Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

68 • BECKER, JACQUES
1991 La Dernière Saison (also co-screenwriter, coadapter,
co-dialogist)
2001 Un Voyage entre Amis (also screenwriter,
adapter, dialogist; France / Canada)
Television Filmography
1984 Cinéma italien 84 (documentary)
1985 Carnets de l’Aventure (documentary; episode
“Le troisième Oeil”)
1986 L’Argenterie des Bauges (documentary; short)
Causeries d’Italie (documentary; short)
1987 Ushuaïa (documentary; short; episode “Andrea”)
1989 Chasseurs de Vampires (documentary; short)
1992 La Montagne au Tournant (documentary;
short)
1993 Ushuaïa (documentary; shorts; episodes “Les
voladores,” “Les papillons du Michoacan”)
Profession: Restaurateur (documentary; short)
Bernard des Vosges (documentary; short)
Le Créal (documentary; short)
Retour au Pays (documentary; short)
L’Ami des Chamulas (documentary; short)
Les Montagnes du Cinéma (2 26' documentary)
1994 En Amont la Zizique (documentary; short)
Portrait d’un Homme devenu ordinaire (documentary;
short)
Cent Coups à Bussang (documentary; short)
Mayotte (documentary; short)
1995 Alambics ou Le Dernier Défi de la Marrane
(documentary)
1996 La Vallée de l’Aluminium (documentary short)
1997 Mon Lycée c’est le Pérou (documentary)
2003 Mémoires des Alpes (1900–1970) (2 52'
documentary)
BECKER, JACQUES (September 15, 1906, Paris,
France–February 21, 1960, Paris, France)
The son of a French industrialist father and a Scottish
clothes designer, Margaret Burns, he studied at the
Lycée Condorcet, then at la Schola Cantorum. He
started his professional life working in a battery factory.
In the mid-1920s, he was a luggage employee on
a boat that connected Le Havre to New York and met
fi lmmaker King Vidor during a crossing. Vidor offered
him the opportunity to work with him in Hollywood,
but he turned down the proposal. He fi nally made his
fi lm debut as actor in Jean Renoir’s Le Bled (1929) and
became assistant director to Auguste Renoir’s son
(1932 La Nuit du Carrefour / USA: Night at the Crossroads,
also production manager; Boudu sauvé des Eaux
/ USA: Boudu Saved from Drowning, also actor; 1933
Chotard et Compagnie, also actor; Madame Bovary;
1936 Les Bas-Fonds / UK: Underworld / USA: The Lower
Depths / Underground, also actor; Partie de Campagne
/ Une Partie de Campagne, medium-length, also actor;
1937 La Grande Illusion / USA: The Grand Illusion, also
actor; 1938 La Marseillaise / UK: The Marseillaise) and
to Albert Valentin (1940 L’Héritier des Mondésir). He
gave up the shooting of his fi rst fi lm, L’Or du Cristobal,
after three weeks and disowned it. He was the father
of director Jean Becker (b. 1933), cinematographer
Etienne Becker (1936–1995), and former script girl
Sophie Becker. From 1956 to his death, he was married
to actress Françoise Fabian (b. 1933). Other
credit (as bit player): 1938 La Bête humaine / UK: Judas
Was a Woman / USA: The Human Beast (Jean Renoir).
Filmography
1935 Tête de Turc / Une Tête qui rapporte (mediumlength)
Le Commissaire est bon Enfant, le Gendarme est
sans Pitié (medium-length; co-director with
Pierre Prévert; also screenwriter, adapter, actor)
1936 La Vie est à nous / UK and USA: The People
of France (co-director with Jean Renoir, Jean-
Paul Dreyfus / Jean-Paul Le Chanois, André
Zwobada, Pierre Unik, Henri Cartier-Bresson,
Paul Vaillant-Couturier, Jacques-Bernard Brunius;
also co-screenwriter, actor)
1940 L’Or du Cristobal (completed by Jean Stelli)
1942 Dernier Atout
1943 Goupi Mains Rouges / USA: It Happened at the
Inn
1945 Falbalas / USA: Paris Frills (also co-adapter, codialogist)
1947 Antoine et Antoinette / UK and USA: Antoine and
Antoinette (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist)
1949 Rendez-vous de Juillet (also co-screenwriter,
dialogist)
1951 Edouard et Caroline / USA: Edward and Caroline
(also co-screenwriter)
1952 Casque d’Or / UK: Golden Helmet / USA: Golden
Marie (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist)
1953 Rue de l’Estrapade / UK and USA: Françoise
Steps Out (also co-dialogist)
1954 Touchez pas au Grisbi / Grisbi / UK: Hands Off
the Loot / USA: Grisbi (also co-screenwriter,
co-dialogist; France / Italy)