Gabrielle Robinne

Compilation film with film fragments from 1910 to 1930 about fashion, clothing, movement and pose. Part one highlights leisurely strolling, followed by chapters on Passion, War, Presence and Refinement, and The Gay Twenties.

On a Mediterranean cruise, a young man hired as a tour guide is intrigued by the beauty of a female interpreter hiding behind her sunglasses. He makes advances to her by venturing into a series of strange stories.

Nicole Védrèss' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.

Although Pierre is married, he is in love with his sister in law Marianne, while he is loved by his cousin Agnés, a spinster. Marianne loves him but she prefers to marry Rémy, and ultimately Agnés leaves Pierre to his wife and kids.

When she sets sail for Lisbon, Catherine Laurence, a famous classical singer has but one wish: to be left alone. Unfortunately she soon gets bothered by a rude, invading man. Later she gets to know him better and becomes susceptible to his charm. She realizes that Michel is in love with her and it is not long before she goes beyond her disastrous first impression. Although not quite sure he is a perfectly honest man she entrusts him with a delicate assignment: keep her precious pearl necklace coveted by Van Coolart, a fake Dutch diamond-merchant, and give it back to her in Paris. If he is a robber himself, so much the worse for her. But if Michel keeps the Paris rendezvous love is in store for both of them. Nevertheless there is a crucial factor she regrettably disregards, composer Raymond Aubour, a faithful friend who has been her suitor for ten years.

France under Louis XIII. 1615. The Duke of Angoulême is at the head of a group of gentlemen who are conspiring to drive the Florentines out of court, of whom Concini is the all-powerful leader. A cadet from Gascony, Adhémar de Capestang, who was later to become the Capitan, left his native province to come and try his luck in Paris. Along the way, he saves a young girl, Gisèle d'Angoulême, from a masked individual who wanted to kidnap her.

Jeune Filles en Detresse (Young Girls in Distress) was director G. W. Pabst's last French production before his (ill-timed) return to Nazi-occupied Austria in 1941. Somewhat reminiscent of Maedchen in Uniform, the story is set in a private girl's school, populated almost exclusively by children from broken homes. Among the few students who can claim family stability is Micheline Presle, but even her happiness is threatened when her lawyer father Andre Luguet inaugurates an affair with stage actress Jacqueline Debulac. With the help of Debulac's daughter Louisa Carletti, Presle is able to break up her father's romance and deliver him into the open arms of her mother Marcelle Chantal. On the whole, the performance by the younger cast members are more convincing than those rendered by the film's so-called adults.

Story of the Siberian monk Gregory Rasputin and the hold he exerted over the court of the last Russian czar, Nicholas.

A man installs his mistress, a renowned actress, in his mansion, before she gives in to another man. She leaves, but he learns twenty-two years later that she has a son who is his own but leads a life of debauchery.

An honest worker is made redundant, but he will solve his problems by marrying the employer's daughter.

Jean Clédat, a young sculptor, has fallen in love with Gabrielle Normand, a painter. Jean's father, who expected him to perform his art in his native town, is surprised not to see him come back after his studies at the Fine Arts Academy, all the more as Marie-Claire, his kind-hearted fiancée, is waiting for him at home. Suspecting a love affair, Clédat Senior comes to visit Jean out of the blue. Not only are his suspicions confirmed but they are even reinforced when he catches sight of a doll in his son's studio. After telling Gabrielle that he will provide maintenance for the "child", he forces his son son to go back home. The only thing is that he is making a mistake : there IS a four-year-old girl, but she is Gabrielle's little sister, not her daughter...

Fernand Pradier (Gabriel Signoret) is an honest merchant and a simple person at heart who tries to make her daughter Germaine (Gabrielle Robinne) happy. She is engaged to a rich banker St-Bris (René Alexandre). However, the fiance once belonged to a criminal organization and, despite his efforts of rehabilitation, one of his ancient accomplices makes their engagement impossible. Eventually imprisoned, she escapes with the help of a beautiful typist (Stacia Napierkowska)...

Story set in the Middle Ages. A page and the daughter of a baron want to marry each other against the will of her father, who wants his daughter to marry another man. A sorceress predicts the future for the couple and provides the page with a bottle of poison for the other marriage candidate, which almost falls into the wrong hands.

The Count of Champcenetz is governor of the Palace of the Tuileries. His mistress Grace Elliott, a young widow, begs him not to go the Palace where he must defend King Louis XVI, who is threatened by the Revolution. After a few hours fight, in spite of the Count's best efforts, the crowd captures the King, the Queen, their children and their are taken to the prison of the Temple. Champcenetz, wounded, escapes and, disguised as a sans-culotte, walks back to Mrs. Elliott's. He leaves out of the country with her and marries her.

The film portrays the events on the day King Henri III of France arranged for Duke Henri de Guise to be murdered.