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 went on to make some of the most innovative early sound films in France, before going abroad to work in the UK and USA for more than a decade. Returning to France after World War II, he continued to make films that were characterised by their elegance and wit, often presenting a nostalgic view of French life in earlier years. He was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

in 1960. Clair's best known films include '' Un chapeau de paille d'Italie'' (''The Italian Straw Hat'', 1928), '' Sous les toits de Paris'' (''Under the Roofs of Paris'', 1930), ''

Le Million ''Le Million'' is a 1931 French musical comedy film directed by René Clair. The story was adapted by Clair from a play by Georges Berr and Marcel Guillemand. Plot Michel, a debt-ridden artist, is interrupted several times while romancing Van ...

'' (1931), ''

À nous la liberté ''À nous la liberté'', sometimes written as ''À nous la liberté!'', (English: ''Freedom Forever'' or ''Freedom for Us'') is a 1931 French musical film directed by René Clair. With a score by Georges Auric, it has more music than any of ...

'' (1931), ''

I Married a Witch ''I Married a Witch'' is a 1942 American fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchl ...

'' (1942), and ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as ...

'' (1945).

Early life

René Clair was born and grew up in Paris in the district of Les Halles, whose lively and picturesque character made a lasting impression on him. His father was a soap merchant; he had an elder brother, Henri Chomette (born 1896). He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. In 1914 he was studying philosophy; his friends at that time included Raymond Payelle who became the actor and writer

Philippe Hériat Philippe Hériat (15 September 1898 in Paris – 10 October 1971) was a multi-talented French novelist, playwright and actor. Biography Born Raymond Gérard Payelle, he studied with film director René Clair and in 1920 made his debut in silent ...

. In 1917, at the age of 18, he served as an ambulance driver in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, before being invalided out with a spinal injury. He was deeply affected by the horrors of war that he witnessed and gave expression to this in writing a volume of poetry called ''La Tête de l'homme'' (which remained unpublished). Back in Paris after the war, he started a career as a journalist at the left-wing newspaper ''

L'Intransigeant ''L'Intransigeant'' was a French newspaper founded in July 1880 by Henri Rochefort. Initially representing the left-wing opposition, it moved towards the right during the Boulanger affair (Rochefort supported Boulanger) and became a major right-wi ...

''.Ephraim Katz, ''The International Film Encyclopedia''. (London: Macmillan, 1980). p.241.

Film career

Having met the music-hall singer Damia and written some songs for her, Clair was persuaded by her to visit Gaumont studios in 1920 where a film was being cast and he then agreed to take on a leading role in ''Le Lys de la vie,'' directed by

Loïe Fuller Loie Fuller (born Marie Louise Fuller; January 15, 1862 – January 1, 1928), also known as Louie Fuller and Loïe Fuller, was an American actress and dancer who was a pioneer of both modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques. Career Bor ...

and Gabrielle Sorère. He adopted the stage-name of René Clair, and several other acting jobs followed, including ''

Parisette ''Parisette'' is a 1921 French drama film serial directed by Louis Feuillade. Cast * Sandra Milovanoff as Parisette * Georges Biscot as Cogolin * Fernand Herrmann as Le banquier Stephan * Édouard Mathé as Pedro Alvarez * René Clair as Jean ...

'' for

Louis Feuillade Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the silent era. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serials '' Fantômas'', '' Les Vampires'' and '' Judex ...

. In 1922 he extended his career as a journalist, becoming the editor of a new film supplement to a monthly magazine, ''Théâtre et Comœdia illustrés''. He also visited Belgium and after an introduction from his brother Henri, he became an assistant to the director

Jacques de Baroncelli Jacques de Baroncelli (25 June 1881 – 12 January 1951) was a French film director best known for his silent films from 1915 to the late 1930s. He came from a Florence, Florentine family who had settled in Provence in the 15th century, occupying ...

on several films.

