Émile Couzinet

Émile Couzinet

director, writer, producer

Émile Couzinet was born on Nov 12, 1896 in France. Émile Couzinet's big-screen debut came with Andorra ou les hommes d'Airain directed by Émile Couzinet in 1942.

Emile Couzinet (b. 1896)was the owner of several movie theaters in the south west of France ..He had an idea which was (and to this day remained) unique:he made his own movies which were shown in his theaters .He did not care about what Parisian critics thought.The only man of the French cinema who was a writer,a director,a producer ,a film distributor, a cinema owner and manager;he had his own studios and ,like Ed Wood in America ,he often used the same actors ,particularly Jean Tissier and Jeanne Fusier-Gir . His output is hopeless.Coarse comedies abound in his huge filmography:"Le Don D'Adele (1950)told the unspeakable story of a farm girl,almost excommunicated by the local priest."Le Curé De Saint-Amour" (1952) was the tale of a priest who helped the lovers ,provided they did not sin before the wedding."Quand Te Tues-Tu?" (1953) a remake of a thirties comedy ,dealt with the problems of a bourgeois ,who could get a rich inheritance ,but he had to marry a widow or the money would go to a brass band ."La Famille Cucuroux(1953) featured broke aristocrats ,a leopard and an American Indian cousin."Mon Curé Champion Du régiment'(1955)found him going out at a peak of unbelievably corny stuff:a priest ,armed up with a breviary and an umbrella became a military boxing champ.His titles spoke for themselves .His last effort "Le Medecin Malgré Lui" (1962) was high culture: Molière's play!.Couzinet died in 1964,his works have become French guiltiest pleasure,so to speak.

  • Birthday

    Nov 12, 1896
  • Place of Birth

    Bourg, Gironde, France