Gérard Oury
Also Known As: Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum, Gerard Oury, Жерар Ури
Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gérard Oury (29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. His real name was Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum. The son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist, and Marcelle Houry, a journalist, Oury studied at Lycée Janson de Sailly and at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art. He became a member of the Comédie-Française just one year before World War II, but fled to Switzerland to escape the anti-Jewish persecutions by the Vichy government. After 1945 he restarted his career as an actor, performing in the theatre and in supporting roles in the cinema. Oury became a movie director in 1959 (The Itchy Palm (fr)) and gained his first success in 1961 with Crime Does Not Pay (Le crime ne paie pas). Joining André Bourvil and Louis de Funès as a comic duo, he burst into commercial filmmaking with 1965's The Sucker (Le corniaud). The film was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.[1] The following year, Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (La Grande Vadrouille) was even more successful, attracting the largest audiences ever in France (17.27 million admissions). This box-office record stood for decades, only surpassed in 1997 by Titanic from James Cameron. Oury shot the 1969 comedy Le Cerveau (The Brain) in English, starring David Niven in the lead role as a criminal mastermind. Living together with the French actress Michèle Morgan, he was the father of French writer Danièle Thompson and grandfather of actor/writer Christopher Thompson. He died aged 87 in Saint-Tropez on 20 July 2006.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Paris, France
Birthday: April 29, 1919
Deathday: July 19, 2006
Adult: No
Gender: Male
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Known For:
The Prize
Overview: A group of Nobel laureates descends on Stockholm to accept their awards. Among them is American novelist Andrew Craig, a former literary luminary now writing pulp detective stories to earn a living. Craig, who is infamous for his drinking and womanizing, formulates a wild theory that physics prize winner Dr. Max Stratman has been replaced by an impostor, embroiling Craig and his chaperone in a Cold War kidnapping plot.
Genres: Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1963-12-25
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Les Rois de la comédie
Overview: At the end of the 1950s, four humor specialists simultaneously experienced recognition. Fernandel with “The Cow and the Prisoner”, Bourvil with “The Hunchback”, Jacques Tati with “My Uncle” and Louis de Funès with “Oscar” at the theater. On the big screen or on stage, each of these artists has a unique style of humor. They are the kings of French comedy. But how did they manage to become true box office champions? How did they experience their immense popularity? How do they still influence the comedy genre? And above all, are- are they funny in life? Where is the line between their character in the cinema and their real personality?
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2023-01-01
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La Folle Heure des grandis
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2002-01-01
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Du Guesclin
Overview: A chronicle of the life of Bertrand du Guesclin, grand officer of the French army in the 14th century.
Genres: History Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1949-06-03
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Mr. Peek-a-Boo
Overview: A simple civil servant Léon, who has the unusual ability to walk through walls, falls madly in love with a hotel thief by the name of Susan. He poses as Garou-Garou, a dangerous gangster to attempt to woo her affections, but is arrested and sent to jail. While in jail he annoys the guards by walking in and out of his cell, and keeps persuading Susan to cease her criminal way of life. As fundamentally being an honest and law-abiding citizen, he eventually handles back everything he has stolen, is acquitted by the court, and becomes famous and respected. When he learns that Susan is planning to return to England and start a new life, he decides to confess to her his emotions. However, the couple is interrupted by a sudden rush of journalists. Trying to escape in a building, they get cornered on a corridor, and Léon pushes Susan through a nearby wall. But by doing this, he loses his own wall-walking ability, and the film concludes.
Genres: Comedy Fantasy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1951-04-06
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Little Nothings
Overview: Following a broadcast on the radio, each of the listeners remembers these "little nothings" (the title is borrowed from a play by Mozart), which have often changed their lives. Each of these stories told will prove that a tiny detail in life can change an entire destiny.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1942-12-16
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The Menace
Overview: Josepha is on the verge eighteen living with her drunken washed up actor uncle. She longs for the companionship of a group of her mo-ped riding peers who dabble in activities on the shady side of a legal dividing line. In order to get the semi-delinquent group to accept her, Josepha runs to the police with a tall tale about the local druggist, Savary. The police are looking for a sex murderer, and Josepha insists Savary is their man. What she does not know, however, can do her considerable damage.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1961-03-01
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The Journey
Overview: A Communist officer falls hard for a married woman trying to escape from Hungary.
