Pierre Fresnay

Bastien du Boccage is a repeat offender: hasn't he been sent to jail no fewer than six times? But he is no ordinary criminal mind you. As a matter of fact he is a newspaper editor and should have no problems with justice. The trouble is that he has a sister, Lucrèce, who is agony aunt in his newspaper and who tends not to mince her words. To make matters worse, Francine, his daughter, has fallen in love with Bruno, a penniless student and Lucrèce is prepared to do anything to prevent her marriage..

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RY A revolution breaks out in a South American country while its cruel dictator is on a trip to France. The rebels have made careful plans to blow up the dictator's private plane as he returns, but at the last second he changes plans and travels on a commercial flight. The rebels then must make a difficult decision: they must either blow up a flight filled with innocent passengers, or else allow the dictator to return home and take brutal reprisals against the leaders of the uprising.

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A father discovers one day that one of his sons is a homosexual and the other, is the "gigolo" of a Japanese countess. He is first horrified, but finally accepts the situation because it brings him economical advantages.

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Antoine Fournier, a language teacher at a secondary school in Lille, was disgraced by four young men he had caught stealing money from a charity collection. Dismissed from the teaching profession, Fournier found a job as a porter in a Monte Carlo palace through his wartime friend Ansaldi. A few years later, when he became the first concierge, the "man with the golden keys", chance brought him into the presence of the young men, married but as Machiavellian as ever. He won't take revenge on them, but their baser instincts will.

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A novel by Michel De Saint Pierre was the source for Les Aristocrates. Pierre Fresnay stars an aging Marquis, who tries his best to uphold the traditions of nobility in an ever-changing world. The Marquis' children prefer the trappings of modern society and pop culture and regard their father as a relic. This cultural clash nearly results in tragedy when two of the Marquis' offspring substitute recklessness for common sense.

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During the Second World War, in 1943, two French prisoners, François and Michel, escape from Stalag B377 in northern Germany near the Baltic Sea. They meet another escaped compatriot, Pierre, who has donned the uniform of a German officer and joins them. Their goal: to reach neutral Sweden. To get there, they'll have to walk part of the way, then take a train to the coast and, from there, find a way to cross the sea to the shores of Sweden.

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Pierre Fresnay plays the title character in Le Defroque (The Defrocked One). Cast out by his church, former priest Maurice (Fresnay) delights in mocking the traditions and credos of Catholicism. Even so, young Gerard (Pierre Trabaud) becomes convinced that Maurice has never truly lost his calling. Becoming a priest himself, Gerard devotes his life to bringing Maurice back into the fold. Things don't turn out quite as Gerard hopes, however; he has not reckoned with the possibility that Maurice may have been driven into insanity by his raging self-hatred.

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A greedy advertising executive wants to attract the tourists into a small village:he claims Napoleon slept in the local inn on his was back from Elbe island.

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In 1912, the Alsatian Albert Schweitzer, missionary doctor and musician, goes to Gabon, a French colony, to fight malaria, which is ravaging the population. Administrator Leblanc takes a dim view of his arrival. But Albert can count on the devoted Marie Winter and Father Charles to assist him in his task.

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Professor Louis Delage is a kidney transplant specialist. He is so good in his field that his peers nickname him the "great man". But one day, one of his patients die during surgery and Delage starts doubting. Is he actually such a great man? To fight desperation he decides to take in the deceased child while devoting more time to Florence, his hitherto neglected wife.

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As part of the fascination in post World War II France with American culture, a young French couple here travel to the US to see for themselves the prosperity they have heard about.

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It centres on the life of the entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre and his total devotion to studying insect behavior, travelling from Avignon to Paris, from Paris to his death in Sérignan. He is honoured by the French president Raymond Poincaré and his patience, obstinacy and knowledge are also recognised by Napoleon III, the publisher Charles Delagrave and the philosopher John Stuart Mill. They reach their climax in his book, Souvenirs entomologiques.

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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.