1924–1934

In 1924, with the support of the producer Henri Diamant-Berger, Clair got the opportunity to direct his own first film, ''

Paris qui dort ''Paris Qui Dort'' (literally "Paris which sleeps") is a 1924 French science fiction comedy silent feature film (65 minutes) directed by René Clair. Also released as ''Le rayon de la mort (55 minutes),'' its international English-language tit ...

'' (''The Crazy Ray''), a short comic fantasy. Before it had been shown however, Clair was asked by

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...

and

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

to make a short film to be shown as part of their Dadaist ballet '' Relâche''; he made ''

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 ...

'' (1924), and it established Clair as a leading member of the Parisian avant-garde.''Dictionnaire du cinéma français'': sous la direction de Jean-Loup Passek. (Paris: Larousse, 1987). p.81. Fantasy and dreams were also components of his next two films, but in 1926 Clair took a new direction when he joined Alexandre Kamenka's

Films Albatros Films Albatros was a French film production company established in 1922. It was formed by a group of White Russian exiles who had been forced to flee following the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War. Initially the firm's pe ...

company to film a dramatic story, '' La Proie du vent'' (''The Prey of the Wind''), which met with commercial success. He remained at Albatros for his last two silent films, '' Un chapeau de paille d'Italie'' (''An Italian Straw Hat'') and '' Les Deux Timides'' (''Two Timid Souls'') (both 1928), in which he sought to translate the essentially verbal comedy of two plays by Labiche into works of silent cinema. While at Albatros, Clair met the designer

Lazare Meerson Lazare Meerson (1900–1938) was a Russian-born cinema art director. After emigrating to France in the early 1920s, he worked on French films of the late silent cinema and the early 1930s, particularly those directed by René Clair and Jacques F ...

and the cameraman Georges Périnal who were to remain important collaborators with him for the next decade. By the end of the silent era, Clair was celebrated as one of the great names in cinema, alongside

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * '' Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * ''Chaplin'' (2011 film), Ben ...

Pabst Pabst is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Pabst (1899–1990), American mineralogist and geologist *Daniel Pabst (1826–1910), American furniture maker *Frederick Pabst (1836–1904), American brewer *Georg Wilhelm ...

and Eisenstein. As the author of all of his own scripts, who also paid close attention to every aspect of the making of a film, including the editing, Clair was one of the first French film-makers to establish for himself the full role of an ''

auteur An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...

''.''Dictionnaire du cinéma populaire français''; sous la direction de Christian-Marc Bosséno et Yannick Dehée. (Paris: Nouveau Monde, 2004). p.204. Clair was initially sceptical about the introduction of sound to films, and called it "an unnatural creation". He then realised the creative possibilities that it offered, particularly, in his view, if the soundtrack was not used realistically; words and pictures need not, and indeed should not, be tied together in a clumsy duplication of information; dialogue did not always need to be heard.''International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers - 2: Directors''; 4th ed.; editors, Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast. (Detroit, London etc: St James Press, 2000). p.193. Between 1930 and 1933, Clair explored these ideas in his first four sound films, starting with '' Sous les toits de Paris'' (''Under the Roofs of Paris''); this was followed by ''

'' (1931), ''

'' (1931), and '' Quatorze juillet'' (''Bastille Day'') (1933). All of these films portrayed an affectionate and idealized view of working class life, and they did much to create a popular romantic image of Paris which was seen around the world. These films were made at the

Epinay Studios The Epinay Studios are film production studios located in Epinay in northern Paris. It was a complex with two distinct and separate structures. The earliest was built in 1902 by Eclair Film. A second studio was controlled by the French subsidia ...

for Films Sonores Tobis, a French subsidiary of the German-owned Tobis company. When Chaplin made '' Modern Times'' in 1936, it was noted that some parts of it bore a marked similarity to scenes in ''À nous la liberté'', and the production company Tobis launched a lawsuit for plagiarism against

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

, the producers of Chaplin's film. Clair was embarrassed by this since he acknowledged his own debt to the spirit of Chaplin, and he refused to be associated with the action. After the immense success of these early sound films, Clair met with a major setback when his next film, '' Le Dernier Milliardaire'' (''The Last Billionaire''/''The Last Millionaire'') (1934), was a critical and commercial flop. While he was visiting London for the film's British première, he met

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)''International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers - 2: Directors''; 4th ed.; editors, Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast. (Detroit, London etc: St James Press, 2000). p.194.

