Pierre Chenal (; 5 December 1904 – 23 December 1990) was a French director and screenwriter who flourished in the 1930s. He was married to Czech-born French film actress
Florence Marly from 1937 to 1955.
Work
Chenal was best known for
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
thrillers such as the 1937 film ''
L'Alibi'', where he worked with
Erich von Stroheim
Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...
and
Louis Jouvet
Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker.
Early life
Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmacist. He receive ...
. In 1939 he made ''
Le Dernier Tournant'', the first of many film treatments of
James M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892 – October 27, 1977) was an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter. He is widely regarded as a progenitor of the hardboiled school of American crime fiction.
His novels '' The Postman Always Rings Twic ...
's celebrated novel, ''
The Postman Always Rings Twice''.
Chenal was Jewish and was forced in 1942 to flee
occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied z ...
with his wife, Czech actress
Florence Marly, for South America. He made a number of films while living in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
and more in France after the war; but his post-war work never achieved the success and popularity of his pre-war efforts.
Pierre Chenal
at the Internet Movie Database
Filmography
* 1970 : ''Les belles au bois dormantes'' (as Dave Young)
* 1963 : ''The Murderer Knows the Score''
* 1960 : ''The Night They Killed Rasputin
''The Night They Killed Rasputin'' ( it, L'ultimo zar, french: Les nuits de Raspoutine), also known as ''Nights of Rasputin'', is a 1960 Italian-French historical adventure film co-written and directed by Pierre Chenal, and starring Edmund Purdom ...
''
* 1959 : ''Beast at Bay''
* 1958 : ''Dangerous Games''
* 1957 : '
* 1956 : ''Section des disparus''
* 1954 : ''Confession at Dawn''
* 1952 : ''El ídolo''
* 1951 : ''Native Son''
* 1948 : ''Scandals of Clochemerle''
* 1946 : ''Devil and the Angel
''Devil and the Angel'' (French: ''La foire aux chimères'') is a 1946 French drama film directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Madeleine Sologne, Erich von Stroheim and Louis Salou.Lennig p.437
It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris. ...
''
* 1946 : '' Viaje sin regreso''
* 1945 : ''Se abre el abismo''
* 1944 : ''The Corpse Breaks a Date''
* 1943 : '' Todo un hombre''
* 1939 : '' Le Dernier Tournant''
* 1938 : ''The Lafarge Case
''The Lafarge Case'' (French: ''L'Affaire Lafarge'') is a 1938 French historical crime film directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Pierre Renoir, Marcelle Chantal and Raymond Rouleau. It recalls a famous nineteenth century case, and is mostly p ...
''
* 1937 : '' The Man from Nowhere''
* 1937 : '' The Alibi''
* 1937 : ''The Former Mattia Pascal
'' The Former Mattia Pascal'' (Italian: ''Il fu Mattia Pascal'') is a 1937 Italian drama film directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Pierre Blanchar, Isa Miranda and Irma Gramatica.Landy p.155 It is based on the 1904 novel '' Il fu Mattia Pascal'' ...
''
* 1936 : '' Les mutinés de l'Elseneur''
* 1935 : ''Crime and Punishment''[Pierre Chenal Filmography]
at Fandango
* 1934 : '' Street Without a Name''
* 1933 : ''Fat Man's Worries''
Bibliography
Chenal, Pierre, ''Souvenirs du cinéaste, filmographie, temoignages, documents'' (Collection 24 souvenirs/seconde), [Autobiography, French Edition, Paperback
/nowiki>], Dujarric, en collaboration avec les Amis de Ciné-sous-Bois, Aulnay-sous-Bois, 1987,
Chenal,_Pierre,_''La_dernière_tempête''_(L'Aventure_vécue),_[French_Edition,_Paperback
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="rench Edition, Paperback">Chenal, Pierre, ''La dernière tempête'' (L'Aventure vécue), rench_Edition,_Paperback">Chenal,_Pierre,_''La_dernière_tempête''_(L'Aventure_vécue),_[French_Edition,_Paperback
/nowiki>_Flammarion,_Paris,_1975,_
_References
_External_links
rench Edition, Paperback">Chenal, Pierre, ''La dernière tempête'' (L'Aventure vécue), 125524"_target="_blank"_class="mw-redirect"_title="Pierre_Chenal">Pierre_Chenal
at_the_Turner_Classic_Movies.html" ;"title="rench Edition, Paperback
/nowiki> Flammarion, Paris, 1975,
References
External links
125524" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="Pierre Chenal">Pierre Chenal
at the TCM_Movie_Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chenal,_Pierre
French_film_directors
20th-century_French_Jews.html" ;"title="Turner Classic Movies">TCM Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chenal, Pierre
French film directors
20th-century French Jews">Turner Classic Movies">TCM Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chenal, Pierre
French film directors
20th-century French Jews
French male screenwriters
20th-century French screenwriters
1904 births
1990 deaths
20th-century French male writers