Édouard Molinaro

He was born in Bordeaux, Gironde. He is best known for his comedies with Louis de Funès (Oscar, etc.), My Uncle Benjamin (with Jacques Brel and Claude Jade), Dracula and Son (with Christopher Lee), and the Academy Award-nominated La Cage aux Folles (with Michel Serrault and Ugo Tognazzi). Molinaro was active as a director until a few years before his death, although he had almost exclusively been producing works for television.[2] In 1996, his cinematic work was awarded the René Clair Award, a prize given by the Académie française for excellent film work. Molinaro died of a respiratory insufficiency in 2013. He was 85. (source: wikipedia)

Works

Lino Ventura, la part intime

Release Date:2018-02-04

Character:Self (archive footage)

Vote Count:5

Mariage Surprise

Release Date:2007-11-14

Character:Le vieux médecin

Vote Count:2

Une famille pas comme les autres

Pre-teen rascal Michel-Ange 'Mikey' is lovingly raised and spoiled by his artificial insemination-dad Robert 'Bob' de Lachenay and his gay partner Gaby, who run a thriving antiques shop. Mikey luckily bumped into two 'surrogate grand-parents', retired juvenile court judge Antoine and colonel's widow Blandine, whose children emigrated to Australia. A school gang presses Mikey to steal at home as 'hazing test'. Helping Mikey brings the lonely pair together. Things get complicated when Mikey stops at nothing to press the substitutes to present him to Bob's parents Bertrand and Marguerite, who own a castle but disowned their own son just for being gay.

Release Date:2005-02-13

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1

Un homme par hasard

Release Date:2003-01-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:3

Madame Sans-Gêne

In August 1792, on the eve of the attack on the Tuileries, Catherine Hubscher, a laundress in Paris, met a sergeant and an artillery lieutenant who would become respectively Marshal Lefèvre and Emperor Napoleon I. 1810. Napoleon was about to marry Marie-Louise. Fearing the inconstancies and moral lessons of Marshal Lefebvre, the emperor asked her husband to keep her away from the wedding ceremonies. He is unaware that the hotheaded young woman has received a personal invitation from the Austrian embassy.

Release Date:2002-02-11

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Nadia Coupeau, dite Nana

Victim of a rape, Nadia Coupeau decides to keep the child despite her precarious personal situation. But her child is soon taken away from her and placed in public care. Desperate, but ready to do anything to get him back, she decides to join her friend Zoé in the capital... In this version freely inspired by Emile Zola's work, Nana's trajectory is a cross-section of contemporary society, from the jungle of the suburbs to the golden world of business.

Release Date:2001-03-02

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:2

Tombé du nid

Max, a teenager, is having a difficult time coming of age. At 16, he is constantly in conflict with his parents. His father, Yvon, a lock and alarm manufacturer, does not understand this rebellious son. Worried about his future, he drowns Max's ambitions in a clumsy speech. Himself a bit clumsy, he doesn't know how to show him his affection. A gap is growing. One day, Max goes out without his parents' permission to attend a party organized by a friend. There, he meets his first true love, Audrey. But the young man is also insolent and is soon expelled from his school. His father reacts violently, and the teenager decides to run away.

Release Date:1999-10-18

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Beaumarchais the Scoundrel

Beaumarchais the Scoundrel is a biopic film based on the life of the French playwright, financier and spy Pierre Beaumarchais depicting his activities during the American War of Independence and his authorship of the Figaro trilogy of plays.

Release Date:1996-03-20

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:69

The Birdcage

Middle-aged gay life partners, Armand Goldman, a Jewish drag club owner, and Albert, the club's flamboyant star attraction, live in the eclectic community of South Beach and have raised a straight son. Now, their newly engaged son, 20-year-old Val, wants to bring his fiancée, Barbara, and her ultraconservative parents home to meet his family for the first time. By Val's request, Armand pretends to be straight, not Jewish and attempts to hide his relationship with Albert, in order to please Barbara's father, controversial right-wing Republican Sen. Kevin Keeley.

Release Date:1996-03-08

Department:Writing

Job:Original Film Writer

Vote Count:1161

What Maisie Knew

Paris during the 1920s. Ever since her parents' separation, ten-year-old Maisie has been travelling to and fro between her father Beale Farange and her mother Ida. She spends half a year with each one alternately. But neither parent can provide Maisie with the warmth and affection she so desperately needs.

