Etienne Alexis, a candidate for president of the new Europe, is a scientist promoting artificial insemination for social betterment and therapy to eliminate passion. To celebrate his engagement to a cousin, he hosts an aseptic picnic, where mother nature asserts herself. A shepherd's flute conjures a windstorm that throws Alexis together with the luscious Nénette, a farm lass who wants to have a baby but is unimpressed with men.
Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune, and is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the notorious island prison, Chateau d'If. While imprisoned, he meets the Abbe Faria, a fellow prisoner whom everyone believes to be mad. The Abbe tells Edmond of a fantastic treasure hidden away on a tiny island, that only he knows the location of. After many years in prison, the old Abbe dies, and Edmond escapes disguised as the dead body. Now free, Edmond must find the treasure the Abbe told him of, so he can use the new-found wealth to exact revenge on those who have wronged him...
Sylvain is the town clerk of the small Provençal village of Coursoul. He is the darling of all the girls in the country. His brother, Désiré, a disabled carpenter, secretly loves Toinette, the lumber merchant's daughter. She falls in love with Sylvain. This one, convinced by the director of a traveling circus of the excellence of his voice, is about to leave everything to follow his career. But Désiré learns from Toinette that she is expecting a child from Sylvain. He goes to inform his brother, who reconsiders his decision. But Désiré will leave in his place, not to sing, but with his bruised heart to play Paillasse.
The film is a 125-minute, black-and-white biography of French priest and diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754–1838), who served for 50 years under five different French regimes: the Absolute Monarchy, the Revolution, the Consulate, the Empire, and the Constitutional Monarchy. Its title comes from one of the main historical nicknames for Talleyrand, that he shares with demon king Asmodeus and English poet Lord Byron.
In order for important British admiralty papers to pass into the hands of the Germans, the spy Gordon has the ingenious idea of transforming a lamentable drunkard into a Lady, haughty but submissive to his orders. Stella's transformation is complete, the success extraordinary. Why must a French officer touching the heart of the former pochard bring down the fragile edifice? A submarine is about to blow up, Gordon is shot down and a confessed Stella returns to her horrible taverns to drown her sorrows in alcohol for good.
To try solving the strange disappearances of 11 young Parisian women, the police obtain the services of Adrienne Charpentier, friend of the latest missing person.
A young couple's suicide pact goes awry, leaving the woman to face her survival with a new admirer while pining for her lost love.
1938, France, Paris, at the Superior Conservatory of Dramatic Art ("Conservatoire Supérieur d'Art Dramatique"). The first-year entrance exams are in full swing. Many applicants, few accepted. Isabelle (Janine Darcey) is one of the few chosen. She joins former students from the second and third years, including François (Claude Dauphin) and Cécilia (Odette Joyeux). They attend the drama class run by Professor Lambertin (Louis Jouvet). The young people, passionate and eager to become comedians, clash in tumultuous love affairs, because by dint of acting, they imagine that life is a farce. François, for example, is in love with Isabelle, who also loves him, but is pursued by Cecilia, his former mistress... "Put art in your life and life in your art!"