French cinema: 1940s
Le Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary (1942)
Sacha Guitry
When Désirée Clary was born, on 8 November 1777, no one could imagine the fabulous future that was in store for her, least of all her father, a wealthy Marseille merchant...
[More...]
Sacha Guitry
Destins (1946)
Richard Pottier
Thanks to his impresario, the singer André Cartier soon becomes a huge music hall star in Paris. The pride of his life is his five-year-old son Jacky, whom he brings up with the help of his nurse Malika and secretary Jacqueline...
[More...]
Richard Pottier
Deux amis (1946)
Dimitri Kirsanoff
1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. Paris is under siege and food is so scarce that its inhabitants are forced to eat their household pets and any rats they can catch...
[More...]
Dimitri Kirsanoff
Le Diable au corps (1947)
Claude Autant-Lara
Marthe Grangier, a nurse in a military hospital during the First World War, is pressurised into getting married by her parents...
[More...]
Claude Autant-Lara
Le Diable boiteux (1948)
Sacha Guitry
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was born in Paris on 2nd February 1754. Afflicted with a game leg (which earned him the nickname Le Diable boiteux or Lame Devil), he was unable to follow his father in pursuit of military honours and instead opted for an ecclesiastical career...
[More...]
Sacha Guitry
Le Diamant noir (1941)
Jean Delannoy
François Mitry, a wealthy banker, has scarcely had time to come to terms with his wife's death in a car accident when he is struck by another blow... [More...]
Jean Delannoy
François Mitry, a wealthy banker, has scarcely had time to come to terms with his wife's death in a car accident when he is struck by another blow... [More...]
Domino (1943)
Roger Richebé
François Dominique, alias Domino, returns to Paris with his best friend Mirandole, having failed to make his fortune in Africa... [More...]
Roger Richebé
François Dominique, alias Domino, returns to Paris with his best friend Mirandole, having failed to make his fortune in Africa... [More...]
Douce (1943)
Claude Autant-Lara
Paris, 1887. Engelbert de Bonafé is a wealthy man who lives in a splendid house with his hard-to-please mother, the Countess de Bonafé, and his 17-year-old daughter Douce, whose name reflects her gentle personality... [More...]
Claude Autant-Lara
Paris, 1887. Engelbert de Bonafé is a wealthy man who lives in a splendid house with his hard-to-please mother, the Countess de Bonafé, and his 17-year-old daughter Douce, whose name reflects her gentle personality... [More...]
Du Guesclin (1949)
Bernard de Latour
Originating from a modest family of Breton landowners, Bertrand Du Guesclin distinguishes himself in early adulthood as a fiercely energetic and valiant soldier... [More...]
Bernard de Latour
Originating from a modest family of Breton landowners, Bertrand Du Guesclin distinguishes himself in early adulthood as a fiercely energetic and valiant soldier... [More...]
La Duchesse de Langeais (1942)
Jacques de Baroncelli
Paris, 1820. Antoinette, the Duchess of Langeais, is a prominent socialite who delights in flirting with men who seek in vain to win a place in her affections and her bed... [More...]
Jacques de Baroncelli
Paris, 1820. Antoinette, the Duchess of Langeais, is a prominent socialite who delights in flirting with men who seek in vain to win a place in her affections and her bed... [More...]
L'École buissonnière (1949)
Jean-Paul Le Chanois
In 1920, Monsieur Pascal, a veteran of the First World War, arrives in a small Provençal town to take up a teaching post... [More...]
Jean-Paul Le Chanois
In 1920, Monsieur Pascal, a veteran of the First World War, arrives in a small Provençal town to take up a teaching post... [More...]
L'École des facteurs (1947)
Jacques Tati
The French postal service is keen to keep up with its American equivalent and so introduces a programme of modernisation that will make it more efficient than ever before... [More...]
Jacques Tati
The French postal service is keen to keep up with its American equivalent and so introduces a programme of modernisation that will make it more efficient than ever before... [More...]
