Robert Vernay

Robert Vernay 1972

Robert Vernay , real name: Robert Georges Viandon , (born May 30, 1907 in Paris , † October 17, 1979 ibid) was a French film director , screenwriter , assistant director and production manager.

Live and act

Robert Vernay began his professional career as a film journalist with the publication Cinémagazine (1927–1928) and then worked as an assistant for several directors until he met Julien Duvivier , who later became famous in 1929 , who gave him the opportunity to thoroughly learn his craft. Among other things, he was an assistant in the films Company of the Lost (La Bandéra) 1935, The Cross of Golgotha 1935, The Man of the Day (L'Homme du Jour) 1936 and Pépé le Moko 1937. In between he worked occasionally with other directors, also as a co-director, but Duvivier remained his mentor until the beginning of World War II. Robert Viandon began his service in the army, was captured, but soon escaped from the German camp. Under his pseudonym Vernay, he initially worked as a production manager for the Régina Films company in Paris and joined the Resistance (FFI).

As a director and screenwriter, Robert Vernay has never settled on a particular genre. His first great successes include two works of world literature: The Count of Monte Christo (1943) by Alexandre Dumas the Elder and Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac (1944), an elegant comedy My greatest love ( La Femme que j'ai le plus aimée ) (1942) and a historical two-part adventure film Le Capitan ( Adventure at the Royal Court ) (1945). In the same year, Robert Vernay went to Morocco for a long time , where he made a number of documentaries for the residence, including Aux Portes du Monde Saharan . The feature film Ras el Gua, Le Fort de la Solitude (1947) was also made there. In 1948 Vernay shot the crime thriller Fantômas contre Fantômas , the comedy Emile l'Africain (with Fernandel ) and in 1949 the much-acclaimed film about children in Montmartre (called “Poulbots”) No Holidays for God ( Plus de vacances pour le Bon Dieu ). From the press reports at the time, it can be seen that all of these films were great audiences.

Robert Vernay's repertoire was also very varied in the 1950s. In addition to some music and less demanding crime and espionage films, he shot a remake in color of his film The Count of Monte Christo with Jean Marais in the title role. Even if this film allegedly, according to some critics, does not come close to the black and white version of 1943, it was a great international success and is a "long-running hit" on television to this day.

In addition, in the fifties Robert Vernay mainly shot cheerful and thoughtful comedies, notable not only for their subtle wit, but also for the ironic but never malicious portrayal of human weaknesses. So z. B. Ils sont dans les Vignes 1951, Sur le blanc 1954, Ces sacrées vacances 1955, Les carottes sont cuites 1956, Drôles de phénomènes 1958 and Madame and her car ( Madame et son car ) 1958. This list is not exhaustive. Robert Vernay was awarded the Prix ​​de l'Humor Cinématographique twice for his comedy films .

In 1961 he directed the shooting of the panoramic film L'URSS à cœur ouvert in the Soviet Union . In the sixties, Robert Vernay mainly worked for television. While working on some series, such as B. L'Inspecteur Leclerc and Die Journalistin ( Valérie et L'Aventure ) contributed only a few films, he filmed the vast majority of the series The Adventures of Bob Moran ( Les Aventures de Bob Morane ), which is based on the Belgian author's children's books of the same name Henri Vernes is based. From 1968 to 1973 he worked for ORTF .

Robert Vernay died after a long and serious illness on October 17, 1979 in his Paris domicile.

family

Robert Vernay was married to the actress France Asselin († November 16, 1960 in Paris) since 1948. In his second marriage, he married Elke Seel-Viandon (pseudonym: Claire Vernay ) in 1964 , who is also his estate administrator.

Filmography

As a director, unless otherwise stated

• 1932: L'Éternelle Chanson
• 1932: Le Béguin de la garnison
• 1934: Le prince de six jours
• 1939: Retirement ( La fin du jour ) (only production management)
• 1939: Himmelsmusikanten ( Les musiciens du ciel ) (only production management)
• 1940: Paris-New York (only production management)
• 1941: My greatest love ( La femme qui j'ai plus aimée )
• 1943: The Count of Monte Christo ( Le comte de Monte-Cristo )
• 1943: Arlette et l'amour
• 1944: Le père Goriot
• 1945: Adventure at the Königshof ( Le capitan ) (also co-script)
• 1947: Le fort de la solitude
• 1947: Aux portes du monde saharians (short documentary)
• 1947: Émile l'Africain
• 1948: Fantômas contre Fantômas (also co-script)
• 1949: No Holidays for God ( Plus de vacances pour le bon dieu ) (also co-script)
• 1949: Véronique
• 1950: Longing for Andalusia ( Andalousie ) (also co-script)
• 1951: Sous la Croix d'Agadés
• 1951: Ils sont dans les vignes
• 1952: Quince ou double
• 1954: The Count of Monte Christo ( Le comte de Monte-Cristo ) (also co-script)
• 1954: Sur le banc
• 1955: The street of the made up lips ( La rue des bouches peintes ) (also co-script)
• 1955: Ces sacrées vacances (also co-script)
• 1956: Les carottes sont cuites (also co-script)
• 1956: Les lumières du soir (also co-script)
• 1957: Le coin tranquille (also co-script)
• 1957: Fumée blonde (also co-script)
• 1958: Drôles de phénomènes (also co-script)
• 1958: Madame and her car (Madame et son auto)
• 1959: Secret agent Suzuki ( Monsieur Suzuki ) (also co-script)
• 1959: Tête folle
• 1960: Escape from the scaffold ( Le bourreau attendra ) (also an idea)
• 1961: L'URSS à cœur ouvert.
• 1961: L'inspecteur Leclerc enquête (TV series, one episode)
• 1964: The Blue Room (DEFA-Stacheltier-Kurzfilm) (also screenplay)
• 1964: Secret passport - Agent K 8 ( Passeport diplomatique agent K 8 )
• 1962–1965: The Adventures of Bob Moran ( Les aventures de Bob Morane ) (TV series, 26 episodes)

Web links

• Robert Vernay in the Internet Movie Database (English)