L'instituteur
In an isolated community on a mythical island, a pompous dictator holds public executions and lets criminals fight in the streets.
This one is generally looked upon as the best version of the old-fashioned melodrama by Jules Mary.Riccardo Freda,who was mainly known for his horror movies,tried also his hand at spy thrillers in the wake of James Bond ("Coplan Ouvre Le Feu à Mexico") ,and had a penchant for old French melodramas (before "Roger la Honte" ,he redid "Les Deux Orphelines " -D.W.GRiffith's "orphans of the storm-. Georges Géret replaces Lucien Coedel and Irene Pappas takes on Maria Casarès's part of his mistress.Freda 's movie is more compact ,with a running time of 105 min,whereas Cayatte's version (1945-46) spread over two episodes with a total time exceeding 3 hours.It also benefited from the use of color .But all in all,it's the same old story.
Pierre Lefranc
The struggle of a female doctor against superstition and healers.
André
Fictionalized reconstruction of the life of the French spy Marthe Richard who decided to contact the secret services during the First World War.
Le secrétaire
A propaganda film of the communist party of France, showing how the comrades help the proletariat against the capitalists.
