Berry, John

(Jak Szold / September 6, 1917, New York, New York, USA-November 29, 1999, Paris, France)

   The son of a Polish restaurant owner and a Romanian actress, he made his stage debut at age four and di­rected his first play at age twenty. Spotted by Orson Welles, he joined the Mercury Theater, for which he notably acted and directed an adaptation of Richard Wright's novel Native Son. When Welles went to Hollywood in 1940 to film Citizen Kane, he was left in charge of the theater company. Four years later, he directed his first feature film. In the early 1950s, his Hollywood career was cut short by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Blacklisted, he left for France, where he began directing Eddie Constan-tine's vehicles. He returned to the USA and directed several American movies.

 Filmography

        ◘ Tuesday in November (short; USA)

        ◘ Miss Susie Slagle's (USA; shot in 1944)

        ◘ From This Day Forward (USA)

        ◘ Cross My Heart (USA; shot in 1944-1945)

        ◘ Casbah (USA)

        ◘ Caught (John Berry directed some scenes; Max Ophuls; USA)

        ◘ Tension (also co-screenwriter; USA)

        ◘ The Hollywood Ten (documentary; also screenwriter; USA)

        ◘ He Ran All the Way (USA)

        ◘ Atoll K / Atollo K / UK: Robinson Crusoeland / USA: Utopia (John Berry directed some scenes; Léo Joannon; France / Italy)

1953 ◘ C'est arrive à Paris / USA: It Happened in Paris (co-director with Henri Lavorel)

1955 ◘ Ça va barder . . . / Silenzio . . . s spara! / USA:

        ◘ There Goes Barder / US TV: Give'em Hell (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; France / Italy)

        ◘ Je suis un sentimental / Io sono un sentimentale / US TV: Headlines of Destruction (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; France / Italy)

1956 ◘ Don Juan / Il grande seduttore / El gran amor de Don Juan / USA: Pantaloons (also co-adapter; France / Italy / Spain)

1958 ◘ Tamango / La rivolta dell'esperanza (France / Italy)

1959 ◘ Oh! Que Mambo! / Il giovane leone (France / Italy)

1966 ◘ Maya (USA)

1968 ◘ A tout casser / Quella carogna di Frank Mitraglia / UK: The Great Chase / USA: Breaking

        ◘ L'Up (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist; France / Italy)

1974 ◘ Claudine (USA)

        ◘ Thieves (co-director with Alfred Viola; USA; shot in 1975)

        ◘ The Bad New Bears Go to Japan (USA)

1985 ◘ Le Voyage à Paimpol (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter)

1988 ◘ Il y a Maldonne (also screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist; France / Belgium)

1993 ◘ A Captive in the Land (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; USSR / USA; shot in 1989-1990)

2001 ◘ Boesman et Lena (also co-screenwriter; South Africa / France; shot in 1999)

 Television Filmography

        ◘ East Side / West Side (episode "One Drink at a Time"; USA)

        ◘ Seaway (episode "Mutiny"; USA)

        ◘ Seaway (episodes "Port of Call—Paradise", "Ghost Ship"; also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist; USA)

1978 ◘ Sparrow (as Stuart Hoffmann; USA)

1980 ◘ Angel on My Shoulder (USA)

1982 ◘ Sister, Sister (USA)

        ◘ Honeyboy (also co-screenwriter; USA)

1990 ◘ Les Cadavres de Patricia Highsmith / Cadavres exquis (episode "Légitime Défense")