''Threats'' (French: ''Menaces'') is a 1940 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Edmond T. Gréville Edmond T. Gréville (born Edmond Gréville Thonger; 20 June 1906 – 26 May 1966) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was married to the actress Vanda Gréville. Career Gréville began his career as a film journalist and critic. ...

and starring

Mireille Balin Mireille Césarine Balin (born Blanche Mireille Césarine Balin; 20 July 1909, in Monte Carlo – 9 November 1968 in Paris)"Balin, Mireille (1911–1968)." ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages'', edited by Anne Commire ...

, John Loder,

Ginette Leclerc Ginette Leclerc (born Geneviève Lucie Menut; February 9, 1912 – January 2, 1992) was a French film actress. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1932 and 1978. Her last TV appearance was in 1981. She was born in Ile-de-France, France and ...

and

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim, ; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of ...

. Gréville began production on the film shortly after the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

of September 1938.Neupert p.278 It was shot at the François 1er Studios in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Lucien Jaquelux Lucien Jaquelux (1894–1946) was a French set designer and film director.Rège p.529 He also worked as a painter and illustrator. He began his filmmaking career in the silent era. Selected filmography * '' The Nude Woman'' (1926) * '' Celle qui ...

Synopsis

In the late 1930s, a number of

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

from various European countries are living in the same

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, t ...

. The caring Denise is sympathetic to their plight, particularly that of

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Hoffman who is in exile from his family and homeland. The more frivolous Ginette, meanwhile, uses the hotel for rendezvous with her lover, Dick Stone, an Englishman living abroad to avoid potential

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. The prospect of the impending

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

plays an increasing role on the various characters.

Cast

as Denise * John Loder as Dick Stone *

as Ginette *

as Le professeur Hoffman *

Vanda Gréville Vanda Gréville (born Wanda MacEwan; 10 January 190826 December 1997) was a British film actress who mainly appeared in French productions.Driskell p.84 She was the wife of the Anglo-French director Edmond T. Gréville. Selected filmography * ' ...

as L'américaine *

Maurice Maillot Maurice Maillot (18 September 1906 – 8 February 1968) was a French film and theater actor. He was born in Rethel, Ardennes, and died in Paris. Selected filmography * '' The Indictment'' (1931) * '' The Wandering Beast'' (1932) * '' Rouletabill ...

as Mouret * Paul Demange as Le domestique *

Jacques Henley Jacques Henley (born Jacques Dhote) was a French actor. Selected filmography * '' Our Masters, the Servants'' (1930) * '' The Mystery of the Villa Rose'' (1930) * ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1931) * '' The Yellow Dog'' (1932) * ''The Regiment's Cha ...

as Le Hollandais * René Charles as Un journaliste *

Robert Moor Robert Moor (17 July 1889 – 23 December 1972) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Une jeune fille et un million'' (1932) - Pimpant * ''Riri et Nono en vacances'' (1932) * ''Le soir des rois'' (1933) - Ferdinand Albaret * '' The Abb ...

as Le philatéliste *

Nicolas Rimsky Nicolas Rimsky (; born Nikolai Alexandrovich Kurmashov; 18 February 1886 – 5 September 1941) was a Russian-French film actor, director and writer. He was born in Moscow, Russia. In 1931, he directed and starred in ''Pas sur la bouche'' (''Not on ...

as Wladimir * Elisabeth Donnathas Marischka * Nina Sinclair as La première *

Albert Malbert Albert Malbert (1914–1972) was a French film actor.Goble p.66 Selected filmography * '' The Crisis is Over'' (1934) * '' Return to Paradise'' (1935) * '' Bach the Detective'' (1936) * ''Moutonnet'' (1936) * ''The Brighton Twins'' (1936) * '' Cu ...

as Le chauffeur de taxi *

Marcelle Monthil Marcelle Monthil (8 June 1892 – 8 November 1950) was a French film actress. Born Marcelle Madeleine Montalenti in the Principality of Monaco, she died in Paris. Selected filmography * ''Love Songs'' (1930) * '' When Love Is Over'' (1931) * ...

as La directrice de la maison de couture * Henri Bosc as Carbonero *

Madeleine Lambert Madeleine Lambert (1892–1977) was a French stage, television and film actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditi ...

as La patronne de l'hôtel *

Jean Galland Jean Galland (28 May 1887 – 18 July 1967) was a French film actor. Selected filmography * ''Paris by Night'' (1930) * ''Fantômas'' (1932) * '' The Oil Sharks'' (1933) * ''The Barber of Seville'' (1933) * '' The Scandal'' (1934) * '' Cease Firi ...

as Louis *

Jane Pierson Jane Pierson was a French film actress.Goble p.130 She appeared in fifty five films between 1924 and 1952. Selected filmography * ''The Imaginary Voyage'' (1926) * ''Captain Rascasse'' (1927) * '' The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans'' (1927) * ...

as L'essayeuse

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: 1935-1939''. Pygmalion, 1986. * Crisp, Colin. ''Genre, Myth and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939''. Indiana University Press, 2002. * Lennig, Arthur. ''Stroheim''. University Press of Kentucky, 2004. * Neupert, Richard. ''French Film History, 1895–1946''. University of Wisconsin Pres, 2022. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1940 films French drama films 1940 drama films 1940s French-language films French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films directed by Edmond T. Gréville Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris {{1940s-France-film-stub