"Monsieur des Lourdines" is the first movie directed by Pierre de Hérain who directed four other movies in the 40's. "Paméla", "Le Mannequin Assassiné" and "Marlène" are not very convincing. "L'Amour Autour de la Maison" is quite hard to find but remains his best movie. "Monsieur des Lourdines" is also a good movie, it tells the story of a rich family living in a castle in the countryside and whose young son goes to Paris and loses his family's fortune at game. He understands his faults and tries to rebuild his family. Strong casting with Raymond Rouleau perfect as the young man, Germaine Dermoz, Constant Rémy, Jean Debucourt, Louis Salou, ... and Carette. Sharp cinematography by the great Philippe Agostini.
What I don't understand is how is it possible that such fine movie is still unavailable. Like so many french movies from that era, the great classics are edited (movies by Carné, Duvivier, Clouzot, ...) but there are dozens of movies from the 30's to the 60's that are forgotten and buried. When shall we see "La Grande Meute" which is close to "Monsieur des Lourdines" but so much stronger? When shall we see "le Secret de Madame Clapain"? And so many others. Such a shame.
