Jacques Becker’s masterpiece is the heartbreaking story of reformed criminal Manda and the prostitute Casque d’Or. From love at first sight to the guillotine, this story set in the Belle Epoque Paris features an incandescent performance by Simone Signoret.

This leisurely social comedy from Jacques Becker is an irresistible portrait of the generation of Parisians that came of age in the postwar period, roaming dark Paris streets with a love of jazz and theater, dreams of exploration, and hearts waiting to be broken.

In one of the greatest prison break films of all time, four hardened cellmates about to carry out a long-planned escape must decide whether to trust the well-bred young convict newly assigned to their cell in Paris’s infamous La Santé prison. Directed by Jacques Becker.

The arrival of a city slicker unleashes the cupidity driving the Goupis, an extended clan of rural innkeepers and landowners. This surprisingly dark vision of the French countryside is lifted by Becker’s gift for comedic characterization and dynamic camera style. Directed by Jacques Becker.

This outlier in Jacques Becker’s filmography finds the legendary Fernandel leading a dazzling widescreen adaptation of the tale of Ali Baba, complete with eye-popping colors, belly-dancing numbers, and the displaced Marseille accents of its Provençal cast.

An affair between a celebrated fashion designer and his best friend’s fiancée leads to tragedy in this gripping melodrama set in the world of haute couture. Jacques Becker’s stylish direction contrasts Paris glamor and the passion simmering beneath the surface.

As struggling young couple Edouard and Caroline eagerly prepare for his potentially career-launching piano recital at her rich uncle’s penthouse, a missing waistcoat and a daringly altered dress threaten to put an end to their marital harmony. Directed by Jacques Becker.

In Jacques Becker’s zippiest, most stylish romantic comedy, the loss of a winning lottery ticket sends a young couple on a hunt through the streets of Paris, producing a vivid picture of working class life in the post-war years.

Jacques Becker defined the atmospheric shimmer and existential complexity of French film noir with this study of Max, a world-weary but debonair gangster whose plans for retirement are foiled by a ruthless mobster after the loot from his last big heist.