Sautet, Claude

(February 23, 1924, Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine, France - July 22, 2000, Paris, France)

   The son of a businessman, he grew up in Montrouge, near Paris, and discovered cinema with his grand­mother. Intending to become a painter and a sculptor, he studied at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. His love for movies led him to enroll in the IDHEC in 1946. He wrote musical reviews in Combat before landing a job as a trainee assistant director (1949 Occupe-toi d'Amélie, Claude Autant-Lara). He remained an as­sistant for almost ten years (1951 Le Mariage de Ma­demoiselle Beulemans / Fientje Beulemans, André Cerf, France / Belgium; Paris chante toujours, Pierre Montazel; 1952 Le Crime du Bouif, André Cerf; Le Huitième Art et la Manière, short, Maurice Régamey; 1954 Les Révoltés de Lomanach / L'eroe della Vendea, Richard Pottier, France / Italy; Les Hommes ne pensent qu'à ça, Yves Robert; 1955 Le Fils de Caroline chérie / UK: Caroline and the Rebels / USA: The Son of Dear Caroline, Jean Devaivre; 1956 La Bande à Papa, Guy Lefranc; Les Truands / UK: Lock Up Your Spoons, Carlo-Rim; Fernand Cow Boy, Guy Lefranc; 1957 Action immediate / US TV: To Catch a Spy, Maurice Labro; Ce Joli Monde, Carlo-Rim; 1958 Ni vu, ni connu, Yves Robert; Le Dos au Mur / UK: Evidence in Concrete / USA: Back to the Wall, Edouard Molinaro; Le Fauve est lâché / USA: The Tiger Attacks, also co-screenwriter, co-adapter, Maurice Labro; 1960 Les Yeux sans Visage / Occhi senza volto / UK: Eyes Without a Face / USA: The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, Georges Franju, France / Italy). The defection of Robert Dhéry allowed him to direct his first movie. While working on his own films, he became a famous screenwriter and dialogist (1960 Colère froide, as dialogist and technical adviser, André Haguet; 1963 Symphonie pour un Massacre / Sinfonia per un massacro / UK: The Corrupt / USA: Symphony for a Massacre / The Mystifiers, Jacques Deray, France / Italy; Peau de Banane / Buccia di banana / USA: Banana Peel, as co-screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist, France / Italy; 1964 Echappement libre / Scappamento aperto / A escape libre / Der Boss hat sich was ausgedacht / USA: Backfire, as co-screenwriter, Jean Becker, France / Italy / Spain / West Germany; L'Age ingrat, as co-screenwriter, co-adapter, Gilles Grangier; Monsieur / Intrigo a Parigi, as uncredited co-screenwriter, Jean-Paul Le Chanois, France / Italy; 1966 La Vie de Château / UK: Gracious Living / USA: A Matter of Resistance, as co-screenwriter, Jean-Paul Rappeneau; L'Homme de Marrakech, as un-credited screenwriter, Jacques Deray, France / Italy; Atout Cœur à Tokyo pour OSS 117 / OSS 117 a Tokio si muore / UK: Mission to Tokyo / USA: O.S.S. 117—Terror in Tokyo, as uncredited screenwriter, Michel Boisrond, France / Italy; 1967 Mise à Sac / Una notte per 5 rapine, as screenwriter, co-adapter, dialogist, Alain Cavalier; 1968 La Petite Vertu, as screenwriter, adapter, Serge Korber; 1969 Le Diable par la Queue / Non tirate il Dia-volo per la coda / USA: The Devil by the Tail, as uncredited screenwriter, Philippe de Broca; Sous le Signe du Tau­reau, as uncredited co-screenwriter, Gilles Grangier; 1970 Borsalino, as co-screenwriter, co-dialogist, Jacques Deray, France / Italy; 1971 Les Mariés de l'An II / Gli sposo dell'anno secondo / Mirii anului II / UK: The Scoun­drel / USA: The Scarlet Buccaneer / The Swashbuckler, as co-adapter, co-dialogist, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France / Italy / Romania; 1974 L'Horloger de Saint-Paul / UK: The Watchmaker of St. Paul / USA: The Clockmaker of St. Paul, as uncredited co-screenwriter, Bertrand Tav-ernier; 1975 Que la Fête commence / USA: Let Joy Reign Supreme, as uncredited co-screenwriter, Bertrand Tav-ernier; Le Vieux Fusil / Das ate Gewehr / Abschied in der Nacht / USA: The Old Gun / US video: Vengeance One by One, as uncredited co-screenwriter, Robert Enrico, France / West Germany; 1977 Des Enfants gatés / UK and USA: Spoiled Children, as uncredited screenwriter, Bertrand Tavernier; 1981 Coup de Torchon / UK: Clean Up / USA: Clean Slate, as uncredited screenwriter, Ber­trand Tavernier; 1988 Mon Ami le Traître, as co-adapter, José Giovanni). In 1994, Mark Rydell shot an American remake of Les Choses de la Vie (1994 Intersection, Mark Rydell, USA).

 Filmography

1951 ◘ Nous n'irons plus au Bois (short; also screenwriter, dialogist)

1956 ◘ Bonjour Sourire (supervised by Robert Dhéry)

1960 ◘ Classe Tous Risques / Asfalto che scotta / USA: The Big Risk (also co-screenwriter; Claude Sautet; France / Italy)

1965 ◘ L'Arme à gauche / Corpo a corpo / Armas para el Caribe / UK: Guns for the Dictator / USA: The Dictator's Guns (also co-dialogist; France / Italy / Spain)

        ◘ Les Choses de la Vie / L'Amante / USA: The Things of Life / These Things Happen (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; France / Italy)

        ◘ Max et les Ferrailleurs / Il commissario Pelissier / UK and USA: Max (also co-dialogist; France / Italy)

1972 ◘ César et rosalie / E simpatico, ma gli romperei il muso / Cesar und Rosalie / USA: César and Rosalie (also co-screenwriter; France / Italy / West Germany)

1974 ◘ Vincent, François, Paul . . . et les Autres / Tre amici le mogli e affettuosamente le altre / USA: Vincent, François, Paul and the Others (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist; France / Italy)

1976 ◘ Mado (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist; France / Italy / West Germany)

1978 ◘ Une Histoire simple / Eine einfache Geschichte / UK and USA: A Simple Story (as co-screenwriter; France / West Germany)

1980 ◘ Un Mauvais Fils / UK and USA: A Bad Son (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist)

1983 ◘ Garçon! (also co-screenwriter)

1988 ◘ Quelques Jours avec moi / UK and USA: A Few Days with Me (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist)

1992 ◘ Un Coeur en Hiver / UK: A Heart in Winter / USA: A Heart of Stone (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist)

1995 ◘ Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud / Nelly e Mr. Arnaud / Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud / UK and USA: Nelly and Mr. Arnaud (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist; France / Italy / West Germany)