Robert Thomas
1927 - 1989As a writer, almost from the beginning, he was fascinated by a curious genre that he helped invent: the comédie policière or comedy thriller, of which Eight Women is an example. In 1960, Thomas had a hit with Man Trap, a humorous murder mystery which was an overnight success in Paris. Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights and the play established Thomas as a writer of psychological crime dramas with a distinctively Gallic comic twist. The following year the second outing of Eight Women was far more successful as it won the Hachette Prix du Quai des Orfevres for Best Play in 1961.
Thomas was a prolific actor, playwright and movie director. If he is best known for Eight Women it is probably because it was adapted into a movie musical by François Ozon in 2002 with a star-studded line-up that included Catherine Deneuve, Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Béart. Thomas’s plays were never fashionable and he was often dismissed by French critics but he was a popular dramatist. By the time he was 18, he claimed he had read every play published in French since 1900.
Thomas died in 1989 in Paris.
Source: Article "Robert Thomas (director)" from Wikipedia in english, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
La bonne soupe
Robert Thomas
Annie Girardot, Marie Bell
In this romantic drama, a middle-aged gambler tells a casino croupier her life story. The story is told in flashback and chronicles the woman's romantic exploits with men. Though she was involved with many men, only one really touched her heart. He was a bartender who was tragically shot and killed during an attempted robbery. She later marries and has a daughter. Unfortunately she alienates herself from her daughter when she has an affair with her daughter's fiance. Her remorse is short lived. The film jumps back to the present with the woman leaving the casino on the arm of a handsome millionaire.
How to Make a French Dish
Patate
Robert Thomas
Pierre Dux, Danielle Darrieux
Leon Rollo whose nickname is "Patate" is an inventor adored by his wife and is daughter. He is mostly happy but his best friend Noël seems to succeed in everything he undertakes... Patate become increasingly jealous of this incredible luck.
Friends of the family
Les Brésiliennes du Bois de Boulogne
Robert Thomas
Rebecca Potok, Michel Godin
A young Brazilian arrives in Paris to discover that his brother has become a transvestite in the Bois de Boulogne. He decides to do everything to get him out of the clutches of his "protectors".
Les Brésiliennes du Bois de Boulogne
Mon curé chez les Thaïlandaises
Robert Thomas
Maurice Risch, Jacques Balutin
Maximin, priest in a little village in the South-West of France, inherits from his brother a brothel in Thailand, although he's always been told it was a very strict catholic school. The journey to Asia is full of surprises (a plane hi-jack, pirates...) and once in Thailand, Maximin is taken into 'political' turmoils.
My Pastor Among the Thais