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Elsa Lundenstein is accused of having murdered her lover. The jury discusses the case vividly. All members are somehow prejudiced because of personal life experience and subsequently each member reads something different into the presented facts.

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A fictitious biography of Jacques Offenbach and Hortense Schneider.

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As the title of this French documentary indicates, Ce Siecle a 50 Ans examines the 20th Century at its halfway point. Utilizing the archives of several European film reserves, director Denise Tua offers a fascinating mosaic of the people and events that shaped the years 1900 to 1950. Complementing the vintage film clips are three dramatized sketches, delineating the romantic customs of three different points in time. These sketches are inadequately performed, and can easily be ignored. Ce Siecle a 50 Ans both preserved and provided celluloid material for scores of future documentaries.

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World War I aviator Carbot attempts to establish a commercial airline after the war, for the purpose of delivering the mail to the outermost regions of France.

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Satire of publishing circles, featuring a ferocious boss, Moscat, a successful but handsome author, Maréchal, another successful but bitter author, Bourgine, a writer plagued with ambition, Brégaillon and the hero, Marc Fournier Zola Prize winner. Naive, the latter quickly becomes formidable, especially since his wife's infidelities have provided him with the material for a new novel.

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Lovers since childhood, Sylvain and Angelina do not see their lives separated from each other. However, Sylvain is sent to war and the young woman desperately awaits his return. Years pass and the latter is forced by her father to marry Jean-Marie, a man she does not love. One day, while Angelica and her family are climbing in the Alps, an avalanche sweeps them away. Safe and sound, she comes face to face with her childhood sweetheart, Sylvain.

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After losing her only child and falling for another man, a wife no longer loves her husband, but he thinks if he takes her back to some of the places they enjoyed in earlier years, it might rekindle their doomed marriage.

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The life of Vincent de Paul, the 17th-century author and priest who founded two religious orders.

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Louberger, director of an orphanage, is full of praise for a former boarder, Mr. Sauval, who has become their benefactor. One night he arrives and he does not seem to be exactly the man described by Louberger. He has in fact become a crooked lawyer and he is wanted for a crime he has just committed. Despite his efforts he will not escape the police but he will manage to remain, in the eyes of the children, at the height of his legend.

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Pursued by the police, Saget usurps the identity of a man who was returning to his town after having made his fortune in the United States. Under this new name, he deceives his compatriots with the exception of a doctor and the savage Isabelle. During an explanation Saget understands that Isabelle secretly admires him. She denounces him and Saget surrenders without a fight. Thus he ruins all his prestige with the young Amazon.

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Having lost his memory due to serving in World War I, Gaston has spent the past 15 years in a psychiatric hospital. Due to his large disability pension fund, several families claim him as their missing son. Gaston is introduced to the Renaud family by the Duchess Dupont-Dufort and her lawyer. The Renaud family attempt to revive Gaston's memory with stories of his past, but he is apalled by some of the things he hears and dislikes the man he is supposed to be.

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A young woman has doubts about her husband's fidelity. She pretends a trip, but settles in a hotel where her husband must pass. He meets her and, disturbed by the one he believes to be his wife's double, becomes her lover. Little by little the truth breaks through. The husband takes leave of the mistress and returns to the wife whose return has been announced.

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Remy Germain is a doctor in a French town who becomes the focus of a vicious smear campaign, as letters accusing him of having an affair and performing unlawful abortions are mailed to village leaders. The mysterious writer, who signs each letter as "Le Corbeau" (The Raven) soon targets the whole town, exposing everyone's dark secrets.

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An untiring lady social worker, Émilienne, has as one of her charges a stableman who was wounded by his mistress. Unfortunately, Émilienne's young sister who was helping her at work decides to go away with the stableman.

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A struggling artist buys a talisman that gives him love, fame and wealth. The talisman is a severed left hand, and it works perfectly, in fact, magically. But of course there is nothing free in this world, and after one year the devil comes and asks for his due.

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