Jacques Feyder
Encyclopedia
Jacques Feyder was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was a leading director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he became associated with the style of poetic realism
in French cinema
. He adopted French nationality in 1928.
where he pursued an interest in acting, first on stage and then in film, adopting the name Jacques Feyder. He joined the Gaumont Film Company
and in 1914 he became an assistant director with Gaston Ravel. He started directing films for Gaumont in 1916, but his career was interrupted by service with the Belgian army during 1917-1919.
After the end of the war, he returned to filmmaking and quickly built a reputation as one of the most innovative directors in French cinema. L'Atlantide
(1921) (based on the novel by Pierre Benoit
), and Crainquebille
(1922) (from the novel by Anatole France
) were his first major films to achieve public and critical attention. He followed these with Visages d'enfants
(filmed in 1923 but not released until 1925) which proved to be one of his most personal and durable films. Shortly after this, Feyder was offered a post as artistic director of a new film company, Vita Films, in Vienna, along with a contract to make three films. He made L'Image (Das Bildnis) (1923), but the company failed and he returned to Paris. He re-established himself with Gribiche (1926) and the literary adaptations of Carmen (1926) and Thérèse Raquin
(1928). He also contributed screenplays of films for other directors, notably Poil de carotte (1925) for Julien Duvivier
, and Gardiens de phare (1929) for Jean Grémillon
. His last silent film in France was Les Nouveaux Messieurs, a topical political satire which provoked calls for it to be banned in France for "insulting the dignity of parliament and its ministers".
By this time Feyder had accepted an offer from MGM
to work in Hollywood, where in 1929 his first project was directing Greta Garbo
in The Kiss
, her last silent film. It was in Hollywood that he made the transition to sound films; even before he had worked with sound films, Feyder declared himself to be a firm believer in their future, in contrast with some of his French contemporaries. In 1930, he directed Jetta Goudal
in her only French language film made in Hollywood, Le Spectre vert. His subsequent work in the USA consisted mainly of directing foreign-language versions of American films, including a German version of Anna Christie
, again with Garbo.
Disillusioned with the Hollywood system, Feyder returned to France in 1933. During the next three years he made three of his most successful films, all of them in collaboration with screenwriter Charles Spaak
and featuring Françoise Rosay
in a leading role. Le Grand Jeu
(1934) and Pension Mimosas
(1935) were both significant creations in the style of poetic realism
; La Kermesse héroïque
(1935) (also known as Carnival in Flanders) was a meticulously staged period film with contemporary political resonances, which earned Feyder several international awards.
Feyder went on to direct films in England and Germany prior to the outbreak of World War II, but with diminishing success. Following the Nazi occupation in 1940, which led to the banning of La Kermesse héroïque, he left France for the safety of Switzerland, and directed a last film there, Une femme disparaît (1942).
In 1917, Feyder had married Parisian-born actress Françoise Rosay
(1891–1974) with whom he had three sons; she acted in many of his films and collaborated with him as writer and assistant director on Visages d'enfants. Jacques Feyder died in 1948 at Prangins
, Switzerland, and he was buried in the Cimetière de Sorel Moussel, Eure et Loir, France. A school (lycée) in Épinay-sur-Seine
in the north of Paris was named in his honour in 1977; Épinay was the location of the Tobis film studios where Feyder made Le Grand Jeu and Pension Mimosas.
His style was characterised by a classical balance and moderation, composition of images that was beautiful without becoming gratuitous, and a sympathetic rapport with actors. Above all his films achieved an atmosphere of realism, whether through the accumulation of judiciously chosen detail, the use of location shooting, or the use of elaborately designed sets; (he worked closely with Lazare Meerson
on several of his films). In this respect, his adherence to a realistic tradition in French cinema was contrasted with the 'impressionist' style of some contemporaries in the 1920s such as Abel Gance
, Marcel L'Herbier
, and Jean Epstein
, and it pointed the way to the vogue for poetic realism
which found its fullest expression in the films of Marcel Carné
: Carné worked as assistant director to Feyder in the mid-1930s.
