Malle, Louis

(October 30, 1932, Thumeries, Nord, France - November 23, 1995, Beverly Hills, CA, USA)

   Born into one of the wealthiest French families, he studied political science at the Sorbonne in 1950 be­fore entering the IDHEC in 1951. Having graduated in 1953, he shot his first short the same year and became a collaborator with Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1953-1956), with whom he co-directed Le Monde du Silence (Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm in 1956).The first feature film he shot alone (Asccenseur pour l'Echafaud) won the Louis Delluc Prize in 1957. He authored an autobiography (1979 Louis Malle par Louis Malle, Editions de l'Arthanor). Other credits (as underwater photographer): 1955 Le Port du Désir / USA: House on the Waterfront (Edmond T. Gréville); (as technical collaborator): 1956 Un Condamné à Mort s'est échappé ou Le Vent souffle où il veut / USA: A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth, Robert Bresson); 1962 Le Combat dans l'Île / USA: Fire and Ice (Alain Cavalier); (as supervisor): Der jung Tôrless / Les Désarrois de l'Elève Tôrless / USA: The Young Torless (Volker Schlôndorff, West Germany / France); (as actor): 1969 La Voie lactée / La via lattea / La via lactea / Die Milchstrasse / USA: The Milky Way (Luis Bunuel, France / Italy / Spain / West Germany); 1970 La Fiancée du Pirate / UK: Dirty Mary / USA: A Very Curious Girl (Nelly Kaplan); 1975 The Lion Roars Again (documentary, short, as himself, USA); 1982 Before the Nickelodeon: The Cinema of Edwin S. Por­ter (documentary, as himself, Charles Muser, USA); 1983 Letters from New York (documentary, short, as himself, Wim Wenders); 1984 De Weg naar Bresson / USA: The Road to Bresson (documentary, as himself, Leo De Boer, Jurriën Rood, Netherlands); 1992 La Vie de Bohème / Vita de Boheme / Bohemernas Liv / Boheemielamaa / UK and USA: Bohemian Life (Aki Kaurismàki, France / Italy / Sweden / Finland); 1993 Jean Renoir (two-part documentary: "From la Belle Epoque to World War II", "Hollywood and Beyond", as himself, David Thompson, USA); 1994 Murphy Brown (episode "My Movie with Louis", John Rich, USA); 2002 Louis Malle—Un Cinéaste français (TV movie, Pierre Philippe).

 Filmography

1953 ◘ Crazeologie (short)

1955 ◘ La Fontaine de Vaucluse (short; also screenwriter)

        ◘ Station 307 (short; also screenwriter, camera­man, editor)

1956 ◘ Le Monde du Silence / Il mondo del silenzio / UK and USA: The Silent World (documentary; co-director with Jacques-Yves Cousteau; France / Italy)

1958 ◘ Ascenseur pour l'Echafaud / UK: Lift to the Scaffold / USA: Frantic (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter)

        ◘ Les Amants / UK and USA: The Lovers (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter)

1960 Zazie dans le Métro / Zazie nel metrô / UK: Zazie in the Subway / Zazie in the Underground / USA: Zazie dans le Métro (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist, producer; France / Italy)

1962 ◘ Vive le Tour (documentary; short; also screenwriter, narrator, cameraman)

        ◘ Vie privée / Vita privata / UK and USA: A Very Private Affair (also co-screenwriter, actor; France / Italy)

1963 ◘ Le Feu follet / Fuoco fatuo / UK: A Time to Love and a Time to Die / USA: The Fire Within (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist; France / Italy)

        ◘ Touriste encore (documentary; short)

1965 ◘ Viva Maria! (also screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist; France / Italy)

1967 ◘ Le Voleur / Il ladro di Parigi / UK: The Thief / USA: The Thief of Paris (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter; France / Italy)

        ◘ Histoires extraordinaires / Tre passi nel delirio / UK: Tales of Mystery and Imagination / USA: Spirits of the Dead (episode "William Wilson"; also screenwriter, adapter; France / Italy)

        ◘ Calcutta / Inde 68 (documentary; also screenwriter, author of commentary, narrator, cinematographer)

1971 ◘ Le Souffle au Cœur / Soffia al cuore / Herzflim-mern / UK: Dearest Love / USA: Murmur of the Heart (also screenwriter, adapter; France / Italy / West Germany)

1974 ◘ Humain, trop humain / UK: A Human Condition / USA: Human, Too Human (documentary)

        ◘ Lacombe Lucien / Cognome e nome: Lacombe Lucien / USA: Lacombe, Lucien (also co-screenwriter, producer; France / Italy / West Germany)

        ◘ Place de la République (documentary; co-director with Fernand Mozskowicz; also actor; shot in 1972)

        ◘ Black Moon (also screenwriter, producer; France / West Germany)

        ◘ Close Up (documentary; short)

1978 ◘ Pretty Baby (also co-author of original story, producer; USA)

        ◘ Atlantic City (USA / Canada / France)

        ◘ My Dinner with André (USA)

        ◘ Crackers (USA; shot in 1982)

        ◘ Alamo Bay (also producer; USA)

1987 ◘ Au Revoir les Enfants / Auf Wiedersehen, Kinder / UK and USA: Goodbye, Children (also screenwriter, dialogist, producer; France / West Germany)

1990 ◘ Milou en Mai / Milou a maggio / UK: Milou in May / USA: May Fools (also co-screenwriter, producer; France / Italy)

1992 ◘ Damage / Fatale / Verhangnis (also producer; UK / France / Germany)

1994 ◘ Vanya on 42nd Street (USA)

 Television Filmography

1969 ◘ L'Inde Fantôme / UK and USA: Phantom India (seven medium-length documentaries: "De­scente vers le Sud", "Madras", "La Religion", "La Tentation du Rêve", "Les Castes", "Les Etrangers en Inde", "Bombay"; also narrator, cinematographer; released theatrically in 1975)

1977 ◘ Dominique Sanda ou Le Rêve éveillé (documentary; short)

1986 ◘ God's Country / Le Pays de Dieu (documentary; also author of commentary, narrator, cameraman; USA)

        ◘ And the Pursuit of Happiness / La Poursuite du Bonheur (documentary; also author of com­mentary, narrator, cameraman; USA)