Daniel Mendaille

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

A biopic of former Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant 1797 invasion of Italy.

Lola Montes, previously a great adventuress, is reduced to being the attraction of a circus after having been the lover of various important men.

In late 19th century France, the Countess Louise, wife of a wealthy general, sells the earrings her husband gave her on their wedding day to pay off her secret debts, then claims to have lost them. Her husband quickly learns of the deceit, which is the beginning of many tragic misunderstandings, all involving the earrings, the general, the countess, and her new lover, the Italian Baron Donati.

Raoul de Bragelonne must uphold his musketeer father's legacy in the face of court intrigues from Cardinal Mazarin.

Originally titled Nous Sommes Tout des Assassins, We Are All Murderers was directed by Andre Cayette, a former lawyer who detested France's execution system. Charles Spaak's screenplay makes no attempt to launder the four principal characters (Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin, Antoinine Balpetre, Julien Verdeir): never mind the motivations, these are all hardened murderers. Still, the film condemns the sadistic ritual through which these four men are brought to the guillotine. In France, the policy is to never tell the condemned man when the execution will occur--and then to show up without warning and drag the victim kicking and screaming to his doom, without any opportunity to make peace with himself or his Maker. By the end of this harrowing film, the audience feels as dehumanized as the four "protagonists." We Are All Murderers was roundly roasted by the French law enforcement establishment, but it won a special jury prize at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.

Prosecutor Etzel discovers that his father has sentenced a man, Leonardo Maurizius, on mere presumptions. He then makes it a point of honor to trace the sources of the case to uncover the truth.

After resolving to start a new life with his girlfriend Jacqueline, Bastien Sassey decides to give up working as a courier for drugs traffickers. So that he and Jacqueline can make a fresh start he agrees to take on one more job for a large sum of cash, but he betrays his employer.

Fates of multiple otherwise disconnected characters intertwine miraculously under the sky of Paris. And it all happens in one day.

During the First World War, before joining a squadron at the front in 1918, Herbillon (Jean-Pierre Aumont) has a liaison with Helene (Annabella), a married woman. The young man discovers that his mistress is none other than the wife of Maury (Charles Vanel), an aviator friend.

At the end of the last century, in the Cévennes, a valiant officer was taken for a brigand. Brought to defend himself, he kills one of his attackers and seeks refuge in caves where he hides and from which he no longer dares to come out. The devotion of a doctor saves him and he marries the daughter of this one.

The story of how the people of Paris cope with the strains and struggles of war, from the siege of the city by the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 to the invasion by the Germans in World War II.

A nobleman decides to join a traveling group of actors to be with a girl he admires, but ultimately must rescue her from bandits

On the verge of death, a man entrusts Inspector Burma with an address. Burma conducts a difficult investigation with many twists and turns, which takes him from Lyon to Paris, following in the footsteps of the members of a mysterious business firm.

In 15th-century Rome, Cesare Borgia uses his sister Lucrezia as a political pawn, marrying her off to various noblemen to help unite Italy.

A gang of drug pushers is rampant on the French Riviera. The police has been informed and arrests an accomplice who is about to collect the drugs dropped off from a yacht. This person happens to be a public figure of a nearby village...

At a mine on the shared edge of France and Germany, an underground explosion leads to the entrapment of a group of French miners. In an effort to save the trapped Frenchmen, German miners Wittkopp and Kasper take it upon themselves to traverse a crumbling war tunnel leading down into the mines. Yet, though the workers harbor no political biases against one another, their callous, less tolerant bosses hope to halt this cross-cultural rescue mission.

During the Second World War, midshipman Dourdan, nicknamed 'Saucisse', distinguished himself by his clumsiness and his blunders. Charged with Lieutenant Goldfinch to convey an aircraft to Marrakech, he shot down an American bomber on the way, mistaken for a German plane.

Giuseppe is accused of killing his employer Matthias who is actually in a hospital with amnesia.

Fernand Espitalion is miserable as totally whipped husband of a dragon 'passed on' -like cloths- by his late cousin. She often leaves him waiting outside like a dog when she does business. While she sees a notary about an inheritance, he's seduced to a bar by a shady man. The rogue gets Fernand drunk, knocks him out and switches costumes and papers. He's now Robert Durand, a voluntary Foreign legion recruit. After failed attempts to explain, he tastes military life and finds it less disciplined and more enjoyable then, marriage. But will that last when his wife tracks him and his unit is sent to action in tribal Algeria?

Penelope Benson, known as Penny, is both romantic and determined. Put in a select boarding school by her mother, she takes advantage of a trip to Paris to get away from it all and live her own life. That's how she meets Antoine du Merlet, whom she takes for a young hoodlum when in fact he's a police superintendent. She spends the night at his place, which leads to a number of setbacks for poor Antoine, who is stigmatized by the headmistress, abandoned by his mistress and has to face a strip-tease session starring the unconscious Penny... But Penny's a spicy one and Antoine's a nice guy, so... !

In the pound, Pipo the dog recounts his adventures to his fellow inmates.

