LAUTNER, GEORGES

(1926- )

Director and screenwriter. Georges Lautner was born in Nice to actressRenée Saint-Cyr. He studied law before working as an assistant to directors such as Norbert Carbonnaux. He directed shorts before making his first feature-length film,La Môme aux boutons(1958). It was followed byArrêtez les tambours(1960),Marche ou crève(1960),Le Monocle noir(1961), andLe Septième juré(1962), all of which featureBernard Blier. A contemporary of the directors of theNouvelle Vagueor New Wave, Lautner opted for more commercial films that followed the Frenchtradition de qualité. He is best known for his entertaining detective and crime films, spy parodies, and comedies; several were very successful box-office hits. Lautner'sLes tontons flingueurs, withLino Ventura, was the third largest grossing film of 1963. He directed a number of films starringJean-Paul Belmondothat would rank among the top five most popular films in France:Flic ou voyouwas the second biggest French film of 1979;Le professionel, too, was the second best-selling film in France in 1981. In 1984,Joyeuses Pâquesranked among France's five most commercially successful films of 1984.

Lautner's most prolific period was 1960-1968, when he directed at least one film per year. In addition to the films mentioned above, these includeEn plein cirage(1962),L'Oeil du monocle(1962),Des pissenlits par la racine(1964),Le Monocle rit jaune(1964),Les Barbouzes(1964),Les Bon vivants(1965),Galia(1966),Ne nous fâchons pas(1966),Le Grande sauterelle(1967),Fleur d'oseille(1968), andLe Pacha(1968).His films starred some of France's most popular actors of the period, such as Blier, Belmondo, Ventura,Louis de Funès, and Mireille Darc. Lautner often worked with the same screenwriters, among them Pierre Laroche, Jacques Robert, andMichel Audiard.

Lautner continued his energetic career as a filmmaker into the 1970s. Audiard worked on Lautner's scripts, as did emerging directorsBertrand BlierandFrancis Veber. Blier worked onLaisse aller,c'est une valse(1971), and Veber worked onLa Valise(1973) andOn aura tout vu(1976). Carbonnaux helped to script Lautner'sIls sont fous ces sorciers(1978). France's top stars led the casts of many Lautner's films in the 1970s as well.Alain Delonstarred in hisLes Seins de glace(1974) andMort d'un pourri(1977), andMiou-Mioustarred inPas de problème! (1974). Lautner also directed American actresses Mimsy Farmer and Rita Hayworth inRoad to Salina(1971). In 1980, Belmondo led the cast of Lautner'sLe Guignolo, and Miou-Miou acted with Saint-Cyr inEst-ce bien raisonnable?(1981) andAttention!Une femme peut en cacher un autre(1983). Saint-Cyr is also featured inLe Cowboy(1984).Michel Serraultand Ugo Tognazzi paired again to make Lautner's 1985La Cage aux folles 3:'Elles' se marient. The popular singer Patrick Bruel starred in hisLa Maison assassinéein 1988.

In the 1990s, Lautner directed four films for the big screen:Présumé dangereux(1990),Triplex(1991),Room Service(1992), starring Serrault, andL'Inconnue de la maison(1992), featuring Belmondo. He has since directed for French television.