Rosay

Three sets of adaptations of Somerset Maugham's short stories, all introduced by Maugham himself and featuring a host of famous acting talent. Features Quartet (Annakin, Crabtree, French and Smart, 1948), Trio (Annakin & French, 1950) and Encore (Jackson, Pelissier & French, 1951)

A group of travelers, including a monk, stay in a lonely inn in the mountains. The host confesses the monk his habit of serving poisoned soup to the guests, to rob their possessions and to bury them in the backyard. The story unfolds as the monk tries to save the guest's lives without violating the holy secrecy of the confession.

Petit rat à l’Opéra de Paris, Delphine (Delphine Desyeux) est folle de joie. A douze ans, elle vient d’être choisie pour interpréter le rôle de Galatée dans le prochain ballet que prépare le Palais Garnier. Un soir, un groupe de petites danseuses, bravant les interdictions, s’aventure sur les toits de l’Opéra. Mais par jalousie, l’une des fillettes ferme la porte à clé, empêchant ainsi Delphine de revenir…

Londres 1900. Le très sérieux professeur de botanique Irwin Molyneux n'est autre que Felix Chapel, auteur de romans policiers. L'évèque de Bedford, cousin d'Irwin, n'apprecie guère ce genre de littérature et le déclare bien fort lors d'un souper où il est invité chez les Molyneux. L'absence de Margaret, la femme de Molyneux, à ce souper, va déclencher une série de quiproquos fort amusants.

This melodramatic adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel, an opportunistic gambling-addicted 19th-century French general lives it up in anticipation of his rich auntie's impending death as he is the sole heir. To pay for his current lifestyle and his increasing debts, the conniving general persuades a handsome explorer to take on the officer's daughter as his mistress. When the young woman's tutor, who truly loves her, finds out what the father has done, he does all he can to save the family from further destruction. Unfortunately it is to no avail and terrible tragedy ensues.

Le Joueur is French director Claude Autant-Lara's spin on the oft-filmed Dostoyevsky novel -The Gambler. Set in 19th century Baden-Baden, the film details the trials and tribulations of several chronic gamblers, foremost among them young Alevei (Gerard Philipe). In love with Pauline (Liselotte Pulver), the daughter of nearly-impoverished general Zagoriensky (Bernard Blier), Alevei tries to save Pauline from penury by instructing her in the ways of the gaming tables. Unfortunately, Alevei is too late to prevent Pauline from destroying herself, both figuratively and literally. The best-known cinemadaptation of the Dostoyevsky original was 1949's The Great Sinner, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, film critics, international festivalgoers, and other studious viewers were swept up by the tide of Italian neorealism. Meanwhile, mainstream Italian audiences were indulging in a different kind of cinema experience: the sensational, extravagant melodramas of director Raffaello Matarazzo.