Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

spent his nights at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where
he befriended writer Boris Vian. In 1945, he founded
the Paris University cine-club and started out as a
fi lm critic for the weekly newspaper Action. While
working with Henri Langlois at the Cinemathèque
Française (1945–1947), he published articles in
L’Ecran Français (later he also wrote for La Revue du
Cinéma, Positif, Cinéma 60, and Les Cahiers du Cinéma).
An assistant director (1947 Le Printemps de la Liberté,
short, also artistic adviser, Jean Grémillon; 1949 Pattes
blanches / UK and USA: White Paws, Jean Grémillon;
1950 Le Château de Verre / L’amante di una notte, René
Clément, France / Italy; 1951 L’Etrange Madame X,
Jean Grémillon; 1952 Jeux interdits / USA: Forbidden
Games, uncredited, René Clément; 1954 French Cancan
/ USA: Only the French Can, Jean Renoir, France /
Italy; 1955 Les Carnets du Major Thompson / UK: The
Diary of Major Thompson / USA: The French, They Are
a Funny Race, Preston Sturges) and dialogist (1955
Il mantello rosso / Le Manteau rouge / Les Révoltés /
UK and USA: The Red Cloak, Giuseppe M. Scotese;
Italy / France) before making his directing debut,
he occasionally collaborated on other fi lmmakers’
scripts (1966 Une Balle au Coeur / Mia sfi ra stin kardia
/ USA: Devil at My Heels, as co-adapter, Jean-Daniel
Pollet, France / Greece; 1970 Le Maître du Temps,
as co-screenwriter, Jean-Daniel Pollet; 1971 Le Petit
Matin, as co-screenwriter, adapter, Jean-Gabriel
Albicocco, 1974 L’Ironie du Sort, as co-screenwriter
co-adapter, Edouard Molinaro) and appeared in fi lms
(1961 La Mort de Belle / UK: The End of Belle / USA:
The Passion of Slow Fire, Edouard Molinaro; Autrefois
les Canuts, documentary, short, as narrator, Bernard
Chardère; 1967 Vivre pour vivre / Vivere per vivere /
USA: Life for Life, Claude Lelouch, France / Italy; 1972
L’Aventure, c’est l’Aventure / L’avventura è l’avventura /
UK and USA: Money Money Money, Claude Lelouch;
France / Italy; 1973 Septembre chilien, documentary,
short, as narrator, Bruno Muel, Théo Robichet; 2004
Le Fantôme d’Henri Langlois, documentary; archives,
Jacques Richard). A great lover of science fi ction, he
notably wrote a fantastic novel (1975 Les Vampires de
l’Alfama, Editions Olivier Orban). Other novels: 1980
Le Bonheur et le Pouvoir (Editions Jean-Claude Lattès);
1981 La Mémoire du Tyran (Editions Jean-Claude Lattès);
1997 La Dernière Nuit de Casanova (Le Temps
des Cerises). He died of a heart attack during a fl ight
back to Rome, where he had just fi nished shooting
a TV movie adapted from one of the most famous
novels of his friend Boris Vian.
Filmography
KAST, PIERRE • 557
1949 Les Charmes de l’Existence / UK: The Charms of
Life (short; co-director with Jean Grémillon;
also screenwriter, author of commentary)
1951 Arithmétique (documentary; short; also coscreenwriter)
Les Désastres de la Guerre (documentary;
short)
Les Femmes du Louvre (documentary; short;
also co-author of commentary, editor)
1952 La Guerre en Dentelles (documentary; short;
also screenwriter, editor)
Je séme à tout Vent (short; also co-screenwriter,
author of commentary)
1953 A nous Deux, Paris! (short)
La Chasse à l’Homme (short; also screenwriter)
Venise (documentary; short)
1954 L’Architecte maudit: Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (documentary;
short)
Monsieur Robida, Prophète et Explorateur du
Temps (documentary; short)
1955 Nos Ancêtres les Explorateurs (documentary,
short)
1957 Un Amour de Poche / UK: Nude in His Pocket /
USA: Girl in His Pocket
1958 Le Corbusier, l’Architecte du Bonheur (documentary;
short)
1959 Des Ruines et des Hommes (documentary;
short; co-director with Marcelle Lioret; also
co-screenwriter)
Images pour Baudelaire (short; also author of
commentary)
Japon d’aujourd’hui et d’Hier (documentary;
short; co-director with Marcelle Lioret)
Promenade quotidienne en Inde (documentary;
short; co-director with Marcelle Lioret)
Une Question d’Assurance (short; also screenwriter)
1960 Le Bel Âge / UK and USA: Love Is When You
Make It (shot in 1958)
Merci Natercia! (also co-adapter, co-dialogist)
1961 La Morte-Saison des Amours / USA: The Season
For Love (also co-screenwriter, dialogist)
1962 P.X.O. (documentary; short; co-director with
Jacques Doniol-Valcroze)
1963 Vacances portugaises / Os Sorrisos do Destino
(also screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist;
France / Portugal)