FEBRUARY 19-APRIL 16

Marking the centenary of the French director’s birth, this retrospective of Julien Duvivier’s work reintroduces five of his roughly 70 films. From his first effort in 1919, Duvivier (pictured) kept directing steadily until his death in 1967. (He spent the World War II years on Hollywood soundstages.) The series begins with Pepe le Moko (Feb. 19), a lively 1936 thriller about a French gangster in Algiers that established the reputation of star Jean Gabin and that some claim as the first film noir. Also included are 1947’s Panique (March 5), in which Michel Simon plays an outsider framed for murder, and 1936’s Le Golem (March 19), an update of the medieval legend about a clay creature brought to life by a rabbi to protect Prague’s Jews. The last two films, Le Petit Monde de Don Camillo (April 2) and Le Retour de Don Camillo (April 16), lack English subtitles. At 7 p.m. at the La Maison Francaise, Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Rd. NW. $5. (202) 944-6090. (Mark Jenkins)