Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''
La Bandera'', ''
Pépé le Moko
''Pépé le Moko'' () is a 1937 French film directed by Julien Duvivier starring Jean Gabin, based on a novel of the same name by Henri La Barthe and with sets by Jacques Krauss. An example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism, i ...
'', ''
Little World of Don Camillo
''The Little World of Don Camillo'' ( it, Don Camillo; french: Le Petit Monde de don Camillo) is a 1952 Italian-French film directed by Julien Duvivier, starring Fernandel and Gino Cervi. It was the first film in the ''"Don Camillo"'' series, which ...
'', ''
Panic
Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reac ...
(Panique)'', ''
Voici le temps des assassins
''Voici le temps des assassins'' (French for "This is the time for murderers") is a 1956 French crime film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Jean Gabin and Danièle Delorme. The title is a line of ''Matinée d'ivresse'' - part of ''Illuminat ...
'' and ''
Marianne de ma jeunesse''.
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 era to the end of the 1960s. His films '' ...
called him, a "great technician,
rigorist, a poet".
Early years
It was as an actor, in 1916 at the
Théâtre de l'Odéon under the direction of
André Antoine, that Duvivier's career began. In 1918 he moved on to
Gaumont, as a writer and assistant of, amongst others, André Antoine,
Louis Feuillade and
Marcel L'Herbier. In 1919 he directed his first film. In the 1920s several of his films had a religious concern: ''
Credo ou la tragédie de Lourdes'', ''
L'abbé Constantin'' and ''
La Vie miraculeuse de Thérèse Martin'' — a film about the
Carmelite
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Ca ...
saint
Thérèse of Lisieux
Thérèse of Lisieux (french: Thérèse de Lisieux ), born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), also known as Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (), was a French Catholic Discalced Carmelite ...
.
The 1930s
In the 1930s Duvivier was part of the production company, 'Film d'Art', founded by Marcel Vandal and Charles Delac and he worked as part of a team. He stayed with them for nine years. ''
David Golder'' (1930), was his first success. It was also his first 'talkie', as it was of the actor
Harry Baur. They worked together many more times in the 1930s. In 1934 Duvivier collaborated with
Jean Gabin for the first time in the film ''
Maria Chapdelaine'', while for ''
La Bandera'' (1935), he availed himself of the writing talent of
Charles Spaak
Charles Spaak (25 May 1903 – 4 March 1975) was a Belgian screenwriter who was noted particularly for his work in the French cinema during the 1930s. He was the son of the dramatist and poet Paul Spaak, the brother of the politician Paul-Henri ...
, who had previously worked with
Jacques Feyder,
Jean Grémillon,
Marc Allégret and
Marcel L'Herbier. They too would work together many times from this point onwards. Having made ''
Le Golem'' (1936), a remake of an earlier
German horror film, Duvivier set out on ''
La belle équipe'' (also 1936), with Jean Gabin,
Charles Vanel
Charles-Marie Vanel (21 August 1892 – 15 April 1989) was a French actor and director. During his 76-year film career, which began in 1912, he appeared in more than 200 films and worked with many prominent directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, ...
and Raymond Aimos. The film remains a significant example of his work. Five unemployed men hit the lottery jackpot and decide to buy a seaside café/dance hall together. The unexpected, however, keeps happening. Once jealousy over a woman, Gina, (
Viviane Romance), gets mixed up with the venture, there is little left to save. The original ending of the film involving a killing, was judged too pessimistic, and another, happier ending, was filmed. It was the happier version that was released, though both versions still survive. ''
L'Homme du jour'' (1936), with
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank H ...
in the lead role is a minor work in the director's canon but ''
Pépé le Moko
''Pépé le Moko'' () is a 1937 French film directed by Julien Duvivier starring Jean Gabin, based on a novel of the same name by Henri La Barthe and with sets by Jacques Krauss. An example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism, i ...
'' and ''
Un Carnet de Bal'' (both 1937) are incontestable summits.
''Pépé le Moko'', which plunges into the midst of the gangster underworld and which had the
Casbah (Arab quarter) of
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...
for exotic backdrop, was the film which propelled Jean Gabin into the category of an international star. In 1938 Duvivier signed a contract with
MGM and made his first American film, a biopic of
Johann Strauss, ''
The Great Waltz''. The next year, back in France, he made ''
La Fin du jour'', in which theatre actors in retirement struggle to see that their retirement home remains open.
Michel Simon played an old ham actor, and
Louis Jouvet, an old leading actor who still believes in his seductive powers. ''
La Charrette fantôme'' followed, a horror film adapted from a novel by
Selma Lagerlöf. In 1940 ''
Untel père et fils
''The Heart of a Nation'' (french: Untel père et fils) is a 1943 French drama film directed by Julien Duvivier who co-wrote screenplay with Marcel Achard and Charles Spaak. The film stars Raimu, Michèle Morgan and Louis Jouvet.
Plot
The film ...
'', a family history starring
Raimu,
Michèle Morgan, and
Louis Jouvet, was not able to be shown — because of the political situation — until the end of the war, at least in France. It is generally considered a minor work, and even a failure.
World War II, his American period
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Duvivier left to work in the United States. Before leaving the continent, he spent some days in Portugal. He stayed in
Estoril, at the Hotel Palácio, between 2 July and 6 July 1940.
