French film photo galley for 1940

French films of the 1940s

Au bonheur des dames (1943)

This strange mix of farce and social drama, based on a novel by Emile Zola, would appear to be an unlikely film to come out of the studios of Continental Films, the German-run company which dominated the French film industry during the years of Occupation. Sympathetic, individualistic shopkeepers uniting to resist an unwelcome outsider... [More...]

Douce (1943)

It was under the Occupation that director Claude Autant-Lara proved his mettle and established himself as one of the finest directors of his generation. His best film, Douce, is a magnificent blend of romance, satire and dramatic irony, beautifully filmed, with some enchanting acting performances. Although the film is set in the late 19th century... [More...]

Goupi mains rouges (1943)

With its extraordinary combination of black comedy, thriller, romance and neo-realist flourishes, Goupi mains rouges is almost certainly Jacques Becker’s most unusual film, and one which offers a rare unromantic depiction of French country life. It was made at the time of the German occupation of France during World War II and... [More...]

L'Éternel retour (1943)

One of the many towering cinematic achievements that miraculously came out of France’s darkest hour, L’Éternel retour unites the creative talent of director Jean Delannoy and writer Jean Cocteau. The result is an intensely moving film about love, jealousy and malice, captivating in its lyrical charm, yet haunting in its assessment of the worst in human nature... [More...]

La Bonne étoile (1943)

With its amusing variation on the Cyrano de Bergerac story, La Bonne étoile is a competently directed, yet mildly lacklustre, romantic comedy, very typical of popular French cinema in the early 1940s. Fernandel brings as much poignancy as comedy to the film, which, despite having a certain naïve charm, is somewhat marred by dull acting performances and a pretty mediocre script... [More...]

Le Capitaine Fracasse (1943)

Whatever artistic genius Abel Gance was able to call upon in the early years of his film making career had all but dissipated by the time he came to make this run-of-the-mill pseudo-historical. Made at the time of the Nazi Occupation of France (albeit in studios in the Free Zone which were not directly under Nazi control)... [More...]

Le Colonel Chabert (1943)

This superlative adaptation of Balzac’s great novel was one of a number of prestigious film productions made in France during the Occupation (1940-1944). Extraordinary that such a dark period in French history could unleash so much creativity and result in so many magnificent works of cinema, of which this is a fine example... [More...]

Le Comte de Monte Cristo (1943)

Although somewhat overshadowed by Vernay’s subsequent Monte Cristo film which starred the legendary Jean Marais, this film is a respectable adaptation of the famous Alexandre Dumas novel. It was made in two parts, each roughly about 90 minutes long, and was a Franco-Italian production, made under the watchful gaze of the Nazi overlords... [More...]

Le Corbeau (1943)

Le Corbeau is regarded today as a masterpiece of French cinema it created a storm of controversy when it was released. The film was banned after the war because of its perceived subversive and immoral overtones. The story was based on a real-life case which took place in the French town of Tulle in the 1920s. The film is an excellent suspense thriller... [More...]

Le Val d'enfer (1943)

Le Val d’enfer was the fourth of five films which Maurice Tourneur made for Continental, the German run film company that operated in France during the Nazi occupation. (The others were: Péchés de jeunesse, Mam’zelle Bonaparte, La Main du diable and Cécile est morte, released between 1941 and 1944)... [More...]

Le Voyageur de la Toussaint (1943)

This is an early example of the kind of thriller-mystery, or "polar", which would become phenomenally popular in France during the 1950s. It is also one of the earliest adaptations of a novel by the popular thriller writer Georges Simenon, whose works would be frequently adapted by French filmmakers in the following decades... [More...]

Les Anges du péché (1943)

Robert Bresson’s first full-length film contains many of the essential ingredients and themes which would recur time and again in his subsequent works, but it is, at the same time, startlingly different to his later films. The nature of sin, the susceptibility of the human spirit to evil, and the path back to redemption are ideas which underpin much of Bresson’s cinema... [More...]

Lumière d'été (1943)

Whilst not necessarily the best film of its time, Lumière d’été is certainly one of the most important films made in France during World War II. It allowed its director, Jean Grémillion, to get away with his most vehement assault on the Haute-Bourgeoisie (as Jean Renoir had attempted to do with his 1939 film La Règle du jeu )... [More...]

La Main du diable (1943)

One of the most chilling fantasy horror films made in France, La Main du diable is basically just an ingenious variation on the famous Faust legend. In this version, Faust is a struggling artist (Pierre Fresnay) who buys success at the expense of his soul, and the Devil is represented by an odious Vichy-style civil servant (Palau)... [More...]

Picpus (1943)

Made by Continental Films at the time of the Nazi Occupation, Picpus was the first of three films to feature popular actor Albert Préjean in the role of Inspector Maigret. (The other two films were Cécile est morte (1944) and Les Caves du Majestic (1945)). Whilst the film manages to evoke the dark atmosphere of Georges Simenon’s famous Maigret novels... [More...]

L'Aventure est au coin de la rue (1944)

Aventure est au coin de la rue is a spirited comedy which attempts to blend gangster thriller and drawing room farce, with some success. Claude Renoir’s photography gives the film a touch of classic film noir which adds a quality dimension to what would otherwise be regarded as a pretty ordinary mid-1940s comedy. The comedy thriller was a fairly unusual genre at the time this film... [More...]

Cécile est morte (1944)

In this, the second of the three Maigret films made by the German-run Continental Films during the Occupation, popular film star Albert Préjean reprises his role as the famed pipe-smoking detective, accompanied by his improbable side-kick Lucas. Although, again, the film fails to capture the atmosphere of the Georges Simenon novel on which it is based... [More...]

Le Ciel est à vous (1944)

Considering that it was made during a bleak and distressing period for France, Le Ciel est à vous is an astonishingly uplifting film with a message of unfettered hope for the future. It is not difficult to read director Jean Grémillon’s allegorical call to arms behind the rather anodyne tale about a Lindbergh-esque exploit... [More...]

Boule de suif (1945)

Based on two of Guy de Maupassant’s short stories, Boule de suif was one of the first films to be made in France after the Liberation in 1944. Freed from the yoke of German censorship, director Christian-Jaque made full use of the opportunity to ridicule the German oppressor, to condemn the hypocrisy of the complacent bourgeoisie and to honour the spirit of resistance epitomised by... [More...]

Falbalas (1945)

This film is a magnificent sortie for director Jacques Becker into the world of high fashion, in Paris, the centre of the universe of haute couture. One of Becker’s darkest and most poignant films, Falbalas contrasts the artificiality of the fashion world with the harsh tangibility of a tragic romance, which ultimately descends into insanity and self-destruction... [More...]

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