Lucien Nepoty

Sacrifice of Honor

Before the Battle is the English-language title of this espionage melodrama. The first half of the film takes place aboard a French cruising ship, steaming through dangerous waters during WWI. Among the passengers is heroine Jeanne (Annabella), who was once in love with first-officer D'Artelles (Robert Vidalin) but he now seems strangely preoccupied. It turns out that the ship is on a secret mission, which ultimately dooms the vessel to a Lusitania-like death. After the sinking, Captain De Corlaix (Victor Francen) faces a court-martial, and it is at this point that the film clarifies several baffling plot points. Despite its complexity, the story is fairly believable, with the exception of the grafted-on romantic subplot.

The Woman from Monte Carlo

On the eve of WW-I the French Navy ship Lafayette returns to its Toulon base for one night. There is no shore leave, although wives are permitted to come to a party. The strain of command on the older captain and his new, young wife is very great.

Night Watch

Night Watch is a 1928 American drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Billie Dove, Paul Lukas, and Donald Reed. It was an adaptation of the dramatic 1921 play In the Night Watch, written by Michael Morton. The film is set almost entirely on a French warship at the beginning of the First World War.

Before the Battle

When the commander of a cruiser ,which sank in a confrontation,is tried for negligence, will the wife speak up in his defense? Unknown to him, she was trapped in the cabin below with her former lover, a subordinate officer.