HENRI DECAË

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

#1: © Photo by Thys Ockersen [1973]

#3: [Behind camera] with François Truffaut

HENRI DECAË

Born: 31 July 1915, Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France.

Died: 7 March 1987, Paris, France.

Education: École technique de photographie et de cinéma [ETPC] [later École nationale de photographie et cinématographie (ENPC) (École Vaugirard); now L'École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière] [graduated in 1935].

Career: Bought a camera when he was 10 and made a number of amateur films, some with his brother Claude. Entered the film industry as a sound recording engineer and sound editor, working for the company Poste Parisien. Was cameraman in the French Air Force [Service Cinématographique de l'Armée de l'Air] during WW2. In 1945, he became photographic reporter for six months for the magazine 'Le Petit Parisien'. Began making documentaries and directing and photographing industrial and commercial films, then in 1947 made his first feature.

Ph commercials.

Appeared in a seg of the newsreel magazine 'Actualités Gaumont' [June 1970], a report on the shooting of 'Le cercle rouge'.

In an interview made shortly after 'Le cercle rouge' Jean-Pierre Melville had some harsh things to say about his long-time collaborator, accusing him of, among other things, a deterioration in professional standards. There must be more to this story than appears, however, since Henri Decaë's work pre- and post-'Le cercle rouge' is nothing if not professional. The worst he can be charged with is that lately his directors have been getting less interesting: from the second most popular cameraman of the Nouvelle Vague to being Lewis Gilbert's regular is a deterioration indeed. But his versatility is amply demonstrated by the midsummer riot of colors in 'A double tour' contrasted with the gray, wintery Paris of 'Les 400 coups'; or the formal romanticism of 'Les amants' in opposition to the surreal warscapes of 'Castle Keep'. Always a color specialist, even before color became inescapable, he has also proved particularly adept at night sequences of varying moods. [Markku Salmi in 'Film Dope', No. 9, April 1976.]

FILMS [see also SHORT FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES AS DIRECTOR]
194?	Pif, paf, pouf [?] unreleased
1942	Premier prix du conservatoire [René Guy-Grand] b&w; doc/29m; cph: Georges Raulet
1944	Chanson de rue [Léo Sevestre] b&w; mus doc/?m
1945	Marseille, premier port de France [Jean Mineur] b&w; doc/?m
1945	L'accordéon et ses vedettes [Léo Sevestre] b&w; mus doc/?m
1946	Nostalgie champêtre [Léo Sevestre] b&w; short/?m
1946	Hommes et bêtes [Jean Mineur] b&w; ?/?m
1946	Sport de la voile [Léo Sevestre & L. Motard] b&w; ?/?m
1946	Le charcutier de Machonville [Vicky Ivernel] c.op; ph: Marcel Fradétal
1947	Les drames du Bois de Boulogne [Jacques Loew] b&w; short/19m
1947	Le silence de la mer/The Silence of the Sea [Jean-Pierre Melville] b&w; + co-ed/co-sound dubbing/mixing; shooting started with ph Luc Mirot, who was sacked and replaced by André Villard, who was replaced by H. Decaë (J-P. Melville: 'Henri Decaë, a young man as sympathetic as he was shy, gifted with great intelligence, and exactly sharing my tastes for all things cinema. The first day we worked together was very pleasant, the second, delightful. From the third day onwards the die was cast.'); filmed between August & December (27 shooting days); released 1949
1948	Un homme à la mer [Jacques Loew] ?; ?/?m
1948	Sous les palmes de Marrakech [Jean Mineur] ?; doc/?m
1948	Marrakech, capitale du Sud [Jean Mineur] ?; doc/?m
1948	Le Mellah de Marrakech [Jean Mineur] ?; doc/?m
1948	Bons baisers de Dinard [Jacques Loew] ?; doc/18m
1949	Vacances blanches [Marc de Gastyne] ?; ?/?m
1949	Les enfants terribles/The Strange Ones [Jean-Pierre Melville] b&w; filmed 1949-50
1950	Cher vieux Paris!/Paris des artistes [Marc de Gastyne] 16mm/b&w; doc/32m