Feyder's relatively early death meant that his career did not resume after World War II, and this may have contributed to a fading of interest in his films, reinforced by the hostility of some influential critics associated with Cahiers du cinéma in the 1950s. His younger contemporary René Clair
judged in 1970, "Jacques Feyder does not occupy today the place his work and his example should have earned him". Any subsequent reassessment has tended to be hampered by the limited availability of his films in English-speaking countries, with the exception of La Kermesse héroïque which some reckon to have aged less well than other examples of his work. These factors have contributed to a sometimes ambivalent attitude to his work as a whole.
Poetic realism
Poetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
in French cinema
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
. He adopted French nationality in 1928.
Career
Born Jacques Frédérix in Ixelles, Belgium, he was educated at the École régimentaire in Nivelles, and was destined for a military career. At age twenty-five however he moved to ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he pursued an interest in acting, first on stage and then in film, adopting the name Jacques Feyder. He joined the Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
and in 1914 he became an assistant director with Gaston Ravel. He started directing films for Gaumont in 1916, but his career was interrupted by service with the Belgian army during 1917-1919.
After the end of the war, he returned to filmmaking and quickly built a reputation as one of the most innovative directors in French cinema. L'Atlantide
L'Atlantide (1921 film)
L'Atlantide is a 1921 French-Belgian silent film directed by Jacques Feyder, and the first of several adaptations of the best-selling novel L'Atlantide by Pierre Benoit.-Plot:...
(1921) (based on the novel by Pierre Benoit
Pierre Benoit
Pierre Benoit may refer to:*Pierre Benoit , novelist and member of the Académie française*Pierre Basile Benoit , former member of the Canadian House of Commons...
), and Crainquebille
Crainquebille
Crainquebille is a 1922 French silent drama film directed by Jacques Feyder. The film is known for its realism.-Plot:Jérôme Crainquebille , is an ageing modest vegetable seller who has sold groceries from his cart in Halles market in Paris for over 40 years. One day, whilst waiting for a customer...
(1922) (from the novel by Anatole France
Anatole France
Anatole France , born François-Anatole Thibault, , was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. He was born in Paris, and died in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire. He was a successful novelist, with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters...
) were his first major films to achieve public and critical attention. He followed these with Visages d'enfants
Faces of Children
Faces of Children is a 1925 French-Swiss silent film directed by Jacques Feyder. It was a notable example of film realism in the silent era, and its psychological drama was integrated with the natural landscapes of Switzerland where much of the film was made on location.-Plot:After the death of...
(filmed in 1923 but not released until 1925) which proved to be one of his most personal and durable films. Shortly after this, Feyder was offered a post as artistic director of a new film company, Vita Films, in Vienna, along with a contract to make three films. He made L'Image (Das Bildnis) (1923), but the company failed and he returned to Paris. He re-established himself with Gribiche (1926) and the literary adaptations of Carmen (1926) and Thérèse Raquin
Thérèse Raquin (1928 film)
Thérèse Raquin is a 1928 drama film directed by Jacques Feyder. It is the third silent film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Émile Zola. The film stars Gina Manès as Thérèse Raquin, Wolfgang Zilzer as Monsieur Raquin, and Jeanne Marie Laurent as Madame Raquin. The décors of the Paris...
(1928). He also contributed screenplays of films for other directors, notably Poil de carotte (1925) for Julien Duvivier
Julien Duvivier
Julien Duvivier was a French film director. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930-1960...
, and Gardiens de phare (1929) for Jean Grémillon
Jean Grémillon
Jean Grémillon was a French film director. After directing a number of documentaries during the 1920s, many now lost, he had his first substantial success with the dramatic feature Maldone in 1928...
. His last silent film in France was Les Nouveaux Messieurs, a topical political satire which provoked calls for it to be banned in France for "insulting the dignity of parliament and its ministers".
By this time Feyder had accepted an offer from MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
to work in Hollywood, where in 1929 his first project was directing Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
in The Kiss
The Kiss (1929 film)
The Kiss is a 1929 American drama film directed by Jacques Feyder and starring Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel and Lew Ayres in his first feature film. The film is known for being both MGM's and Greta Garbo's last silent film.-Plot:...
