Mireille Balin

Love & Sex under Nazi Occupation questions the burning mystery of intimate heterosexual and homosexual relations in times of war... and shows how being close to death reinforces the yearning for passion, for pleasure, for transgression, for desire as a last burst of freedom, as an ultimate call to life. Nearly two hundred thousands children are thought to be born of the union of French women with German soldiers. Women weren't the Germans' only conquests; indeed, occupied Paris swarms with all kinds of homosexuals—from Genet to Cocteau—who treated with the occupier. The fate of those women who were shaved at the end of the war for fraternizing with Germans is the punishment of a France that lied down and slept with the enemy.

A jealous wealthy landlord intercepts a letter to his wife written by her cousin. He decides to take revenge by drugging the young man's horse, but it is his own son who will be the victim of the accident.

A colonial wife carries on an affair with a French officer, but the wife's native servant may have overheard their plan to leave Africa and return to Europe together.And then the servant goes missing.

In 1906, François left the Basque country with his father, who had decided to settle in Argentina following an incident between him and Esteban. Having become a powerful industrialist, he returned to France in 1940 on the occasion of the signing of a contract. He learns that the Haut-le-Vent estate, occupied by his aunt Anna, is his. Greeted with mistrust by the villagers, he manages to make himself sympathetic and decides to stay on the estate with Gisèle, Esteban's daughter.

A man is shot In the hotel of an imaginary South American country. Clarence and Montès, two inspector students, must solve this murder, but they don't know that dead guy is the USA public enemy No.1.

Having pulled off a robbery with his friend Maurice, Olivier leaves his mistress Lola and hides out in a small village in the country. He finds work, thanks to a young man named Gilbert, who introduces him to his sister, Monique. Once the robbery has been all but forgotten, Olivier intends to head back to Paris, but before he goes, he steals money from his employer. In Paris, Olivier wants to say a proper goodbye to Lola, but she is being blackmailed by Jérôme, an antique dealer who has recognized a necklace stolen by Olivier. Before returning to Monique, Olivier calls on Jérôme to recover the necklace.

In Macao, where places of pleasure and arms trafficking are concentrated, a tragedy opposes an adventurer and his daughter whom he has brought up in ignorance of his profession. She is torn from her environment and saved from tragedy by a young journalist who loves her.

Claude is a young man whose girlfriend has just broken up with him. Feeling unable to overcome the pain, Claude has no other idea than to end his life. Back home, he finds five middle-aged or elderly men sitting at the dinner table but he refuses to join the guests and goes upstairs to his bedroom. The worst is prevented thanks to a servant who has caught sight of Claude's revolver. Claude 's uncle joins his nephew and manages to persuade him not to take action. He takes him downstairs to the dining room where each in turn, the five guests start telling their own story. For it happens that they too once had their heart broken and that they too once wanted to die for love.

An ambitious and perverse adventurer sows dissension and ruin in a wealthy family of industrialists.

"Menaces" deals with the months before WW2 in a hotel :t he fear of the impending war never leaves the guests of an hotel in Paris.

Set during the Spanish civil war, the story of a commander of a fort Alcazar in Toledo, faithful to general Franco.

In September 1938, an American diplomat negotiated in London the peace of Munich, rather than rush to Paris where his wife, a famous film actress, is about to fall into the arms of a young first. He gains peace but loses his happiness.

A doctor passionate about research leaves an uncle with an inheritance to die, knowing that he is the legatee. His work succeeds, but overcome by remorse, the doctor tries to commit suicide. He is saved thanks to the understanding of his wife and they both leave for the East to do research on leprosy.

A vindicative and spiteful captain carefully plots his vengeance against his best friend who lured away from him the woman he loved.

An officer saves the life of a foreign prince who is in France to buy seaplanes, while pursued by his enemies.

La Venus D'Or (Golden Venus) was based on Business, a play by Pierre Sabatier. Mirielle Balin stars as Judith, the mistress of ruthless oil magnate Harfstrong (Jacques Copeau). What Harfstrong doesn't know is that Judith is a spy for his hated business rival. When he does find out, he cannot get rid of her because she knows too much about his own crooked dealings. After several more reels of mutual betrayal and recriminations, the story suddenly shifts to the "good" characters, clean-limned young pilot Andre (Daniel Lecourtois) and his sweetheart Michelle (Andree Giuze). Set up as a fall guy for the villains, Andre somehow emerges from the experience none the worse for wear.

Mario Esposito, who sings in a Neapolitan restaurant, is in love with Assunta, the niece of Teresa, the owner of the place. He shares his apartment with Michel, his best friend. This one has fallen under the spell of Lolita, a gorgeous adventuress he met at the cathedral where he officiates as the organist. But things go awry as, while Michel intercedes with Aunt Teresa for Assunta's hand in his favor, Mario in turn falls in love with Lolita. On the very day of his wedding with Assunta, Mario runs away with Lolita, thus betraying both his love and his friend. But it does not take long before the young singer realizes the big mistake he has made.

Lucien Bourrache, a good looking non-commissioned officer at the Spahis, is used to charm many women. He met Madeleine Courtois at Cannes. She is beautiful and lives in luxury. He lends her a large amount of money, which she loses gambling. Then she drops him. But Lucien is now in love, and once demobilized, he goes to Paris to find her again. But he's not so sexy without his uniform, and Madeleine and him do not belong to the same milieu.

Pépé le Moko, one of France's most wanted criminals, hides out in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows police will be waiting for him if he tries to leave the city. When Pépé meets Gaby, a gorgeous woman from Paris who is lost in the Casbah, he falls for her.

A few colorful characters, with very different social origins and whose destinies are not always glorious, will parade before our eyes, for our greatest pleasure. Turning among characters such as : an alcoholic bum, a rich banker, an eccentric old lady, a working class girl, a poor lover, and a hypocritical bourgeois.

The spahi Jean Peyral is very in love with the flirtatious Cora. When he realizes that she betrays him, he tries to kill himself. He is saved by the tenderness of a young native, Fatou.

A neglected young woman comes up against the equivocal feelings of a steward.

An intelligent young worker, enterprising but boastful, repeats to all the winds that, if he were the boss, we would see what we would see. One of the main shareholders of the factory takes him at his word for twenty-four hours.

A young aristocrat whose ruined father decided to marry her spends one last night as a bachelor at the boarding school ball. But there, cheerful students strip her of her clothes and she finds refuge precisely with her future husband whom she did not know. Of course, the marriage that was so repugnant to them fills them with joy.

Thanks to an understanding and sympathetic regimental comrade, a shy young man, very passionate about astronomy, gradually becomes more confident and manages to tell his love to his beloved.

Inflamed by his readings of chivalric novels, Don Quixote, a knight with a sad face, accompanied by Sancho Panza, a peasant steeped in common sense, decides to set off across the world in search of improbable adventures.

The story of Madame Leroy-Gomez, a wealthy divorcee living in Paris. Together with her servant Antoine she schemes to marry off her unmarried children and fix any issues that arise for those already married.