Acting
Two scriptwriters argue about the fate of Henrietta, a charming and gamine shopgirl. One favors a comical path for their heroine, who is overcome with sentimental love for a young photographer on Bastille Day. The other has a more thrilling and dastardly fate in mind for her. Among the film's irresistible conceits is Hildegarde Neff as an oversexed circus bareback rider.
Gentleman gangster Max and his partner, Riton, pull off their last, most successful heist and find themselves comfortable enough to retire in the style they enjoy. However, Max confides the details of the theft to his younger mistress, Josey -- who has secretly taken up with ambitious young rival gangster Angelo. Angelo then has Riton kidnapped and demands the stash of gold as ransom, which threatens Max's dreams of the perfect retirement.
Henri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable - and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection - or destroy it. Only... the Police are following his every step.
A young American girl at a French boarding school develops a crush on an egotistical sculptor living next door. One night, driving in a drunken stupor, he runs over and kills a man, and she witnesses it.
A generous doctor is aghast that the population of a small island is being oppressed and mistreated, but is seemingly unable to do anything about it, until the arrival of a young woman and the death of one of his friends prompts him into action.
Louberger, director of an orphanage, is full of praise for a former boarder, Mr. Sauval, who has become their benefactor. One night he arrives and he does not seem to be exactly the man described by Louberger. He has in fact become a crooked lawyer and he is wanted for a crime he has just committed. Despite his efforts he will not escape the police but he will manage to remain, in the eyes of the children, at the height of his legend.
Satire of publishing circles, featuring a ferocious boss, Moscat, a successful but handsome author, Maréchal, another successful but bitter author, Bourgine, a writer plagued with ambition, Brégaillon and the hero, Marc Fournier Zola Prize winner. Naive, the latter quickly becomes formidable, especially since his wife's infidelities have provided him with the material for a new novel.
The bases, under the occupation, lost their statues. These now anonymous steles rightly intrigue many visitors. Have you ever wondered who is up there? Ask Paul Colline, the most amusing guide in Paris, he will be able to answer you while sparing the goat, the cabbage and your political opinions.
Casti and Trébois, two friends who are workers at the same factory, have developed a common passion for flying. They dream of starting an aviation club. In the meantime they spend all their Sundays restoring an old plane under the supervision of Raf, a former RAF pilot...
Renaud, a young student who is camping alone at the moment, has a dream one night, in which the woman of his dreams appears. When he wakes up the next morning, he cannot believe his eyes: the creature of the dream is there by the side of the road, in the flesh! The woman accepts to drive Renaud to Montargis but it is only after she has dropped him off there that he realizes that what he experienced for her was love at first sight. He then decides not to return to Paris but to try and find the wonderful stranger in Montargis. He discovers that the woman's name is Clara and that she is the member of a drama company.
A little town erupts in turmoil about the construction of a public urinal. The army is sent in to restore order, but the military add to the confusion by getting involved with the local women.
Colette gives up her studies to become a cabaret dancer. She breaks with her fiance who does not approve of her choice.
An old man against the public housing project.
Bertal, a despotic and hated theater director, is assassinated before a performance of Macbeth in which he was to play with Aurélia Nobli, his companion and Ludovic Arn, her lover. The police arrive on the scene and the investigation begins. Suspicion first falls on Sigurd, an old actor who had threatened Bertal. But parallels appear between the characters in the play and the actors who play them.
Au p'tit Zouave, a café, sees a colorful clientele from working-class Paris. An assassin will shake up the daily life of the regulars.
During the Second World War, Georges Masse undergoes a dangerous mission by taking secret documents from Tangiers to London.
On a rainy night, eccentric tramp Mr. La Souris finds a corpse. But the body soon vanishes in his car leaving only his wallet. While the police start investigating a missing person report, La Souris concocts a plan to secure his find.
André Garnier, a young pianist, who was sent to deportation following a denunciation, absolutely wants to find his informer. He falls in love with Hélène, the mistress of a wealthy industrialist, Bernier, in whom he soon discovers the man who once sold him to the Gestapo. Bernier is soon found murdered. André deflects suspicion on Jacques, the victim's secretary. Hélène and André's affair ends up being discovered by the police, who seem to see in it the motive for the crime. André surrenders to justice.
Jules, small and weak, dreams of becoming a formidable athlete. He strives every morning to practice physical culture exercises and takes comforting tablets, without success. But he meets NĂ©nette, a woman who, when he kisses her, suddenly endows him with prodigious strength.
A young woman has doubts about her husband's fidelity. She pretends a trip, but settles in a hotel where her husband must pass. He meets her and, disturbed by the one he believes to be his wife's double, becomes her lover. Little by little the truth breaks through. The husband takes leave of the mistress and returns to the wife whose return has been announced.