Release Date:1995-12-22

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:2

The Supper

France, 1815. After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon heads for exile. Royalists occupy Paris and attempt to restore the monarchy. However, the battle doesn't seem to be over. On July 6, Talleyrand, a shrewd politician of flexible convictions, invites chief of police and zealous revolutionary Fouché to supper and tries to convince him to serve the king. Over the meal they insult each other, accuse each other, and, at first sight, look like mortal enemies. But they definitely have one thing in common: they are both power-hungry.

Release Date:1992-12-23

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:38

La Femme abandonnée

Tired of Parisian life, Louis de Nueil settles in a provincial village to rest from his hectic life. But he quickly gets bored. He then meets Fanny de Lussange, as beautiful as she is mysterious. The young man decides to court Fanny.

Release Date:1992-09-04

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1

Bad Ronald

A teenager, Ronald, unintentionally causes the death of a young girl on a beach. So that the police do not find him, his mother locks him in a cubicle, under the stairs of the house. On her death, the house was rented to an English family.

Release Date:1992-03-11

Character:L'avoué

Love at First Sight

Release Date:1992-02-12

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Episode Count:4

Vote Count:1

The Fate of Baron Leisenbohg

The 35-year-old ministry official Baron Leisenbohg had the stage career ten years ago as the cast of the "Queen of the Night", opera that promoted singer Klare Hell. Klare shows no gratitude however.

Release Date:1991-03-30

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:4

Manon Roland

The story of revolutionary woman Manon Roland.

Release Date:1989-12-28

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Door on the Left as You Leave the Elevator

Yan is a successful artist. One day he is waiting for his date Florence to turn up at his apartment. As the doorbell rings, he finds another young woman in underwear on his doorstep: his neighbor Eva! She tells him she locked herself out of her apartment and insists that he helps her. Whilst Yan is trying to enter Eva's apartment via their adjoining balcony, his phone rings. It is Florence, and she is not impressed when a female voice answers the phone. At this point, Eva's rabidly jealous boyfriend Boris returns home. Seeing Yan in his apartment, he deduces that Eva has been having an affair behind his back. Florence then turns up and Yan tries in vain to explain the situation. By chance, Florence's husband suddenly puts in an appearance. After that, it all starts to get a bit complicated.

Release Date:1988-08-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:85

Un métier de seigneur

Release Date:1986-12-06

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Love on the Quiet

A lawyer hires a call girl after learning his wife has invited her lover to move in; the husband and wife separate and the two new couples live side-by-side without issue - until an ex-boyfriend shows up and things start to go wrong.

Release Date:1985-02-27

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:21

Palace

1944. Lucien, a fighter in the Free French Forces, is taken prisoner by the Germans. He is sent to a prison camp and then becomes a pianist in a palace.

Release Date:1985-01-23

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:2

Just the Way You Are

Despite her success as a professional flute player and the constant attention of men around her, Susan Berlanger feels insecure because of her lame right leg. During a European tour, she decides to cover her leg with a cast to see how people will react to her as a nondisabled person.

Release Date:1984-11-16

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:18

La Veuve rouge

Release Date:1983-04-13

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:2

For 200 Grand, You Get Nothing Now

After getting screwed over by life (again), two losers decide that enough is enough. Using stolen ski masks and stolen toy guns, they take hostages in their local bank, holding them for ransom. Things go well until the hostages learn what's going on, and demand a piece of the action for themselves.

Release Date:1982-05-12

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:Le marchand de journaux des petites annonces (uncredited)

Vote Count:68

Au bon beurre

Release Date:1981-12-13

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Episode Count:2

Au bon beurre

Release Date:1981-04-08

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:13

La Cage aux Folles II

In a move to make his partner, Renato, jealous, the flamboyant Albin waits in a local cafe - dressed as a woman - hoping to be picked up. But Albin gets more than he bargains for when the fly he catches in his web is actually a spy, who uses him as an unwitting courier of secret microfilm. Now on the run from ruthless agents, Albin and Renato flee to Italy where they attempt to hide out on a farm, with Albin posing as Renato's wife. Can Albin escape the deadly pursuit of these relentless spies or does he have to sustain this charade - as a woman - forever?