, her last silent film. It was in Hollywood that he made the transition to sound films; even before he had worked with sound films, Feyder declared himself to be a firm believer in their future, in contrast with some of his French contemporaries. In 1930, he directed Jetta Goudal
Jetta Goudal
Jetta Goudal was a Dutch-born American actress, successful in Hollywood films of the silent film era.-Early life:Goudal was born as Juliette Henriette Goudeket in 1891, daughter of Mozes Goudeket , a wealthy, Orthodox Jewish diamond cutter in Amsterdam, and Geertruida Warradijn...
in her only French language film made in Hollywood, Le Spectre vert. His subsequent work in the USA consisted mainly of directing foreign-language versions of American films, including a German version of Anna Christie
Anna Christie (1931 film)
Anna Christie is a 1930 German-language film adapted from the Eugene O'Neill play of the same title and filmed following the release of the English version released earlier the same year. Both versions feature leading actress Greta Garbo....
, again with Garbo.
Disillusioned with the Hollywood system, Feyder returned to France in 1933. During the next three years he made three of his most successful films, all of them in collaboration with screenwriter Charles Spaak
Charles Spaak
Charles Spaak was a Belgian screenwriter who was noted particularly for his work in the French cinema during the 1930s...
and featuring Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema...
in a leading role. Le Grand Jeu
Le Grand Jeu (1934 film)
Le Grand Jeu is a 1934 French film directed by Jacques Feyder. It is a romantic drama set against the background of the French Foreign Legion, and the film was an example of poetic realism in the French cinema. The title Le Grand Jeu refers to the practice of reading the cards. Blanche asks whether...
(1934) and Pension Mimosas
Pension Mimosas
Pension Mimosas is a 1935 French film directed by Jacques Feyder. Based on an original scenario by Feyder and Charles Spaak, it is a psychological drama set largely in a small hotel on the Côte d'Azur, and it provided Françoise Rosay with one of the most substantial acting roles of her...
(1935) were both significant creations in the style of poetic realism
Poetic realism
Poetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
; La Kermesse héroïque
Carnival in Flanders (film)
Carnival in Flanders is a 1935 French historical romantic comedy film directed by Jacques Feyder. Its original French title is La Kermesse héroïque and it is widely known under that name...
(1935) (also known as Carnival in Flanders) was a meticulously staged period film with contemporary political resonances, which earned Feyder several international awards.
Feyder went on to direct films in England and Germany prior to the outbreak of World War II, but with diminishing success. Following the Nazi occupation in 1940, which led to the banning of La Kermesse héroïque, he left France for the safety of Switzerland, and directed a last film there, Une femme disparaît (1942).
In 1917, Feyder had married Parisian-born actress Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema...
(1891–1974) with whom he had three sons; she acted in many of his films and collaborated with him as writer and assistant director on Visages d'enfants. Jacques Feyder died in 1948 at Prangins
Prangins
Prangins is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located on Lake Geneva.-Geography:Prangins has an area, , of . Of this area, or 54.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 13.1% is forested...
, Switzerland, and he was buried in the Cimetière de Sorel Moussel, Eure et Loir, France. A school (lycée) in Épinay-sur-Seine
Épinay-sur-Seine
-Transport:Épinay-sur-Seine is served by Épinay-sur-Seine station on Paris RER line C.It is also served by Épinay – Villetaneuse station on the Transilien Paris – Nord suburban rail line....
in the north of Paris was named in his honour in 1977; Épinay was the location of the Tobis film studios where Feyder made Le Grand Jeu and Pension Mimosas.
