French cinema: 1950s
Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (1959)
Jean Delannoy
Recently returned to his home town of Moulins, Superintendent Maigret is happily reminiscing on his past when he receives an unexpected telephone call from the Countess of Saint-Fiacre...
[More...]
Jean Delannoy
Maigret tend un piège (1958)
Jean Delannoy
A mysterious serial killer is at work in the Marais district of Paris. So far he has claimed the lives of four victims, all young women, all savagely stabbed to death...
[More...]
Jean Delannoy
Les Mains sales (1951)
Fernand Rivers
In September 1943, Illyria, a country in Eastern Europe, is drawn into the war against Nazi Germany. Hugo Barine is the privileged son of a member of the ruling elite but he is so disgusted by the way ordinary people are exploited by the present régime that he joins the Proletarian Party, which is committed to the idea of creating a classless society...
[More...]
Fernand Rivers
La Maison Bonnadieu (1951)
Carlo Rim
In 1910, Félix Bonnadieu is the manager of a provincial factory that manufactures women's corsets. He knows that his wife Gabrielle is having an affair with a younger man, Pascal Mascaret, and is determined to break up the relationship...
[More...]
Carlo Rim
Maître après Dieu (1951)
Louis Daquin
1938. By passing himself off as a missionary, a boorish pirate named Joris Knipper manages to extort a large consignment of coconuts from an African village...
[More...]
Louis Daquin
Mam'zelle Nitouche (1954)
Yves Allégret
Célestin leads a double life. By day, he is a respectable music teacher in a girl's convent; by night, he composes popular operas under the pseudonym Floridor, whilst having an affair with his leading lady Corinne, the wife of a major... [More...]
Yves Allégret
Célestin leads a double life. By day, he is a respectable music teacher in a girl's convent; by night, he composes popular operas under the pseudonym Floridor, whilst having an affair with his leading lady Corinne, the wife of a major... [More...]
Manèges (1950)
Yves Allégret
As his wife Dora lies close to death in a hospital bed after a horrific car accident, Robert looks back with guilt and tenderness on their brief life together... [More...]
Yves Allégret
As his wife Dora lies close to death in a hospital bed after a horrific car accident, Robert looks back with guilt and tenderness on their brief life together... [More...]
Manina, la fille sans voile (1952)
Willy Rozier
Inspired by a lecture, hard-up student Gérard sets about recovering the lost treasure contained in a sunken Phoenician ship off the coast of Corsica... [More...]
Willy Rozier
Inspired by a lecture, hard-up student Gérard sets about recovering the lost treasure contained in a sunken Phoenician ship off the coast of Corsica... [More...]
Manon des sources (1953)
Marcel Pagnol
In a small Provençal village, the locals tell a newly installed schoolteacher the story of Manon, a young shepherdess who lives a wild and solitary life in the surrounding hills... [More...]
Marcel Pagnol
In a small Provençal village, the locals tell a newly installed schoolteacher the story of Manon, a young shepherdess who lives a wild and solitary life in the surrounding hills... [More...]
Maria Chapdelaine (1950)
Marc Allégret
After completing her education in a convent, Maria Chapdelaine returns to the family farm in Quebec and is happy to be reunited with her childhood sweetheart Robert Gagnon... [More...]
Marc Allégret
After completing her education in a convent, Maria Chapdelaine returns to the family farm in Quebec and is happy to be reunited with her childhood sweetheart Robert Gagnon... [More...]
Marianne de ma jeunesse (1955)
Julien Duvivier
The Heiligenstadt estate in Bavaria has become a private school for the male offspring of the well-to-do. There, the boys have organised themselves into two factions - the Sages, led by the sensible Manfred, and the Brigands, led by the hot-headed Alexis... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
The Heiligenstadt estate in Bavaria has become a private school for the male offspring of the well-to-do. There, the boys have organised themselves into two factions - the Sages, led by the sensible Manfred, and the Brigands, led by the hot-headed Alexis... [More...]
La Marie du port (1950)
Marcel Carné
In 1949, Odile le Flem, a woman in her mid-thirties, makes a reluctant return to the small Normandy town where she grew up, Port-en-Bessin, to attend the funeral of her recently deceased father... [More...]