1935–1946

Clair's contract with Korda's

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included ''The Private Life o ...

was for two years and it envisaged three films. Because of his limited English, he collaborated with the American dramatist

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of '' Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our ...

as script-writer for his first film, ''

The Ghost Goes West ''The Ghost Goes West'' is a 1935 British romantic comedy/fantasy film starring Robert Donat, Jean Parker, and Eugene Pallette, and directed by René Clair, his first English-language film. The film shows an Old World ghost dealing with American ...

'' (1935), a comic fantasy about transatlantic culture clash. Clair and Sherwood became close friends. In January 1936, Clair visited America for two weeks, checking out for future employment possibilities but still planning to remain with Korda. Korda however rejected Clair's next script and they parted company. Clair's remaining time in England led to only one more completed film, ''

Break the News ''Break the News'' is the third studio album by Swedish singer Darin. It was released on 22 November 2006 in Sweden. The album reached the top of the Swedish Album Charts. Four singles were released from the album in Sweden with an additional ...

'' (1938), a musical comedy with

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

and Maurice Chevalier. Returning to France, Clair attempted to make another film there in 1939, ''Air pur'', which was to be a celebration of youth and childhood, but the outbreak of war interrupted filming and it was abandoned. In May 1940,

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

, then Minister of Information, suggested to Clair that the film profession should concentrate its resources in the south of country in Nice and Marseille - and if necessary establish a French production centre in the United States. It was with this last plan in mind that Clair and his family, along with

Julien Duvivier 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 (film), La Bandera'', ...

, departed for America, but by the time he reached New York the project had already fallen through and he went straight on to Hollywood where several studios were interested in employing him.Jean Mitry, ''René Clair''. (Paris: Éditions Universitaires, 1960). p.11. He made his first American film for Universal Studios, ''

The Flame of New Orleans ''The Flame of New Orleans'' is a 1941 comedy film directed by René Clair and starring Marlene Dietrich and Bruce Cabot in his first comedy role. The supporting cast features Roland Young, Andy Devine and Franklin Pangborn. It was the last of t ...

'' (1941), but it was such a commercial failure that for a time Clair's career as a director was in the balance. After more than a year's delay, his next film was ''

'' (1942), followed by '' It Happened Tomorrow'' (1944), both of which did respectably well, and then ''

'' (1945), which turned out to be an exceptional commercial success despite being perhaps the least personal of his Hollywood ventures. Each of Clair's American films was made for a different studio. In 1941 Clair was stripped of his French citizenship by the Vichy government, though this was later reversed. It was also in 1941 that he learned of the death of his brother Henri Chomette in France from polio. In 1943, he was planning to go to Algeria to organise the Service Cinématographique de l'Armée, but funding for the project was withdrawn just as he was on the point of departure. In July 1945 he went back to France for a short visit, and then returned finally in July 1946, having signed a contract with RKO for his next film to be made in France. Clair's American exile had allowed him to develop his characteristic vein of ironical fantasy with several commercially successful films, but there was some feeling that it had been at the expense of personal control and that his output there had not matched the quality of his earlier work in France. Clair himself recognised that being employed by the highly organized American studios had allowed him to work in ideal circumstances: "In spite of the restrictions of the American system, it is possible, if one wishes, to take responsibility. In my four Hollywood films I managed to do what I wanted."

