Jacques Nahum (27 February 1921 – 21 July 2017) was a French director, screenwriter, and producer, famed for producing the cult television show ''

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...

'', descended from the

Pallache family "Pallache" – also de Palacio(s), Palache, Palaçi, Palachi, Palacci, Palaggi, and many other variations (documented below) – is the surname of a prominent, Ladino-speaking, Sephardic Jewish family from the Iberian Peninsula, who spread mostl ...

Background

Jacques Nahum was born on February 27, 1921, in Cairo, Egypt. His

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

parents were Joab Nahum of Izmir, Turkey, and Fortunée Palacci of Cairo, Egypt; he had one brother, Robert (1925–1973). Nahum arrived in Paris at the age of 24 and in 1945 began to study at 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. I ...

(IDHEC, since 1988

La Fémis La Fémis (French: ''École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l'Image et du Son''; "National Superior School for the Professions of Image and Sound", formerly known as the ''Institut des hautes études cinématographiques'', IDHEC) is a Fren ...

Career

Film

By the late 1940s, Nahum was an assistant director.

John Berry

In the 1950s, Nahum was first assistant director to American film director John Berry. Berry went to France to escape the impact of the

Hollywood Blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying emplo ...

. Early in 1950, his documentary ''

The Hollywood Ten ''The Hollywood Ten'' is a 1950 American 16mm short documentary film. In the film, each member of the Hollywood Ten made a short speech denouncing McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklisting. The film was directed by John Berry. After being na ...

'' was released; thereafter, fellow director

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ''Crossfire (film), Cros ...

denounced him as a communist. After two movies in 1951–1952, Berry hit a dry spell. French film distributor David Medioni hired him for French-distributed movies on a low salary plus percentage in the films. Nahum later explained: "Here was this small-time producer edioni He knew that John erryhad made great films in Hollywood, and thought it would be quite a coup if he could get this big Hollywood director, who had worked with

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

, to work on his little

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

." Berry did not have to have a director's permit under French law and union rules at that time. For Berry's first film in France, ''Ça va barder'' (1955), Nahum's job started as assembling crew . While shooting, Berry, Nahum, and Nahum's friend

Jacques-Laurent Bost Jacques-Laurent Bost (6 May 1916, Le Havre – 21 September 1990, Paris) was a French journalist and close friend of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Biography Bost was born the youngest of ten children on 6 May 1916 in Le Havre, Norman ...

, modified the story of the first film considerably. For ''

Tamango ''Tamango'' is a 1958 France, French/Italy, Italian film directed by John Berry (film director), John Berry, a Hollywood Blacklist, blacklisted United States, American director who exiled himself to Europe. The film stars Dorothy Dandridge, Curd ...

'' (1957), Berry could not find Black actors, so Nahum helped him hire French soldiers from French African colonies. The French soldiers disliked the make-up intensely or anything else that made them feel like African slaves, according to Nahum.

Television

In 1960, he founded his own production company, Mars International Productions. From 1962 to 1980, he directed 400 commercials. In 1961, the film ''

Une aussi longue absence ''The Long Absence'' (french: Une aussi longue absence, "Such a long absence") is a 1961 French film directed by Henri Colpi. It tells the story of Therese (Alida Valli), a Puteaux café owner mourning the mysterious disappearance of her husband s ...

'', directed by

Henri Colpi Henri Colpi (; 15 July 1921 – 14 January 2006) was a French film editor and film director. Early life Colpi graduated from the IDHEC in 1947. During 1950 to 1960, he edited films for such notable French New Wave directors as Agnès Varda and G ...

and co-scripted by

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

, for which he was executive producer, shared the

Palme d'or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at 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 o ...

. In the early 1960s, he directed the film ''

Le Saint mène la danse ''Le Saint mène la danse'' (''The Saint leads the Dance'') also known as ''The Dance of Death'' and ''Le Saint conduit le bal'' (''The Saint leads the Ball'') is a 1960 film featuring Félix Marten as Simon Templar, the crimefighter also known a ...

'', which starred

Michèle Mercier Michèle Mercier (born 1 January 1939 as Jocelyne Yvonne Renée Mercier) is a French actress. In the course of her career she has worked with leading directors like François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Deray, Dino Risi, Mario Monicel ...