Genres: Drama Romance War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1959-02-11
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A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later
Overview: Jean-Louis and Anne have had their fling and separated. Now 20 years have passed. He is still dating various women. She is now a big-time director whose most recent film was a very expensive bomb. She comes up with the idea of making a romance based upon her fling with Jean-Louis. She contacts him to gain his permission. Jean-Louis is still in racing and goes away for a desert rally while she begins filming. She finds the mood of their romance difficult to recapture in her film.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1986-05-13
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Here Is the Beauty
Overview: Melodrama of two struggling artists whose love for each other is thwarted.She has some success as a ballerina despite being wounded by him in a fit of jealousy. His career as a sculptor is stymied when he is arrested.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1950-04-21
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The Secret of Mayerling
Overview: On the morning of January 30, 1889, the Archduke Rodolphe de Habsbourg and his mistress Marie Vetsera were found dead. The remains of Rodolphe are discreetly repatriated to Hofburg, while that of Mary is hastily thrown into the depths of a tomb.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1949-05-07
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Sorceror
Overview: A young rogue kills an old lady to rob her. Arrested, he believes it is for this crime, hides nothing from his lawyer, who soon tells him that he is only accused of another theft prior to his crime. Sentenced to six months suspended prison sentence, he will also have to answer for the crime of the old lady.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1950-01-27
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The Night Is My Kingdom
Overview: After an accident, Raymond has gone blind. His family treats him like a child, but fortunately a nun comes to his rescue. She works in a center where blind people learn to read using the Braille alphabet.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1951-08-09
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The Mirror Has Two Faces
Overview: A teacher runs an ad in the newspaper to find a wife. Afraid of beautiful ladies, he weds an ugly woman. After a car accident, he meets a doctor who offers to reveal his wife's beauty.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1958-10-15
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Father Brown
Overview: Works of art are disappearing, stolen by a master thief, a master of disguise. Father Brown has two goals: to catch the thief and to save his soul.
Genres: Comedy Mystery Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-06-08
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Back to the Wall
Overview: Rich industrialist Jacques Decret learns his wife Gloria is having an affair with a young actor. For revenge, he bombards her with anonymous letters, convincing her that her lover is the culprit while Gloria desperately seeks a way out.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1958-03-07
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Sur la route de la grande vadrouille
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2016-11-22
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House of Secrets
Overview: Police in Paris recruit an English ship's officer (Michael Craig) to help trap counterfeiters by joining them.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-10-23
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The Heart of the Matter
Overview: Based on Graham Greene’s novel, a married colonial police chief struggles with his conscience when he has an affair with a younger woman.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-11-03
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Woman of the River
Overview: When peasant girl Nives is deserted by smuggler Gino Lodi, she betrays him to the police. Police officer Enzo Cinti, who loves Nives, traces her to the Po River cane-fields, where she is working as a cutter to support herself and an infant son, and warns her that Gino has escaped from prison and is seeking revenge. She rejects his offer to protect her. Gino finds Nives, mourning the drowning death of their son. He surrenders himself to the police and then walks at Nives' side in the funeral procession.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: it
Release Date: 1954-12-29
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Seventh Heaven
Overview: "Le septième ciel" became Raymond Bernard's last film; a black comedy about a female brewery owner who donates vast amounts of money to charitable causes. The funds to do this, she raises through her liaisons with wealthy gentlemen... who just "happen" to end up dead!
Genres: Mystery Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1958-03-05
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À la recherche de... Pierre Richard
Overview: Follow in the footsteps of burlesque actor Pierre Richard, a key figure in French cinema in the 1970s and 1980s.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2017-09-01
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Les Marines
Overview: Reichenbach follows the first months training of US Army marines.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1957-01-01
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The Itchy Palm
Overview: A widow in her fifties,Madame Lacoste ,meets Jean when they both come to put their pussy in a cattery.The man borrows a hefty sum from her ,to send his sick young son to breathe the fresh air of the country ,or so he said;in fact there's no son at all.He gives the money to his mistress who claims she's pregnant by him and who wants to have an abortion.She lies too ,for she does not expect any child and she intends to help the young man she's in love with to buy a scooter.But the latter does not care about her either and intends to marry a "rich " girl ....who's actually the concierge's daughter.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1960-02-03
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Moana
Overview: Documentary focused on underwater shootings and hawaiian dances.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1959-01-01
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They Who Dare
Overview: In Greece during the war a small group of British commandoes and patriots land on an island with orders to attack two airfields from which the Luftwaffe is threatening allied forces in Egypt. The island is crawling with troops, and even moving by night the men soon run into trouble.
Genres: War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-02-02
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Sea Devils
Overview: Gilliatt, a fisherman-turned-smuggler on the isle of Guernsey, agrees to transport a beautiful woman to the French coast in the year 1800. She tells him she hopes to rescue her brother from the guillotine. Gilliatt finds himself falling in love and so feels betrayed when he later learns this woman is a countess helping Napoleon plan an invasion of England. In reality, however, the "countess" is an English agent working to thwart this invasion. When Gilliatt finds this out, he returns to France to rescue the woman who's true purpose has been discovered by the French.
