Francisco Rabal Valera, better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Rabal appeared in around 200 films working with directors including Francesc Rovira-Beleta, Luis Buñuel, José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, Carlos Saura, Pedro Almodóvar, William Friedkin, Michelangelo Antonioni, Claude Chabrol, Luchino Visconti, and Gillo Pontecorvo. Paco Rabal was recognized both in his native Spain and internationally, winning the Award for Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for Los Santos Inocentes and a Goya Award for Best Actor for playing Francisco de Goya in Carlos Saura's Goya en Burdeos. One of Spain's most loved actors, Rabal also was known for his commitment to human rights and other social causes.
Mathias Sandorf is an 1885 adventure book by French writer Jules Verne. It was first serialized in Le Temps in 1885, and it was Verne's epic Mediterranean adventure. It employs many of the devices that had served well in his earlier novels: islands, cryptograms, surprise revelations of identity, technically advanced hardware and a solitary figure bent on revenge. Verne dedicated the novel to the memory of Alexandre Dumas, père, hoping to make Mathias Sandorf the Monte Cristo of Voyages Extraordinaires series.
The Blue Veil is a 1942 French drama film directed by Jean Stelli and starring Gaby Morlay, Elvire Popesco and André Alerme. The film was remade in 1951.
Mistigri is a 1931 French drama film adapted by Marcel Achard from his play of the same name. It was directed by Harry Lachman and stars Madeleine Renaud, Noël-Noël and Jean Debucourt. It was made at the Joinville Studios by the French subsidiary of Paramount Pictures.
The Beautiful Sailor is a 1932 French drama film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Pierre Blanchar, Madeleine Renaud and Jean Gabin. It was made by the French subsidiary of Paramount Pictures at the company's Joinville Studios.
Barnabé is a 1938 French comedy film directed by Alexander Esway and starring Fernandel, Marguerite Moreno and Andrex.
The Passenger is a 1949 French comedy film directed by Jacques Daroy and starring Georges Marchal, Dany Robin and René Génin.
The Cat is a 1958 French war drama film directed by Henri Decoin and starring Françoise Arnoul, Bernhard Wicki and André Versini. It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Lucien Aguettand . The story is loosely based on that of the Resistance operative Mathilde Carré during the Second World War. A commercial success, it was followed by a sequel The Cat Shows Her Claws in 1960.
The Gardener of Argenteuil is a 1966 French-German comedy crime film directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois and starring Jean Gabin, Liselotte Pulver, and Pierre Vernier.
Good Luck is a 1935 French romantic comedy film directed by Sacha Guitry and Fernand Rivers and starring Guitry, Jacqueline Delubac and Pauline Carton. In it a woman becomes convinced a man she has met is a good luck charm after she wins a lottery.
Once Upon a Time is a 1933 French drama film directed by Léonce Perret and starring Gaby Morlay, André Luguet and Andrée Ducret.
Let's Make a Dream is a 1936 French romantic comedy film directed by Sacha Guitry and starring Guitry, Raimu and Jacqueline Delubac. It is an adaptation of the 1916 play of the same title by Guitry.
The New Testament is a 1936 French comedy film directed by Sacha Guitry and starring Guitry, Jacqueline Delubac and Christian Gérard. It was adapted by Guitry from his own 1934 play of the same title.
First Ball is a 1941 French romantic comedy film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Marie Déa, Fernand Ledoux and Raymond Rouleau.
Charming Boys is a 1957 French musical comedy film directed by Henri Decoin and starring Zizi Jeanmaire, Daniel Gélin and Henri Vidal. It was one of two Hollywood-style musicals made by Decoin around this time along with Folies-Bergère.
Blood to the Head is a 1956 French drama film directed by Gilles Grangier and starring Jean Gabin, Paul Frankeur and Claude Sylvain. It is based on the 1942 novel Young Cardinaud by Georges Simenon.
Toto is a 1933 French comedy film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Albert Préjean, Renée Saint-Cyr and Félix Oudart.
The Affair of the Poisons is a 1955 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Henri Decoin and starring Danielle Darrieux, Viviane Romance and Paul Meurisse. The film is adapted from the 1907 play of the same title by Victorien Sardou. It was shot in Technicolor at the Boulogne Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jean d'Eaubonne. The film is set against the backdrop of the real Affair of the Poisons in seventeenth century France, and demonstrates a darker tone than many more nostalgic depictions of the past.
Farandole is a 1945 French comedy film directed by André Zwoboda and starring André Luguet, Lise Delamare, Gaby Morlay. It takes its title from the Farandole, a traditional dance from Provence whose structure the plot follows. It was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Hubert. It was filmed following the Liberation but released while the Second World War was still being fought.
