Henri Decoin

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

The Lumière festival has celebrated Raymond Bernard, Jacques Becker and Julien Duvivier, as well as Marcel Carne, Henri Verneuil and Henri-Georges Clouzot. This year, Henri Decoin is in the spotlight, with a retrospective of his films, featuring prints restored especially for the festival. Two distinguished guests will accompany him: Françoise Arnoul, who will introduce The Face of the Cat/The Cat (La Chatte) and Didier Decoin, the exceptional writer and son of the filmmaker.

Françoise Arnoul and Henri Decoin on the set of
The Face of the Cat/ The Cat (La Chatte)

A Frenchman who becomes a swimming champion before fighting on the front, Henri Decoin discovers a talent for writing, turning his efforts to sports journalism at the end of WWI. Quinze Rounds (Fifteen Rounds) wins the Grand Prize for Sports Literature and encourages him to write, initially for the theater. In 1929, he turns toward the cinema as an assistant director before penning his own screenplays. In his first feature film, Toboggan, released in 1933, Henri Decoin chooses to focus on boxing, a subject he knows well. For the title role, he manages to hire world champion Georges Carpentier and the movie becomes a veritable popular success.

Decoin marries Danielle Darrieux, whom he directs in several of his projects, including notable films The Truth of Our Marriage (La Vérité sur Bébé Donge) and Beating Heart (Battement de coeur). The couple leaves for Hollywood then returns to France. The filmmaker passes from one genre to the next, all the while maintaining his writing and directing finesse.

As the saying goes, the rest is (French cinema) history. Judge for yourself: Strangers in the House (Les Inconnus dans la maison, 1942), Les Amants du Pont Saint Jean (1947), Not Guilty, (Non Coupable, 1947), Monelle (Les Amoureux sont seuls au monde, 1948), Au grand balcon (1949), Razzia sur la Chnouf (1955) and other works will be screened during the Decoin revival.

The retrospective will be held in the company of the director’s son, author Didier Decoin, whose book Henri ou Henry, le roman de mon père (Stock) will be reissued for the festival, and Françoise Arnoul, the heroine of The Face of the Cat/The Cat (La Chatte).

Henri Decoin and Danielle Darrieux, who was his spouse

The films of Henri Decoin at the Lumière festival!

The classics :
Beating Heart (Battement de coeur) by Henri Decoin (1940, 1h37), screened in restored print
Strangers in the House (Les Inconnus dans la maison) by Henri Decoin (1942, 1h35), restored exclusively for the Lumière festival by Gaumont
Not Guilty (Non coupable) by Henri Decoin (1947, 1h35) restored exclusively for the Lumière festival by TF1 and distributed by Les Acacias
Au grand balcon de Henri Decoin (1949, 2h03) restored exclusively for the Lumière festival by Pathé
Monelle (Les Amoureux sont seuls au monde) by Henri Decoin (1948, 1h40), screened in restored print
The Truth of Our Marriage (La Vérité sur Bébé Donge) by Henri Decoin (1952, 1h50), screened in restored print
Razzia sur la Chnouf by Henri Decoin (1955, 1h45), screened in restored print
The Case of Poisons (L'Affaire des poisons) by Henri Decoin (1955, 1h43), screened in restored print
The Face of the Cat/The Cat (La Chatte) by Henri Decoin (1958, 1h48), screenings introduced by Françoise Arnoul.

The unknown masterpiece:
Les Amants du Pont Saint-Jean by Henri Decoin (1947, 1h32)

Rarities:
A bas les hommes by Henri Decoin (1931, 19min)
Toboggan by Henri Decoin (1934)
Between Eleven and Midnight (Entre onze heures et minuit) by Henri Decoin (1949, 1h32)
The Scheming Women/The Plotters (Les Intrigantes) by Henri Decoin (1954, 1h36), restored exclusively for the Lumière festival by Les Films du Jeudi
Un soir au music-hall by Henri Decoin (1956, 1h42) restored exclusively for the Lumière festival by Productions Jacques Roitfled

In collaboration with:

Our thanks to the French Film Archives of the CNC and the Cinémathèque française



With the support of: