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Pierre Chenal

Pierre Chenal

Director, Writer, Editor

Born December 5, 1904 in Bruxelles, Belgique

Died December 23, 1990

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Biography

Philippe Cohen, known as Pierre Chenal, is a French director, born December 5, 1904 in Brussels and died December 23, 1990 in La Garenne-Colombes.

Chenal occupies an uncomfortable place in the history of French cinema: relatively unknown, he is cataloged as a filmmaker who left only a light body of work. His detailed filmography, however, tends to show the opposite. Made in the 1930s, his first short films were documentaries where the filmmaker used social realism. The Little Trades of Paris (1932) or A French City of Cinema had a didactic ambition which ranked him among the innovators at the time.

Throughout his work, Pierre Chenal will maintain this taste for atmospheres tinged with truth where the social is shown. Hence his very marked penchant for adaptations of literary works by his contemporaries: he borrowed from Marcel Aymé the title of one of his first feature films, La rue sans nom (1933); summons Pirandello and The Man from Nowhere (1937); depicts The Mutineers of Elsinore by Jack London; and transforms James Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice to give The Last Turn.

Pierre Chenal loves actors and casts the biggest ones. Louis Jouvet, Robert Le Vigan, Michel Simon, Pierre Blanchar, Viviane Romance and Albert Préjean praise his talent. In 1940, the filmmaker's career took a new turn when he retreated, during the war, to Argentina and Chile. He made a few minor films there, then returned to France with comic intentions expressed in Clochemerle (1947). In 1948, Chenal returned to Argentina and adapted Sangre Negra by the American noir novelist Richard Wright. Then, he developed a passion for thrillers and experimented with the genre on several occasions. But Raid on the City (1958), The Beast on the Prowl (1959) and The Assassin Knows the Music (1963) are not considered to be his best films.

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1 wins and 2 nominations

Pierre Chenal Photos

Filmography

Actor

3

Type

Year

The Story of French Cinema by Those Who Made It TV Series1974Self

Au cinéma ce soir TV Series1969Self

Paris-Cinéma Poster

Paris-Cinéma Documentary1929

Director

31

Type

Year

Le hasard mène le jeu Poster

Le hasard mène le jeu Short Film1985

Les belles au bois dormantes Poster

Les belles au bois dormantes Feature Film1970

The Murderer Knows the Score Poster

The Murderer Knows the Score Feature Film1963

The Night They Killed Rasputin Poster

The Night They Killed Rasputin Feature Film1960

Beast at Bay Poster

Beast at Bay Feature Film1959

Dangerous Games Poster

Dangerous Games Feature Film1958

Sinners of Paris Poster

Sinners of Paris Feature Film1958

Section des disparus Poster

Section des disparus Feature Film1956

Confession at Dawn Feature Film1954

El ídolo Poster

El ídolo Feature Film1952

Native Son Poster

Native Son Feature Film1951

Scandals of Clochemerle Poster

Scandals of Clochemerle Feature Film1948

Devil and the Angel Poster

Devil and the Angel Feature Film1946

Viaje sin regreso Feature Film1946

Se abre el abismo Poster

Se abre el abismo Feature Film1945

The Corpse Breaks a Date Poster

The Corpse Breaks a Date Feature Film1944

A Real Man Poster

A Real Man Feature Film1943

Le dernier tournant Poster

Le dernier tournant Feature Film1939

Sirocco Feature Film1938

The Lafarge Case Poster

The Lafarge Case Feature Film1938

Il fu Mattia Pascal Feature Film1937

The Alibi Poster

The Alibi Feature Film1937

The Man from Nowhere Poster

The Man from Nowhere Feature Film1937

Les mutinés de l'Elseneur Poster

Les mutinés de l'Elseneur Feature Film1936

Crime and Punishment Poster

Crime and Punishment Feature Film1935

Les suites d'un premier lit Poster

Les suites d'un premier lit Short Film1935

Street Without a Name Poster

Street Without a Name Feature Film1934

Fat Man's Worries Poster

Fat Man's Worries Feature Film1933

Les petits métiers de Paris Poster

Les petits métiers de Paris Short Film1932

L'architecture d'aujourd'hui Poster

L'architecture d'aujourd'hui Short Film1930

Paris-Cinéma Poster

Paris-Cinéma Documentary1929

Writer

20

Type

Year

Le hasard mène le jeu Poster

Le hasard mène le jeu Short Film1985

Les belles au bois dormantes Poster

Les belles au bois dormantes Feature Film1970

The Murderer Knows the Score Poster

The Murderer Knows the Score Feature Film1963

The Night They Killed Rasputin Poster

The Night They Killed Rasputin Feature Film1960

Beast at Bay Poster

Beast at Bay Feature Film1959

Dangerous Games Poster

Dangerous Games Feature Film1958

Sinners of Paris Poster

Sinners of Paris Feature Film1958

Section des disparus Poster

Section des disparus Feature Film1956

El ídolo Poster

El ídolo Feature Film1952

Native Son Poster

Native Son Feature Film1951

The Corpse Breaks a Date Poster

The Corpse Breaks a Date Feature Film1944

Sirocco Feature Film1938

Il fu Mattia Pascal Feature Film1937

The Alibi Poster

The Alibi Feature Film1937

The Man from Nowhere Poster

The Man from Nowhere Feature Film1937

Les mutinés de l'Elseneur Poster

Les mutinés de l'Elseneur Feature Film1936

Crime and Punishment Poster

Crime and Punishment Feature Film1935

Street Without a Name Poster

Street Without a Name Feature Film1934

Les petits métiers de Paris Poster

Les petits métiers de Paris Short Film1932

L'architecture d'aujourd'hui Poster

L'architecture d'aujourd'hui Short Film1930

Editor

4

Type

Year

Se abre el abismo Poster

Se abre el abismo Feature Film1945

The Man from Nowhere Poster

The Man from Nowhere Feature Film1937

Les petits métiers de Paris Poster

Les petits métiers de Paris Short Film1932

Paris-Cinéma Poster

Paris-Cinéma Documentary1929

Cinematographer

2

Les petits métiers de Paris Poster

Les petits métiers de Paris Short Film1932

L'architecture d'aujourd'hui Poster

L'architecture d'aujourd'hui Short Film1930

Other Crew

1

Le dernier tournant Poster

Le dernier tournant Feature Film1939

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