Simone Berriau

Little Nothings

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.

Soyez les bienvenus

Before the war. Mr. and Mrs. Boisleroi, well off, lived in their castle while their son Jacques courted Geneviève, the manager's daughter. On mobilization, the manager becomes flight captain, Boisleroi a simple waykeeper and Jacques wants to enlist. Refugees arrive: an actress, a player, an old marquis, former owner of the castle and who will die there. All this life together culminates in the marriage of Jacques and Geneviève.

The Woman I Loved the Most

Claude is a young man whose girlfriend has just broken up with him. Feeling unable to overcome the pain, Claude has no other idea than to end his life. Back home, he finds five middle-aged or elderly men sitting at the dinner table but he refuses to join the guests and goes upstairs to his bedroom. The worst is prevented thanks to a servant who has caught sight of Claude's revolver. Claude 's uncle joins his nephew and manages to persuade him not to take action. He takes him downstairs to the dining room where each in turn, the five guests start telling their own story. For it happens that they too once had their heart broken and that they too once wanted to die for love.

L'An 40

Félix Raffut, a Périgord squire terrified by the German invasion, carries out the exodus of his family and his furniture towards supposedly hospitable places.

Moulin Rouge

A poor wretch, who has just been hired as a music-hall artist, in spite of himself becomes the tenant of a particular Parisian building.

They Were Twelve Women

Early in the war, a group of women decide to help the soldiers in the war front. They enlist the help of the wealthy Madame Marion.

Paris - New-York

The forbidden romance between wealthy Giselle Preville and impoverished journalist Claude Dauphin. When Preville disappears, Dauphin is accused of kidnapping by the girl's snobbish father Rene Alexander. By the time the Normandie reaches New York, however, the "mystery" is solved and all misunderstandings blithely swept away.

Behind the Facade

In the elevator of two large Parisian buildings, a telegraph operator discovers the body of an elderly woman, Madame Mathieu, the owner of both buildings. Boucheron, the local superintendent, is dispatched to investigate, along with his rival, Inspector Lambert of the "Sûreté". To solve the enigma, they scour staircases and corridors, visiting every floor of both buildings, courtyard and facade. Their gruff rivalry allows them to complement each other in discovering who committed the crime among a gallery of characters, humble or rich, who all have something to be ashamed of... A rare, fast-paced, picturesque comedy set against the backdrop of a police mystery.

Café de Paris

This murder mystery is set in a Parisian cafe and examines the mysterious murder of a famed journalist and extortionist who is killed at his table in the cafe. Though the prime suspects are gathered together( including his wife and her lover, the gun-runner, the creditor, and a playboy) and all of them have motives, none of them did it. So whodunit?

À nous deux, madame la vie

Two bank employees like Lucie, their colleague. They steal money from the cash register to gamble. Jean wins and Paul ends up in prison for five years. When he leaves, he discovers that Jean has become a businessman and that he has married Lucie.

The Tender Enemy

Line, Annette's daughter, is about to marry a man she's not in love with. At the engagement party three ghosts revisit their disastrous relationships with Annette and decide to take action to help Line.

Divine

A country girl (Simone Berriau) finds work as a chorus girl in Paris, gets embroiled with a bad egg, and then finds true love with a good-looking milkman.

Itto

Filmed in French Morocco, Itto's dialogue is spoken primarily in the tribal Chleuh language. The jingoistic story concerns a series of clashes between French occupational forces and a rebellious Chleuh chieftain. Itto (Simone Berriau), chief's daughter, becomes embroiled in a romance with a Moroccan tribesman who has gone over to the French side. It is implied in Itto that it's okay to betray one's own people if it will preserve French colonialism in Africa. To modern viewers, the rampant chauvinism in Itto is a difficult pill to swallow.

Ciboulette

Duparquet is the controller of Les Halles, and plays matchmaker between the young farm-girl Ciboulette and Antonin, a young spoiled aristocrat.