Sophie Dirondel, history teacher at the Saint-Cloison-sur-Ermoise, wins the jackpot of a lottery, a 2CV. The good-natured woman is both happy and slightly upset, as she doe not have her driving-license. But she decides to take driving lessons and although she does not prove very gifted she manages to pass the test. She grasps the opportunity to achieve one of her sweetest dreams and, proudly sitting behind her wheel, heads for the City of Light. Alone in Paris, she gets to know Victor Martini, a smooth operator. The man who, in real fact, is the leader of a gang, has no problem bamboozling the naive woman.

Mr Lucas, a grocer, wants to attract the clientele; he imagines a lottery; every week, you can win a bike. It's a big success.

This relatively straightforward dramatic biography was one of two films commissioned to honor Joan of Arc on the 500th anniversary of her death, but it was soon undeservedly relegated to obscurity in favor of Carl Dreyer's triumphant 'La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc'. The comparison is unfair: Dreyer was an artist, but director Marco de Gastyne certainly proved himself a distinguished craftsman, and his emphasis on the Maid of Orléans early life in Domrémy serves as a picturesque, matching bookend to Dreyer's impassioned courtroom drama.

Bavaria, 1433. Reason of state rules that Prince Albert is to marry Princess Bertha of Wurtemberg. But the fine-looking young man is loath to become the husband of a woman with pimples,flat feet and no breast. Nevertheless, he has to obey his authoritarian father, Duke Ernest, and accompanied by faithful Count Törring, he mounts his steed and sets out for Würtemberg. Stopping in Augsburg, he falls in love with the daughter of a local barber-surgeon, pure and beautiful Agnès Bernauer. The couple is soon secretly married and both take refuge at the castle of Margravine Josepha, Albert's aunt, waiting for Ernest's consent. Unluckily Albert's father will not accept his son's union with a commoner and Albert, supported by Josepha and an army of common people, declares war on the Duke. They seem about to be victorious when Brother Enrique, a monk formerly in the Holy Inquisition, finds a way to reverse the situation: accusing Agnès of witchcraft...

In August 1803, Napoleon’s police uncovered a British-backed Bourbon restoration plot implicating the Prince of Condé. Although his son, the Duke of Enghien, seemed preoccupied with romance and hunting in Baden, a French spy’s report falsely suggested his guilt. Napoleon ordered the Duke abducted from Ettenheim. Transferred to Vincennes, the Duke was sentenced to death by Napoleon and executed under Colonel Savary’s command.

During the Occupation, Cora takes the place of her dead husband at the head of a Resistance network. One evening, she sympathizes with Bernard, a Swiss journalist. However, he is actually an undercover German officer who is close to the man ordered to find her using an Identikit picture...

On the morning of 30 January 1889, the Archduke Rodolphe de Habsbourg and his mistress Marie Vetsera are found dead. The remains of Rodolphe are discreetly repatriated to Hofburg, while those of Marie are hastily thrown disposed into the depths of a tomb.

"Le Tambourin", a Montmartre nightclub, is on its way down. Although it can boast great performances by the alluring Les Bluebell Girls and by Jacques Hélian's lively Big Band the venue does not attract people anymore. Nightclub patrons now prefer the jazz cellars of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Taking this new taste into account, the staff of the "Tambourin" and Jacques Hélian decide to set up their own club, "La Pivoine Ecarlate". They are joined by Pâquerette, a flower vendor and amateur singer, and by Jean-Pierre Francis, an existentialist poet...

Juanillo is in love with Dolores, the daughter of the owner of an inn. He likes to sing, she likes dancing. After the village festivals, where Juanillo has acted as a bullfighter and Dolores has performed, he has been hired as bullfighter for a tour in America. They exchange vows, but their letters will be intercepted.

The wife of a stable manager will try everything to clear her husband, a very violent being, accused of the assassination of a trainer.

Arnal, nicknamed 'Counselor' is the head of a family held in high esteem by the people of a Cevennes village. Now, the dignified man, who is the respected arbitrator of local disputes, has adopted Clémence, a deaf-mute girl. The day when Maurice, Arnal's son, starts a love affair with his stepsister, trouble begins...

A mysterious figure signing himself "The Ferret" keeps sending letters to the police, tipping them off about murders that are to be committed around Paris. Among those caught up in the police manhunt is a fraudulent clairvoyant.

The practice of Dr. Julien, a GP of Marseilles, consists mainly of drug-addicts. One day, one of his patient dies at his surgery and Julien yields to the temptation : he steals the dead man's money and hides the corpse in a trunk. But the whole thing is discovered and ... misinterpreted. The doctor is condemned for killing the junkie and sent to the Cayenne convict prison, from which he escapes. The Indians give him shelter and he is soon given the opportunity to return their good deed when a yellow fever epidemic strikes their tribe. A young woman helps to fight the disease and, thanks to her, Julien starts considering that a new life is possible for him.

No description available.

A young woman has three suitors on her father's logging ranch on the Quebec frontier.

First adaptation of Joseph Kessel World War I novel, in which an aviator falls in love with a woman who turns out to be the wife of one of his flying comrades.