Reputation
In 1944 Feyder and Françoise Rosay published Le Cinéma, notre métier, an autobiographical memoir of their work together in the cinema, in which Feyder stated that he regarded himself as an artisan, a craftsman of filmmaking. Some critics have been content to take him at his word and to look no further for any underlying vision of the world. He was however insistent upon his creative independence, demonstrated by his willingness to make his films in so many different countries if the conditions of production appeared favourable. Recurrent themes in his work include the reckless love of a mysterious or unknown woman (L'Atlantide, L'Image, Carmen, Le Grand Jeu), the gap between reality and the vision that someone has of it (Crainquebille, Gribiche, Les Nouveaux Messieurs, La Kermesse héroïque), and maternal love (Gribiche, Visages d'enfants, Pension Mimosas).His style was characterised by a classical balance and moderation, composition of images that was beautiful without becoming gratuitous, and a sympathetic rapport with actors. Above all his films achieved an atmosphere of realism, whether through the accumulation of judiciously chosen detail, the use of location shooting, or the use of elaborately designed sets; (he worked closely with Lazare Meerson
Lazare Meerson
Lazare Meerson was a Russian-born French and English film art director.-Filmography:* L'Argent * Sous les Toits de Paris * Quatorze Juillet * Le Grand Jeu* Pension Mimosas...
on several of his films). In this respect, his adherence to a realistic tradition in French cinema was contrasted with the 'impressionist' style of some contemporaries in the 1920s such as Abel Gance
Abel Gance
Abel Gance was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. He is best known for three major silent films: J'accuse , La Roue , and the monumental Napoléon .-Early life:...
, Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...
, and Jean Epstein
Jean Epstein
Jean Epstein was a French filmmaker, film theorist, literary critic, and novelist. Although he is remembered today primarily for his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, Epstein directed three dozen films and was an influential critic of literature and film from the...
, and it pointed the way to the vogue for poetic realism
Poetic realism
Poetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
which found its fullest expression in the films of Marcel Carné
Marcel Carné
-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
: Carné worked as assistant director to Feyder in the mid-1930s.
Feyder's relatively early death meant that his career did not resume after World War II, and this may have contributed to a fading of interest in his films, reinforced by the hostility of some influential critics associated with Cahiers du cinéma in the 1950s. His younger contemporary René Clair
René Clair
René Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
judged in 1970, "Jacques Feyder does not occupy today the place his work and his example should have earned him". Any subsequent reassessment has tended to be hampered by the limited availability of his films in English-speaking countries, with the exception of La Kermesse héroïque which some reckon to have aged less well than other examples of his work. These factors have contributed to a sometimes ambivalent attitude to his work as a whole.
Filmography
- 19151915 in filmThe year 1915 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 8 : D.W Griffith's The Birth of a Nation premieres at Clune's Auditorium Los Angeles and breaks box office and film length records, running at a total length of 3 hrs 10 minutes.* June 18 : The Motion Picture Directors...
: Des pieds et des mains (assistant director) - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Monsieur Pinson policier - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Le Bluff - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Le Pied qui étreint - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Biscot se trompe d'étage - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Têtes de femmes, femmes de tête - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Un conseil d'ami - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: L'Homme de compagnie - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Tiens, vous êtes à Poitiers? - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: Le Frère de lait - 19161916 in filmThe year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
: La Pièce de dix sous - 19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
: L'Instinct est maître - 19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
: Le Billard cassé - 19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
: Le Pardessus de demi-saison - 19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
: Abrégeons les formalités - 19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
: La Trouvaille de Buchu - 19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
: Les Vieilles Femmes de l'hospice - 19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
: Le Ravin sans fond (co-director) - 19191919 in filmThe year 1919 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 5 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists...
: La Faute d'orthographe - 19211921 in film-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway...
: L'AtlantideL'Atlantide (1921 film)L'Atlantide is a 1921 French-Belgian silent film directed by Jacques Feyder, and the first of several adaptations of the best-selling novel L'Atlantide by Pierre Benoit.-Plot:... - 19221922 in film-Events:* June 11 - United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film....
