Pierre Larquey

Marseilles in the 1930s. A respected gangster, Justin, finds himself in a deadly feud with his rival, the unscrupulous Esposito. The latter plans to steal a cargo of opium bound for China and to have Justin killed. The scheme backfires, and Justin and his cohorts flee with the stolen drugs. Later, Justin saves a young woman, Totone, from drowning, and she is easily seduced by his charms. Her jealous lover, Sylvio, tries to kill Justin, but again the murder attempt is thwarted. Justin decides it is time for a final showdown with Esposito…Read More »

Synopsis
When the proprietor of the inn “Le Trou normand” dies, everyone in the small town of Courteville is curious to know who will inherit his estate. To the chagrin of the dead man’s sister-in-law, the sole beneficiary is his nephew, the hapless Hyppolite Lemoine. However, Hyppolite will inherit only if he can obtain a school certificate. Reluctantly, the gawky middle-aged man agrees to go back to school. His scheming aunt isn’t ready to admit defeat so easily, and intends to use her beautiful daughter to thwart Hyppolite’s chances in the end-of-year exam…Read More »

Zou Zou tries to help her childhood friend prove his innocence after he’s accused of murder.Read More »

Synopsis:
Claude Autant-Lara’s literally haunting romantic tale Sylvia and the Phantom stars Odette Joyeaux as Sylvia, an imaginative young girl who lives in an old French castle. Fascinated by a portrait of the lover of her deceased grandmother, Sylvia fantasizes about having a romance with the lover’s ghost. On Sylvia’s 16th birthday, her father decides to amuse the girl by having the “ghost” make an appearance, and to that end engages the services of three men–a valet, a ham actor and a burglar–to impersonate the wraith. Though confused by the fact that the ghost seemingly has three distinct personalities, Sylvia nonetheless falls in love with the burglar, the most handsome of the trio. Disillusioned upon learning of her father’s subterfuge, Sylvia is unfortunately unresponsive when the real ghost (poignantly enacted by comedian Jacques Tati) makes a surprise appearance. Unfairly lambasted by American critics as “worthless,” Sylvia and the Phantom has since taken its place in cinema history as one of Claude Autant-Lara’s most beguiling works. The film was adapted from a play by Alfred Adam.Read More »

Quote:
One of the great unknown films of the 30’s.
Astonishingly inventive and constantly amusing tale of
a bureaucrat whose dead aunt proves to be irrepressibly alive.
Colin Crisp – French Cinema – A Critical Filmography, Volume 1 (1929–1939)Read More »