Release Date:1980-12-10

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:107

Sunday Lovers

A sex comedy anthology containing four stories, each from a different country (England, France, USA and Italy). "An Englishman's Home" "The French Method" "Armando's Notebook" "Skippy"

Release Date:1980-10-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:16

La pitié dangereuse

Set in a garrison town in Austria before 1914, is the story of the unfortunate love between simple lieutenant Anton Hofmiller and Edith, the paralyzed daughter of the count, who is the richest man in the region.

Release Date:1979-12-26

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Cause toujours... tu m'intéresses

François Perrin is a journalist who reads the news on RTL radio. Alone in life, his only "amusement" is his neighbor from Africa, who makes mildly fun of him from time to time. One evening, François is bored, and decides to call a random telephone number. He gets Christine on the line, a bit of an old school pharmacist, who hesitates to put down the phone, and plays the game of seduction with the charming "Mr X"...

Release Date:1979-04-18

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:28

La Cage aux Folles

Two gay men living in St. Tropez have their lives turned upside down when the son of one of the men announces he is getting married. They try to conceal their lifestyle and their ownership of the drag club downstairs when the fiancée and her parents come for dinner.

Release Date:1978-10-25

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Vote Count:400

Claudine

Release Date:1978-04-12

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Episode Count:4

Vote Count:4

The Hurried Man

Art collector Pierre Niox rushes through life, lives a frantic life, does everything in full speed -- searching for and acquiring works of art or real estate, marrying or even dying -- and in total disregard for any kind of morality. His misdeeds finally turn on him and destroy him.

Release Date:1977-08-10

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:36

Dracula and Son

With angry villagers driving them away from their castle in Transylvania, Dracula and his son Ferdinand head abroad. Dracula ends up in London, England where he becomes a horror movie star exploiting his vampire status. His son, meanwhile, is ashamed of his roots and ends up a night watchman in Paris, France where he falls for a girl. Naturally, tensions arise when father and son are reunited and both take a liking to the same girl.

Release Date:1976-09-14

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:20

30 millions d'amis

Release Date:1976-01-06

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:2

The Pink Telephone

A small industrialist from Toulouse, goes to Paris to negotiate the buyout of his company from an American financial group. During his stay, the representative of the large firm calls on a luxury call girl to facilitate their "business".

Release Date:1975-10-15

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:L'homme dans les toilettes (uncredited)

Vote Count:18

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

A talk show presented by Michel Drucker

Release Date:1975-01-12

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:1

The Irony of Chance

A series of events beginning during the German occupation of France showing what might have happened if one thing had gone differently. The premise concerns the assassination of a German officer by a young member of the Resistance.

Release Date:1974-04-30

Department:Writing

Job:Adaptation

Vote Count:5

A Pain in the Ass

Ralf Milan, a hitman, arrives in Montpellier to kill an important witness. He checks in a hotel without knowing that his neighbour has become neurotic after his wife left him.

Release Date:1973-09-20

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:Café owner (uncredited)

Vote Count:226

The Hostage Gang

Barely out of the psychiatric hospital where he went to seek care, Gilbert Nodier commits several assaults to have some money.

Release Date:1973-02-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:2

La Mandarine

Paris, seventies. In a hotel in the glittering Rue de Rivoli an English boy falls in love with the two young grandchildren of the owner. Based on the novel "La Mandarine" by Christine de Rivoyre.

Release Date:1972-03-17

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:13

Midi trente

Release Date:1972-03-06

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:1

The Most Gentle Confessions

Following a robbery in a circus, a young mobster, Jean, is arrested by Inspector Borelli. The thug denies involvement. To compel him to sign a full confession, Inspector Muller encourages the suspect to get married for - he says - to move the jury. This being done, he lets Jean believe that he can spend a moment alone with his wife; but then, Inspector Borelli blackmails him: "If you sign your confession, you can spend a moment with her." After being beaten, Jean signs a confession. It is then that a new blackmail intervenes: "the name of the accomplice?", asks the inspector. But the thug refuses to denounce the latter and ends up refusing the bargain dupes. While the guards drive him back to prison, his wife cuts his veins, breaking the career of the bad policeman.

