French cinema: 1950s
Babette s'en va-t-en guerre (1959)
Christian-Jaque
In 1941, not long after France has fallen to Nazi Germany, a young French woman named Babette works as a housekeeper for Lieutenant Gérard de Crécy at the London Headquarters of Free France...
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Christian-Jaque
Le Ballon rouge (1956)
Albert Lamorisse
One day, a solitary little boy named Pascal comes across a spherical red balloon tied to a lamppost. Without hesitating, the boy releases the balloon and it begins following him as he continues wandering around the streets of Paris...
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Albert Lamorisse
La Bande à papa (1956)
Guy Lefranc
Fernand Jérôme is one of those grey little men no one ever notices, the Mr Everyman kind who contents himself with his humdrum life and has no greater ambition than to see his next paycheque land on his doormat...
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Guy Lefranc
Barbe-Bleue (1951)
Christian-Jaque
After the sudden death of his sixth wife Amédée de Salfère, known to all as Barbe-Bleue because of his blue beard, wastes no time finding himself a seventh bride...
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Christian-Jaque
Le Beau Serge (1958)
Claude Chabrol
Stricken with tuberculosis, a young student named François returns to his home town of Sardent in the Creuse region of central France for a period of quiet convalescence...
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Claude Chabrol
La Beauté du diable (1950)
René Clair
An elderly alchemist, Henri Faust, retires from his post as a university professor, disappointed that even after fifty years of study he has still not unravelled the secrets of nature... [More...]
René Clair
An elderly alchemist, Henri Faust, retires from his post as a university professor, disappointed that even after fifty years of study he has still not unravelled the secrets of nature... [More...]
Bébés à gogo (1956)
Paul Mesnier
Stéphane Petitbourgeois, an accountant at a large department store, shares his modest apartment with his wife Isabelle, daughter Pat, son-in-law Hubert, and the latters' brood of nine children... [More...]
Paul Mesnier
Stéphane Petitbourgeois, an accountant at a large department store, shares his modest apartment with his wife Isabelle, daughter Pat, son-in-law Hubert, and the latters' brood of nine children... [More...]
Les Belles de nuit (1952)
René Clair
Claude, a modest music teacher, has become disillusioned with his waking life. No one appreciates his musical talents, his friends regard him as a fool, and the noise of daily hustle and bustles prevents him from writing his grand opera... [More...]
René Clair
Claude, a modest music teacher, has become disillusioned with his waking life. No one appreciates his musical talents, his friends regard him as a fool, and the noise of daily hustle and bustles prevents him from writing his grand opera... [More...]
La Bête à l'affût (1959)
Pierre Chenal
At the home of Elisabeth Vermont, a wealthy young widow, an auction is held to benefit the orphans of the local police department... [More...]
Pierre Chenal
At the home of Elisabeth Vermont, a wealthy young widow, an auction is held to benefit the orphans of the local police department... [More...]
Bibi Fricotin (1951)
Marcel Blistène
Private detective Antoine Gardon is on the trail of a mislaid inheritance when he runs up against the eternal do-gooder Bibi Fricotin... [More...]
Marcel Blistène
Private detective Antoine Gardon is on the trail of a mislaid inheritance when he runs up against the eternal do-gooder Bibi Fricotin... [More...]
Les Bijoutiers du clair de lune (1958)
Roger Vadim
Having just completed her studies in a convent, Ursula decides to visit her aunt Florentine in Spain. When she arrives, a young mechanic, Lambert, attacks her uncle, Ribera, accusing him of driving his sister to suicide... [More...]
Roger Vadim
Having just completed her studies in a convent, Ursula decides to visit her aunt Florentine in Spain. When she arrives, a young mechanic, Lambert, attacks her uncle, Ribera, accusing him of driving his sister to suicide... [More...]
Le Blé en herbe (1954)
Claude Autant-Lara
Some time in the 1920s, the Ferrets and their two daughters, Vinca and Lisette, spend their summer holiday on the coast of Brittany... [More...]
