Robert Lachenay
Encyclopedia
Robert Lachenay was a French film critic and film crew member. He was François Truffaut
's childhood friend and the inspiration for the character René Bigey in the first two films of the Antoine Doinel
film series.
Lachenay attended the same schools as Truffaut, and often let Truffaut stay at his family's home. When interviewed in the documentary François Truffaut: Portraits volés, Lachenay claimed that, unlike the film The 400 Blows
, he was more often the leader and troublemaker, with Truffaut as his sidekick.
Lachenay was credited as a film critic who wrote articles for Cahiers du cinéma
. However, it is known that Truffaut occasionally published under the alias "Robert Lachenay".
Lachenay later worked as a crew member on the early films of Truffaut and Jacques Rivette
. He wrote and directed one short film, Le scarabée d'or in 1961, based on an Edgar Allan Poe
story.
He died of a heart attack at the age of 75.
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
's childhood friend and the inspiration for the character René Bigey in the first two films of the Antoine Doinel
Antoine Doinel
Antoine Doinel is a fictional character created by French film director François Truffaut. Doinel is to a great extent an alter ego for Truffaut, sharing many of the same childhood experiences, looking somewhat alike and even being mistaken for one another on the street.Although Truffaut did not...
film series.
Lachenay attended the same schools as Truffaut, and often let Truffaut stay at his family's home. When interviewed in the documentary François Truffaut: Portraits volés, Lachenay claimed that, unlike the film The 400 Blows
The 400 Blows
The 400 Blows is a 1959 French film directed by François Truffaut. One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it displays many of the characteristic traits of the movement. The story revolves around Antoine Doinel, an ordinary adolescent in Paris, who is thought by his parents and teachers...
, he was more often the leader and troublemaker, with Truffaut as his sidekick.
Lachenay was credited as a film critic who wrote articles for Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
. However, it is known that Truffaut occasionally published under the alias "Robert Lachenay".
Lachenay later worked as a crew member on the early films of Truffaut and Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....
. He wrote and directed one short film, Le scarabée d'or in 1961, based on an Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
story.
He died of a heart attack at the age of 75.
Filmography
- Une Visite Une VisiteUne Visite was the first short film made by 23-year-old François Truffaut. It was filmed in Jacques Doniol-Valcroze’s apartment and its crew included Jacques Rivette, Alain Resnais and Truffaut's boyhood friend Robert Lachenay...
(1955)- Production Assistant - Le coup du bergerLe Coup du bergerFool's Mate is a twenty-eight minute short film directed by Jacques Rivette. It stars Virginie Vitry as a wife cheating on her husband...
(1956)- Camera Assistant - Les mistonsLes mistonsLes Mistons is a short film directed by François Truffaut in 1957.The story takes place in provincial France, where a group of young boys are infatuated with a beautiful young woman...
(1957)- Production Manager - The 400 BlowsThe 400 BlowsThe 400 Blows is a 1959 French film directed by François Truffaut. One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it displays many of the characteristic traits of the movement. The story revolves around Antoine Doinel, an ordinary adolescent in Paris, who is thought by his parents and teachers...
(1959)- Assistant Unit Manager - Paris nous appartient (1960)- Unit Manager
- Tire-au-flanc 62 (1960)- Actor
- Le scarabée d'or (1961)- Writer, Director
- François Truffaut: Correspondance à une voix (1988)- Documentary
- François Truffaut: Portraits volés (1993)- Documentary
- François Truffaut, une autobiographie (2004)- Documentary