L'Embuscade (1941)
Fernand Rivers
Robert Marcel is a young man who is still troubled by the fact that he was given up for adoption by his parents shortly after he was born... [More...]
Fernand Rivers
Robert Marcel is a young man who is still troubled by the fact that he was given up for adoption by his parents shortly after he was born... [More...]
L'Émigrante (1940)
Léo Joannon
Christiane is the owner of a popular night club whose habitués includes Monrozat, a sad wreck of a man who is desperately looking for a woman to accompany him to South America to start a new life... [More...]
Léo Joannon
Christiane is the owner of a popular night club whose habitués includes Monrozat, a sad wreck of a man who is desperately looking for a woman to accompany him to South America to start a new life... [More...]
Émile l'Africain (1948)
Robert Vernay
Mild-mannered studio prop man Emile is surprised when he meets up with his wife twenty years after their separation. It appears that their daughter Martine is about to get married, to a young man named Daniel, and is eager to win her father's consent... [More...]
Robert Vernay
Mild-mannered studio prop man Emile is surprised when he meets up with his wife twenty years after their separation. It appears that their daughter Martine is about to get married, to a young man named Daniel, and is eager to win her father's consent... [More...]
Les Enfants du paradis (1945)
Marcel Carné
Paris, circa 1830. Frederick LeMaître is a young romantic who dreams of becoming a great actor. Unable to find a role worthy of his talents, he gratefully accepts a small part in a mime show at the Funambules Theatre on the busy Boulevard du Crime... [More...]
Marcel Carné
Paris, circa 1830. Frederick LeMaître is a young romantic who dreams of becoming a great actor. Unable to find a role worthy of his talents, he gratefully accepts a small part in a mime show at the Funambules Theatre on the busy Boulevard du Crime... [More...]
L'Enfer des anges (1941)
Christian-Jaque
Since leaving a reformatory, a young man named Jean has found it impossible to find work, but he perseveres, determined to make a fresh start... [More...]
Christian-Jaque
Since leaving a reformatory, a young man named Jean has found it impossible to find work, but he perseveres, determined to make a fresh start... [More...]
Entre onze heures et minuit (1949)
Henri Decoin
It was between the hours of eleven o'clock at night and midnight that the crime took place. Jérôme Vidauban, a trafficker wanted by the police, is shot dead in a Paris subway by an unknown assassin... [More...]
Henri Decoin
It was between the hours of eleven o'clock at night and midnight that the crime took place. Jérôme Vidauban, a trafficker wanted by the police, is shot dead in a Paris subway by an unknown assassin... [More...]
L'Épave (1949)
Willy Rozier
Perrucha is a Spanish refugee who has just one ambition: to become a famous singer. Performing at a bar in Toulon, she meets Mario, a young deep-sea diver... [More...]
Willy Rozier
Perrucha is a Spanish refugee who has just one ambition: to become a famous singer. Performing at a bar in Toulon, she meets Mario, a young deep-sea diver... [More...]
L'Escadron blanc (1949)
René Chanas
Commander Marçay receives orders to lead a company of legionnaires across the Sahara Desert in pursuit of a dangerous gang of bandits that are pillaging the region... [More...]
René Chanas
Commander Marçay receives orders to lead a company of legionnaires across the Sahara Desert in pursuit of a dangerous gang of bandits that are pillaging the region... [More...]
L'Éternel retour (1943)
Jean Delannoy
Patrice travels to a remote island to find a young wife for his uncle Marc. There he meets a beautiful blonde named Nathalie, who agrees to return to the mainland to marry Patrice's uncle, if only to escape her life of penury... [More...]
Jean Delannoy
Patrice travels to a remote island to find a young wife for his uncle Marc. There he meets a beautiful blonde named Nathalie, who agrees to return to the mainland to marry Patrice's uncle, if only to escape her life of penury... [More...]