Claude Autant-Lara
Some time in the 1920s, the Ferrets and their two daughters, Vinca and Lisette, spend their summer holiday on the coast of Brittany... [More...]
Bob le flambeur (1956)
Jean-Pierre Melville
Once a renowned criminal, Bob Montagne now appears to be a reformed character, content to fritter away his time and his money in the casinos and gambling rooms of the shadier districts of Paris... [More...]
Jean-Pierre Melville
Once a renowned criminal, Bob Montagne now appears to be a reformed character, content to fritter away his time and his money in the casinos and gambling rooms of the shadier districts of Paris... [More...]
Le Bon Dieu sans confession (1953)
Claude Autant-Lara
As they follow a funeral procession several mourners replay their memories of the dead man, Monsieur Dupont, whose outward respectability hid a multitude of flaws... [More...]
Claude Autant-Lara
As they follow a funeral procession several mourners replay their memories of the dead man, Monsieur Dupont, whose outward respectability hid a multitude of flaws... [More...]
Boniface somnambule (1951)
Maurice Labro
Monsieur Boniface finds that his services are much in demand after he brings a notorious gang of crooks to justice. Hired as a store detective, his latest mission is simply to keep an eye on the jewellery on display in an upmarket department store... [More...]
Maurice Labro
Monsieur Boniface finds that his services are much in demand after he brings a notorious gang of crooks to justice. Hired as a store detective, his latest mission is simply to keep an eye on the jewellery on display in an upmarket department store... [More...]
Bonjour sourire (1955)
Claude Sautet
Monte-Marino is a thriving principality whose main export is musical instruments. Despite her country's prosperity, the Princess Aline cannot bring herself to smile... [More...]
Claude Sautet
Monte-Marino is a thriving principality whose main export is musical instruments. Despite her country's prosperity, the Princess Aline cannot bring herself to smile... [More...]
La Bonne tisane (1958)
Hervé Bromberger
After spending several years abroad, gangster boss René Leconte returns to France to resume his criminal exploits... [More...]
Hervé Bromberger
After spending several years abroad, gangster boss René Leconte returns to France to resume his criminal exploits... [More...]
Bonnes à tuer (1954)
Henri Decoin
Crowds of on-lookers on Paris's most famous thoroughfare, the Champs-Elysées, gather around the crushed body of a man who has just plunged to his death from a great height... [More...]
Henri Decoin
Crowds of on-lookers on Paris's most famous thoroughfare, the Champs-Elysées, gather around the crushed body of a man who has just plunged to his death from a great height... [More...]
Botta e risposta (1950)
Mario Soldati
Suzy, a well-known singer, is on her way to Rome to attend an audience with the Pope. During the train journey from Paris, her costume and jewels are stolen... [More...]
Mario Soldati
Suzy, a well-known singer, is on her way to Rome to attend an audience with the Pope. During the train journey from Paris, her costume and jewels are stolen... [More...]
Le Boulanger de Valorgue (1953)
Henri Verneuil
Valorgue, a quaint little town in the south of France, used to be such an idyllic spot. Now it is caught up in the most frenzied of civil wars, with half of the town siding with the good-natured baker, Félicien Hébrard, and the other half with the grocer, the cantankerous old widow Zanetti... [More...]
Henri Verneuil
Valorgue, a quaint little town in the south of France, used to be such an idyllic spot. Now it is caught up in the most frenzied of civil wars, with half of the town siding with the good-natured baker, Félicien Hébrard, and the other half with the grocer, the cantankerous old widow Zanetti... [More...]
Boum sur Paris (1954)
Maurice de Canonge
Gilbert Sestrières works in a laboratory that simultaneously manufactures a leading brand of perfume, named Boum, whilst developing a new and incredibly powerful form of explosive... [More...]
Maurice de Canonge
Gilbert Sestrières works in a laboratory that simultaneously manufactures a leading brand of perfume, named Boum, whilst developing a new and incredibly powerful form of explosive... [More...]
