Jean Mamy (8 July 1912,

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

– 29 March 1949,

Arcueil Arcueil () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Name The name Arcueil was recorded for the first time in 1119 as ''Arcoloï'', and later in the 12th c ...

) was a French actor, producer, film and theatre director, screenwriter, film editor, and journalist, notable for directing the anti-Masonic

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

'' Forces occultes'' under the pseudonym "Paul Riche". He belonged to the inter-war left, acting in

René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...

's 1924

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

film ''

Entr'acte (or ', ;Since 1932–35 the French Academy recommends this spelling, with no apostrophe, so historical, ceremonial and traditional uses (such as the 1924 René Clair film title) are still spelled ''Entr'acte''. German: ' and ', Italian: ''inte ...

'' and editing

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

's 1931 ''

On purge bébé ''On purge bébé'' (''Baby's Laxative'') is Jean Renoir's first sound film, based upon the play by Georges Feydeau. It is a 1931 comedy about a supposedly unbreakable chamberpot and a constipated baby. It is known for mocking the French bourgeo ...

''. Subsequently, he directed a number of films in the series "''Une heure d'angoisse''" based on the novels written by

Marcel Allain Marcel Allain (15 September 1885 – 25 August 1969) was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas. Career The son of a bourgeois family, ...

for the Éditions Ferenczi. On the fall of France he decided on

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

. His last film was the anti-Masonic 1943 film '' Forces occultes'', which he directed (he had from 1931 to 1939 been Venerable of the Renan lodge of the

Grand Orient de France The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonry, Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly ab ...

, but had since parted company with Freemasonry). The film was commissioned in 1942 by the Propaganda Abteilung, a delegation of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's propaganda ministry within

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

by the ex-Mason Mamy. It virulently denounces

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, parliamentarianism and Jews as part of Vichy's drive against them and seeks to prove a Jewish-Masonic plot. Mamy had also been a journalist on the collaborationist periodical '' L'Appel'' under Pierre Constantini (leader of the Ligue française d’épuration, d’entraide sociale et de collaboration européenne) and on the collaborationist journal '' Au pilori''. After being purged for collaboration with the enemy, he was condemned to death and executed at the fortress of Montrouge on 29 March 1949.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1924), as actor (uncredited) * '' Misdeal'' (1928), as actor (uncredited) and production manager * ''

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

'' (1931), as sound editor * '' Baby's Laxative (1931), as editor * '' The Agony of the Eagles'' (1933), as editor * '' The Secret of Polichinelle'' (1936), as editor * ''L'habit vert'' (

The Green Jacket ''The Green Jacket'' (French: ''L'habit vert'') is a 1937 French comedy film directed by Roger Richebé and starring Elvire Popesco, Victor Boucher and Jules Berry. It is based on a play by Gaston Arman de Caillavet and Robert de Flers.Forman p.56 ...

, 1937), as editor * '' Forces occultes'' (1943), as director under the pseudonym Paul Riche.

References

1912 births 1949 deaths People from Chambéry French collaborators with Nazi Germany French male stage actors French film directors French theatre directors French male screenwriters 20th-century French screenwriters Executed French people Executed people from Franche-Comté French male film actors 20th-century French male actors French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers {{France-journalist-stub