Christian-Jaque

1904-1994

Lavora come giornalista e si avvicina al cinema come scenografo e aiuto-regista (tra gli altri, di Julien Duvivier). Gira il suo primo film, Le Bidon d’or, nel 1932, rivelando una vena satirico-brillante che si manifesta ulteriormente nella farsa Le Père Lampion (1934), in François Premier (1936) e in altre commedie gustose e levigate. Nel 1938 il suo cinema registra una svolta drammatica con Les Pirates du rail, un film di imprevisto realismo plastico, decisamente influenzato da Eric von Stroheim che vi recita una parte. Con L’Enfer des anges (1939) mette in scena una ricognizione nel mondo dell’infanzia abbandonata dal tono malinconico e dolente. Ritornato alla commedia, dirige quasi tutti i film di Fernandel e, tra gli altri, Barbe-Bleue (1951), Fanfan la Tulipe (1952), Nana (1954), Babette s’en va-t-en guerre (1959), La Française et l’amour (1960), La Tulipe noire (1964), Les Pétroleuses (1971).

Beginning as a journalist, Christian-Jaque first approached film as a set designer and director’s assistant (for Julien Duvivier, among others). He made his first film, Le Bidon d’or, in 1932, displaying a gift for satire that also manifested itself in the farce Le Père Lampion (1934), François Premier (1936), and several other polished and amusing comedies. 1938 saw a dramatic change in his cinematic style with Les Pirates du rail, of film of unexpected statuesque realism, decidedly influenced by Eric von Stroheim, who plays a role in the film. With L’Enfer des anges (1939) he brought to the screen an acknowledgement of a forsaken childhood world, adapting a melancholic and mournful tone. Returning to comedies, he directed almost all the films of Fernandel, such as Barbe-Bleue (1951), Fanfan la Tulipe (1952), Nana (1954), Babette s’en va-t-en guerre (1959), La Française et l’amour (1960), La Tulipe noire (1964), and Les Pétroleuses (1971).