After arriving in the United States, he produced several movies. ''
Lydia
Lydia ( Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish pro ...
'' (1941); two anthology films, ''
Tales of Manhattan
''Tales of Manhattan'' is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart, worked on the six stories in this film. Ba ...
'' (1942) with
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...
and
Rita Hayworth among leading actors, and ''
Flesh and Fantasy'' (1943) with
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...
,
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...
and
Barbara Stanwyck; ''
The Impostor'' (1944), again with Jean Gabin; and ''
Destiny'' (also 1944), a
Reginald Le Borg
Reginald Le Borg (11 December 1902 – 25 March 1989) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna, Austria with the surname Groebel and directed 68 films between 1936 and 1974.
Le Borg made a series of low-budget horror films at U ...
directed film which was built around a cut thirty-minute sequence from ''Flesh and Fantasy'' (Duvivier was uncredited) .
After the war
On his return to France, Duvivier experienced some difficulties in resuming his career. ''
Panic
Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reac ...
(Panique)'' (1946), an exhaustive summary of the lowest of human instincts, was the most personal, darkest, and nihilistic of his works. It was a bitter failure with critics and the public. Duvivier continued, notwithstanding, to work in France until the end of his life, apart from a short period in Great Britain to shoot ''
Anna Karenina'' (1948) and to Spain for ''
Black Jack'' (1950).
''
Under the Sky of Paris
''Under the Sky of Paris'' (French: ''Sous le ciel de Paris'') is a 1951 French drama film directed by Julien Duvivier.
It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris and on location around the city. The film's sets were designed by the ar ...
'' (1951) is a highly original film from the point of view of the way the film was cut. In the course of a day in Paris, one follows people whose paths will cross. The same year Duvivier shot the first of the humorous
Don Camillo films from the
Giovanni Guareschi
Giovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi (; 1 May 1908 – 22 July 1968) was an Italian journalist, cartoonist and humorist whose best known creation is the priest Don Camillo.
Life and career
Giovannino Guareschi was born into a middle-class famil ...
books, ''
Le Petit monde de Don Camillo''. It met with immediate popular success and he followed its success with ''
The Return of Don Camillo
''The Return of Don Camillo'' (Italian: ''Il ritorno di Don Camillo''; French: ''Le Retour de don Camillo'') is a 1953 French-Italian comedy film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Fernandel, Gino Cervi and Édouard Delmont. The film's set ...
'' (1953). The series continued with other directors.
In ''
Voici le temps des assassins
''Voici le temps des assassins'' (French for "This is the time for murderers") is a 1956 French crime film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Jean Gabin and Danièle Delorme. The title is a line of ''Matinée d'ivresse'' - part of ''Illuminat ...
'' (1956), Jean Gabin plays a decent restaurateur in
Les Halles
Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on January 12, 1973, after which it was "left to the demolition men who will knock down the last three of the eight iron-and-glass pavilions""Les Halles Dead at 200 ...
who is swindled by a cynical young woman, Catherine, (
Danièle Delorme). Duvivier co-wrote and directed two films in 1957: the drama ''
Lovers of Paris'' (starring
Gérard Philipe
Gérard Philipe (born Gérard Albert Philip, 4 December 1922 – 25 November 1959) was a prominent French actor who appeared in 32 films between 1944 and 1959. Active in both theatre and cinema, he was, until his early death, one of the main ...
) and the comedy-thriller ''
The Man in the Raincoat'' (starring
Fernandel and
Bernard Blier).
''
Marie-Octobre'' (1959) followed, featuring
Danielle Darrieux,
Serge Reggiani, and
Bernard Blier amongst others. It was an exercise in style; 11 people, nine men, two women, and a
mise en scène that followed the unities of time, place, and action, it had a constant concern for the framing of the composition to reinforce an inquisitorial, menacing atmosphere. The same year he was invited to be part of the jury of the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
, 1959, the year the
Nouvelle Vague fully emerged. Duvivier's final portmanteau film was ''
Le Diable et les dix Commandements
''Le Diable et les Dix Commandements'' ( en, The Devil and the Ten Commandments) is a French film from 1962 directed by Julien Duvivier that consists of seven sketches (eight in the versions shown in Germany and Japan) played by an ensemble cast t ...
'' (1962), while the scenario of ''
Chair de poule
''Chair de poule'' (French for "goosebumps") is a 1963 French crime film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Robert Hossein, Catherine Rouvel, Jean Sorel and Georges Wilson. The screenplay is based on the 1960 novel ''Come Easy, Go Easy'' b ...
'' (1963) has a resemblance to ''
The Postman Always Rings Twice'' and again features an unscrupulous woman.
During the fall of 1967, just as the production of ''
Diaboliquement vôtre'' reached completion, a film about a man made amnesiac following a car accident, Duvivier was in a traffic accident, triggering a heart attack which killed him.
He was 71; he left behind a filmography comprising nearly 70 films. He is buried in the cemetery of
Rueil-Malmaison
Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of ...
in the
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duvivier, Julien
1896 births
1967 deaths
French film directors
French-language film directors
German-language film directors
French male screenwriters
Mass media people from Lille
20th-century French screenwriters
20th-century French male writers