Maurice Delbez (28 July 1922 – 23 March 2020) was a French film director.

Biography

From the age of 12, Delbez attended the

Lycée Charlemagne The Lycée Charlemagne is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France. Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Jesui ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. His parents sold their bistro and took up multiple jobs to help pay for this education. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Delbez, along with other self-proclaimed pacifist students, led a series of protests against

German Occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. While working in the office of the Treasury, Delbez met

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

member

Julien Bertheau Julien Bertheau (19 June 1910 – 28 October 1995) was a French actor. Biography Born in Algiers, Algeria, before making his debut at the Comédie-Française on 18 December 1936, he worked as manager of the Theatre de la Porte Saint-Martin, th ...

, who inspired Delbez to create a theatre troupe. Summoned to the

Service du travail obligatoire The ' ( en, Compulsory Work Service; STO) was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II. The STO was created under law ...

in 1943, he was able to cross the dividing line with false papers and join the

Free France Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

forces in

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

. After the war, Delbez entered the

Institut des hautes études cinématographiques L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC; the "Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies") is a French film school, founded during World War II under the leadership of Marcel L'Herbier who was its president from 1944 to 1969. ...

. The actor

Pierre Fresnay Pierre Fresnay (4 April 1897 – 9 January 1975) was a French stage and film actor. Biography Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach, he was encouraged by his uncle, actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film. He joined the company a ...

put him in contact with director

Maurice Cloche Maurice Cloche (17 June 1907, Commercy, Meuse – 23 March 1990, Bordeaux, France) was a French film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. Best known for his Oscar-winning film ''Monsieur Vincent'' (1947) he won a 1948 Special Acad ...

, with whom he would direct several films as an assistant. Delbez worked alongside

Jean Grémillon Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959)Note that, despite attempts at correction, thIMDb entry on the directorlists his date of birth erroneously as 4 March 1898. The correct date is given in his standard biography, by Geneviève S ...

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have l ...

Guy Lefranc Guy Lefranc (21 October 1919 - 1 February 1994) was a French director and screenwriter. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefranc, Guy 1919 births 1994 deaths French male screenwriters 20th-century French screen ...

, and

Darry Cowl Darry Cowl (born André Darricau; 27 August 1925 – 14 February 2006) was a French comedian, actor and musician. He won a César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2004 for his role as a concierge in '' Pas sur la bouche'' (''Not on ...

. His best known film is '' On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels''. In 1963, he adapted Robert Sabatier's ''Alain et le Nègre''. However, the film was titled ''Rue des Cascades''. Delbez also worked in television, notably producing documentaries such as "La Mémoire aux images", which was broadcast on

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services provi ...

. His documentaries were typically broadcast on France 3 and

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

. He wrote his autobiography, ''Ma vie racontée à mon chien cinéphile'', in 2001. It was published by

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in ...

. In May 2017, the Société nouvelle de cinématographie (SNC) and Celluloid Angels raised funds to restore ''Rue des Cascades''. In 2018, M6 restored the film and released it on DVD. The channel also restored and distributed other Delbez films. In 2019, ''Rue des Cascades'' was screened in Salon-de-Provence. Maurice Delbez died on 23 March 2020 at the age of 97.

Filmography

Director

*''La Roue'' (1957) *''On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels'' (1957) * ''

And Your Sister? ''And Your Sister?'' (French: ''Et ta soeur?'') is a 1958 French comedy film directed by Maurice Delbez and starring Pierre Fresnay, Arletty and Jean-Claude Brialy.Parish p.98 Cast * Pierre Fresnay as Bastien du Boccage * Arletty as Lucrèce ...

'' (1958) *''

Dans l'eau qui fait des bulles ''Dans l'eau qui fait des bulles'' is a French language, French Comedy film, comedy film from 1961, directed by Maurice Delbez, written by Marcel Prêtre, starring Louis de Funès. In France the film is also known under the title "Le garde-champê ...

'' (1961) *''L'inspecteur Leclerc enquête'' (1962) *''Un gosse de la butte'' (1964) * '' Graduation Year'' (1964) * ''

Jealous as a Tiger ''Jealous as a Tiger'' (French: ''Jaloux comme un tigre'') is a 1964 French comedy film directed by Darry Cowl and Maurice Delbez and starring Darry Cowl, Francis Blanche and Jean Poiret.Martin p.120 Cast * Darry Cowl as Henri * Francis Blanche ...

'' (1964) *''Les Saintes chéries'' (1965, 1966) *''L'Amateur ou S.O.S. Fernand'' (1967) *''Destins'' (1973) *''Les Menteurs'' (1980) *''Des vertes et des pas mûres'' (1980) *''Gilles Grangier : 50 ans de cinéma'' (1990)

Screenwriter

*''

Les Dragueurs ''Les Dragueurs'' is a 1959 French drama film directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky. British actor Belinda Lee plays a role. It is also known as ''The Chasers'' (US title), ''The Girl Hunters'', or ''The Young Have No Morals''. Premise Two young men, Fre ...

'' (1959)

Assistant Director

*'' Doctor Laennec'' (1949) *'' Cage of Girls'' (1949) *''Ballerina'' (1950) *''

Born of Unknown Father ''Born of Unknown Father'' (french: Né de père inconnu) is a 1950 French film directed by Maurice Cloche. Cast * Yvonne Dany *Irasema Dilián ... Rose Dormoy *Gabrielle Dorziat ... Mme. Mussot *Irene Genna ... Antoinette *Gilbert Gil ... Ra ...

'' (1950) *'' Dr. Knock'' (1951) *''Une histoire d'amour'' (1951) *'' Le Voyage en Amérique'' (1952) *'' The Man in My Life'' (1952) *'' She and Me'' (1952) *''Les Révoltés de Lomanach'' (1954) * '' Service Entrance'' (1954) *''Le Fil à la patte'' (1954) *''Milord l'Arsouille'' (1955) *''Les Aristocrates'' (1955) *''Le Salaire du péché'' (1956) *''Le Voyage du père'' (1966) *''Les malabars sont au parfum'' (1966)

Production Manager

*''Les Idoles'' (1968) *''La Grande Frime'' (1977)

Technical Advisor

*''Le Panier à crabes'' (1960) *''Les Nymphettes'' (1961) *''Jaloux comme un tigre'' (1964) *''

Le Paria ''Le Paria'' () is a French action film from 1969. It was directed by Claude Carliez, written by , starring Jean Marais and Marie-José Nat. The film was also known under the title ''Diamond Rush'' (UK), ' (Spain), ' (Italy). Plot Manu faces ...

'' (1969)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delbez, Maurice 1922 births 2020 deaths French film directors French screenwriters People from Bezons Free French military personnel of World War II