VERNEUIL, HENRI

(1920-2002)

Director and screenwriter. Henri Verneuil was born Achod Malakian in Rodesto, Turkey, of Armenian ancestry. He later immigrated to Marseilles with his parents. Verneuil studied engineering and later worked as a journalist and radio commentator. He started in cinema as an assistant toRobert Vernay. Verneuil made short documentary films in the 1940s then directed his first feature,La table aux crevés(1952), starring the famous comedianFernandel. Fernandel then played a more serious starring role in Verneuil's very popular drama,Fruit défendu(1952). Fernandel was Verneuil's preferred actor in the 1950s. He played the lead inCarnaval(1953),Le Boulanger de Valorgue(1953), andL'Ennemipublic n.1(1953), which also featured Zsa Zsa Gabor.Le Mouton à cinq pattes(1954), starring Fernandel alongside one of Verneuil's favorite actresses,Françoise Arnoul, was nominated for an American Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Verneuil'sLa Vache et le prisonnier, again starring Fernandel, was the top grossing French film of 1959.

Verneuil's collaboration with French stars such as Fernandel—and laterJean Gabin,Alain Delon,Lino Ventura, andJean-Paul Belmondo—would bring him great commercial success. Verneuil'sDes gens sans importance(1956) marked his first film with Gabin as the lead; Gabin would also star inLe Président(1960) andMélodie en sous-sol(1963).Mélodie en sous-solcostarred Delon and was the second top French film of 1963. In 1962, Gabin paired with Belmondo inUn singe en hiver. Verneuil'sLe Clan des Siciliens, with Gabin, Delon, and Ventura, was the second most viewed French film in 1969.Verneuil directed several Belmondo films that scored among the top five French best sellers. These includeCent mille dollars au soleil(1964),Le Casse(1971),Peur sur la ville(1975), andLes Morfalous(1984).Week-end à Zuydcoote(1964) andLe Corps de mon ennemi(1976), both with Belmondo in the principal role, were also quite profitable at the box office.

Verneuil ventured into international cinema with hisLa Vingt-Cinquième Heure(1967), starring Anthony Quinn, andLa Bataille de San Sebastian(1968), featuring Quinn and Charles Bronson. He also directedThe Serpent(1973), starring Henry Fonda and Yul Brynner. He is best known for his French films, however, especially his dramatic thrillers. Verneuil received critical acclaim for the thrillerI. . .comme Icare(1979), a film that recalled through fiction the assassination of John F. Kennedy as it simultaneously took its inspiration from psychologist Stanley Milgram's experiment on obedience to authority at Yale. Milgram viewed the shooting of the film, which stars actorYves Montand. It receivedCésarnominations for Best Film and Best Screenplay.

In part because of his commercial savvy and fruitful use of French movie stars, Verneuil has been called "the most American of French cineastes." Yet not all of his films are clever, profit-producing vehicles. Verneuil directed a moving drama about an Armenian family's struggle in Turkey,Mayrig(1991). Based on his childhood and adapted from his own novel,Mayrigstars Claudia Cardinale and Omar Shariff. Verneuil directed a sequel,588 Rue Paradis(1992), inspired by his sometimes tumultuous experiences as an immigrant in France. He was assisted by his son, Patrick Malakian, who later directedPourquoi maman est dans mon lit?(1994). In 1996, Verneuil received an honorary César.