1947–1965

Clair's first film on his return to France was the romantic comedy ''

Le silence est d'or ''Man About Town'' (french: Le silence est d'or, lit=Silence is golden) is a 1947 romantic comedy film written and directed by René Clair. It was released in a shortened version in the United States as ''Man About Town''. The film marked Clair' ...

'' (''Silence is Golden'') (1947), which was set in 1906 and nostalgically evoked the world of early French film-making; its plot also created variations on Molière's ''

L'École des femmes ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...

''. Clair considered it one of his best post-war films. Literary inspirations also underpinned other films:

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

for ''

La Beauté du diable ''La Beauté du diable'' (literally "the beauty of the devil"; originally released in the UK and USA as ''Beauty and the Devil'') is a 1950 Franco-Italian fantasy film drama directed by René Clair. A tragicomedy set in the early 19th century, it ...

'' (''Beauty and the Devil'') (1950); and

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

for ''

Les Grandes Manœuvres ''The Grand Maneuver'' (french: Les Grandes Manœuvres) is a 1955 French drama film written and directed by René Clair, and starring Michèle Morgan and Gérard Philipe. It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as ''Summer Manoeuvres' ...

'' (1955). In these two films and the intervening ''

Les Belles de nuit ''Les Belles de nuit'' (US title: ''Beauties of the Night'') is a 1952 French language motion picture fantasy directed and written by René Clair who co-produced with Angelo Rizzoli. The film stars Gérard Philipe, Martine Carol, Gina Lollobrig ...

'' (''Beauties of the Night'') (1952), the leading actor was

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 ...

who became a friend and a favourite performer for Clair. '' Porte des Lilas'' (1957) was a sombre film, set once again in a popular district of Paris with its picturesque inhabitants, for which the singer

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...

was persuaded to give his only film performance. During the 1950s, as a new generation of French critics and film-makers emerged who were impatient of the prevailing modes of film production, Clair found himself increasingly criticised as a representative of the ''cinéma de qualité'', a "cinema of old men" dominated by nostalgia for their younger days. His status as a figure of the 'establishment' was further confirmed by his election to the

in 1960. Although he continued to make a few more films in comic vein such as '' Tout l'or du monde'' (''All the Gold in the World'') (1961), they were not well received and he made his last film, '' Les Fêtes galantes'' (''The Lace Wars''), in 1965.

Writing and later work

Clair began his career as a journalist, and writing remained an important interest for him to which he increasingly turned in his later years. In 1926 he published a novel, ''Adams'' (translated into English as ''Star Turn''), about a Hollywood star for whom the distinction between the real and unreal becomes blurred. He occasionally returned to writing fiction (''La Princesse de Chine'' and ''Jeux du hasard''), but many of his publications dealt with the cinema, including reflections on his own films. Apart from many journal articles, his main publications were: * ''Adams''. (Paris: Grasset, 1926). English translation, ''Star Turn'', (London: Chatto & Windus, 1936). * ''Réflexion faite''. (Paris: Gallimard, 1951). English translation, ''Reflections on the Cinema''. (London: William Kimber, 1953). * ''La Princesse de Chine, suivi de De fil en aiguille''. (Paris: Grasset, 1951). * ''Comédies et commentaires''. (Paris: Gallimard, 1959) ncludes 5 of Clair's screenplays English translation, in part, ''Four Screenplays''. (New York: Orion Press, 1970). * ''Discours de réception à l'Académie française''. (Paris: Gallimard, 1962). * ''Tout l'or du monde''. (Paris: Gallimard, 1962). * ''Cinéma d'hier, cinéma d'aujourd'hui''. (Paris: Gallimard, 1970). English translation, ''Cinema Yesterday and Today''. (New York: Dover, 1972). * ''L'Étrange Ouvrage des cieux, d'après The Dutch Courtezan de Jon Marston''. (Paris: Gallimard, 1972). * ''Jeux du hasard: récits et nouvelles''. (Paris: Gallimard, 1976). Clair also ventured into other media. In 1951 he directed his first radio production, ''Une larme du diable''. In 1959 he directed a stage production of

Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

's ''On ne badine pas avec l'amour'', in which

gave one of his last performances before his death. In 1972 he staged Gluck's '' Orphée'' for the Paris Opéra.