Having fallen out with his girlfriend Dolorès, Juanito leaves for Mexico, where he becomes a famous matador.There he meets a Viennese singer, Fanny Miller, who falls for him so much so that she intercepts the letters Dolorès keeps on sending him. In desperation, Dolorès devotes all her time and efforts to dance and she becomes the celebrated dancer Estrellita. After a series of misunderstandings and ups and downs, the sun of Andalusia will finally reunite the two lovebirds.

The film, shot in Nice, was started by Jean Epstein, and the editing finished by Maurice Mariaud, who had just shot The Adventurer

In a Central American state, the owner of a dance hall and his sponsor engage in drug trafficking. Are involved in various intrigues, a gypsy orchestra, its singer, the sister of the conductor, some policemen. Imprisonment and death are at the end of the adventures.

Michel Piccoli plays a police inspector whose best friend is murdered on the orders of gang boss Charles Vanel. The inspector knows full well that Vanel is too crafty and well-connected to ever stand trial for his crime, so he carefully lays a subtle trap for his adversary. Unfortunately, both Piccoli and Vanel are thwarted by a pair of scheming females.

A dramatized re-enactment and documentary of the Battle of Verdun as seen by both French and German soldiers, shot on site of the actual battle.

A wrongfully convicted man finds himself suspected of a crime committed in his prison.

No description available.

Kids playact war in the backyard and the adults decide to show them a documentary about World War 1.

To restore health to their little boy, the Henry couple decided to live in Brittany. The child has a cult of the sea. One day, he follows a band of little Bretons to the high seas and the children would all be drowned if their fathers had not arrived in time.

Film in two eras.1st era: They are not angels. Chronicle of a Free French parachute training camp during the Second World War. 2nd era: Terre de France. A group of paratroopers landed in Brittany sabotages the German installations.

Pierre Tercelin who used to be a prosperous industrialist is now ruined and embittered, having become a mere lock keeper. A widower, he lives with his daughter Evelyne, a music-hall dancer. Claiming he is being persecuted by his cousin Edgar he gets in touch again with another cousin of his he hates, Bernard, a millionaire gun runner,who is also a victim of Edgar. It must be said that both Pierre and Bernard once caused Edgar to go bankrupt... Pierre offers Bernard to join efforts against Edgar. Soon after, Bernard dies of poison, which is only the first of a series of acts of violence. Tiercelin is shot at while going back home, Bernard's son is gunned down while his sister Luciane disappears. Chief-inspector Malouvier - who oddly enough looks very much like the suspect- investigates....

A brave woman is sentenced to prison on false testimony. She escapes twenty years later and takes refuge in Paris where she carries bread while looking for her children Georges and Lucie who will find her and exonerate her.

The king orders viscount Florestan to take mademoiselle de Solanges for his wife. But the viscount doesn't know the young lady at all. The latter decides to seduce her future husband by introducing herself to him with the name Veronique...

No description available.

Ginette, daughter of a foreman of an automobile factory, and Claude, son of the director of this company, love each other, but the father of the young man refuses the marriage.

Adapted from the best-selling novel by K. J. Benes, A Stolen Life serves as a tour de force for German actress Elizabeth Bergner, whose husband Paul Czinner directed the film. Bergner stars as identical twins Sylvina and Martina, whose mild sibling rivalry intensifies when one of the girls tricks the other's sweetheart Alan McKenzie (Michael Redgrave) into proposing to the wrong twin.

Young Gervaise has been very unhappy since her friend abandoned her. The man named Coupeau, a sympathetic roofing worker, takes her under his protection and tries to make her forget her dramatic breakup. But Coupeau is unable to free himself from alcoholism and soon Gervaise finds herself on the street.

A visitor from the western front tells young children, in a sober commentary, about the battle of Verdun.

Based on a venerable Legend of the Sea, the story concerns a pliable prostitute named Bella (Romance) who is all things to all men. No matter what sort of woman her client wants, she will become that woman -- at least for the night. When a middle-aged man named Jean insists that Bella is his long-lost sweetheart, she plays along, hoping to escape her sordid lifestyle. The emotional tragedy that follows is meant to explain how Bella became "Maya," the living embodiment of Lost Souls.

Lopez and his gang attack a ranch where he finds a man who once saved his life.

The ordeal of Françoise who, deceived by her husband, sees her dying child. After a few events in the backdrop of a festival, the husband returns, she pushes him away, driving him to suicide. Another man she thinks she loves is already married.

Undercover police officer Dan Hogan infiltrates a ruthless gangster mob. Hogan’s main objective is to identify the real criminals responsible for the murder of his younger brother. Along the way, he teams up with a woman named Nora Brady, whose own brother was falsely convicted of the same murder.

A problem forces a plane carrying passengers bound for the Far East to land on a desert island. Couples forms and they are happy. They are finally located, rescued and repatriated. A few months of 'civilization' are enough to pit them against each other. Then they decide to return to their paradise lost.

12-year old Armand-Pierre embraces the French Revolution and leaves his mother to enlist in the army.

Jeff and Luck, seal hunters aboard The Viking, both love the same girl. She loves Luck but fears Jeff. Lost in the ice following a storm, Luck saves Jeff, who disappears so as not to be an obstacle to the love of the two young people.