Serge de Poligny (1903–1983) was a French screenwriter and film director.
Serge de Poligny | |
|---|---|
| Born | René Serge Quirot de Poligny 14 April 1903 Paris, France |
| Died | 23 March 1983 (aged 79) Saint-Cloud, Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1931–1955 |
Career
editSerge de Poligny was born in Paris in 1903. He studied art at the École des Beaux-Arts in the class of the painter Maurice Denis. In 1925 he joined the French subsidiary of the Paramount film company as a set-designer and painter, and soon took on the role of an assistant director. With the arrival of sound films, he took a job with UFA studios in Germany, supervising the French-language versions of films which were made in parallel with their German originals.[1]
Serge de Poligny's first significant film as a director in France was an adaptation of Colette's novel Claudine à l'école in 1937. During the German Occupation in the 1940s, he made two films which have been seen as significant contributions to the genre of fantastique in the cinema. For Le Baron fantôme (1943) he worked with Jean Cocteau on the film's dialogue (Cocteau also acted in the title role), and Christian Dior designed the costumes. De Poligny said that he got the idea for it in an old magic book.[2] His next film, La Fiancée des ténèbres (1945), was based on an old Cathar legend.[3] His film career concluded in the mid-1950s, and he then devoted himself to the production of large-scale live shows, such as the commemorations of the Liberation of Paris (1964 & 1965); the Nuits de l'armée, and horse-riding shows like the Fêtes mondiales du cheval.[1]
Personal life
editIn 1932 de Poligny married Irène Sachse[4] and they were divorced in 1946. In 1949 he married Yolande Mazuc. Serge de Poligny died at Saint-Cloud on 23 March 1983.[5]
Selected filmography
editDirector
| Year | Title | English title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Les As du turf | Aces of the Turf | |
| 1932 | Vous serez ma femme | You Will Be My Wife | French language version of Der Frechdachs, made in Germany. |
| 1932 | Coup de feu à l'aube | French language version of Schuß im Morgengrauen, made in Germany | |
| 1933 | Rivaux de la piste | French language version of Strich durch die Rechnung, made in Germany | |
| 1933 | L'Étoile de Valencia | The Star of Valencia | French language version of Der Stern von Valencia, made in Germany |
| 1934 | L'or | Gold | French language version of Gold, co-directed with Karl Hartl in Germany |
| 1934 | Un de la montagne | French language version of Swiss-German film Die weiße Majestät, filmed in Switzerland | |
| 1935 | Retour au paradis | Return to Paradise | |
| 1935 | Jonny, haute-couture | ||
| 1936 | La Chanson du souvenir | ||
| 1937 | Claudine à l'école | Claudine at School | Adapted from the novel by Colette |
| 1939 | Le Veau gras | The Fatted Calf | |
| 1943 | Le Baron fantôme | The Phantom Baron | Dialogue by Jean Cocteau |
| 1945 | La Fiancée des ténèbres | ||
| 1947 | Torrents | ||
| 1950 | La Soif des hommes | Thirst of Men | |
| 1952 | Alger - Le Cap | Documentary | |
| 1952 | Cent ans de gloire | Short | |
| 1955 | Les Armes de la paix | Documentary short |
References
edit- ^ a b Serge de Poligny at Ciné-Ressources. Retrieved 29 August 2022. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Le Monde, 23 juillet 1989. Un film romantique sous l'Occupation: "à partir d'une histoire trouvée dans un vieux grimoire (une jeune fille, le jour de ses fiançailles, tombe dans une oubliette où elle découvre un trésor)". Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ Serge de Poligny in Encyclopédie Universalis. Retrieved 29 August 2022. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ In a contemporary magazine report, he is described as Comte Serge de Poligny and the marriage as a "Russian wedding". Les Modes: revue mensuelle illustrée des Arts décoratifs appliqués à la femme. 1 Dec. 1932, p. 3: "Mariage russe ... du Comte Serge de Poligny avec Mlle Ira Sachsé".
- ^ Archives de Paris (online), 1903, Naissances:: 16 Acte de naissance no. 159 (vue 26.31). Archives en ligne de la Ville de Paris, état-civil du 16ème arrondissement, registre des naissances de 1903 (includes notes of marriages and death).
Bibliography
edit- Crisp, C.G. The classic French cinema, 1930-1960. Indiana University Press, 1993
- Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen. The A to Z of French Cinema. Scarecrow Press, 2009.