Personal life

At the end of 1924, while Clair was working on ''Ciné-sketch'' for the theatre with France Picabia, he first met a young actress, Bronja Perlmutter, who subsequently appeared in his film '' Le Voyage imaginaire'' (1926) premiered at the newly opened Studio des Ursulines. They married in 1926, and their son, Jean-François, was born in 1927. René Clair died at home on 15 March 1981, and he was buried privately at Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois.

Reputation

Clair's reputation as a film-maker underwent a considerable reevaluation during the course of his own lifetime: in the 1930s he was widely seen as one of France's greatest directors, alongside

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

and Carné, but thereafter his work's artifice and detachment from the realities of life fell increasingly from favour.David Thomson, ''A New Biographical Dictionary of Film''. (London: Little, Brown, 2002). p.160. The avant-gardism of his first films, and especially ''

'', had given him a temporary notoriety, and a grounding in surrealism continued to underlie much of his comedy work. It was however the imaginative manner in which he overcame his initial scepticism about the arrival of sound which established his originality, and his first four sound films brought him international fame. Clair's years of working in the UK and USA made him still more widely known but did not show any marked development in his style or thematic concerns. It was in the post-war films that he made on his return to France that some critics have observed a new maturity and emotional depth, accompanied by a prevailing sense of melancholy but still framed by the elegance and wit that characterised his earlier work. However, in the 1950s the critics who heralded the arrival of the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

, especially those associated with ''

Cahiers du Cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

'', found Clair's work old-fashioned and academic.

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

wrote harshly of him after seeing ''The Flame of New Orleans'': "We don't follow our elders in paying the same tribute to Renoir and Clair. There is no film by Clair which matches the invention and wit of Renoir's ''Tire au flanc''.... Clair makes films for old ladies who go to the cinema twice a year."

André Bazin André Bazin (; 18 April 1918 – 11 November 1958) was a renowned and influential French film critic and film theorist. Bazin started to write about film in 1943 and was a co-founder of the renowned film magazine ''Cahiers du cinéma'' in 1951, ...

, the founding editor of ''Cahiers'', made a more measured assessment: "René Clair has remained in a way a film-maker of the silent cinema. Whatever the quality and importance of his recent films, expression through the image always predominates over that of the word and one almost never misses the essence if one can only vaguely hear the dialogue." It was also in a special number of ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' reviewing the current state of the French cinema in 1957 that Clair received one of his most positive appreciations: "A complete film author who, since the silent era, has brought to the French cinema intelligence, refinement, humour, an intellectual quality that is slightly dry but smiling and in good taste.... Whatever may follow in his rich career, he has created a cinematic world that is his own, full of rigour and not lacking in imagination, thanks to which he remains one of our greatest film-makers." Such appreciations have subsequently been rare, and the self-contained artificiality of Clair's films, his insistence on the meticulous preparation of an often literary script, and his preference for filming in studio sets rather than on location increasingly set him apart from modern trends in film-making. The paradox of Clair's reputation has been further heightened by those commentators who have seen François Truffaut as the French cinema's true successor to Clair, notwithstanding the occasions of their mutual disdain.

Filmography

Feature films

*''

'' (1924) **''Paris Asleep'' **''The Crazy Ray'' *''

Le Fantôme du Moulin-Rouge ''The Phantom of the Moulin Rouge'' (French: ''Le fantôme du Moulin-Rouge'') is a 1925 French silent film, silent comedy fantasy film (made in 1924), directed by René Clair and starring Albert Préjean, Sandra Milovanoff and Paul Ollivier. It w ...

