospital. He knows that he has been poisoned by his young wife Bébé, but he bears her no recriminations... [More...]
La Vie d'un honnête homme (1953)
Sacha Guitry
Through a combination of hard work and ruthlessness, Albert Ménard-Lacoste has become a wealthy businessman, although his austerity prevents him from being loved, even by his family... [More...]
Sacha Guitry
Through a combination of hard work and ruthlessness, Albert Ménard-Lacoste has become a wealthy businessman, although his austerity prevents him from being loved, even by his family... [More...]
Voici le temps des assassins (1956)
Julien Duvivier
André Chatelin manages a popular restaurant in Paris, adjacent to the busy Halles market. His is an uneventful but contented life, until the fateful day when he is visited by Catherine, the daughter of his ex-wife Gabrielle... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
André Chatelin manages a popular restaurant in Paris, adjacent to the busy Halles market. His is an uneventful but contented life, until the fateful day when he is visited by Catherine, the daughter of his ex-wife Gabrielle... [More...]