Étoile sans lumière (1946)
Marcel Blistène
Stella Dora was one of the great stars of the silent era, but with the arrival of sound she fears that her career may be about to take a sudden dive into obscurity... [More...]
Marcel Blistène
Stella Dora was one of the great stars of the silent era, but with the arrival of sound she fears that her career may be about to take a sudden dive into obscurity... [More...]
Ève et le serpent (1949)
Charles-Félix Tavano
Georges and Louisette are neighbours in a Parisian apartment block who, whilst not sharing the same taste in music, fall hopelessly in love and decide to get married... [More...]
Charles-Félix Tavano
Georges and Louisette are neighbours in a Parisian apartment block who, whilst not sharing the same taste in music, fall hopelessly in love and decide to get married... [More...]
Falbalas (1945)
Jacques Becker
Philippe Clarence is the genius couturier who runs one of the most successful fashion houses in Paris. His unsurpassed talent for design is matched only by the ease with which he draws women towards him, women he toys with whilst they amuse him, and then casually discards at his leisure... [More...]
Jacques Becker
Philippe Clarence is the genius couturier who runs one of the most successful fashion houses in Paris. His unsurpassed talent for design is matched only by the ease with which he draws women towards him, women he toys with whilst they amuse him, and then casually discards at his leisure... [More...]
Fantômas (1947)
Jean Sacha
According to police records, there is irrefutable proof that the arch-criminal Fantômas is a dead man. His daughter Hélène is at last free to marry the man of her choice - the journalist Fandor, who assisted Inspector Juve in rescuing her from her father's evil clutches... [More...]
Jean Sacha
According to police records, there is irrefutable proof that the arch-criminal Fantômas is a dead man. His daughter Hélène is at last free to marry the man of her choice - the journalist Fandor, who assisted Inspector Juve in rescuing her from her father's evil clutches... [More...]
Fantômas contre Fantômas (1949)
Robert Vernay
Brutally rejected by his one true love Irène de Charras, the renowned surgeon François de Bréval commits suicide by crashing his car into a tree at high speed... [More...]
Robert Vernay
Brutally rejected by his one true love Irène de Charras, the renowned surgeon François de Bréval commits suicide by crashing his car into a tree at high speed... [More...]
Farrebique ou Les quatre saisons (1946)
Georges Rouquier
The Aveyron district of southern France is noted for its high rocky plateaus which give the countryside a distinctive, almost Neolithic character... [More...]
Georges Rouquier
The Aveyron district of southern France is noted for its high rocky plateaus which give the countryside a distinctive, almost Neolithic character... [More...]
La Fausse maîtresse (1942)
André Cayatte
In a village in Catalonia, René Rivals, a rugby footballer, is pursuing a secret love affair with the wife of his best friend, wine merchant Guy Carbonnel... [More...]
André Cayatte
In a village in Catalonia, René Rivals, a rugby footballer, is pursuing a secret love affair with the wife of his best friend, wine merchant Guy Carbonnel... [More...]
Faut ce qu'il faut (1946)
René Pujol
Charlot could not be happier than he is on the day that his sweetheart Henriette gives birth to their first child, but there is one fly in the ointment: Charlot is still married to another woman and must wait for his divorce to be finalised before he can marry Henriette... [More...]
René Pujol
Charlot could not be happier than he is on the day that his sweetheart Henriette gives birth to their first child, but there is one fly in the ointment: Charlot is still married to another woman and must wait for his divorce to be finalised before he can marry Henriette... [More...]
La Femme que j'ai le plus aimée (1942)
Robert Vernay
Claude is unhappy at having just broken up with the woman of his life. Over dinner one evening his five friends try to lift his spirits by relating their own amorous misfortunes... [More...]
Robert Vernay
Claude is unhappy at having just broken up with the woman of his life. Over dinner one evening his five friends try to lift his spirits by relating their own amorous misfortunes... [More...]