
Henri Diamant-Berger
Directing
Biography
Henri Diamant-Berger (9 June 1895 – 7 May 1972) was a French director, producer and screenwriter. In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he directed 48 films between 1913 and 1959, produced 17 between 1925 and 1967 and wrote 21 screenplays between 1916 and 1971. Born in Paris, to a Jewish family, he studied to be a lawyer but was drawn to the motion picture business. He began his career when he co-directed the 1913 silent film short De film... en aiguilles with André Heuzé. In addition to writing screenplays, during the period from 1916 to 1919, Diamant-Berger also published and edited a film magazine and books about the movies. In 1918, he was hired by Pathé and sent to the United States to help set up the company's film laboratory at Fort Lee, New Jersey. Upon his return to France, Pathé had him set up a laboratory in Vincennes, as well as organize a film studio in Boulogne-Billancourt. In 1921, Diamant-Berger directed the film serial Les Trois Mousquetaires, one of two film versions of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel The Three Musketeers released in 1921 (the other was Douglas Fairbanks' version) . For a short time in the mid-1920s, he made pictures in the USA, including the drama Fifty-Fifty (1925) starring Lionel Barrymore. He also directed the 1927 silent film Éducation de Prince. By the end of the decade he successfully made the transition to talkies. Through his Barrymore connection, Diamant-Berger acquired the screen rights for a play produced on Broadway in 1921 written by John Barrymore's ex-wife, Blanche Oelrichs. His French language film version of the same title, Clair de lune (1932), starred Claude Dauphin and Blanche Montel. Among his notable sound films was a remake, Les Trois Mousquetaires (1932), a six-hour epic about the three musketeers for which he wrote the screen adaptation and used much of the same cast from his 1921 silent version. Diamant-Berger's other directorial efforts include two Arsène Lupin detective films in 1937. However, after directing Tourbillon de Paris in 1939, he lost eight full years to World War II. In 1951, he directed the acclaimed drama Monsieur Fabre starring Pierre Fresnay. During the 1960s, Diamant-Berger devoted himself exclusively to producing, making several successful films, which includes La Belle Américaine (1961), Heaven Sent (1963) and The Counterfeit Constable (1964). Henri Diamant-Berger died at age 76 in Paris. Source: Article "Henri Diamant-Berger" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For

Marcel, a simple-minded factory worker, is tricked into buying a high-priced American convertable car by a widow determined not to let it fall into the hands of her late husband's secretary/secret lover. Once in pocession of the car, Marcel only encounters one bad luck episode after another with the excessive gasoline consumtion, his wife trying to sell it to make ammends meet, getting into traffic jams, accidently riding into a car wash with the top down, and more.
The American Beauty

The gifts and bequests department is particularly eccentric, including Lahrier, a fervent absentee and songwriter in his spare time.
The Bureaucrats

Matou is an innocuous, gentle-looking man. He is married to a formidable, even a frightening woman, who is as dissatisfied with him as he is with her. He knows everything there is to know about restoring and authenticating manuscripts, particularly ancient ones, through his job at the museum. One day, it occurs to him that his skills could be put to use in a more personal way, and he embarks on a private career of re-arranging the documents of people who have had the misfortune to be married to the wrong people.
Order of the Daisy

Max is a millionaire who is forced to lead a double-life as a waiter, the result of having lost a wager.
Le Petit Café

Bad financial conditions compel an aristocratic family to do strange work.
Thank Heaven for Small Favors
Charming Mimi-Trottin is in love with typographer Louis Chausson, nicknamed Godasse. She meets Doudou, actually a Vicomte, estranged with his parents who are rich automobile manufacturers. Godasse abandons Mimi because of his professional ambitions and Doudou rescues her from a suicide. After making peace with his parents, the young man has Mimi hired as a typist at the factory. After winning a race with one of his father's car, he soon wins the heart and the hand of Mimi.
Vingt ans après

A 14-episode silent adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers.
The Three Musketeers

