July 14 is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel

July 14 (1933)73 minComedy, RomanceRating 50/100

On a particularly festive Bastille Day in the City of Light, flower seller Anna (Annabella) and hack driver Jean (George Rigaud) fall in love, and all seems right with the world—until a seductive former girlfriend, Pola (Pola Illéry), returns to Jean’s life. Soon the femme fatale introduces him to a pair of thieves (Thomy Bourdelle and Raymond Aimos), who plan to rob the local bar where Anna now works, forcing Jean to decide whether to take part in a big score or to protect his former belle. An effusive love letter to Paris—recreated by the legendary art director Lazare Meerson, in some of the early sound era’s most extraordinary sets—QUATORZE JUILLET (“July Fourteenth”) showcases director René Clair’s preternatural ability to balance drama, romance, and comedy, applying a light touch to the profoundest of sentiments.

Cast: Annabella, George Rigaud, Raymond Cordy, Paul Ollivier, Raymond Aimos, Thomy Bourdelle, Michel André

Director: René Clair