Deval, Jacques

(Jacques Dabert Boularan / October 10, 1890, Paris, France - December 19, 1972, Paris, France)

   The son of actor Abel Deval, who ran the Théâtre de l'Athénée, he was educated by Marists near Canter­bury, England. He returned to Paris to complete his secondary studies. Then he got a bachelor's degree in literature. A friend of his father suggested to him that he write his first play, Une faible Femme, which was created at the Théâtre Fémina in 1920. He soon became one of the most successful Boulevard playwrights, and such plays as Tovaritch (1933) and Mademoiselle (1934) earned him international fame. He made his film debut as a dialogist in 1930 (Lopez le Bandit, John Daumery) and went to Hollywood, where some of his works were adapted (1932 The Passionate Plumber, Edward Sedgwick, USA; 1934 Journal of a Crime, William Keighley; Marie Galante, Henry King; 1937 Tovaritch, Anatole Litvak; 1938 Say It in French, Andrew L. Stone). He collaborated as a screenwriter on several American movies (1938 Dramatic School, Robert B. Sinclair; 1939 Balalaika, Reinhold Schunzel; 1940 New Moon / UK: Lover Come Back, Robert Z. Leonard, W. S. Van Dyke; 1942 Her Cardboard Lover, George Cukor). He was also a novel­ist (1929 Sabres de Bois; 1931 Marie Galante; 1935 Le Vieux Carnet rouge; 1937 Rives pacifiques; 1955 Le Sage d'lspahan; 1959 Tigrane). In 1953, he appeared as actor in Jean-Pierre Melville's Quand tu liras cette Lettre / Labbra proibite (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist; France / Italy). His son is journalist, novelist, and pub­lisher Gérard de Villiers (b. 1929).

 Filmography

        ◘ Tovaritch (co-director with Germain, Fried, Jean Tarride, Victor Trivas; also author of origi­nal play, screenwriter, adapter, dialogist)

        ◘ Club de Femmes / USA: Girl's Club (also screenwriter, dialogist)

1950 ◘ L'Invité du Mardi (also author of original play, co-screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist)