Jacques Feyder

Biography

Jacques Feyder , was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was a leading director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he became associated with the style of poetic realism in French cinema. He adopted French nationality in 1928. Born Jacques Léon Louis Frédérix in Ixelles, Belgium, at age twenty-five however he moved to Paris where he pursued an interest in acting, first on stage and then in film, adopting the name Jacques Feyder. He joined the Gaumont Film Company and in 1914 he became an assistant director with Gaston Ravel. He started directing films for Gaumont in 1916, but his career was interrupted by service with the Belgian army during 1917-1919. After the end of the war, he returned to filmmaking and quickly built a reputation as one of the most innovative directors in French cinema. L'Atlantide (1921) (based on the novel by Pierre Benoit), and Crainquebille (1922) (from the novel by Anatole France) were his first major films to achieve public and critical attention. He also contributed screenplays of films for other directors. His last silent film in France was Les No…

Directed

1. Carnival in Flanders (1935) — Director
2. The Kiss (1929) — Director
3. Faces of Children (1925) — Director
4. Knight Without Armour (1937) — Director
5. L'Atlantide (1921) — Director
6. The Great Game (1934) — Director
7. Gribiche (1926) — Director
8. Anna Christie (1930) — Director
9. Back Streets of Paris (1946) — Director
10. Crainquebille (1922) — Director
11. Law of the North (1939) — Director
12. The New Gentlemen (1929) — Director
13. Pension Mimosas (1935) — Director
14. Carmen (1926) — Director
15. Daybreak (1931) — Director
16. Thérèse Raquin (1928) — Director
17. Friendly Advice (1916) — Director
18. Fahrendes Volk (1938) — Director
19. La Faute d'orthographe (1918) — Director
20. Son of India (1931) — Director
21. Heads... and the Women Who Use Them (1916) — Director
22. People Who Travel (1938) — Director
23. The Clutching Foot (1916) — Director
24. Biscot on the Wrong Floor (1916) — Director
25. Carnival in Flanders (1936) — Director
26. Portrait of a Woman (1944) — Director
27. The Big House (1931) — Director
28. Olympia (1930) — Director
29. The Green Specter (1930) — Director
30. L'instinct est maître (1917) — Director
31. Si l'empereur savait ça (1930) — Director
32. The Portrait (1923) — Director
33. Monsieur Pinson policier (1916) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Cinderella or The Glass Slipper (1912) — The Prince
2. Protéa (1913) — Un Diplomate
3. Monsieur Pinson policier (1916)
4. Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma (1978) — Self (archive footage)