LEFÈVRE, RENÉ

(1898-1991)

Actor and screenwriter. René Lefèvre made his screen debut at the end of the silent era in René Hervil'sKnock ou le triomphe de la médécine(1925). This was followed by roles inJulien Duvivier'sLe Mariage de Mademoiselle Beulemans(1927) andLe Tourbillon de Paris(1928), Hervil'sLe Ruisseau(1928), André Berthomieu'sPas si bête(1928),Ces Dames aux chapeaux verts(1929) andRapacité(1929), andRoger Lion'sUn soir au cocktail's bar(1929).

In 1931, Lefèvre was cast in the lead inRené Clair'sLe Million(1931). He went on to appear in Jean Boyer and Max Neufeld'sMonsieur,Madame et Bibi(1932), Alexandre Ryder'sL'Âne de Buridan(1932),André Hugon'sLa Paix chez soi(1933), Jean de Limur'sPaprika(1933) andPetite peste(1938), Yvan Noé'sMes tantes et moi(1936),Jean Renoir'sLe Crime de Monsieur Lange(1936), and Maurice Keroul andGeorges Monca'sLe Choc en retour(1937). He also had supporting roles in such films as Berthomieu'sLa Femme idéale(1933), Pierre Billon'sLa Piste du sud(1938), andJean Grémillon'sGueule d'amour(1937).Le MillionandLe Crime de Monsieur Langeboth became classics of French cinema and are regarded as two of Lefèvre's best performances. As in the character he plays in these two films, Lefèvre's roles tended to be quiet, timid men who expressed themselves or their emotions with difficulty.

Lefèvre continued to act in the 1940s and 1950s, but he made only a handful of films and was again relegated to supporting actor. He appeared in such films asRobert Vernay'sLa Femme que j'ai la plus aimée(1942), Albert Valentin'sA la belle frégate(1943), Yves Allegret and Jean Choux'sLa Boîte aux rêves(1945), Alexander Esway'sLe Bataillon du ciel(1947),Louis Daquin'sLe Point du jour(1949) andBel Ami(1957),Jacqueline Audry'sLa Garçonne(1957),C'est la faute d'Adam(1958), andLe Secret du Chevalier d'Éon(1959), Jules Dassin'sCelui qui doit mourir(1957), and Marc Allegret'sSois belle et tais-toi(1958).

During the same period, Lefèvre tried his hand at both screenwriting and directing. He wrote the story upon whichGeorges Lacombe'sLes Musiciens du ciel(1940) was based, and he also contributed to the screenplay. He also worked on the screenplays for Marc Allegret'sParade en sept nuits(1941),Opéra-Musette(1942), a film he codirected with Claude Renoir and in which he starred, and Duvivier'sSous le ciel de Paris(1951), and cowrote the screenplay for Denys de la Patellière'sRue des Prairies(1959) withMichel Audiard. Lefèvre retired from cinema and television in the early 1980s.