Marcel L’Herbier

Denis, a poor student in philosophy, works as a night porter in the Paris market of Les Halles in order to pay for his studies. Constantly weary, he falls asleep and dreams of a beautiful girl in white, Irène, with whom he falls in love.Read More »

El Dorado is the fifth film directed by Marcel L’Herbier for Gaumont’s prestige collection ‘Pax’ which was characterised by high production quality. Its most striking aspect is the invention of new elements of the cinematographic language. L’Herbier uses distortions of the images to convey different messages or impressions: the faces of drinkers become distorted as they become drunk, Sibilla’s face becomes blurred as she thinks about her sick child, or photographs of the Alhambra are distorted to express the artistic vision of the painter intending to represent them.Read More »

quote:
Part of the French TV program – Cineartists of Our Time. In 1964, film critic and filmmaker André S. Labarthe, together with Janine Bazin, widow of influential film theorist André Bazin, approached the French television channel ORTF about starting a program that would resemble the long, in-depth interviews with film directors that magazines such as Cahiers du cinéma and Positif regularly published. ORTF gave the green light, and Cinéastes de notre temps (Filmmakers of Our Time) was born. Many of the programs were dedicated to older directors, then in retirement or in the final stages of their careers. Instead of TV journalists, Labarthe and Bazin would often ask well-known film directors to make these programs: thus, Jacques Rivette on Jean Renoir, or Jacques Rozier on Jean Vigo, etc Read More »

Quote:
In short, this film tells in quasi-mythic terms the struggle of a father with his son. The father is a simple man, who earns his living on the sea. His wife brings two children into the world: the first a saintly daughter, and the second a boy, who has nothing but disrespect for the humble lifestyle of his parents, and who longs for nothing more than to booze and carouse in the taverns of the local town.Read More »

Synopsis:
‘Whilst her husband, the engineer Pierre Moret, is engaged on construction projects, Denise occupies herself with charity work in the Chinese town that has become her home. Tempted into a gambling den, she soon loses a fortune. She has no recourse but to accept a gift of money from the wealthy Prince Hu-Long, who has fallen in love with her. Realising that she cannot accept such a gift, Denise returns the money to the prince, not realising that by taking the money she has become his property…’
– Films de FranceRead More »

Quote:
Adapted from Émile Zola’s novel of the same name, Marcel L’Herbier’s L’Argent [Money] is an opulent classic of late-silent era cinema. Filmed in part on location at the Paris stock exchange, it reveals a world of intrigue, greed, decadence, and ultimately corruption and scandal when business dealings and amorous deceit combine. Business tycoons Saccard and Gunderman lock horns when the former attempts to raise capital for his faltering bank. To inflate the price of his stock, Saccard concocts a duplicitous publicity stunt involving the unwitting aviator Hamelin and a flight across the Atlantic to drill for oil, much to the dismay of his wife Line.Read More »

PLOT: Ludivine, a lttle tomboy, takes on the too polite Delphin. Being caught, and punished, she wants him and his father to be dead. When the latter dies, she feels guilty and takes Delphin under her wing.Read More »

PLOT: Rouletabille comes to the aid of a recently remarried lady whose late criminal husband turns out to be still alive.Her honeymoon is at a fantastic art deco villa perched above the Riviera.Read More »

PLOT: Mathilde Strangerson, the daughter of an eminent scientist, narrowly escapes being murdered in her own bedroom by an unknown assailant. As the room was locked from the inside, no one can understand how the attacker managed to enter or leave the room. Reporter and amateur sleuth Joseph Rouletabille arrives on the scene to protect Mathilde and resolve the mystery of the yellow room.Read More »