Henri Decoin

Henri Decoin 18 March 1890 4 July 1969 was a French film director and screenwriter who directed more than 50 films between 1933 and 1964 He was also a swimmer who won the national title in 1911 and held the national record in the 500 m freestyle He competed in the 400 m freestyle at the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the water polo tournament at the 1912 Summer Olympics During World War I Decoin served as a pilot After that he worked as a sports journalist for LAuto LIntransigeant and ParisSoir In 1926 he published his first book influenced by Dadaism the experimental and prizewinning Quinze Combats Fifteen Rounds in which a boxing match is seen subjectively by a boxer and in 1933 directed his first film Les requins du pétrole The Oil Sharks He was known for tackling many genres with adaptations of Georges Simenon as The Strangers in the House 1942 featuring Raimu in one of his famous roles and The Truth Of Our Marriage 1952 historical films like The Case Of Poisons 1955 and The Iron Mask 1962 espionage flicks like The Cat 1958 police procedurals with Raid on the Drug Ring 1955 and Fire To The Powder 1957 psychological dramas in Green Domino 1935 where he first met his second wife Danielle Darrieux and The Lovers Are Alone In The World 1948 and even an odd film noir like Between Eleven And Midnight 1949 He worked with such stars of French cinema as Jean Marais Louis Jouvet Juliette Gréco Lino Ventura Corinne Calvet Anouk Aimée and Jean Gabin to name a few He directed Darrieux in several films and accompanied her to Hollywood in 1938 while she signed a Universal Pictures contract He took the opportunity to observe how Hollywood made films and returned to France with these techniques in hand Decoin was one of the more prolific directors of his time Decoin was married four times His second marriage was to actress and singer Danielle Darrieux He had two sons Jacques Decoin 19281998 and Didier Decoin who was also a prominent screenwriter From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia