French filmmaker Edmond Gréville’s work isimaginative, filled with jaw-dropping camera work, energetic editing, and a cinephile’s love of moviemaking, with a style that echoes the visual-centric work similar auteur maudits like Edgar G. Ulmer Ulmer or Joseph H. Lewis.
Gréville made over 35+ features from 1931 to 1965 in French and English, but today, he has mostly been forgotten. By the time he passed away in 1966, he was so poor, that a bunch of his young filmmaker friends had to raise money to keep him from being buried in a pauper’s grave.
In an attempt to help out the interested parties who want to explore Greville’s filmography I’ve made a list of the current availability of all of his films. When possible, I’ve linked to a site that sells/or sold a DVD copy. This list may be incomplete, so feel free to let me know if I missed something in the comment section below.
For the best rundown of Edmond Gréville’s work, I highly recommend reading the essay written by Bertrand Tavernier which you can read here.
WARNING: Some of the DVDs I mention do not include English subtitles, but fan subtitles have been created by a number of different online film groups, which I have listed if possible. I’ve come across some of his Gréville’s films on Youtube or sites like Dailymotion that been subsequently taken down, so if I know a copy of one of his films exists out there, I’ve marked it down as ‘Floating Around on The Internet’, as frustrating as that may be.
RECOMMENDED:
Remous (Whirlpool) (1935): Available on DVD in France (With English Subs)
Brief Ecstasy (1937): Available on DVD on the Ealing Studios Vol. 2 Boxset in the UK
Noose (1948): Available on DVD and on ARCHIVE.ORG
Menace (Threats) (1940): Available on DVD in France (No English Subtitles)
The Accident (1963): Floating around on the internet with English Fan Subs.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILMS:
Brief Ecstasy (1937): Available on DVD on the Ealing Studios Vol. 2 Boxset in the UK
Secret Lives (1937): Floating around on the internet
Under Secret Orders (1937): Floating around on the internet
Noose (1948): Available on DVD and on ARCHIVE.ORG
The Romantic Age (1949): Available on YOUTUBE
Guilty? (Je plaide non coupable) (1956): Released on DVD in the UK
Beat Girl (1960): Released on Blu-ray in the UK
FRENCH LANGUAGE FILMS (AVAILABLE IN THE
WORLD WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES):
Princesse Tam-Tam (1935): Released by Kino on DVD
Whirlpool (Remous) (1935): Available on DVD in France (With English Subs)
Threats (Menace) (1940): Available on DVD in France (No English Subtitles on DVD, but Fan Subs do exist)
The Port of Desire (Port du désir) (1955): Available on DVD in France (No English Subtitles on DVD, but Fan Subs do exist)
The Hands of Orlac (Les mains d’Orlac) (1960): Available on DVD in France (No English Subtitles on DVD, but fan subs do exist)
The Accident (L’accident) (1963): Floating around on the internet with English Subs.
INTERNATIONAL FILMS (NO ENGLISH SUBS
CURRENTLY EXIST):
The Triangle of Fire (Le triangle de feu(1932)
For One Night of Love (Pour une nuit d’amour) (1945)
Woman of Evil (Le diable souffle) (1947) – French
But Not in Vain (Niet tevergeefs) (1948) – Available, but only in Dutch.
The Other Side of Paradise (L’Envers du Paradis) (1953)
As Long As There are Women (Tant qu’il y aura des femmes) (1955)
Temptation (L’île du bout du monde) (1960)
The Liars (Les menteurs) (1961)
UNAVAILABLE FILMS:
The Train of Suicides (The Train of Suicides) (1931)
Pleasures of Paris (1934)
The Love Merchant (Marchand d’amour) (1935)
Gypsy Melody (Capitaine tzigane) (1936)
Forty Years (Veertig jaren) (1938) – Dutch
What a Man (1938) – English
A Woman in the Night (Une Femme Dans La Nuit) (1943)
Dorothy Looks for Love (Dorothée cherche l’amour) (1945)
Im Banne der Madonna (1951) – German
When Will Noon Ring (1958) Quand Sonera Midi (1958)
