Henri Decoin

Directing

Henri Decoin

Born 1890-03-18 · Paris, France

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 L'Auto, L'Intransigeant and Paris-Soir. In 1926 he published his first book, influenced by Dadaism, the experimental and prize-winning 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 (1928–1998) and Didier Decoin who was also a prominent screenwriter. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Love and the Frenchwoman poster
4.9

The seven stages in the life of the modern Frenchwomen are disclosed by seven directors in a witty way: 1 - Childhood, 2 - Adolescence, 3 - Virginity, 4 - Marriage, 5 - Adultery, 6 - Divorce, 7 - The Single Woman.

Love and the Frenchwoman

1960

The Oil Sharks poster
9.0

The plot revolves around an oil swindle in a South American country.

The Oil Sharks

1933

Port Arthur poster
8.5

French-language version of Port Arthur (1936), a German language film (q.v.) co-produced by German, French and Czechoslovakian film interests. About espionage, action and romance in the Russo-Japanese War, as the conflict threatens Russian naval officer Boris Ranewsky and his Japanese wife Youki.

Port Arthur

1936

Port Arthur poster
5.7

Espionage, war and romance in the Far East in 1904: Russian naval officer Boris Ranewsky marries Youki, the sister of a fanatical Japanese officer, but war is imminent.

Port Arthur

1936

Razzia poster
6.7

Henri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable - and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection - or destroy it. Only... the Police are following his every step.

Razzia

1955

Razzia poster
6.7

Henri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable - and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection - or destroy it. Only... the Police are following his every step.

Razzia

1955

Poliche poster
8.0

Didier Méreuil, affectionately called Poliche, is in love with Rosine, a beautiful girl, so he does everything to please her. She does not love him, and accepts a seductive airplane pilot who proposes to her. One day, she discovers that the funny man is just a front behind which there is a serious Didier. She will try to make up and live with him - but the gap between them is already too large.

Poliche

1934

One Step to Eternity poster
5.5

Francois Roques, a power-and-money-mad editor of a Paris newspaper invites four women to a housewarming at his penthouse apartment. He plans on one of them to meet death by means of a loose railing on the balcony.

One Step to Eternity

1954

One Step to Eternity poster
5.5

Francois Roques, a power-and-money-mad editor of a Paris newspaper invites four women to a housewarming at his penthouse apartment. He plans on one of them to meet death by means of a loose railing on the balcony.

One Step to Eternity

1954

Abused Confidence poster
6.3

Lydia (Danielle Darrieux) is a student, poor and orphaned, who pretends to be the daughter of a famous writer.

Abused Confidence

1937

Abused Confidence poster
6.3

Lydia (Danielle Darrieux) is a student, poor and orphaned, who pretends to be the daughter of a famous writer.

Abused Confidence

1937

The Secrets of the Bed poster
3.8

Four-episode Franco-Italian omnibus film. Four men from different national and cultural background take refuge in a cabin after being sidetracked by bad weather on their way to conference.

The Secrets of the Bed

1954

The Secrets of the Bed poster
3.8

Four-episode Franco-Italian omnibus film. Four men from different national and cultural background take refuge in a cabin after being sidetracked by bad weather on their way to conference.

The Secrets of the Bed

1954

The Green Domino poster
6.2

After his girlfriend is murdered, an art critic realizes that a wealthy heiress is falling in love with him.

The Green Domino

1935

Inside a Girls' Dormitory poster
5.4

In a little town with a renowned college a female student is found after she was hogtied and strangled to death. Inspector Marco is assigned to catch the murderer.

Inside a Girls' Dormitory

1953

Inside a Girls' Dormitory poster
5.4

In a little town with a renowned college a female student is found after she was hogtied and strangled to death. Inspector Marco is assigned to catch the murderer.

Inside a Girls' Dormitory

1953

No artwork available
9.0

While engaged in the six-day Vel d'Hiv event, a cyclist is concerned about the behaviour of his wife, whom he believes to be unfaithful.

La ronde infernale

1928

Clockface Cafe poster
5.7

Julien Couturier and his wife Louise, a young couple from Auvergne who have come to Paris to try their luck for the first time in their lives, become the owners of the "Café du Cadran" ("Clockface Cafe"). On opening day, they meet the people who will become their clientele. It's a busy place, with regular customers served by two waiters, Jules and Victor. While Julien is comfortable in his role as boss, Louise doesn't quite get used to this urban world, where everything moves faster, especially human feelings. She often misses Marcenait, the village in Auvergne where she and her husband ran the "Café du Commerce". Mr. Luigi, a café customer and violinist who performs at the "Café de Paris", has undertaken Louise's cultural education. He teaches her how to dress and do her hair, while recounting his musical successes and travels, skilfully playing on his undeniable seductiveness...

Clockface Cafe

1947

Clockface Cafe poster
5.7

Julien Couturier and his wife Louise, a young couple from Auvergne who have come to Paris to try their luck for the first time in their lives, become the owners of the "Café du Cadran" ("Clockface Cafe"). On opening day, they meet the people who will become their clientele. It's a busy place, with regular customers served by two waiters, Jules and Victor. While Julien is comfortable in his role as boss, Louise doesn't quite get used to this urban world, where everything moves faster, especially human feelings. She often misses Marcenait, the village in Auvergne where she and her husband ran the "Café du Commerce". Mr. Luigi, a café customer and violinist who performs at the "Café de Paris", has undertaken Louise's cultural education. He teaches her how to dress and do her hair, while recounting his musical successes and travels, skilfully playing on his undeniable seductiveness...

Clockface Cafe

1947

Where the Truth Lies poster
7.0

A young veterinarian falls in love with a strange woman, a former explorer who might be a Voodoo priestess, after he comes to help her ailing cheetah. She begs him to return to Africa with her, but he doesn’t want to leave his wife. Soon his wife finds herself plagued by a series of bizarre accidents.

Where the Truth Lies

1962

Where the Truth Lies poster
7.0

A young veterinarian falls in love with a strange woman, a former explorer who might be a Voodoo priestess, after he comes to help her ailing cheetah. She begs him to return to Africa with her, but he doesn’t want to leave his wife. Soon his wife finds herself plagued by a series of bizarre accidents.

Where the Truth Lies

1962

The Affair of the Poisons poster
7.0

Madame de Montespan, the Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XIV, has been in disgrace since the King set eyes on a younger beauty, Marie-Angélique Scorailles. Having had enough of the situation, the rejected mistress decides to visit La Voisin, a woman known as a fortune teller, a doctor, a midwife and who is also said to arrange black masses and sell poisons. Some time later Marie-Angélique, now Duchess of Fontanges, dies mysteriously aged only twenty...

The Affair of the Poisons

1955

The Affair of the Poisons poster
7.0

Madame de Montespan, the Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XIV, has been in disgrace since the King set eyes on a younger beauty, Marie-Angélique Scorailles. Having had enough of the situation, the rejected mistress decides to visit La Voisin, a woman known as a fortune teller, a doctor, a midwife and who is also said to arrange black masses and sell poisons. Some time later Marie-Angélique, now Duchess of Fontanges, dies mysteriously aged only twenty...

The Affair of the Poisons

1955

The Truth About Bebe Donge poster
6.9

François Donge, a rich industrialist and womaniser, meets a girl nicknamed Bébé who he marries. Ten years later, poisoned by his wife and dying in hospital, he recalls his married life and understands how his wife who adored him suffered from his many affairs and indifference.

The Truth About Bebe Donge

1952