Release Date:1971-05-19

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:3

Samedi soir

Release Date:1971-01-09

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:1

La Liberté en croupe

Paris, in the spring of 1968. Albin Cérès, 23, the son of a bourgeois couple on the verge of breakdown, seeks happiness in life. Disappointed by Laurent, the leader of a small group of revolutionary students ; disappointed by Paméla, a girl he half-heartedly makes love to ; refusing the friendship of Moss, a refined fifty-year-old who is secretly in love with him, Albin returns to his parents'home for a while. Shortly afterward he meets Lore, a lovely young lady, who dreams of revolution... A great love is born!

Release Date:1970-10-30

Department:Crew

Job:Script

Vote Count:3

My Uncle Benjamin

Benjamin is in love with Manette, the innkeeper's beautiful daughter, but she has no intention of giving in to the young doctor until she sees the marriage contract, and marriage does not fit in with Benjamin's spirit of independence. For the same reason he resists the efforts of his sister Bettine to marry him off to Arabelle, the daughter of old Dr. Minxit. Benjamin does agree to go and meet the girl. But that evening his sister finds him at the inn together with Manette, who is arrested by her father. So she decides to go with Benjamin herself. But as result of an incident with the fat Marquis puts paid to the expedition. Benjamin is subjected by the Marquis to a humiliating practical joke. Benjamin is determined to got his revenge. He succeeds thanks to the gorgeous Vicomte Hector de Pont-Cassé, who also helps Manette with her problems against her father. But Benjamin is now arrested by the Marquis...

Release Date:1969-11-28

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:46

Hibernatus

The frozen body of Paul Fournier is discovered in Greenland where he had disappeared during a scientific expedition in 1905. Perfectly conserved he is brought back to life in the 1960s. His descendants take care of him: to spare him the cultural shock they behave so to make believe it's 1905 and they are his cousins, uncle...

Release Date:1969-09-10

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:473

Oscar

This film originated as a play in Paris. The story focuses on the one-day adventures of Bertrand Barnier played with a genius of French cinema, Louis de Funes. In the same morning he learns that his daughter is pregnant, an employee stole a large amount of money from his company, his maid is about to resign in order to marry a wealthy neighbor and his body builder is interested in marrying his daughter. The seemingly complicated story-line is full of comedy or errors and some of the most hilarious mime scenes of the French cinema.

Release Date:1967-10-11

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:494

To Commit a Murder

A writer gets wrapped up in espionage.

Release Date:1967-04-07

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:4

When the Pheasants Pass

Arsène Baudu and Hyacinthe, a pair of small-time crooks, fall prey to Alexandre Larsan-Bellac, who involves them (against their will) in high-profile swindling, but their success is quite limited. For starters they are deceived by Mrs. Paterson, a charming widow. Later on, Ribeiro, a Portuguese contractor and former victim of the two crooks, traces them and forces them to work on one of his building sites for damages. Just then, Larsan-Bellac resurfaces with plans to lure Ribeiro once again. —Guy Bellinger

Release Date:1965-09-10

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:17

Male Hunt

A few stories about marriage and its problems. Antoine is about to marry Gisèle. His friend Julien, an established bachelor, desperately tries to convince him not to do it, recounting his own painful experiences.

Release Date:1964-09-18

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:L'amoureux sur le bateau (uncredited)

Vote Count:27

Agent 38-24-36

A Russian spy is sent out to steal sensitive information from NATO about military mobilization. Without much intelligence of his own, the distrusted agent of Soviet intelligence needs all the help he can get from his "talented" partner Penelope Lightfeather as they scatter around the French countryside for secret rendez-vous' while trying to avoid being caught by counter intelligence agents and distrustful communist operatives.

Release Date:1964-03-12

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:24

A Touch of Treason

The French Secret Services are out to recover some secret documents stolen from a Russian cultural attaché, while he struggles to prove his innocence. That is, if he is innocent.

Release Date:1962-09-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:4

Arsène Lupin vs. Arsène Lupin

André Laroche, an industrialist, has just passed away. Face to his grave, as he is being buried, Anne de Vierne, the wife of a magistrate, confesses to her son François that Laroche was in fact Lupin and that he is his natural child. But he is not the gentleman thief's only offspring! Lupin had indeed another son by a housemaid, Gérard Dagmar, a dancer, magician and - occasionally - burglar. Which complicates the task of François who, to respect the last wishes of the testator, has gone in search of the treasure of Poldavia. For he keeps finding Gérard on his way and his efforts are constantly thwarted by his half-brother. Will Gérard prevent François from becoming the worthy successor to their father or will the two young men decide to join forces? That is the question.

