VERNAY, ROBERT

(1907-1979)

Director and screenwriter. Robert Vernay got his start in cinema as a director in the early 1930s. He made a handful of films, includingL'Éternelle chanson(1932),Le Béguin de la garnaison(1932), andLe Prince de six jours(1934). He did not have much success on his own, however, and began working with some of France's best-known directors. He worked withJulien Duvivieras an assistant on such films asLa Bandera(1935),Pépé le Moko(1937),La Fin du jour(1939), andUntel père et fils(1943), and withMarc AllegretonEntrée des artistes(1938). Vernay also assistedYves MirandeonCafé de Paris(1938) andGeorges LacombeonLes Musiciens du ciel(1940).

Vernay resumed directing on his own in the 1940s with more success, perhaps given a hand by the Nazi Occupation, which had sent many of the major directors into exile.His first independent film of the decade,La Femme que j'ai la plus aimée(1942), was directed from a screenplay written by Mirande and starredArlettyandMireille Balin. His adaptation ofLe Comte de Monte Cristo(1943) was a fairly successful adventure film that starredPierre Richard-Willm. Vernay went on to make nearly thirty other films, includingArlette et l'amour(1943),Le Père Goriot(1945),Le Capitan(1946),Emile l'Africain(1948),Fantômas contre Fantômas(1949), another version ofLe Comte de Monte Cristo(1955),La Rue des bouches peintes(1955),Les Lumières du soir(1956), and the spy filmMonsieur Suzuki(1960). Vernay was a solid director but one who has not received much critical attention. In addition to directing, he also wrote the screenplays for a number of his films.