An American talks a retired French crook into robbing a bank, but kidnappers demand the loot as ransom.

A parentless young boy Alain Robert is placed into the care of a rural farming family. Bullied and abused, he sets fire to a barn and runs away to the town. Alain allows himself to be placed into the custody of Judge Lamy, who arranges for him to be sent to an observation centre for juvenile delinquents in the country. Here, Alain strikes up a friendship with an older boy, Francis, who is determined to escape so that he can rejoin his pregnant girlfriend… Chiens perdus sans collier is director Jean Delannoy's rare attempt to tackle real social issues, although he is noticeably less successful than in his other films. This is in spite of the fact that the film is competently made and features some creditable acting performances. The film looks good, it makes entertaining viewing, but it just doesn't ring true. The film's evident artificiality made it a sitting target for the reactionary film critics of the time, most notably François Truffaut (who would develop an intense hostility towards Delannoy in later years). Chiens perdus sans collier is certainly a good example of the uninspired kind of film which French cinema churned out in the 1950s, although it is not in itself necessarily a bad film.

1942 film by Fritz Lang, Archie Mayo

Six months before his retirement from the criminal police, inspector Joss finds his colleague Gouvion dead, in a poorly faked suicide attempt. Joss loses his temper, and investigates on his own, which leads him through the bas-fond of Paris.

A Paris-based doctor tries to spread the gospel of Natural Childbirth. Working in a cloistered rural community, Gabin runs up against the stone walls of fear and prejudice. His theories are proven sound when unwed mother Nicole Courcel gives birth within Gabin's methodology. The childbirth sequence is filmed straight-on with a delicate combination of taste and frankness. Nonetheless, the lurid ad campaign of Cas Du Dr. Laurent sensationalized this sequence all out of proportion.

1935 French film directed by Julien Duvivier

Victor Le Garrec, a former boxer, runs a gym in Paris while dreaming of finding an aspiring champion who will reach the goals he was never able to achieve.

1935 French film directed by Julien Duvivier

Lucien Bourrache, a good looking non-commissioned officer at the Spahis, is used to charm many women. He met Madeleine Courtois at Cannes. She is beautiful and lives in luxury. He lends her a large amount of money, which she loses gambling. Then she drops him. But Lucien is now in love, and once demobilized, he goes to Paris to find her again. But he's not so sexy without his uniform, and Madeleine and him do not belong to the same milieu.

1938 film by Jean Renoir

Francois, a sympathetic factory worker, kills Valentin with a gun. He locked himself in his furnished room and starts remembering how he was led to murder. He met once Francoise, a young fleurist, and they fell in love. But Francoise was gotten round by Valentin, a dog trainer, a machiavellian guy...

Down a foggy, desolate road to the port city of Le Havre travels Jean, an army deserter looking for another chance to make good on life. Fate, however, has a different plan for him, as acts of both revenge and kindness render him front-page news.

1937 film by Jean Renoir

1952 film by Max Ophüls