1950	Le premier pas [Armand Chartier] b&w; doc/21m; prod for Ministère de l'agriculture
1950	Paré pour accoster! [Jacques Loew] b&w; short/17m
1950	Bertrand, coeur-de-lion/Bernard and the Lion [Robert Dhéry] b&w
1950	Caroline du Sud [Marc de Gastyne] b&w; short/24m
1951	Caroline au pays natal [Marc de Gastyne] b&w; short/18m
1951	La course de taureaux/Bullfight [Pierre Braunberger] b&w; doc/76m; cph: Jimmy Berliet
1951	Au coeur de la Casbah/Maria Pilar [Pierre Cardinal] b&w
1951	La lutte contre le gaspillage [Léo Sevestre] ?; doc/?m
1951	Escale à Paris [Michel Lukine] ?; ?/?m; cph: ?
*1951*	Si ça vous chante [Jacques Loew] b&w; ?/?m; unreleased
*1952*	L'or des Pharaons/Le masque de Tout Ankh Amon/L'or du Nil [Marc de Gastyne] ?; doc/?m; unreleased; see 1967
1952	Avec les gens du voyage [Marc de Gastyne] ?; ?/32m; cph: ?
1952	Le grand cirque s'en va [Marc de Gastyne] ?; doc/26m; cph: ?
1952	Crève-coeur [Jacques Dupont] c; doc/90m; cph: Jean Rabier; was replaced as ph by Jean Rabier, his c.op, after he was wounded in an explosion and had to return to Paris
1953	Cow-boys français [Jean Vaudremont] ?; doc/?m
1953	Village de la France Australe [Jean Vaudremont] c; doc/?m
1953	La beauté de l'effort [Marc de Gastyne] 16mm/b&w; doc/15m
1953	L'homme et les bêtes [Marc de Gastyne] ?; ?/?m; cph: Alain Levent & André Cantenys
1953	Stock-car (À tout casser!) [Jacques Dupont] ?; doc/345mtr; cph: Jean Rabier
1953	L'Egypte éternelle [Marc de Gastyne] ?; doc/?m
1953	Un monde troublant [Marc de Gastyne] ?; ?/?m
1954	Coureurs de brousse [Jacques Dupont] ?; ?/?m
1954	Navigation marchande [atlantique]/Marine marchande [Georges Franju] b&w; doc/30m
1955	Mer Caraïbe [Henri de Hubsch] ?; doc/22m
1955	La grande terre [Jean Vaudremont] ?; ?/?m
1955	Bob le Flambeur [Jean-Pierre Melville] b&w; + voice
1956	L'enfant au fennec [Jacques Dupont] 16mm/c; short/20m
1956	Israël... terre retrouvée [Marc de Gastyne] ?; doc/28m; cph: Jean Rabier
1956	Propre à rien/Good for Nothing [Marc de Gastyne] c; short/25m; cph: Jean Rabier
1956	S.O.S. Noronha [Georges Rouquier] c
1957	La voix des anches [Claude-Yvon Leduc] ?; ?/?m
1957	De bouche à oreille [Claude-Yvon Leduc] ?; ?/?m
1957	Neuf à trois ou La journée d'une vedette [Claude-Yvon Leduc] ?; ?/?m
1957	Piano, mon ami [Claude-Yvon Leduc] b&w; doc/?m
1957	Confidences d'un piano [Claude-Yvon Leduc] ?; ?/?m
1957	Robinson [Marc de Gastyne] 16mm/c; short/35m; c.op: Jean Rabier
1957	Les plus beaux jours [Marc de Gastyne] ?; ?/?m
1957	Le désir mène les hommes [Émile (Mick) Roussel] b&w

1957	Ascenseur pour l'échafaud/Elevator to the Gallows/Frantic [Louis Malle] b&w
1957	Le beau Serge/Handsome Serge [Claude Chabrol] b&w; filmed 1957-58
1958	Bois et cuivres [Claude-Yvon Leduc] ?; ?/?m; cph: ?
1958	Les cuivres à la voix d'or [Claude-Yvon Leduc] ?; ?/?m
1958	Le château du passé [Marc de Gastyne] ?; short/20m; cph: Jean Rabier; or ph Jacques Duhamel
*1958*	L'A.F.P. nous communique [Jean-Pierre Melville] unfinished; J-P. Melville: 'Before making 'Deux hommes dans Manhattan', I had begun writing a thriller which was set in Cannes during the film festival. We were ready to start when I decided to abandon it. So I abandoned this project and, still with Decaë as my cameraman, began shooting another script 'L'A.F.P. nous communique'. I already had twenty minutes in the can when de Gaulle came to power in May 1958. That was the end of it for me. 'L'A.F.P nous communique' died with the Fourth Republic. [Later that year] I transposed the story of 'L'A.F.P. nous communique' to New York, where I went in November 1958 to shoot the exteriors ('Deux hommes dans Manhattan'). Decaë wasn't free. He had become cameraman-in-chief to the Nouvelle Vague.' [From the book 'Melville' by Rui Nogueira, 1971.]

