Jacques Becker
1906 - 1960Becker first worked in the 1930s as an assistant to director Jean Renoir during what is considered the latter's peak period, including such works as Partie de campagne (1936) and La Grande Illusion (1937). In the early part of World War II, Becker was held in a German prisoner-of-war camp for a year. During the Nazi occupation of France, he became a film director in his own right and he also joined the Comité de libération du cinéma français. He would go on to direct the period romance Casque d'or (1952), the influential gangster film Touchez pas au grisbi (1954), and the prison escape drama Le Trou (1959). While he remains lesser-known internationally than peers such as Marcel Carné and Renoir, Becker is nonetheless regarded as a major French filmmaker, with Casque d'or held in high esteem among film critics.
Becker died at the age of 53 in 1960 and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris.
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Le Trou
Jacques Becker
Michel Constantin, Jean Keraudy
Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system -- yet their escape is anything but assured.
Le Trou
La Grande Illusion
Jean Renoir
Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo
A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein, who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu.
Grand Illusion
Touchez pas au grisbi
Jacques Becker
Jean Gabin, René Dary
Gentleman gangster Max and his partner, Riton, pull off their last, most successful heist and find themselves comfortable enough to retire in the style they enjoy. However, Max confides the details of the theft to his younger mistress, Josey -- who has secretly taken up with ambitious young rival gangster Angelo. Angelo then has Riton kidnapped and demands the stash of gold as ransom, which threatens Max's dreams of the perfect retirement.
Touchez Pas au Grisbi
Casque d'or
Jacques Becker
Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani
Ex-convict Georges Manda returns to the free world determined to go straight and takes a steady job as a carpenter. Unable to completely shake his connections with the underground, he meets with a former prison mate, older gangster Félix Leca, who introduces him to his mistress, the sweet but guarded Marie "Casque d'Or". Marie and Georges fall into a passionate relationship, driving Félix to do everything in his power to ruin the couple.
Casque d'Or
Les amants de Montparnasse
Jacques Becker, Max Ophüls
Gérard Philipe, Lilli Palmer
Biographic film chronicling the last year of the life of the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, 1919, who falls in love with a girl from a wealthy family. Her parents are against this relationship and stop financial help. Modigliani worked and died in abject poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France.
The Lovers of Montparnasse
Boudu sauvé des eaux
Jean Renoir
Michel Simon, Marcelle Hainia
Michel Simon gives one of the most memorable performances in screen history as Boudu, a Parisian tramp who takes a suicidal plunge into the Seine and is rescued by a well-to-do bookseller, Edouard Lestingois. The Lestingois family decides to take in the irrepressible bum, and he shows his gratitude by shaking the household to its foundations. With Boudu Saved from Drowning, legendary director Jean Renoir takes advantage of a host of Parisian locations and the anarchic charms of his lead actor to create an effervescent satire of the bourgeoisie.
Boudu Saved from Drowning
Cinéastes de notre temps: Jacques Becker
Claude de Givray
Jacques Becker
Episode of the French television series about the work of film director Jacques Becker. (A 27-minute excerpt from this show appears on the Criterion Collection's release of "Casque d'Or." )
Cinéastes de notre temps: Jacques Becker
Rue de l'estrapade
Jacques Becker
Daniel Gélin, Louis Jourdan
While Henri Laurent speeds along on the racing circuits, his pretty wife Françoise goes from luxury boutique to luxury boutique with her best friend Denise. One day, Denise lets her know that Henri has a lover. Outraged, Françoise moves out of marital home and rents a maids' room in Rue de l'Estrapade. Henri tries to get his wife back but Françoise does not listen. She even looks for a job in a prêt-à-porter shop and lets herself be courted by Robert, her neighbor across the landing...
Rue de l'Estrapade
Les aventures d'Arsène Lupin
Jacques Becker
Robert Lamoureux, Liselotte Pulver
Arsène Lupin is extremely popular among the population, because he allows the needy to share in his acquired wealth. Before entering the service of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, he removes his vault in Alsace, steals two paintings of old masters, steals valuable gems and calls out to the police prefect to avoid his arrest. But this time he risks being seriously recognized. Lupin must once again use his fine intellect to deftly escape the situation.
The Adventures of Arsène Lupin
L'or du Cristobal
Jacques Becker, Jean Stelli
Charles Vanel, Dita Parlo
Dupuy, the first officer of the Cristobal, a French merchant ship, is informed by cabaret dancer La Rubia that the Cristobal carries a priceless secret cargo of gold. Based on the novel by Albert t'Serstevens.
Cristobal's Gold
