The Grand Illusion 1937 N/R, 111 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Jean Renoir Cast: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Dita Parlo, Marcel Dalio, Julien Carette, Gaston Modot, Jean Daste, Jacques Becker, Georges Peclet, Werner Florian, Sylvain Itkine, Albert Brouett, Claude Sainval, Michel Salina
Written while Hitler was beginning to make his move in Europe, this film examines the mindset of men involved in World War I and shows how the aristocratic backgrounds of French prisoner de Boldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and the German commandant of the prison camp, von Rauffenstein (Eric von Stroheim), contribute to them forming a bond that will have deadly consequences when they allow two French soldiers (Jean Gabin and Marcel Dalio) to escape. The negatives of the film survived, and the restored movie was released in 1999, complete with a new translation.
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Princess Tam Tam 1935 N/R, 77 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy
Director: Edmond T. Greville Cast: Josephine Baker, Albert Prejean, Robert Arnoux, Germaine Aussey, Georges Peclet, Viviane Romance, Jean Galland, Teddy Michaud, Henri Richard
French novelist Max de Mirecourt (Albert Prejean) fights with his wife (Germaine Aussey) and travels with his friend, Coton (Robert Arnoux), to North Africa to clear his head. In Africa, he meets a beautiful, talented Bedouin girl, Alwina (Josephine Baker). He educates her, writes a novel about her, and introduces her to Paris society as Princess Tam Tam. Meanwhile, his wife has made him believe that she is having an affair with a Black prince. The possibility of interracial affairs between the two couples caused this film to be banned in the United States at the time of its release.
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| 1. The Grand Illusion (1937)
2. Princess Tam Tam (1935)
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