Henri Decoin

Biography

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 …

Directed

1. Razzia (1955) — Director
2. The Iron Mask (1962) — Director
3. The Truth About Bebe Donge (1952) — Director
4. Beating Heart (1940) — Director
5. Strangers in the House (1942) — Director
6. The Scheming Women (1954) — Director
7. Monelle (1948) — Director
8. Devil's Daughter (1946) — Director
9. Not Guilty (1947) — Director
10. Between Eleven and Midnight (1949) — Director
11. Love and the Frenchwoman (1960) — Director
12. The Cat (1958) — Director
13. Abused Confidence (1937) — Director
14. At the Grand Balcony (1949) — Director
15. One Step to Eternity (1954) — Director
16. The Green Domino (1935) — Director
17. Inside a Girls' Dormitory (1953) — Director
18. Clockface Cafe (1947) — Director
19. The London Man (1943) — Director
20. Burning Fuse (1957) — Director
21. Her First Affair (1941) — Director
22. Too Late to Love (1959) — Director
23. The Lovers of the Pont Saint-Jean (1947) — Director
24. Return at Dawn (1938) — Director
25. Anyone Can Kill Me (1957) — Director
26. Where the Truth Lies (1962) — Director
27. The Benefactor (1942) — Director
28. The Affair of the Poisons (1955) — Director
29. License to Kill (1964) — Director
30. Too Many Lovers (1957) — Director
31. An Evening at the Music Hall (1956) — Director
32. The Cat Shows Her Claws (1960) — Director
33. The Virgin Bride (1937) — Director
34. Casablanca, Nest of Spies (1963) — Director
35. The Secrets of the Bed (1954) — Director
36. Pariahs of Glory (1964) — Director
37. I Am with You (1943) — Director
38. Love and Desire (1951) — Director
39. Atomic Agent (1959) — Director
40. The Lovers of Toledo (1953) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Danielle Darrieux : Il est poli d'être gai ! (2019) — Self (archive footage)
2. Cinépanorama (1956) — Self
3. Love and Desire (1951) — Self, the director (uncredited)
4. Jean Marais, le mal rouge et or (2006) — Self (archive footage)