No description available.
Gonzague

Julien Pauphilat is the doorman at the famous restaurant, Maxim's and is also the confidant of many of his customers. As a consequence, in this post, he has managed to make a comfortable living and even acquire a country mansion. Retirement beckons and he is going to be able to enjoy the quiet life at last. The wedding of his daughter, Genevieve with Andre du Velin, a well born playboy is going to endanger this dream, for Genevieve is ignorant of her father's job. However, her fiance doesn't see any problem with this.
Le Chasseur de chez Maxim's

The irresistible rise of a young provincial, Miquette, who, having risen to Paris, will experience success in the theater and love in Hollywood with a very attractive tennis player.
Miquette and Her Mother

A gang of broke student musicians travel to Paris to take exams. But very quickly, the lack of money pushes young people to pass themselves off as professionals during the performance. They will then win the victory!
Whirlwind of Paris

A prominent chanteuse on a world tour meets a young fellow European in Singapore, a soldier of fortune who becomes obsessed with listening to her voice on a recording.
Alone

It centres on the life of the entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre and his total devotion to studying insect behavior, travelling from Avignon to Paris, from Paris to his death in Sérignan. He is honoured by the French president Raymond Poincaré and his patience, obstinacy and knowledge are also recognised by Napoleon III, the publisher Charles Delagrave and the philosopher John Stuart Mill. They reach their climax in his book, Souvenirs entomologiques.
Amazing Monsieur Fabre

Abbé Pellegrin, parish priest of Sableuse, sells an ancient Christ to an unknown man, M. de Saint Preux. Summoned to the bishop's palace, he learns that he has been the victim of a swindler. The Christ, exchanged for a "mouthful of bread", is a valuable antique. Not wanting to compromise his wartime comrade La Goupille, who had introduced him to Saint Preux, Pellegrin proposed to his bishop that he himself carry out the search for the Christ. For the occasion, he swapped his cassock for a "civilian" outfit and landed in Paris. He recovers the treasure in the midst of a series of adventures and misadventures involving Cousinet, the former squire of Sableuse. He takes in the tenants Cousinet has just evicted from his hotel.
My Priest Among the Poor

Arsène Lupin decides to run a detective agency in addition to being a gentleman thief. As a detective he happens to cooperate with police in order to unveil the criminal activities of a villain. When he succeeds the villain returns the favour. The unmasked Arsène Lupin manages to escape with the villain's gangster moll as his new companion.
Arsène Lupin, Detective

Lady Diana Winham is beautiful, wealthy and a widow, so she's courted. She travels Europe in luxury trains, earning her nickname. One of her riches, a uranium deposit in a South American country, attracts the attention of international secret agents. Lady Diana is at the center of a spider's web, with the French, British and Germans all trying to get their hands on her. Helped by the love of Armando, whom she met in San Miguel, she gives the deposit to her secretary Gérard as a reward for his services.
La Madone des sleepings

Sasha Voronin, a famous singer about to marry supermodel Nathalie, falls victim to John Darow, who attempts to murder him by knocking him out and throwing him into the sea. Sacha is taken in by fishermen, but he has lost his memory and takes the name Samson. Samson's memory begins to awaken when he hears a familiar tune during a circus performance, and begins to sing. Deciding to leave with the circus troupe, he ends up being hired by the director of a radio station, who launches him on the air under the name of "unknown singer". Nathalie, meanwhile married to John, recognizes his voice and wants to find him; Sacha rejects her because he has fallen in love with Maria. John again tries to eliminate Sacha, then attempts to kidnap Maria. After a mad chase, Sacha defeats John, who is arrested by the police.
Das Lied der Balalaika

Back from an alcohol-fueled evening, two former high school friends wake up and find they may have murdered a female coal-dealer.
L'Affaire de la rue de Lourcine

Maurice returns out of habit in the apartment from which he has just moved and turns the lives of the new tenants upside down.
Par habitude

Remarkable life story of Henri Diamant-Berger, a director and screenwriter whose devotion to cinema led him to collaborate with some of the greatest actors and filmmakers of his time.