Catherine Erard

The head of a school in a little French country town encourages the playful romances between his young students, as well as a love of jazz music.

Catherine, 18, loved Jean, a young accountant, who loved her in return. And yet, one morning, two policemen find their dead bodies on a stretch of waste ground. The case is obvious: the two young people have killed themselves. But why? Chief Inspector Ernest Plonche, feeling upset, decides to investigate personally.

A poacher nicknamed "Le Bouif" is accused of having murdered his son-in-law, trainer of a horse stable in Maisons-Laffitte.

The short stories of Guy de Maupassant enjoyed a renaissance in the early 1950s, thanks in great part to the Max Ophuls production Le Plaisir. In Trois Femmes, three De Maupassant stories are dramatized, each conveying the central theme of women falling in love. In the first, a black female carnival entertainer causes an uproar when she falls in love with a white soldier. In the second, a young bride is pressured into having a baby to collect a huge inheritance. And in the final episode, a pregnant girl is "adopted" and protected by a small circle of friends. In standard De Maupassant fashion, each of the three stories in Trois Femmes is capped by a surprise twist.

Colette gives up her studies to become a cabaret dancer. She breaks with her fiance who does not approve of her choice.

Jojo is a seventeen-year-old factory worker living poorly in Aubervilliers with his grandmother. Dissatisfied with his lackluster everyday life, Jojo dreams of the high life. He starts mixing with shady individuals such as thieves and traffickers. At a time, he even contemplates murdering a rich butcher. Fortunately, his protector Monsieur Charles, a warm-hearted gangster, will stop him from carrying out this crazy plan, thus wasting his young life.

Jacques Montet, a successful crime story writer, has already written a hundred books and would like to call it quits now to devote himself to loftier writing. But his wife, a cold-hearted, money-minded, bossy woman won't allow. All the more as she is the one who supplies Jacques with the plots of his detective stories. When Jacques, yearning for true love, meets young, pretty Muriel, he can't stand the situation any longer. Fortunately - for him - the plot of the 101st detective story imagined by his wife is about a ... perfect crime. He simply has to follow her instructions to ... get rid of her. Everything goes according to plan until Jacques discovers a scary detail: the presence of a mysterious witness on the scene of the crime.

In a maternity hospital, young single mothers are accompanied by social worker Hélène Lambert, who tries to make them aware of their new responsibilities, while Dr. Baurain stresses the importance of their moral and sexual education. They come to the aid of several young women: one who would like to give up her child to a couple applying for adoption, another who, after the death of her first baby in dramatic circumstances, is expecting a second, and many others.

Alfred is in love, but shy. Desperate not to have the audacity to express his passion to the woman of his dreams, Nicole, a young dairyman, he enthusiastically accepts the proposal of Don Juan to make his sentimental education.

François Jauréguy is a young Basque who would love to devote his life to God. But meeting Maïté and the example of the worker priests makes him doubt the wisdom of his choice. Marie-Jeanne, his mother, suffers from this situation. She knew a man, Jean Etchandy, who renounced the priesthood out of love for her. François supports him in his final moments, and celebrates his first mass before his mother's tender eyes.

Carlo Mastelli, the young radio presenter of "New Voices" has run short of ideas and his program is likely to be suspended from the radio schedule if he does not find any new ones.

As the title of this French documentary indicates, Ce Siecle a 50 Ans examines the 20th Century at its halfway point. Utilizing the archives of several European film reserves, director Denise Tua offers a fascinating mosaic of the people and events that shaped the years 1900 to 1950. Complementing the vintage film clips are three dramatized sketches, delineating the romantic customs of three different points in time. These sketches are inadequately performed, and can easily be ignored. Ce Siecle a 50 Ans both preserved and provided celluloid material for scores of future documentaries.

Historical film directed and written by Sacha Guitry follows the the history of Paris from its founding through the significant events in the city's history.