Genres: Action Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-04-12
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Without Leaving an Address
Overview: A woman in Paris hires a taxi driver to locate her ex-lover, father to her newborn child, who left her without leaving an address.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1951-01-17
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Le Costaud des Batignolles
Overview: Jules, small and weak, dreams of becoming a formidable athlete. He strives every morning to practice physical culture exercises and takes comforting tablets, without success. But he meets Nénette, a woman who, when he kisses her, suddenly endows him with prodigious strength.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1952-04-30
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Young Girls Beware
Overview: Raven, a mobster just released from prison, settles the score by murdering Mendetta and her partner, who had turned him in. Having taken over Mendetta's various bars, he finds himself at war with other mobsters who want to kill him.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1957-07-04
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Antoine & Antoinette
Overview: 1947, in France, Antoine and Antoinette, a young couple living in Paris, lead a monotonous existence: he works in a print shop while she is a shop assistant. But one evening, they regain hope: Antoine finds a winning lottery ticket in his girlfriend's handbag. He decides to cash it in, but loses his wallet. What follows is a series of twists and turns that redefine the couple's priorities while forcing them to remain optimistic.
Genres: Drama Comedy Romance
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1947-09-27
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Loves of Three Queens
Overview: At a wedding party involving three beautiful women, a young man should choose the most charming. But a professor intervenes to prevent the verdict, remembering the troubles caused by Paris in a similar situation.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: it
Release Date: 1954-12-24
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The Best Part
Overview: Philippe Perrin, a young engineer passionate about his work, leads the construction of a huge dam in the High Alps. Like all the men who work on the building site, he gives the best part of himself. Unfortunately, his health deteriorates but he refuses to follow the doctor's orders as well as the advice of Micheline, a young nurse who has fallen in love with him. However, driven by the evolution of his illness, Philippe finally makes up his mind to go down to the valley for a treatment. On the very day of his departure though, a young Arab worker gets killed in a rock crusher...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1955-12-30
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The Sword and the Rose
Overview: Tells the story of Mary Tudor and her troubled path to true love. Henry VIII, for political reasons, determines to wed her to the King of France. She tries to flee to America with her love but is captured when she is "un-hatted" on board ship. In return for her consent to the marriage with France, Henry agrees to let her choose her second husband. When King Louis of France dies, Mary is kidnaped by the Duke of Buckingham. He tries to force her to marry him but she is rescued by her love in an exciting battle on the beach.
Genres: Adventure Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-07-23
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Endless Horizons
Overview: The life story of famed French aviatrix Helene Boucher is detailed in Horizons sans fin (Endless Horizons). Giselle Pascal stars as Boucher, who is first seen in 1930, leaving her millinery shop behind in favor of the wild blue yonder. Though the world of aviation was still essentially an all-male one (despite England's Amy Johnson and America's Amelia Earhart), Boucher perseveres, eventually breaking all existing male and female speed and height records. A bit slow on the uptake in the dramatic scenes, the film soars (no pun intended) during the aerial sequences. Horizons san Fin was the winner of the Catholic Award at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
Genres: Drama Adventure
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1953-04-26
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The Fate of Two Queens
Overview: Anthology film in which Hedy Lamarr plays 2 queens during 2 different time periods. Ulmer directed the Genoveffa di Brabante part whereas Allégret was responsible for the empress Josephine section after he left due to artistic differences with Lamarr.
Genres: Drama History Romance
Original Language: it
Release Date: 1954-12-24
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Heroes and Sinners
Overview: A good cast smooths over the rough spots of Les Heros sont Fatigues. The scene is the African republic of Liberia, which in this film proves to be a stopping-off point for a number of shady characters. Yves Montand plays a French ex-pilot who becomes involved in a scheme to smuggle stolen diamonds. His cohorts include a Nazi collaborator, a German refugee, and the white mistress of a prominent Liberian. A romance develops between the ex-pilot and the aforementioned mistress. Meanwhile, one of the conspirators (Curt Jurgens) has a last-minute attack of conscience, effectively queering the deal. The steamier romantic passages in Les Heros sont Fatigues had to be trimmed for American consumption.
Genres: Adventure
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1955-09-12
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Jo la Romance
Overview: For love, the singer Georges Hyverlin gives up his profession to work with his father-in-law in his car factory. When the passion for song takes him back, he manages to resume his career thanks to the support of his wife Martine.
Genres: Music
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1949-03-04
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L'homme au parapluie
Overview: A heart stops beating and two others no longer dare to face each other. While an old lady is found poisoned, the two main suspects in the investigation see their mutual love decline behind vile suspicions. 35 years before Les Cordier, judge and cop, Pierre Mondy is already trying his hand at the role of inspector.
Genres: Crime Drama Mystery TV Movie
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1956-03-10
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