MIRANDE, YVES

(1875-1957)

Actor, director, and screenwriter. One of the great screenwriters of French cinema, Yves Mirande had a career that began in the silent-film era and lasted until just before his death. Mirande actually began his career in the theater, writing popular plays in what the French term thethéâtre du Boulevard. He got his start in cinema as a result of the demand to adapt his plays for the screen, and he went on to become a major screenwriter and occasional director.

During the silent era, a number of films were based on Mirande's plays, includingLéonce Perret'sLa Tournée des grands ducs(1909),André Hugon'sLe Chignon d'or(1916), starringHarry BaurandMistinguett,Roger Lionand Nicolas Rimsky'sLe Chasseur de chez Maxim's(1927), Robert Péguy'sEmbrassez-moi(1928), and Robert Boudrioz'sTrois jeunes filles nues(1929).

The 1930s and 1940s were the peak of Mirande's screenwriting years, and it was during this period that he began working directly on screenplays rather than simply allowing his theatrical plays to be adapted for the screen.Mirande's work during the period was largely in popular films. He did not work in the more avant-garde tradition, or in the vein ofLe Réalisme poétiqueor poetic realism, although he did work with bothJulien DuvivierandJacques Feyder. Among the films for which Mirande wrote the screenplays are Feyder'sSi l'empereur savait ça(1930) andOympia(1930), Robert Wyler'sPapa sans le savoir(1931) andLa Merveilleuse journée(1932), which Mirande codirected,René Guissart'sLa Chance(1931),Tu seras duchesse(1932),Ménilmontant(1936), andA nous deux,madame,la vie(1936), which Mirande codirected,Léon Mathot's sound remake ofEmbrassez-moi(1932), Pierre Colombier'sCharlemagne(1933), Marc Didier'sLe Billet de mille(1934),Léo Joannen'sQuelle drôle de gosse(1935) andLe Train de plaisir(1936), Edmond T. Greville'sPrincesse Tam Tam(1935), Duvivier'sUn carnet de bal(1937), Jean Boyer'sCirconstances atténuantes(1939),Georges Lacombe'sDerrière la façade(1939), which Mirande codirected, andElles étaient douze femmes(1940), Hugon'sMoulin Rouge(1940),Robert Vernay'sLa Femme que j'ai la plus aimée(1942),Jacques de Baroncelli'sSoyez les bienvenus(1942), and René Le Henaff'sDes jeunes filles dans la nuit(1943).

In addition to codirecting, Mirande directed and wrote several films, includingBaccara(1935),Sept hommes,une femme(1936),Messieurs les ronds de cuir(1936),Café de Paris(1938),Paris-New York(1940), andMoulin Rouge(1941). He also made a satirical film titledL'An 40in 1941, but that film was banned by the government after only one screening. Mirande also tried his hand at acting with a few small roles in Karl Anton'sLe Chasseur de chez Maxim's(1933), Lacombe'sDerrière la façade(1939), and Raymond Leboursier'sLes Petits riens(1942). Mirande's material was still being produced in the cinema long after his death. The most recent example of a film using his work was Claude Vital's remake ofLa Merveilleuse journée(1980).