French cinema: 1950s
Maternité clandestine (1953)
Jean Gourguet
In the suburbs of Paris, a gang of wayward adolescents led by Maurice survive on the spoils of their petty crimes. Under the instructions of small-time hoodlum André, the gang must hold up a cashier on his way home one evening...
[More...]
Jean Gourguet
Les Mauvaises rencontres (1955)
Alexandre Astruc
At the Quai des Orfèvres in Paris, Inspector Forbin is interrogating Catherine Racan about Dr Daniély, a man accused of practicing abortion...
[More...]
Alexandre Astruc
Maxime (1958)
Henri Verneuil
Paris, 1914. Maxime Cherpray is an ageing Don Juan who, despite being well-bred and well-educated, has little money and lives in a small apartment...
[More...]
Henri Verneuil
Méfiez-vous fillettes (1957)
Yves Allégret
Raven's first act after being released from prison is to track down and kill the gangster boss who put him beyond bars - Mendetta...
[More...]
Yves Allégret
La Meilleure part (1955)
Yves Allégret
For Philippe Perrin, a young and ambitious engineer, the construction of a huge dam in the Alps becomes his life's work and he devotes himself to this, his greatest accomplishment...
[More...]
Yves Allégret
Mémoires d'un flic (1956)
Pierre Foucaud
Chief-superintendent Dominique, the head of a crime squad in Marseille, finds himself in a difficult position when his son Gérard becomes mixed up with some racketeers... [More...]
Pierre Foucaud
Chief-superintendent Dominique, the head of a crime squad in Marseille, finds himself in a difficult position when his son Gérard becomes mixed up with some racketeers... [More...]
Messieurs les ronds de cuir (1959)
Henri Diamant-Berger
In 1906, Monsieur Boudin takes advantage of the laxity of his employers by repeatedly failing to show up for work at the government department which sends him a paycheck each month... [More...]
Henri Diamant-Berger
In 1906, Monsieur Boudin takes advantage of the laxity of his employers by repeatedly failing to show up for work at the government department which sends him a paycheck each month... [More...]
Meurtre en 45 tours (1959)
Etienne Périer
With songs composed by her husband Maurice, Ève Faugères has become a hugely successful singer. Ève's career may be on the up but her marriage is heading for the rocks... [More...]
Etienne Périer
With songs composed by her husband Maurice, Ève Faugères has become a hugely successful singer. Ève's career may be on the up but her marriage is heading for the rocks... [More...]
Meurtres (1950)
Richard Pottier
Noël Annequin is the outcast from the celebrated Annequin family. Whilst his brothers went on to university to become an eminent doctor and lawyer, finding their way into high society, Noël stayed in the country to settle down with the woman he loved, Isabelle... [More...]
Richard Pottier
Noël Annequin is the outcast from the celebrated Annequin family. Whilst his brothers went on to university to become an eminent doctor and lawyer, finding their way into high society, Noël stayed in the country to settle down with the woman he loved, Isabelle... [More...]
Michel Strogoff (1956)
Carmine Gallone
In 1880, the Russian Empire is threatened by a Tartar uprising in the East. The Tsar of Russia entrusts a humble soldier named Michel Strogoff with a vital message which he must take to the Siberian town of Irkutsk to warn of an impending invasion by the belligerent Tartar prince Feofar Khan... [More...]
Carmine Gallone
In 1880, the Russian Empire is threatened by a Tartar uprising in the East. The Tsar of Russia entrusts a humble soldier named Michel Strogoff with a vital message which he must take to the Siberian town of Irkutsk to warn of an impending invasion by the belligerent Tartar prince Feofar Khan... [More...]
Minne, l'ingénue libertine (1950)
Jacqueline Audry
Minnie is a flighty young woman who, bored with her mundane bourgeois existence, takes refuge in her childish fantasies. On her wedding night, she regales her husband Antoine with a lurid account of a passionate liaison she once had with a hoodlum... [More...]
Jacqueline Audry
Minnie is a flighty young woman who, bored with her mundane bourgeois existence, takes refuge in her childish fantasies. On her wedding night, she regales her husband Antoine with a lurid account of a passionate liaison she once had with a hoodlum... [More...]