Cadet-Rousselle (1954)
André Hunebelle
France, 1789. Although Cadet-Rousselle is deeply in love with Isabelle, he knows that he cannot marry her as she is the mayor's daughter and he is a mere peasant... [More...]
André Hunebelle
France, 1789. Although Cadet-Rousselle is deeply in love with Isabelle, he knows that he cannot marry her as she is the mayor's daughter and he is a mere peasant... [More...]
Le Cap de l'espérance (1951)
Raymond Bernard
Bob Legeay, a failed lawyer, ends up in a Mediterranean port where he becomes mixed up with a gang of crooks whilst sponging off his mistress Lyna, an older woman who runs a popular bar in the locality... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
Bob Legeay, a failed lawyer, ends up in a Mediterranean port where he becomes mixed up with a gang of crooks whilst sponging off his mistress Lyna, an older woman who runs a popular bar in the locality... [More...]
Capitaine Pantoufle (1953)
Guy Lefranc
Emmanuel Bonnavent, a modest bank clerk who is fed up with his monotonous existence, likes to imagine how much happier he would be if he had the money to buy an expensive car or depart on an ocean cruise to some exotic clime... [More...]
Guy Lefranc
Emmanuel Bonnavent, a modest bank clerk who is fed up with his monotonous existence, likes to imagine how much happier he would be if he had the money to buy an expensive car or depart on an ocean cruise to some exotic clime... [More...]
Cargaison blanche (1958)
Georges Lacombe
After her colleague Jean is killed in a road accident, aspiring reporter Françoise soon suspects he may have been the victim of foul play and begins her own investigation... [More...]
Georges Lacombe
After her colleague Jean is killed in a road accident, aspiring reporter Françoise soon suspects he may have been the victim of foul play and begins her own investigation... [More...]
Carnaval (1953)
Henri Verneuil
Dardamelle, an architect living in Aix-en-Provence, is blissfully unaware that his wife, Francine, is having an affair with another man... [More...]
Henri Verneuil
Dardamelle, an architect living in Aix-en-Provence, is blissfully unaware that his wife, Francine, is having an affair with another man... [More...]
Caroline chérie (1951)
Richard Pottier
July, 1789. On the eve of the French Revolution, Caroline de Bièvre is sixteen years old. Arriving in Paris to complete her education, she is disappointed to find that her intended, Gaston de Sallanches, has a mistress... [More...]
Richard Pottier
July, 1789. On the eve of the French Revolution, Caroline de Bièvre is sixteen years old. Arriving in Paris to complete her education, she is disappointed to find that her intended, Gaston de Sallanches, has a mistress... [More...]
Le Carrosse d'or (1953)
Jean Renoir
In the 18th Century, a travelling band of actors arrive in a Spanish colony in South America. When they are invited to perform before the royal court, the Viceroy, Ferdinand, instantly falls in love with the leading performer, Camilla... [More...]
Jean Renoir
In the 18th Century, a travelling band of actors arrive in a Spanish colony in South America. When they are invited to perform before the royal court, the Viceroy, Ferdinand, instantly falls in love with the leading performer, Camilla... [More...]
Le Cas du Dr Laurent (1957)
Jean-Paul Le Chanois
Docteur Laurent leaves Paris to start a new practice in a French mountain community. At first, he is treated as an outsider and shunned by the locals... [More...]
Jean-Paul Le Chanois
Docteur Laurent leaves Paris to start a new practice in a French mountain community. At first, he is treated as an outsider and shunned by the locals... [More...]
Casimir (1950)
Richard Pottier
Success may so far have eluded him in his chosen career but Casimir is certain that he will soon make enough money as a travelling salesman to allow him to marry his beloved fiancée... [More...]
Richard Pottier
Success may so far have eluded him in his chosen career but Casimir is certain that he will soon make enough money as a travelling salesman to allow him to marry his beloved fiancée... [More...]