1958	Les amants/The Lovers [Louis Malle] ds/b&w
1958	Les cousins/The Cousins [Claude Chabrol] b&w
1958	Les quatre cents coups/The 400 Blows [François Truffaut] ds/b&w; filmed 1958-59
1959	Un témoin dans la ville/Witness in the City [Edouard Molinaro] b&w
1959	La sentence/The Verdict [Jean Valère] b&w
1959	À double tour/Web of Passion/Leda [Claude Chabrol] c
1959	Plein soleil/Purple Noon/Lust for Evil/Blazing Sun [René Clément] c
1959	Les bonnes femmes/The Good Time Girls/Girls... Girls!! [Claude Chabrol] b&w; filmed 1959-60
1960	Images d'hier et d'aujourd'hui [Claude-Yvon Leduc] ?; ?/?m; cph: ?
*1960*	Ce monde banal [Jean Wagner] a short film shot in 3 days, but unedited; prod by Jean-Pierre Melville
1960	Che gioia vivere/Quelle joie de vivre [René Clément] ds/b&w
1961	Léon Morin, prêtre/Léon Morin, Priest [Jean-Pierre Melville] b&w
1961	Le village du milieu des brûmes [Armand Chartier] ?; ?/?m
1961	Vie privée/A Very Private Affair [Louis Malle] c
1961	Eva/Eve [Joseph Losey] b&w; uncred ph Venice FF seq (filmed September); ph: Gianni Di Venanzo; filmed November 1961-January 1962
1961	Les sept péchés capitaux/The Seven Deadly Sins/Seven Capital Sins [1. Sylvain Dhomme & MaxDouy ('La colère'), 2. Edouard Molinaro ('L'envie'), 3. Jean-Luc Godard ('La paresse'), 4. Jacques Demy ('La luxure'), 5. Roger Vadim ('L'orgueil'), 6. Philippe de Broca ('La gourmandise') & 7. Claude Chabrol ('L'avarice')] ds/b&w; 7 seg; ph seg 3, 4 & 5; other ph: Jean Penzer (seg 1 & 6), Louis Miaille (seg 2) & Jean Rabier (seg 7)
1961	Le marionnettiste: Football [Jean-Jacques Languepin] 16mm/c; mime film/19m
1962	[Cybèle ou] Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray/Sundays and Cybele [Serge Bourguignon] fs/b&w
1962	Le jour et l'heure/The Day and the Hour/Today We Live [René Clément] fs/b&w
1962	L'aîné des Ferchaux/An Honorable Young Man/Magnet of Doom [Jean-Pierre Melville] fs/c
1963	La porteuse de pain/The Bread Peddler [Maurice Cloche] c
1963	Dragées au poivre/Sweet and Sour [Jacques Baratier] b&w
1963	Le marionnettiste [Jean-Jacques Languepin] 16mm/c; short/11m
1963	Les félins/The Love Cage/Joy House [René Clément] fs/b&w
1963	La ronde/Circle of Love [Roger Vadim] fs/c; filmed 1963-64
1964	La tulipe noire/The Black Tulip [Christian-Jaque] Superpanorama 70/c; 2uc: Wladimir Ivanov
1964	Week-end à Zuydcoote/Weekend at Dunkirk [Henri Verneuil] fs/c
1964	Le corniaud/The Sucker [Gérard Oury] fs/c; 2uc: Wladimir Ivanov
1964	Viva Maria! [Louis Malle] p/c; filmed 1964-65
1965	Hotel Paradiso [Peter Glenville] p/c
1966	Le voleur/The Thief of Paris [Louis Malle] c

Next to Anatole Litvak [glasses] - "The Night of the Generals"

1966	The Night of the Generals [Anatole Litvak] p/c
1967	Toutankhamon et son royaume [Marc de Gastyne] ?; doc/?m; re-edited version of 'L'or des Pharaons' (1952)
1967	The Comedians [Peter Glenville] p/c

1967	Le samouraï/The Godson [Jean-Pierre Melville] c
1967	Diaboliquement vôtre/Diabolically Yours [Julien Duvivier] c
1968	Castle Keep [Sydney Pollack] p (+ 70bu)/c
1968	The Only Game in Town [George Stevens] c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Art Cruickshank; filmed 1968-69

Actor Jean Gabin - Henri Verneuil - H. Decaë - "Le clan des Siciliens"

