French filmmaker born in Paris, whose cinematographic work was marked by the constant combination of popular anecdote with intellectual irony. In his first film, Paris qui dort (1923), he revealed a taste for the fantastic and for comedy, but in the second, he took to the avant-garde with Entr'acte (1924), a medium-length classic. Still in the silent phase, he made a documentary and five feature-length comedies, highlighting Un Chapeau de paille d'Italie (1927).
He was one of the first to employ sound in an expressive way in Sous les toits de Paris (1930) and achieved consecration with Le Million (1930). Before World War II he still filmed À nous la liberté! (1931), Fourteen juillet (1932), Le Dernier Milliardaire (1934) and The Ghost Goes West (1936), already made in England.
With the war he moved to Hollywood, where he directed five films, the most famous being It Happened Tomorrow (1943). He then returned to France where he directed eight French films (1947-1965), with critical acclaim for Le Silence est d'or (1947), Les Belles de nuit (1952) and Les Grandes Manoeuvres (1955). Retired from the cameras he died in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Source: http://www.dec.ufcg.edu.br/biografias/
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