Marcel Carné
In 1949, Odile le Flem, a woman in her mid-thirties, makes a reluctant return to the small Normandy town where she grew up, Port-en-Bessin, to attend the funeral of her recently deceased father... [More...]
Marie-Octobre (1959)
Julien Duvivier
Marie-Hélène Dumoufin, formerly known as Marie-Octobre, hosts a party at her house with the aim of concluding some unfinished business... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
Marie-Hélène Dumoufin, formerly known as Marie-Octobre, hosts a party at her house with the aim of concluding some unfinished business... [More...]
La Marraine de Charley (1959)
Pierre Chevalier
Charley Rivoire, a mature student in architecture at the university of Paris, is grateful for the two-room apartment that his godmother, the wealthy Gabrielle de la Motte, has put at his disposal... [More...]
Pierre Chevalier
Charley Rivoire, a mature student in architecture at the university of Paris, is grateful for the two-room apartment that his godmother, the wealthy Gabrielle de la Motte, has put at his disposal... [More...]
Maternité clandestine (1953)
Jean Gourguet
In the suburbs of Paris, a gang of wayward adolescents led by Maurice survive on the spoils of their petty crimes. Under the instructions of small-time hoodlum André, the gang must hold up a cashier on his way home one evening... [More...]
Jean Gourguet
In the suburbs of Paris, a gang of wayward adolescents led by Maurice survive on the spoils of their petty crimes. Under the instructions of small-time hoodlum André, the gang must hold up a cashier on his way home one evening... [More...]
Les Mauvaises rencontres (1955)
Alexandre Astruc
At the Quai des Orfèvres in Paris, Inspector Forbin is interrogating Catherine Racan about Dr Daniély, a man accused of practicing abortion... [More...]
Alexandre Astruc
At the Quai des Orfèvres in Paris, Inspector Forbin is interrogating Catherine Racan about Dr Daniély, a man accused of practicing abortion... [More...]
Maxime (1958)
Henri Verneuil
Paris, 1914. Maxime Cherpray is an ageing Don Juan who, despite being well-bred and well-educated, has little money and lives in a small apartment... [More...]
Henri Verneuil
Paris, 1914. Maxime Cherpray is an ageing Don Juan who, despite being well-bred and well-educated, has little money and lives in a small apartment... [More...]
Méfiez-vous fillettes (1957)
Yves Allégret
Raven's first act after being released from prison is to track down and kill the gangster boss who put him beyond bars - Mendetta... [More...]
Yves Allégret
Raven's first act after being released from prison is to track down and kill the gangster boss who put him beyond bars - Mendetta... [More...]
La Meilleure part (1955)
Yves Allégret
For Philippe Perrin, a young and ambitious engineer, the construction of a huge dam in the Alps becomes his life's work and he devotes himself to this, his greatest accomplishment... [More...]
Yves Allégret
For Philippe Perrin, a young and ambitious engineer, the construction of a huge dam in the Alps becomes his life's work and he devotes himself to this, his greatest accomplishment... [More...]
Mémoires d'un flic (1956)
Pierre Foucaud
Chief-superintendent Dominique, the head of a crime squad in Marseille, finds himself in a difficult position when his son Gérard becomes mixed up with some racketeers... [More...]
Pierre Foucaud
Chief-superintendent Dominique, the head of a crime squad in Marseille, finds himself in a difficult position when his son Gérard becomes mixed up with some racketeers... [More...]
Messieurs les ronds de cuir (1959)
Henri Diamant-Berger
In 1906, Monsieur Boudin takes advantage of the laxity of his employers by repeatedly failing to show up for work at the government department which sends him a paycheck each month... [More...]
Henri Diamant-Berger
In 1906, Monsieur Boudin takes advantage of the laxity of his employers by repeatedly failing to show up for work at the government department which sends him a paycheck each month... [More...]
Meurtre en 45 tours (1959)
Etienne Périer
With songs composed by her husband Maurice, Ève Faugères has become a hugely successful singer. Ève's career may be on the up but her marriage is heading for the rocks... [More...]