1969	Le clan des Siciliens/The Sicilian Clan [Henri Verneuil] p/c
1969	Hello-Goodbye [Jean Negulesco (replaced Ronald Neame)] c
1970	Le cercle rouge [Jean-Pierre Melville] c
1970	The Light at the Edge of the World/La luz del fin del mundo [Kevin Billington] p/c; 2uc: Cecilio Paniagua
1971	Jo/The Gazebo [Jean Girault] c
1971	La folie des grandeurs/Delusions of Grandeur [Gérard Oury] c; 2uc: Wladimir Ivanov
1971	Le droit d'aimer/Elle lui dirait dans l'île [Eric Le Hung] c
1972	Don Juan ou Si Don Juan était une femme.../Don Juan (Or If Don Juan Were a Woman) [Roger Vadim] c; cph: Andréas Winding
1972	Two People [Robert Wise] c; ph New York: Gerald Hirschfeld

[Right] with dir Lewis Gilbert - "Operation: Daybreak"

1973	Operation: Daybreak/The Price of Freedom/Seven Men at Daybreak [Lewis Gilbert] c
1973	Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob/The Mad Adventures of 'Rabbi' Jacob [Gérard Oury] c; c.op 2u: Vladimir Ivanov
1974	La moutarde me monte au nez/French Mustard/Lucky Pierre [Claude Zidi] p/c
1974	Isabelle devant le désir/Isabelle and Lust [Jean-Pierre Berckmans] c
1975	La course à l'échalote [Claude Zidi] p/c
1976	Seven Nights in Japan [Lewis Gilbert] c
1976	Bobby Deerfield [Sydney Pollack] p/c; add racing footage: Tony Maylam & John Jopson
1977	Le point de mire/Focal Point [Jean-Claude Tramont] c
1977	Mort d'un pourri/The Twisted Detective [Georges Lautner] c
1977	The Boys from Brazil [Franklin J. Schaffner] c; filmed 1977-78
1978	Ils sont fous, ces sorciers! [Georges Lautner] c
1978	Flic ou voyou/Cop or Hood [Georges Lautner] c; 2uc: Jean-Yves Coic
1978	An Almost Perfect Affair [Michael Ritchie] c
1979	Le guignolo [Georges Lautner] c; 2uc: Jean-Yves Coic
1979	The Island [Michael Ritchie] p (35mm + 70bu)/c; sea ph: Neil Roach; matte ph: Bill Taylor; spec vfx: Albert J. Whitlock
1980	Le coup du parapluie/The Umbrella Coup [Gérard Oury] c; 2uc: Jean-Yves Coic
1980	Inspecteur la Bavure/Inspector Blunder [Claude Zidi] c
1980	Est-ce bien raisonnable? [Georges Lautner] c
1980	Exposed [James Toback] c; released 1983
1981	Le professionnel/The Professional [Georges Lautner] c
1982	L'été de nos 15 ans [Marcel Jullian] c; 2uc: Jean-Yves Coic
1983	Attention, une femme peut en cacher une autre!/My Other Husband [Georges Lautner] c; 2uc: Pascal Lebègue
1983	Les parents ne sont pas simples cette année [Marcel Jullian] c
1984	La vengeance du serpent à plumes [Gérard Oury] p/c

TELEVISION
1979	The Hard Way [Michael Dryhurst] tvm
1986	Le tiroir secret [Edouard Molinaro, Nadine Trintignant, Michael Boisrond & Roger Gillioz] 6-part miniseries; other ph: Michel Carré, Claude Robin & Dario Di Palma
1986	Riviera [Alan Smithee (= John Frankenheimer)] tvm; cph: Bernard Lutic

SHORT FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES AS DIRECTOR
1941	Eau vive [co-d: Claude Decaë; + ph]
1942	Glaciers [+ ph]
1943	Au-delà du visible [+ ph]
1945	A tous les vents [+ ph] prod Les Films Jean Mineur
1949	Pensez à ceux qui sont en-dessous! [+ ph]
1949	Surveillez votre tenue [+ ph]
1949	Evitez le désordre [+ ph]
1949	Ne compromettez pas vos loisirs [+ ph]
1949	Apprenez à soulever une charge [+ ph]
1949	Faites soigner vos égratignures [+ ph]
1949	Trois hommes en Corse [co-d: Claude Decaë; dram doc/b&w/17m] ph: ?
*1950*	Le carnaval sacré [ph: ?] unreleased
1950	À cheval [+ ph]
1951	Faits d'hiver [ph: ?]
1951	Visite au haras [+ ph]
1951	Le garde-chasse [+ ph]