René Alexandre

Willy Ferrière is a gambler living beyond his means, and his mistress is as greedy as he's dead broke. One day, he says out of loud in a a Montparnasse café that he would give 100,000 francs to get rid of his wealthy aunt so he could claim his inheritance. Someone secretly lets Willy know it's a deal. The old lady is murdered, and a low-life criminal is manipulated to be the perfect suspect. But Superintendant Maigret feels something is wrong.

The story gets under way at a weekend house party where a scientist is murdered and his secret papers stolen. Putting his "little grey cells" in action, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot methodically pieces together the clues, revealing the culprit to be -- you guessed it -- the Least Likely Suspect.

Mude movie from France

The frenetic pace of the edit was intended to match the action, based on Article 635 of the criminal code stipulating that after 20 years on the run, a penal colony escapee can regain his freedom if he evades capture by the police.

The forbidden romance between wealthy Giselle Preville and impoverished journalist Claude Dauphin. When Preville disappears, Dauphin is accused of kidnapping by the girl's snobbish father Rene Alexander. By the time the Normandie reaches New York, however, the "mystery" is solved and all misunderstandings blithely swept away.

Nicole Védrès' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.

Juliette Groumet, a housemaid in a wealthy family, envies the luxury in which her employers live. Determined to live the good life one day, she is prepared to do anything to achieve her aim. Maurice, her masters' son is first to fall prey to her spell. Outright intoxicated by her, the young man puts her in a luxurious Paris apartment. But the day Maurice has squandered the last penny of the money he stole from his father Juliette leaves him and sets her sights on a rich baron. Other men - and a lot of woes - will follow until the gradual - but irredeemable - fall of the go-getter. Written by Guy Bellinger

As Jean is walking across the countryside in search of work, he helps and befriends a young woman, Françoise, who is having trouble controlling the cow that she is leading. Jean finds work at a local farm, but he soon finds himself caught in the middle of the conflicts in Françoise's family.

In a rage, a vagrant who has just been shoved out of the way roughly, hits Christ on a calvary. Driven mad by hunger, the vagrant pounces at a passing peasant but the moment he is about to hit him Jesus Christ appears before him. Later on a fire breaks out and the destitute man rushes towards the flames and saves a little child. But, exhausted by effort and hunger, he finally dies.

Fernand Pradier (Gabriel Signoret) is an honest merchant and a simple person at heart who tries to make her daughter Germaine (Gabrielle Robinne) happy. She is engaged to a rich banker St-Bris (René Alexandre). However, the fiance once belonged to a criminal organization and, despite his efforts of rehabilitation, one of his ancient accomplices makes their engagement impossible. Eventually imprisoned, she escapes with the help of a beautiful typist (Stacia Napierkowska)...

Jean Clédat, a young sculptor, has fallen in love with Gabrielle Normand, a painter. Jean's father, who expected him to perform his art in his native town, is surprised not to see him come back after his studies at the Fine Arts Academy, all the more as Marie-Claire, his kind-hearted fiancée, is waiting for him at home. Suspecting a love affair, Clédat Senior comes to visit Jean out of the blue. Not only are his suspicions confirmed but they are even reinforced when he catches sight of a doll in his son's studio. After telling Gabrielle that he will provide maintenance for the "child", he forces his son son to go back home. The only thing is that he is making a mistake : there IS a four-year-old girl, but she is Gabrielle's little sister, not her daughter...

An honest worker is made redundant, but he will solve his problems by marrying the employer's daughter.

Esmeralda, a beautiful gypsy street dancer, arouses the desire of men, especially of Claude Frollo, the archdeacon of Notre Dame. The latter asks Quasimodo, the deaf and deformed bell-ringer of the cathedral, to kidnap the girl. Quasimodo, who has been adopted by Frollo and obeys his every word, captures the gypsy but she is saved thanks to Phoebus, a handsome captain, and his archers. Arrested by Phoebus, the hunchback is condemned to be flogged at the pillory. When Esmeralada, moved to pity by his lot, gives him water to drink, Quasimodo falls in love with her. Later, Phoebus is stabbed to death and Esmeralda is wrongly accused of the murder. Sentenced to hang, she is saved by Quasimodo who offers her asylum and... the love of his heart.

A father has two sons, the older one serious and hard-working, the younger one spendthrift and pleasure-seeking. The latter rejects his father's authority and leaves home. It is not long before he wastes all his fortune and falls into poverty. He repents and decides to return home. Despite his older son's resentment, the father welcomes back the lost sheep.

Rome, June 1800. Floria Tosca is a celebrated opera singer, better known as La Tosca. Her lover is Mario Cavaradossi, a young artist and Bomapartist sympathizer. When the latter helps Angelotti, the leader of the opposition, to escape from prison and hides him in La Tosca's home, he antagonizes Baron Scarpia, the ruthless chief of police, all the more as his love for Tosca is unrequited. Scarpia has Mario arrested and condemned to death. Upset, Floria begs the Baron for her lover's life. He accepts to have the bullets of the firing squad replaced by blanks if... she sleeps with him. She agrees nominally but when she finds herself with Scarpia, she stabs him to death. She then goes to see Mario in his cell and lets him know about his phony execution. But Scarpia had had time to get the order reversed and in the early hours of the morning, Mario is executed in the proper manner. In despair, Tosca throws herself into the void...

A would be blind hoodlum redeems himself in the Salvation Army just for a lovely lieutenant.

For some, misfortune does not need the test of time. It is the case of three-year-old Marcelle Monfort who sees her mother die suddenly in a public garden while her ruined father is on his way to America. Taken in by Madame Jalin, a washerwoman, Marcelle grows up enduring the jealousy of Louise, Madame Jalin's daughter. Having had enough of the situation Marcelle leaves home and soon gets ill. Fortunately, she benefits for a time from Mademoiselle de Beaurenon's compassionate support. But her troubles are not over yet, for her benefactor dies and she is kicked out of home by the good lady's greedy relatives who think they are her heirs. Rose, the old domestic, takes care of Marcelle until, at long last, luck takes a turn for the better. Not only does her father come back from the USA but Madame de Beaurenon also leaves her all her assets.