Jacques Besnard (Also known as Jacques Treyens; born 15 July 1929 in Le Petit-Quevilly - died 9 November 2013 in

Boutigny-Prouais Boutigny-Prouais () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It consists of its two market towns, Boutigny-sur-Opton and Prouais, and its 14 hamlets, Allemant, Bauchêne, Beauterne, Bouchemont, Buchelet, Cloches, Dannem ...

) was a French

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. Best known for ''

Le Grand Restaurant ''The Big Restaurant'' (french: Le grand restaurant) is a French comedy thriller film from 1966, directed by Jacques Besnard, written by Jean Halain and Louis de Funès and starring Louis de Funès and Bernard Blier. The film is known under th ...

'' (1966), ' (1967) and ' (1976).

Life and career

Jacques Besnard was born on 15 July 1929 in Le Petit-Quevilly, Seine-Maritime,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He began his career in 1962 as the first assistant to director André Hunebelle, after having had some previous experience as an actor in 1955 and as an assistant director under

Maurice Régamey Maurice Régamey (1924–2009) was a Polish-born French actor and film director.Rège p.96 Selected filmography * ''The Idiot'' (1946) * ''Maya'' (1949) * '' Cartouche, King of Paris'' (1950) * '' Old Boys of Saint-Loup'' (1950) * ''Lady Paname'' ...

Yves Robert Yves Robert (19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. Life and career Robert was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. In his teens, he went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting with ...

and

Alberto Lattuada Alberto Lattuada (; 13 November 1914 – 3 July 2005) was an Italian film director. Career Lattuada was born in Vaprio d'Adda, the son of composer Felice Lattuada. He was initially interested in literature, becoming, while still a student, a mem ...

between 1956 and 1961. Besnard worked alongside Hunebelle on

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

such as: ''

Les Mystères de Paris ''The Mysteries of Paris'' (french: Les Mystères de Paris) is a novel by the French writer Eugène Sue. It was published serially in 90 parts in ''Journal des débats'' from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843, making it one of the first seria ...

'' (1962), ''

Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 ''Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117'' released in the USA as ''Shadow of Evil'' is a 1964 French/Italian international co-production Eurospy spy-fi film. It was based on Jean Bruce's 1960 novel ''Lila de Calcutta'', the 74th OSS 117 novel. It was ...

'' (1964), ''

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...

'' (1964), ''

Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117 ''Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117'' (released in the United States as ''OSS 117–Mission for a Killer'') is a 1965 French/Italian international co-production Eurospy spy-fi film. It was the third OSS 117 film directed by André Hunebelle and produce ...

'' (1965) and ''

Fantômas se déchaîne ''Fantômas se déchaîne'' (, '' en, Fantomas Unleashed'') is a 1965 film starring Jean Marais as the arch villain Fantômas opposite Louis de Funès as the earnest but outclassed commissaire Juve and the journalist Fandor, also played by Marais. ...

'' (1965). It was during this time that Besnard met actor Louis de Funès when they worked together on the two ''Fantômas'' movies. P1130902 Paris VIII Ledoyen rwk

Besnard would go on to direct his own movie titled ''

'' in 1966, which he co-wrote with Jean Halain and Louis de Funès. It starred de Funès and Bernard Blier as the main characters of the

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, and ranked as the eighth-most-popular film at the French

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

that year. In 1967 Besnard would go on to direct the comedy film ' starring

Jean Lefebvre Jean Marcel Lefebvre (3 October 1919Some sources indicate he was born in 1922. – 9 July 2004) was a French film actor. His erratic studies were interrupted by World War II. Taken prisoner and then requisitioned as a laborer, he escaped to joi ...

and Bernard Blier, from which he attainted much acclaim and public popularity. Besnard directed a few Boulevard comedies in the 1970s with varying degrees of success. He most notably worked as assistant director under

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish orig ...

in the 1973 comedy ''

Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob ''The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob'' (french: Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, ) is a 1973 French-Italian comedy film directed by Gérard Oury, starring Louis de Funès and Claude Giraud. It follows a bigoted businessman and a kidnapped revolutioni ...

'', starring Louis de Funès. However, by the 1980s, Besnard left the silver screen to focus on directing opportunities for

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

s and

. Jacques Besnard died on 9 November 2013 in

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Éric Besnard.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besnard, Jacques 1929 births 2013 deaths French male film actors French film directors French male screenwriters 20th-century French screenwriters 21st-century French screenwriters 20th-century French male actors 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers