Henri-Georges Clouzot - Biography

After a decade as a screenwriter, Clouzot made his directorial debut in 1942. His next film, Le corbeau (1943) had the distinction of being banned both by the Nazis and the victorious French forces for differing reasons. He shot to international fame with Le salaire de la peur (1953) and consolidated that success with Les diaboliques (1955), but continuous ill-health caused large gaps in his output, and several projects had to be abandoned (though one, L'enfer (1994), was subsequently filmed by Claude Chabrol). His films are typically relentless suspense thrillers, similar to Hitchcock's, but with far less light relief.