thumb|Tristan Bernard,

thumb|Tristan Bernard, drawn by [[Toulouse-Lautrec]]

Tristan Bernard (7 September 1866 – 7 December 1947) was a French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer.

Life

thumb|Tristan Bernard with [[Eleonora Duse, Matilde Serao, and others, 1897. Photo by Giuseppe Primoli.]]

He studied law, and after his military service, he started his career as the manager of an aluminium smelter. In the 1890s, he managed the Vélodrome de la Seine at Levallois-Perret and the Vélodrome Buffalo, events that were an integral part of Parisian life, being regularly attended by personalities such as Toulouse-Lautrec.

During the Occupation Bernard was arrested in the South of France in September 1943 because he was Jewish, and sent to the Drancy camp. Thanks to the efforts of his friends Sacha Guitry and Arletty he was released a few weeks later.

Famous for his wit, Bernard was also a crossword creator.

Works

Plays

  • Les Pieds nickelés (1895)
  • ' (French Without a Master) (1899)
  • Triplepatte (with André Godfernaux, 1905)
  • The Brighton Twins (Les Jumeaux de Brighton) (1908)
  • Le Danseur inconnu (1909)
  • Le Costaud des épinettes (with Alfred Athis, 1910)
  • The Little Cafe (Le petit café) (1911)
  • Les Deux Canards (with Alfred Athis, 1913)
  • Jeanne Doré (1913)
  • Coeur de lilas (with , 1921)
  • Le Cordon bleu (1923)
  • Embrassez-moi (with Gustave Quinson and Yves Mirande, 1923)

Narrative works

  • Vous m'en direz tant (1894) collaboration with Pierre Veber
  • Contes de Pantruche et d'ailleurs (1897)
  • Sous toutes réserves (1898)
  • Mémoires d'un jeune homme rangé (1899)
  • Un mari pacifique (1901)
  • Amants et voleurs (1905)
  • Mathilde et ses mitaines (1912)
  • L'Affaire Larcier (1924)
  • Le Voyage imprévu (1928)
  • Aux abois (1933)
  • Robin des bois (1935)

Filmography

  • Jeanne Doré, directed by Louis Mercanton and René Hervil (1915, based on the play Jeanne Doré)
  • The Love Cheat, directed by George Archainbaud (1919, based on the play Le Danseur inconnu)
  • The Little Cafe, directed by Raymond Bernard (1919, based on the play The Little Cafe)
  • Triplepatte, directed by Raymond Bernard (1922, based on the play Triplepatte)
  • Le Costaud des épinettes, directed by Raymond Bernard (1923, based on the play Le Costaud des épinettes)
  • Kiss Me, directed by Robert Péguy (1929, based on the play Embrassez-moi)<!--8 February 1929-->
  • The Unknown Dancer, directed by René Barberis (1929, based on the play Le Danseur inconnu)<!--29 November 1929-->
  • Playboy of Paris, directed by Ludwig Berger (1930, based on the play The Little Cafe)<!--English-language version, 31 October 1930-->
  • The Little Cafe, directed by Ludwig Berger (1931, based on the play The Little Cafe)<!--French-language version, 8 May 1931-->
  • Le Poignard malais, directed by Roger Goupillières (1931, based on a short story)<!--30 January 1931-->
  • English As It Is Spoken, directed by Robert Boudrioz (1931, based on the play ')<!--12 June 1931-->
  • The Champion Cook, directed by Karl Anton (1932, based on the play Le Cordon bleu)<!--9 January 1932-->
  • Coeur de lilas, directed by Anatole Litvak (1932, based on the play Coeur de lilas)<!--13 March 1932-->
  • Kiss Me, directed by Léon Mathot (1932, based on the play Embrassez-moi)<!--21 October 1932-->
  • Les Deux Canards, directed by Erich Schmidt (1934, based on the play Les Deux Canards)<!--19 April 1934-->
  • The Slipper Episode, directed by Jean de Limur (1935, based on the novel Le Voyage imprévu)<!--French-language version, 3 January 1935-->
  • Runaway Ladies, directed by Jean de Limur (1938, based on the novel Le Voyage imprévu)<!--English-language version, released after three years-->
  • Lovers and Thieves, directed by Raymond Bernard (1935, based on the play Le Costaud des épinettes)<!--15 November 1935-->
  • The Brighton Twins, directed by Claude Heymann (1936, based on the play The Brighton Twins)<!--30 October 1936-->
  • ', directed by Mario Bonnard (Italy, 1938, based on the play Jeanne Doré)
  • The Last Metro, directed by Maurice de Canonge (1945, based on the novel Mathilde et ses mitaines)
  • ', directed by (2005, based on the novel Aux abois)

Screenwriter

  • ' (dir. Jacques Feyder and Raymond Bernard, 1917)
  • L'Homme inusable (dir. Raymond Bernard, 1923)
  • Décadence et grandeur (dir. Raymond Bernard, 1923)
  • The Fortune (dir. Jean Hémard, 1931)
  • Eusèbe député (dir. André Berthomieu, 1938)
  • Girls in Distress (dir. G. W. Pabst, 1939)

References