. In the 1970s, he turned toward television production, where he would stay for the remainder of his live. Best known among his television works are: ''Arsène Lupine'' (1971) starring

Georges Descrières Georges Descrières (15 April 1930 – 19 October 2013) was a French actor. He appeared in 52 films and television shows between 1954 and 1996. He starred alongside Anna Karina in the 1962 film '' Sun in Your Eyes'' and portrayed the gentlem ...

, ''Le Cheval de coeur'' (1995) starring

Guillaume Canet Guillaume Canet (; born 10 April 1973) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and show jumper. Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like ''Joyeux Noël'', '' Love Me If ...

, and

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 fashionable ...

's trilogy ''Marius'', ''Fanny'', and ''César'' (2000) starring

Roger Hanin Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

. His last production was ''Le chapeau de Mitterrand'' (2014).

Personal life and death

Nahum married Odette Pinto. They had one child, Alain Nahum, also a film director as well as photographer. Nahum died on July 21, 2017, in Paris, France.

Legacy

Dominique Ambiel "Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by the Belgian female singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-bo ...

, often a co-producer, called him:

"''Pionnier dans la production de séries télévisées populaires, il est aussi l'un des premiers à mener des coproductions internationales d'envergure et à initier des films patrimoniaux et de grande qualité pour la télévision.'' (Pioneer in the production of popular television series, he is also one of the first to carry out major international co-productions and to initiate high-quality films for television.)"

Awards

* Palme d'or (1961) * Chevalier dans l'Ordre national du Mérite

Filmography

Nahum's major works span a half century.

Producer

* 1961: ''

'' * 1971: ''Arsène Lupin'' (TV series) * 1977: '' Bilitis'' * 1980: ''Sam et Sally'' * 1982: ''Salut, j'arrive'' * 1983: ''L'Art d'aimer'' * 1986: ''Le Tiroir secret'' (TV series) * 1990: ''Le retour d'Arsène Lupin'' (TV series) * 1995: ''Le Cheval de Cœur'' * 1997: ''L'enfant Perdu de Christian Faure'' * 1998: ''À nous deux la vie'' * 1999: ''La Femme du boulanger'' * 2000: ''La Trilogie Marseillaise - Marius, Fanny, César'' * 2002 - 2003: ''Action Justice'' (TV series) * 2004: ''Le Président Ferrare'' (TV series) * 2007: ''Le temps des secrets - Le temps des amours'' * 2009: ''Des gens qui passent'' * 2012: ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' * 2014: ''Le Chapeau de Mitterrand''

Director

* 1954: ''Face of Paris'' episode "Your favorite story" * 1960: ''

'' (AKA ''Le Saint conduit le bal'') * 1967: ''Yves Robert un chemin de la liberté'' * 1971: ''Madame Simone'' (also writer) * 1973: ''Le Double Assassinat de la rue Morgue'' * 1974: ''

Eugène Sue (film) ''Eugène Sue'' was a 1974 French television film on the life of the author Eugène Sue, played by Bernard Verley. It was directed by Jacques Nahum and written by Jean-Louis Bory. Cast *Bernard Verley - Eugène Sue *Jean Davy - Father and commis ...

'' * 1975: ''Maître Pygmalion'' * 1975: ''Les Grands Détectives'' episode "Six hommes morts"

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

* 1955: ''Ça va barder'' by John Berry * 1955: ''Je suis un sentimental'' by John Berry * 1956: ''Don Juan'' by John Berry * 1958: ''Tamango'' by John Berry

Writer

* 1952: ''The Face of Paris'' (co-writer) * 2012: ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' by Cinzia TH Torrini (co-writer)

References

External sources

*
Le Film Français

Mubi

UniFrance

Premiere

Sens Critique

British Film Institute (BFI)

Bibliotèque nationale de France

Getty
Photos
Photo
1966 with

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

10 films liés à Jacques Nahum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahum, Jacques 1921 births 2017 deaths French directors French screenwriters French producers Film people from Cairo Palme d'Or winners French people of Egyptian-Jewish descent Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Film directors from Paris Egyptian emigrants to France French people of Turkish-Jewish descent Egyptian people of Turkish-Jewish descent