Jacques Becker
Jacques Becker | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 21 February 1960 Paris, France | (aged 53)
Occupation(s) | Screenwriter Film director |
Years active | 1935–1960 |
Notable work | Casque d'Or Le Trou Touchez pas au grisbi |
Spouse | Françoise Fabian |
Jacques Becker (French: [bɛkɛʁ]; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French screenwriter and film director.
Becker first worked in the 1930s as an assistant to director Jean Renoir during what is considered the latter's peak period, including such works as Partie de campagne (1936) and La Grande Illusion (1937). In the early part of World War II, Becker was held in a German prisoner-of-war camp for a year. During the Nazi occupation of France, he became a film director in his own right and he also joined the Comité de libération du cinéma français. He would go on to direct the period romance Casque d'or (1952), the influential gangster film Touchez pas au grisbi (1954), and the prison escape drama Le Trou (1959). While he remains lesser-known internationally than peers such as Marcel Carné and Renoir, Becker is nonetheless regarded as a major French filmmaker, with Casque d'or held in high esteem among film critics.[1]
Personal life
Born in Paris, Becker was of an upper-class background. His father Louis Becker, of Lorraine ascendance was corporate director for Fulmen, a battery manufacturer; his Irish mother, Margaret Burns, held a fashion house in rue Cambon near Chanel in Paris.[2]
Becker married actress Françoise Fabian in 1957, and his son Jean Becker also became a film director. Both his wife and his son were born on the same day (10 May).
Death
Becker died at the age of 53 in 1960 and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris.
Filmography
Director
Year | Title | English title | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1935 | Tête de turc | Medium-length film (42 mins) | |
1935 | Le Commissaire est bon enfant, le gendarme est sans pitié | Medium length film (40 mins) | |
1940 | L'Or du Cristobal | Cristobal's Gold | Becker left the film, which was completed by Jean Stelli |
1942 | Dernier atout | The Trump Card | |
1943 | Goupi Mains Rouges | It Happened at the Inn | |
1945 | Falbalas | Paris Frills | Filmed in 1944 |
1947 | Antoine et Antoinette | Antoine and Antoinette | |
1949 | Rendez-vous de juillet | Rendezvous in July | |
1951 | Édouard et Caroline | Edward and Caroline | |
1952 | Casque d'or | Casque d'or / Golden Marie | |
1953 | Rue de l'Estrapade | Rue de l'Estrapade / Françoise Steps Out | |
1954 | Touchez pas au grisbi | Touchez pas au grisbi / Grisbi / Honour Among Thieves | |
1954 | Ali Baba et les Quarante Voleurs | Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | |
1957 | Les Aventures d'Arsène Lupin | The Adventures of Arsène Lupin | |
1958 | Montparnasse 19 / Les Amants de Montparnasse | Montparnasse 19 / The Lovers of Montparnasse | Becker took over the film from Max Ophüls who died while filming |
1960 | Le Trou | Le Trou / The Night Watch / The Hole |
Assistant Director
Year | Title | English title | Directed by | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1931 | Y'en a pas deux comme Angélique | Roger Lion | ||
1931 | Allô... Allô... | Roger Lion | Short | |
1932 | La Nuit du carrefour | Night at the Crossroads | Jean Renoir | |
1932 | Boudu sauvé des eaux | Boudu Saved from Drowning | Jean Renoir | |
1933 | Chotard et Cie | Chotard and Company | Jean Renoir | |
1933 | Madame Bovary | Madame Bovary | Jean Renoir | Uncredited |
1936 | Partie de campagne | A Day in the Country | Jean Renoir | Released 1946 |
1936 | La vie est à nous | Life Belongs to Us | Jean Renoir & collective | Becker directed one short sequence of this anthology film and was an assistant director |
1936 | Les Bas-fonds | The Lower Depths | Jean Renoir | |
1937 | La Grande Illusion | Grand Illusion | Jean Renoir | |
1938 | La Marseillaise | La Marseillaise | Jean Renoir | |
1940 | L'Héritier de Mondésir | The Mondesir Heir | Albert Valentin |
References
- ^ "Jacques Becker's Acclaimed Films". They Shoot Pictures, Don't They. February 7, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ Vignaux, Valérie (2000). Editions du CÉFAL (ed.). Jacques Becker, ou l'exercice de la liberté. p. 11. ISBN 2-87130-088-7.
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External links