Release Date:1962-08-29

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:11

The Seven Deadly Sins

Seven directors each dramatize one of the seven deadly sins in a short film. In "Anger," a domestic argument over a fly in the Sunday soup escalates into nuclear war. In "Sloth," a movie star would rather pay someone to tie his shoe than bend over to do it himself, and he can't be bothered to accept a starlet's sexual favors. In "Gluttony," a peasant family on its way to the funeral of a relative who died from indigestion stops regularly to eat and drink en route, arriving in time to eat some more. In "Greed," a high-class prostitute refunds the price of a cadet's lottery ticket. In "Pride," an unfaithful wife finds reason to reform. And so on through lust and envy.

Release Date:1962-03-07

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:16

L'Envie

Envious of a movie star who is staying at the hotel where she works, the waitress Rosette does everything she can to seduce the actress's lover. Some time later, after having realized her ambition, she returns to the hotel as a client. (Segment of "Les sept pêches capitaux")

Release Date:1962-03-07

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1

Petit Jour

Release Date:1962-01-01

Character:Self

The Season for Love

Sylvain, a suave, witty player as well as an accomplished writer and Genevieve met 10 months ago. He wanted a serious relationship for the first time so they moved to the country so they could be together and he could write.

Release Date:1961-06-12

Character:Le nouveau secrétaire

Vote Count:12

The Passion of Slow Fire

Stéphane Blanchon lives a quiet life in Switzerland with his wife, Christine, until a young American boarder named Belle, who was living with them, is found murdered. Despite Stéphane's innocence, the evidence points to him, and he learns that Belle harbored romantic feelings for him. Suspicions mount against him; even Christine thinks he is the culprit. Stéphane's sanity begins to crumble, and he lashes out in unprecedented ways.

Release Date:1961-03-02

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:14

A Mistress for the Summer

Philippe, a little known artist, has a mistress, Viviane, a woman he does not love. When he learns the bailiffs are about to seize his paintings, Philippe decides to leave alone for the French Riviera and spend, as he regularly does, comfortable and carefree holidays in the luxurious villa of his friend Paule. But, on his way, he meets Manette, a beautiful but poor girl to whom he offers to become his companion for the Summer. Manette accepts the strange deal in exchange for bed and board. As Philippe always comes in the company of his mistress of the time, the presence of Manette does not pose a problem. But the young woman soon feels ill-at-ease in such a dubious environment. moreover, she realizes that she is falling in love with Philippe, who might not be so cynical as he wants to appear.

Release Date:1960-02-26

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Vote Count:2

Witness in the City

Industrialist Pierre Verdier kills his mistress Jeanne Ancelin by throwing her off a train. Her husband, Ancelin, decides to take revenge on his wife's murderer, who has been acquitted by justice.

Release Date:1959-05-06

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:42

The Road to Shame

Pierre Rossi and Béatrice live in the same block of flats in Marseille and love each other. One night, Béatrice leaves her apartment. Pierre knows that his fiancée goes to a rendezvous, but she would not tell him more than just that. Worried, Pierre follows her but he is attacked and stolen his identity papers by two men, Tom and Nasol, on the payroll of Quaglio, one of the city's bosses. Later on, Quaglio kills Nasol and deposits the body in a garage, leaving Pierre's papers nearby. As for Pierre, he manages to follow Tom to a villa where several young women have been invited. Pierre, horrified, realizes that this place is the headquarters for the white slave trade. - Written by Guy Bellinger

Release Date:1959-04-30

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:12

Discorama

Release Date:1959-02-04

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Provincial Chronicle

Release Date:1958-11-05

Department:Crew

Job:Technical Advisor

Back to the Wall

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.

Release Date:1958-03-07

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:27

Appelez le 17

Release Date:1957-01-01

Department:Camera

Job:Director of Photography

Cinépanorama

Release Date:1956-02-04

Character:Self

Episode Count:2

Vote Count:2

L'honneur est sauf !

Release Date:1954-12-28

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Character:Bertrand

The Count of Monte Cristo

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...

Release Date:1954-01-14

Department:Directing

Job:Assistant Director

Vote Count:62

April paths

Chemins d'avril is a French short film directed by Édouard Molinaro, released in 1953.It is about a young boy on his way to school. He finds a rabbit in a trap.

Release Date:1953-01-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director