Etienne Périer
With songs composed by her husband Maurice, Ève Faugères has become a hugely successful singer. Ève's career may be on the up but her marriage is heading for the rocks... [More...]
Meurtres (1950)
Richard Pottier
Noël Annequin is the outcast from the celebrated Annequin family. Whilst his brothers went on to university to become an eminent doctor and lawyer, finding their way into high society, Noël stayed in the country to settle down with the woman he loved, Isabelle... [More...]
Richard Pottier
Noël Annequin is the outcast from the celebrated Annequin family. Whilst his brothers went on to university to become an eminent doctor and lawyer, finding their way into high society, Noël stayed in the country to settle down with the woman he loved, Isabelle... [More...]
Michel Strogoff (1956)
Carmine Gallone
In 1880, the Russian Empire is threatened by a Tartar uprising in the East. The Tsar of Russia entrusts a humble soldier named Michel Strogoff with a vital message which he must take to the Siberian town of Irkutsk to warn of an impending invasion by the belligerent Tartar prince Feofar Khan... [More...]
Carmine Gallone
In 1880, the Russian Empire is threatened by a Tartar uprising in the East. The Tsar of Russia entrusts a humble soldier named Michel Strogoff with a vital message which he must take to the Siberian town of Irkutsk to warn of an impending invasion by the belligerent Tartar prince Feofar Khan... [More...]
Minne, l'ingénue libertine (1950)
Jacqueline Audry
Minnie is a flighty young woman who, bored with her mundane bourgeois existence, takes refuge in her childish fantasies. On her wedding night, she regales her husband Antoine with a lurid account of a passionate liaison she once had with a hoodlum... [More...]
Jacqueline Audry
Minnie is a flighty young woman who, bored with her mundane bourgeois existence, takes refuge in her childish fantasies. On her wedding night, she regales her husband Antoine with a lurid account of a passionate liaison she once had with a hoodlum... [More...]
Minuit... Quai de Bercy (1953)
Christian Stengel
When Mado, the attractive young concierge of a block of flats in Montmartre, is found stabbed to death one evening there is no shortage of murder suspects... [More...]
Christian Stengel
When Mado, the attractive young concierge of a block of flats in Montmartre, is found stabbed to death one evening there is no shortage of murder suspects... [More...]
La Minute de vérité (1952)
Jean Delannoy
On the evening of his wedding anniversary, a respectable doctor, Pierre Richard, is called away to attend to a suicide victim... [More...]
Jean Delannoy
On the evening of his wedding anniversary, a respectable doctor, Pierre Richard, is called away to attend to a suicide victim... [More...]
Miquette et sa mère (1950)
Henri-Georges Clouzot
In 1900, 18-year-old Miquette Grandier lives in a small provincial town with her widowed mother, Madame Grandier, the owner of a tobacco shop... [More...]
Henri-Georges Clouzot
In 1900, 18-year-old Miquette Grandier lives in a small provincial town with her widowed mother, Madame Grandier, the owner of a tobacco shop... [More...]
Les Miracles n'ont lieu qu'une fois (1951)
Yves Allégret
Late one evening in a Parisian bar, Jérôme rakes over his memories and begins to tell his sad life story to the attentive bar owner... [More...]
Yves Allégret
Late one evening in a Parisian bar, Jérôme rakes over his memories and begins to tell his sad life story to the attentive bar owner... [More...]
Le Miroir à deux faces (1958)
André Cayatte
Deciding it is time for him to marry, schoolmaster Pierre Tardivet places an ad in the newspaper for his ideal partner. Of the many replies he receives, he selects Marie-Josée Vauzange, a middle-aged spinster who, whilst gentle and cultivated, is far from being an object of beauty... [More...]
André Cayatte
Deciding it is time for him to marry, schoolmaster Pierre Tardivet places an ad in the newspaper for his ideal partner. Of the many replies he receives, he selects Marie-Josée Vauzange, a middle-aged spinster who, whilst gentle and cultivated, is far from being an object of beauty... [More...]