: CrainquebilleCrainquebilleCrainquebille is a 1922 French silent drama film directed by Jacques Feyder. The film is known for its realism.-Plot:Jérôme Crainquebille , is an ageing modest vegetable seller who has sold groceries from his cart in Halles market in Paris for over 40 years. One day, whilst waiting for a customer... - 19251925 in film-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
: Visages d'enfantsFaces of ChildrenFaces of Children is a 1925 French-Swiss silent film directed by Jacques Feyder. It was a notable example of film realism in the silent era, and its psychological drama was integrated with the natural landscapes of Switzerland where much of the film was made on location.-Plot:After the death of... - 19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
: L'Image (Das Bildnis)
- 19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
: Gribiche - 19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
: Carmen - 19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
: Au pays du roi lépreux (uncompleted) - 19281928 in film-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
: Thérèse RaquinThérèse Raquin (1928 film)Thérèse Raquin is a 1928 drama film directed by Jacques Feyder. It is the third silent film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Émile Zola. The film stars Gina Manès as Thérèse Raquin, Wolfgang Zilzer as Monsieur Raquin, and Jeanne Marie Laurent as Madame Raquin. The décors of the Paris... - 19291929 in film-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
: Les Nouveaux Messieurs - 19291929 in film-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
: The KissThe Kiss (1929 film)The Kiss is a 1929 American drama film directed by Jacques Feyder and starring Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel and Lew Ayres in his first feature film. The film is known for being both MGM's and Greta Garbo's last silent film.-Plot:... - 19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
: Le Spectre vert - 19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
: Si l'empereur savait ça - 19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
: Olympia (German version of Si l'empereur savait ça) - 19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
: Anna ChristieAnna Christie (1931 film)Anna Christie is a 1930 German-language film adapted from the Eugene O'Neill play of the same title and filmed following the release of the English version released earlier the same year. Both versions feature leading actress Greta Garbo....
(German version) - 19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
: Daybreak - 19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
: Son of India - 19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
: Le Grand JeuLe Grand Jeu (1934 film)Le Grand Jeu is a 1934 French film directed by Jacques Feyder. It is a romantic drama set against the background of the French Foreign Legion, and the film was an example of poetic realism in the French cinema. The title Le Grand Jeu refers to the practice of reading the cards. Blanche asks whether... - 19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
: Pension MimosasPension MimosasPension Mimosas is a 1935 French film directed by Jacques Feyder. Based on an original scenario by Feyder and Charles Spaak, it is a psychological drama set largely in a small hotel on the Côte d'Azur, and it provided Françoise Rosay with one of the most substantial acting roles of her... - 19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
: La Kermesse héroïqueCarnival in Flanders (film)Carnival in Flanders is a 1935 French historical romantic comedy film directed by Jacques Feyder. Its original French title is La Kermesse héroïque and it is widely known under that name... - 19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
: Die Klugen Frauen (German version of La Kermesse héroïque) - 19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
: Knight Without ArmourKnight Without ArmourKnight Without Armour is a 1937 British historical drama film made by London Films and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Jacques Feyder and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Lajos Biró adapted by Frances Marion from the novel by James Hilton. The music score was by... - 19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
: Les Gens du voyageLes Gens du voyageLes Gens du voyage is a 1938 French-German film directed by Jacques Feyder.- Plot :Due to an accident at the Barlay Circus, animal trainer Flora finds Fernand, a former prison escapee, and refers him to manager, Edouard Barlay. The son of Flora , Marcel, does the acrobatics with the manager's... - 19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
: Fahrendes Volk (German version of Les Gens du voyage) - 19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
: La Loi du nordLa Loi du nordLa Loi du nord is a 1939 French adventure drama film directed by Jacques Feyder who co-wrote screenplay with Alexandre Arnoux and Charles Spaak, based on novel "Telle qu'elle était de son vivant" by Maurice Constantin-Weyer. The films stars Michèle Morgan, Pierre Richard-Willm and Charles Vanel... - 19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
: Une femme disparaît - 19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
: Macadam (supervision only)
Further reading
- Bachy, Victor, Jacques Feyder: artisan du cinéma, 1885-1948, (Louvain: Librairie universitaire, 1968). [In French]
- Feyder, Jacques and Rosay, Françoise, Le cinéma, notre métier, (Genève: A. Skira, 1944). [In French]
- Ford, Charles, Jacques Feyder, (Paris: Seghers, 1973). [In French]
External links
- "Jacques Feyder", in 1895, n°33, "Dictionnaire du cinéma français des années vingt", 2001, [online; retrieved on 12 May 2009]. [In French]
- Jacques Feyder at Allocine [In French]