René Wheeler
Writing
Biography
René Wheeler (8 February 1912 - 11 December 2000) was a French screenwriter and film director. He co-wrote the story of the film A Cage of Nightingales (1945) with Georges Chaperot, for which they both received an Academy Award nomination in 1947. Their story would later serve as an inspiration for the hugely successful film The Chorus (2004). Wheeler also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1955 heist film Rififi. Source: Article "René Wheeler" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For

In 1940s France, a new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration.
The Chorus

Arsène Lupin is a French TV show which was co-produced with German, Canadian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss, Italian and Austrian TV stations. It was only loosely based on Maurice Leblancs novels. Georges Descrières' portrayal of Arsène Lupin showed more similarity to Graf Yoster than to Maurice Leblanc's original. He behaved in the first place as a perfect gentleman who never got angry. He was always relaxed, because whatever could possibly had bothered him in daily life was taken care of by his butler. It wasn't questioned how he had come to his financial independence although the series sometimes discreetly implied that he was a professional criminal. Besides rescuing damsels in distress Lupin took on criminals, competing with their wit and intelligence. Either he stole paintings from rich people who had to be considered white-collar criminals or he acted as a detective who derailed criminal schemes. However, when he was attacked, he could defend himself effortlessly by using elegant jujutsu methods. Among the guest stars were German actors such as Günter Strack and Sky du Mont. Jean-Paul Salomé said in his commentary on the DVD version of his film Arsène Lupin he had like this series as a child. German TV, one the investors, would broadcast the show eventually between 18:00-20:00 o'clock because it was only allowed to show commercials within that very timeslot. For them to get a financial return on investment the show had to be appropriate for families and also for children who would watch it alone. Subsequently it was nearby to ask to defuse and flatten some of Leblanc's plots in order to avoid possible complaints that could force the station to broadcast the show beyond the "Vorabendprogramm".
Arsène Lupin

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
Rififi

No description available.
La Porteuse de pain

During World War One, in a small rural French village far away from the front, a gamekeeper and his wife take in children displaced by the war.
La Maison des bois

TV mini series. An adaptation of Eugene Sue's popular novel.
Les Mystères de Paris

Fanfan is a young handsome peasant. He joins the army to escape marriage because a gypsy girl predicted he will get glory and the king's daughter as a wife. But the gypsy girl was in fact Adeline, the daughter of the recruiting officer. Once he has discovered the stratagem, Fanfan refuses to forget this dream and decides to fulfill the destiny of the fake prediction.
Fan-Fan the Tulip

Jour de Fête tells the story of an inept and easily-distracted French mailman who frequently interrupts his duties to converse with the local inhabitants, as well as inspect the traveling fair that has come to his small community. Influenced by too much wine and a newsreel account of rapid transportation methods used by the United States postal system, he goes to hilarious lengths to speed the delivery of mail while aboard his bicycle.
Jour de Fête

No description available.
Les Compagnons de Jehu

An art dealer in dire straits, after being ripped off by two crooks, one of whom owns a genuine painting by Gauguin while the other is an expert copyist, finds them again and, instead of killing them as he originally intended, joins in their game – with ultimately disastrous results.
Reproduction interdite

A man walks into a movie theater in Paris and starts watching a film—the same one we're watching, consisting of four stories of best criminal intentions gone awry from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Crime Does Not Pay

Two convicts attempt to escape from prison in a violent tale of deception, survival, and moral ambiguity.
The Wicked Go to Hell

Stan and Ollie are marooned on an island in the south pacific ocean.
Robinson Crusoeland

A compilation of segments covers the seven deadly sins of greed, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth, and gluttony.
The Seven Deadly Sins

In France, in 1930, a supervisor of a boarding school for young offenders seeks to awaken the music by forming a choir, despite the skepticism of his boarding school director.
A Cage of Nightingales

Marie, a young doctor, settles down on the Ouessant Island. She will be able to win the diffidence of the local population but she will have to fight for her independence after falling in love with an Italian engineer.
The Love of a Woman

Martine, who has become a major star of the song in Paris, wants to return to visit her hometown. Confronted with Merlerault, a very haughty and noble character who wants to teach her how to live, she succumbs after a time of anger, to the charms of the gentleman. They get married but she forgot to tell her husband that her father is in fact the most famous poacher in the area.
A Star to the Sun

In the 16th century, as Flanders is invaded by the Spanish, Till the Mischievous uses stratagems to enter the service of Ferdinand Alvare de Toledo, Duke of Alba, and from there organize resistance against the invaders.
Bold Adventure

When the seductive Frenchwoman Geneviève Dupré, secretary to a Spanish businessman, travels to Madrid to announce the death of her boss to his brother, the famous bullfighter Mario Montes, it's love at first sight. Set in Spain, this melodrama is full of light, betrayal and blood, and takes place in the murky world of bullfighting.
Castles in Spain

Teodora, a Roman courtesan and former slave girl, marries the Roman emperor Justinian and assumes the throne as Empress of Rome. But the divide between nobility and slave is too great. Teodora seeks justice for her people, and revolution and armed conflict erupt in both Byzantium and Rome.