Minuit... Quai de Bercy (1953)
Christian Stengel
When Mado, the attractive young concierge of a block of flats in Montmartre, is found stabbed to death one evening there is no shortage of murder suspects... [More...]
Christian Stengel
When Mado, the attractive young concierge of a block of flats in Montmartre, is found stabbed to death one evening there is no shortage of murder suspects... [More...]
La Minute de vérité (1952)
Jean Delannoy
On the evening of his wedding anniversary, a respectable doctor, Pierre Richard, is called away to attend to a suicide victim... [More...]
Jean Delannoy
On the evening of his wedding anniversary, a respectable doctor, Pierre Richard, is called away to attend to a suicide victim... [More...]
Miquette et sa mère (1950)
Henri-Georges Clouzot
In 1900, 18-year-old Miquette Grandier lives in a small provincial town with her widowed mother, Madame Grandier, the owner of a tobacco shop... [More...]
Henri-Georges Clouzot
In 1900, 18-year-old Miquette Grandier lives in a small provincial town with her widowed mother, Madame Grandier, the owner of a tobacco shop... [More...]
Les Miracles n'ont lieu qu'une fois (1951)
Yves Allégret
Late one evening in a Parisian bar, Jérôme rakes over his memories and begins to tell his sad life story to the attentive bar owner... [More...]
Yves Allégret
Late one evening in a Parisian bar, Jérôme rakes over his memories and begins to tell his sad life story to the attentive bar owner... [More...]
Le Miroir à deux faces (1958)
André Cayatte
Deciding it is time for him to marry, schoolmaster Pierre Tardivet places an ad in the newspaper for his ideal partner. Of the many replies he receives, he selects Marie-Josée Vauzange, a middle-aged spinster who, whilst gentle and cultivated, is far from being an object of beauty... [More...]
André Cayatte
Deciding it is time for him to marry, schoolmaster Pierre Tardivet places an ad in the newspaper for his ideal partner. Of the many replies he receives, he selects Marie-Josée Vauzange, a middle-aged spinster who, whilst gentle and cultivated, is far from being an object of beauty... [More...]
Les Misérables (1958)
Jean-Paul Le Chanois
France, 1815. Sentenced to five years' hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean escapes from prison in Toulon and goes on the run... [More...]
Jean-Paul Le Chanois
France, 1815. Sentenced to five years' hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean escapes from prison in Toulon and goes on the run... [More...]
Les Mistons (1957)
François Truffaut
In the historic town of Nîmes, an attractive young woman named Bernadette finds she has some unwelcome admirers in a gang of schoolboys who insist on following her about during the long summer holidays... [More...]
François Truffaut
In the historic town of Nîmes, an attractive young woman named Bernadette finds she has some unwelcome admirers in a gang of schoolboys who insist on following her about during the long summer holidays... [More...]
Mitsou (1956)
Jacqueline Audry
France, during the First World War... Mitsou has risen above poverty and obscurity to become a star of the Parisian music hall, but her education is lacking and her taste atrocious for someone aspiring to better herself socially... [More...]
Jacqueline Audry
France, during the First World War... Mitsou has risen above poverty and obscurity to become a star of the Parisian music hall, but her education is lacking and her taste atrocious for someone aspiring to better herself socially... [More...]
La Môme vert-de-gris (1953)
Bernard Borderie
After letting slip that there is a plan to steal a large consignment of gold from the United States, a man named Mickey gets into a fight and is killed in a Casablanca nightclub... [More...]
Bernard Borderie
After letting slip that there is a plan to steal a large consignment of gold from the United States, a man named Mickey gets into a fight and is killed in a Casablanca nightclub... [More...]
Mon frangin du Sénégal (1953)
Guy Lacourt
Jules Pinson, a photographer, is madly in love with Annette, a grocer's daughter, but she has no interest in him. It is action heroes, of the kind she sees on the screen at the local cinema, that set Annette's heart fluttering, not dullards like Jules... [More...]
