Guitry, Sacha

(Alexandre-Georges Guitry /

   February 21, 1885, St. Petersburg, Russia-July 24, 1957, Paris, France)

   The son of the great actor Lucien Guitry (1860-1925), he had a mediocre schooling. In 1899, he made his stage debut under the pseudonym of Lorcey in Victor Hugo's Hernani. At age sixteen, he wrote the first of his 120 plays, La Page, which was created in 1902. In 1905, his play Nono (written in four days) was a huge success, helping him become one of the most famous French boulevard authors of his cen­tury. In 1915, he filmed a documentary (Ceux de chez nous / USA: Those of Our Land) in which appeared his father's friends: actress Sarah Bernhardt; writers Anatole France and Octave Mirbeau; stage director André Antoine; painters Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Auguste Renoir; playwright Edmond Rostand; future director Jean Renoir; and composer Camille Saint-Saëns. He played in a couple of silent movies (1918 Un Roman d'Amour et d'Aventures, also screenwriter, René Hervil, Louis Mercanton; 1923 La Voy­ante, also author of original play, Léon Abrams, Louis Mercanton) but was not interested in cinema before the beginning of the talkies era. He collaborated as a screenwriter on several films (1931 Le Blanc et le Noir, as author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, Léonce Perret; 1938 L'Accroche-Cœur / Riviera Express, as screenwriter, dialogist, technical adviser, Pierre Caron; 1951 Adhémar ou Le Jouet de la Fatalité, as screenwriter, dialogist, Fernandel, Sacha Guitry fell ill and chose Fernandel to direct the movie; 1958 La Vie à Deux / UK: Life Together / USA: Life as a Couple, as screenwriter, dialogist, Clément Duhour; 1960 Au Voleur! / Affare Nabab, as screenwriter, Ralph Habib, France / West Germany). Many of his plays were brought to the screen (1924 The Lover of Camille, from Deburau, Harry Beaumont, USA; 1930 Sleeping Part­ners, from Faisons un Rêve, Seymour Hicks, USA; 1940 Lucky Partners, from Bonne Chance, Lewis Milestone, USA; 1996 Beaumarchais l'Insolent / USA: Beaumar­chais the Scoundrel, Edouard Molinaro; Désiré, Bernard Murat; 1997 Quadrille, Valérie Lemercier; Le Comédien, Christian de Chalonge; 2001 Un Crime au Paradis, from La Poison, Jean Becker) and adapted for TV (1970 Zwei ganze Tage / Zwei ganze Tage—Wir woollen uns ein Luftschloss bauen / Faisons un Rêve, Marcel Ophuls, West Germany / France; 1972 Au Théâtre ce Soir, epi­sode "La Pélerine écossaise", Pierre Sabbagh; 1976 La Jalousie, Raymond Rouleau; Désiré, Jeannette Hubert; Le Comédien, Jeannette Hubert; 1978 Au Théâtre ce Soir, episodes "Quadrille", "Le Nouveau Testament", Pierre Sabbagh; 1980 Mon Père avait raison, Paul-Robin Banhaïoun; 1982 Deburau, Jean Prat; 1984 Au Théâtre ce Soir, episode "Nono", Pierre Sabbagh; 1985 Au Théâtre ce Soir, episode "Georges Courteline au Travail & Boubouroche"; 1989 Si Guitry m'était conté, 52 X 26'; 1995 Une Folie, Pierre Joassin; 1996 Faisons un Rêve, Jean-Michel Ribes; Le Comédien, Georges Lautner; Mon Père avait raison, Roger Vadim; Le Veilleur de Nuit, Philippe de Broca; 2003 Le Nouveau Testament, Yves di Tullio, Bernard Murat; 2007 Faisons un Rêve, Bernard Murat). Other credit (as consultant): 1947 Paris 1900 (documentary, Nicole Védrès). He was married to actresses Charlotte Lysès (1877-1956), Yvonne Printemps (1894-1977), Jacqueline Delubac (1907-1997), Geneviève de Séréville / Geneviève Guitry (1914-1963), and Lana Marconi (1917-1990).

 Filmography

1915 ◘ Ceux de chez nous / USA: Those of Our Land (documentary; short; also producer, narrator of the sound version)

        ◘ Dîner de Gala des Ambassadeurs (short)

        ◘ Pasteur (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor; co-director with Fern-and Rivers)

        ◘ Bonne Chance (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor; co-director with Fernand Rivers)

1936 ◘ Le Nouveau Testament / USA: Indiscretions (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor; co-director with Alexandre Ryder)

        ◘ Le Roman d'un Tricheur / UK: The Cheat / USA: The Story of a Cheat (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Mon Père avait raison (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Le Mot de Cambronne (short; also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Laisons un Rêve (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Les Perles de la Couronne / UK and USA: The Pearls of the Crown (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor; co-director with Christian-Jaque)

        ◘ Désiré (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Quadrille (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Remontons les Champs-Elysées / USA: Champs-Elysses (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor; co-director with Robert Bibal)

1939 ◘ Ils étaient Neuf Célibataires (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

1942 ◘ Le Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary / USA: Mlle.

        ◘ Desiree (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor; co-director with René Le Hénaff)

        ◘ La Loi du 21 Juin 1907 (short; also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Donne-moi tes Yeux / USA: The Last Mistress (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ La Malibran (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ De Jeanne d'Arc à Philippe Pétain (documentary; also screenwriter, voice)

1948 ◘ Le Comédien / UK and USA: The Private Life of an Actor (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Le Diable boîteux (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

1949 ◘ Aux Deux Colombes (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Toâ (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

1950 ◘ Le Trésor de Cantenac (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Tu m'a sauvé la Vie (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

1951 ◘ Deburau (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ La Poison / USA: Poison (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Je l'ai été trois Fois (also author of original play, screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ La Vie d'un Honnête Homme / UK and USA: The Virtuous Scoundrel (also screenwriter, di-alogist)

        ◘ Si Versailles m'était conté / Versailles / UK: Fabu­lous Versailles / USA: Royal Affairs in Versailles / Affairs in Versailles (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor, producer)

        ◘ Napoléon / Napoleone / Napoleone Bonaparte (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Si Paris nous était conté (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

        ◘ Assassins et Voleurs / USA: Lovers and Thieves (also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Les Trois font la Paire (also screenwriter, dialogist; co-director with Clément Duhour)