Serge de Poligny (1903–1983) was a French
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.
...
and
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 ...
.
Career
Serge de Poligny was born in Paris in 1903. He studied art at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
in the class of the painter
Maurice Denis
Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with ''Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...
. In 1925 he joined the French subsidiary of the
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
film company as a set-designer and painter, and soon took on the role of an assistant director. With the arrival of sound films, he took a job with
UFA
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...
studios in Germany, supervising the French-language versions of films which were made in parallel with their German originals.
[Serge de Poligny](_blank)
at ''Ciné-Ressources''. Retrieved 29 August 2022
Archived
at the Wayback Machine.
Serge de Poligny's first significant film as a director in France was an adaptation of
Colette
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...
's novel ''
Claudine à l'école
''Claudine at School'' (french: Claudine à l'école) is a 1900 novel by the French writer Colette. The narrative recounts the final year of secondary school of 15-year-old Claudine, her brazen confrontations with her headmistress, Mlle Sergent, a ...
'' in 1937. During the
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 ...
in the 1940s, he made two films which have been seen as significant contributions to the genre of ''
fantastique
''Fantastique'' is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
The ''fantastique'' is a substantial genre within French literature. Arguably dating back further than English lan ...
'' in the cinema. For ''
Le Baron fantôme'' (1943) he worked with
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 ...
on the film's dialogue (Cocteau also acted in the title role), and
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
designed the costumes. De Poligny said that he got the idea for it in an old magic book. His next film, ''
La Fiancée des ténèbres'' (1945), was based on an old Cathar legend.
His film career concluded in the mid-1950s, and he then devoted himself to the production of large-scale live shows, such as the commemorations of the Liberation of Paris (1964 & 1965); the ''Nuits de l'armée'', and horse-riding shows like the ''Fêtes mondiales du cheval''.
Personal life
In 1932 de Poligny married Irène Sachse and they were divorced in 1946. In 1949 he married Yolande Mazuc. Serge de Poligny died at
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest tow ...
on 23 March 1983.
[Archives de Paris (online), 1903, Naissances::]
16 ''Acte de naissance'' no. 159 (vue 26.31)
Archives en ligne de la Ville de Paris, état-civil du 16ème arrondissement, registre des naissances de 1903 (includes notes of marriages and death).
Selected filmography
Director
References
Bibliography
* Crisp, C.G. ''The classic French cinema, 1930-1960''. Indiana University Press, 1993
* Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen. ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poligny, Serge de
1903 births
1983 deaths
Film directors from Paris