Biography
Marcel L'Herbier (1888-1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total. During the 1950s and 1960s, he worked on cultural programmes for French television. He also fulfilled many administrative roles in the French film industry, and he was the founder and the first President of the French film school Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC). In 1921, only three years after his first film, Marcel L'Herbier was voted by readers of a French film magazine as the best French director. In the following year, the critic Léon Moussinac marked him as one of the filmmakers whose work was most important for the future of cinema. In this period, L'Herbier was linked with filmmakers such as Abel Gance, Germaine Dulac and Louis Delluc as part of a "first avant-garde" (Impressionism) in French cinema, the first generation to think spontaneously in animated images.
Directed 45
1970s
- 1975
La Féerie des fantasmes
Director
1950s
- 1954
What the East Wind Saw
Director
- 1953
The Father of the Girl
Director
- 1950
The Last Days of Pompeii
Director
1940s
- 1948
Stolen Affections
Director
- 1946
Queen's Necklace
Director
Happy Go Lucky
Director
- 1945
The Bohemian Life
Director
- 1943
The Honorable Catherine
Director
- 1942
Fantastic Night
Director
- 1941
Foolish Husbands
Director
- 1940
Comedy of Happiness
Director
La Mode rêvée
Director
1930s
- 1939
Savage Brigade
Director
Cordial Agreement
Director
Land of Fire
Director
- 1938
Adrienne Lecouvreur
Director
Rasputin
Director
- 1937
Forfaiture
Director
The Citadel of Silence
Director
- 1936
The Great Temptation
Director
The New Men
Director
- 1935
The Imperial Road
Director
Sacrifice of Honor
Director
- 1934
The Adventurer
Director
Le Bonheur
Director
- 1933
The Hawk
Director
- 1931
Scent of the Woman in Black
Director
- 1930
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
Director
La Femme d'une nuit
Director
Illegitimate Child
Director
1920s
- 1929
Princely Nights
Director
- 1928
Little Devil May Care
Director
- 1926
Le Vertige
Director
- 1925
The Late Mathias Pascal
Director
- 1924
The Inhuman Woman
Director
- 1922
Don Juan et Faust
Director
- 1921
El Dorado
Director
Prometheus, Banker
Director
- 1920
The Man of the Sea
Director
Le Carnaval des vérités
Director
1910s
- 1919
Le Bercail
Director
Rose-France
Director
Wrote 34
1950s
- 1953
The Father of the Girl
Screenplay
- 1950
The Last Days of Pompeii
Dialogue, Screenplay
1940s
- 1948
Stolen Affections
Screenplay
- 1942
Fantastic Night
Adaptation
- 1941
Foolish Husbands
Writer
- 1940
Comedy of Happiness
Writer
La Mode rêvée
Screenplay
1930s
- 1939
Savage Brigade
Writer
- 1938
Adrienne Lecouvreur
Writer
Rasputin
Screenplay
- 1936
The Great Temptation
Writer
The New Men
Screenplay
- 1935
The Imperial Road
Scenario Writer
Sacrifice of Honor
Screenplay
- 1934
Le Bonheur
Writer
- 1933
The Hawk
Writer
- 1931
Scent of the Woman in Black
Screenplay
- 1930
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
Scenario Writer
La Femme d'une nuit
Scenario Writer
1920s
- 1929
Princely Nights
Screenplay
- 1928
Little Devil May Care
Screenplay
- 1926
Le Vertige
Writer
- 1925
The Late Mathias Pascal
Writer
- 1924
The Inhuman Woman
Scenario Writer
- 1922
Don Juan et Faust
Screenplay
- 1921
El Dorado
Writer
Prometheus, Banker
Writer
- 1920
The Man of the Sea
Writer
Le Carnaval des vérités
Writer
1910s
- 1919
Rose-France
Writer
- 1918
Infatuation
Scenario Writer, Writer
- 1917
The Blindness of Youth
Screenplay
Produced 5
1930s
- 1930
Zuiderzeewerken
Producer
1920s
- 1924
The Gallery of Monsters
Producer
The Flood
Producer
- 1923
News Item
Producer
Le marchand de plaisirs
Producer
Art department 4
1920s
- 1924
The Gallery of Monsters
Art Direction
The Flood
Art Direction
- 1923
News Item
Art Direction
Le marchand de plaisirs
Art Direction
Acted in 1
1910s
- 1918
Infatuation
Movie
Edited 1
1920s
- 1920
The Man of the Sea
Editor
Appearances2
2020s
- 2026
Cavalcanti
Self (archive footage)
1920s
- 1929
Autour de l'argent
Himself