Guy Lacourt
Jules Pinson, a photographer, is madly in love with Annette, a grocer's daughter, but she has no interest in him. It is action heroes, of the kind she sees on the screen at the local cinema, that set Annette's heart fluttering, not dullards like Jules... [More...]
Mon oncle (1958)
Jacques Tati
Monsieur Hulot rents a modest rooftop apartment in an old part of Paris, where traders sell their goods in the streets and young boys play games on unsuspecting passers-by... [More...]
Jacques Tati
Monsieur Hulot rents a modest rooftop apartment in an old part of Paris, where traders sell their goods in the streets and young boys play games on unsuspecting passers-by... [More...]
Mon pote le gitan (1959)
François Gir
The Védrines are a perfectly respectable middleclass family who lead a perfectly respectable middleclass life - until the rebellious son Théo manages to get a gypsy girl pregnant... [More...]
François Gir
The Védrines are a perfectly respectable middleclass family who lead a perfectly respectable middleclass life - until the rebellious son Théo manages to get a gypsy girl pregnant... [More...]
Monsieur Fabre (1951)
Henri Diamant-Berger
Avignon, 1861. When he is not fulfilling his duties as a schoolmaster and family man, Jean-Henri Fabre occupies himself in the study of insects, his main passion in life... [More...]
Henri Diamant-Berger
Avignon, 1861. When he is not fulfilling his duties as a schoolmaster and family man, Jean-Henri Fabre occupies himself in the study of insects, his main passion in life... [More...]
Monsieur Leguignon, lampiste (1952)
Maurice Labro
Diogène Leguignon is a humble railway employee whose good intentions rarely result in a happy outcome. Evicted from his home, he and his wife are forced to take up residence in a rundown shack in a less than desirable part of town... [More...]
Maurice Labro
Diogène Leguignon is a humble railway employee whose good intentions rarely result in a happy outcome. Evicted from his home, he and his wife are forced to take up residence in a rundown shack in a less than desirable part of town... [More...]
Monsieur Taxi (1952)
André Hunebelle
Pierre Verger is happy in his job as a Paris taxi driver. He may not be rich, he may not be famous, but he enjoys his work and has an adoring wife, Hélène... [More...]
André Hunebelle
Pierre Verger is happy in his job as a Paris taxi driver. He may not be rich, he may not be famous, but he enjoys his work and has an adoring wife, Hélène... [More...]
Montparnasse 19 (1958)
Jacques Becker
In the Montparnasse district of Paris in 1919, a young Italian painter, Amedeo Modigliani, struggles to make a living as an artist... [More...]
Jacques Becker
In the Montparnasse district of Paris in 1919, a young Italian painter, Amedeo Modigliani, struggles to make a living as an artist... [More...]
La Mort en ce jardin (1956)
Luis Buñuel
The setting is a small village on the Brazilian border. An adventurous young man named Shark arrives here at the same time as a party of diamond prospectors who are preparing to attack a small government garrison... [More...]
Luis Buñuel
The setting is a small village on the Brazilian border. An adventurous young man named Shark arrives here at the same time as a party of diamond prospectors who are preparing to attack a small government garrison... [More...]
Le Mouton à cinq pattes (1954)
Henri Verneuil
Trézignan is a sleepy little town in the southeast of France. Anxious to raise the profile of the town and draw in more visitors, the mayor decides to hold a celebratory fête in honour of a set of quintuplets who were born in the town exactly forty years ago... [More...]
Henri Verneuil
Trézignan is a sleepy little town in the southeast of France. Anxious to raise the profile of the town and draw in more visitors, the mayor decides to hold a celebratory fête in honour of a set of quintuplets who were born in the town exactly forty years ago... [More...]
Le Mystère Picasso (1956)
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot is a renowned French film maker, best known for his pessimistic suspense thrillers. At the age of 75, Pablo Picasso is a legendary artist, one of the most celebrated creative talents of the 20th century... [More...]
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot is a renowned French film maker, best known for his pessimistic suspense thrillers. At the age of 75, Pablo Picasso is a legendary artist, one of the most celebrated creative talents of the 20th century... [More...]