'' (1925) **''The Phantom of the Moulin Rouge'' *'' Le Voyage imaginaire'' (1926) **''The Imaginary Voyage'' *'' La Proie du vent'' (1927) **''The Prey of the Wind'' *'' Un chapeau de paille d'Italie'' (1928) **''An Italian Straw Hat'' *'' Les Deux Timides'' (1928) **''Two Timid Souls'' *'' Sous les toits de Paris'' (1930) **''Under the Roofs of Paris'' *''

'' (1931) **''The Million'' *''

'' (1931) **''Freedom for Us'' *'' Quatorze Juillet'' (1933) **''Bastille Day'' *'' Le Dernier Milliardaire'' (1934) **''The Last Billionaire'' *''

'' (1935) *''

'' (1938) *''

'' (1941) *''

'' (1942) *'' Forever and a Day'' (1943) *'' It Happened Tomorrow'' (1944) *''

'' (1945) *''

'' (1947) **''Silence Is Golden'' **''Man About Town'' *''

'' (1950) **''Beauty of the Devil'' *''

'' (1952) **''Beauties of the Night'' *''

'' (1955) **''The Grand Maneuver'' **''Summer Manoeuvres'' *'' Porte des Lilas'' (1957) **''Gate of Lilacs'' **''The Gates of Paris'' *'' Tout l'or du monde'' (1961) **''All the Gold in the World'' *'' Les Fêtes galantes'' (1965) **''The Lace Wars''

Short films

*''

'' (1924) *''La Tour'' (1928) (documentary) *'' Forever and a Day'' (1943) ''(segment "1897")'' *'' La Française et l'Amour'' (1960) ''(segment "Mariage, Le")'' **''Love and the Frenchwoman'' *'' Les Quatre Vérités'' (1962) ''(segment "Les Deux Pigeons")'' **''Three Fables of Love''

Television

*''Les Fables de La Fontaine'' (1964) ''(episodes "?")''

Awards and honours

René Clair held the national honours of Grand officier de la

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

, and Grand-croix de l'ordre national du Mérite. He received the Grand Prix du cinéma français in 1953. In 1956 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. In 1960 he was elected to the

; he was not the first film-maker so honoured (he was preceded by

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionabl ...

(1946),

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

(1955), and

Marcel Achard Marcel Achard (5 July 1899 – 4 September 1974) was a French playwright and screenwriter whose popular sentimental comedies Garzanti p. 3 maintained his position as a highly recognizable name in his country's theatrical and literary circles ...

(1959)) but he was the first to be elected primarily as a film-maker. In 1994 the Académie established the Prix René-Clair as an annual prize awarded to a distinguished film-maker.René Clair
at the Académie française. Accessed 20 May 2012. In 1967 he received an honorary doctorate from the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

in London. As well as many awards made for individual films, Clair received an honorary prize at the

11th Moscow International Film Festival The 11th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 14 to 28 August 1979. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian-French film '' Christ Stopped at Eboli'' directed by Francesco Rosi, the Spanish film '' Siete días de enero'' directed ...

in 1979 for his contribution to cinema. Place René Clair in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

, on the outskirts of Paris and near the site of the former

film studios A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the productio ...

in that district, is named after him.

References

External links

*
Bibliography of books and articles about Rene Clair
via UC Berkeley Media Resources center {{DEFAULTSORT:Clair, Rene 1898 births 1981 deaths Male actors from Paris French male screenwriters 20th-century French screenwriters French film directors French film producers French male film actors French male silent film actors Members of the Académie Française Lycée Montaigne (Paris) alumni Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Dada French experimental filmmakers French surrealist artists Surrealist filmmakers 20th-century French male actors French male non-fiction writers Burials at Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers

Early life

Film career

1924–1934

1935–1946

1947–1965

Writing and later work

Personal life

Reputation

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Television

Awards and honours

See also

References

External links