Pierre Chenal

Biography

Pierre Chenal was a French director and screenwriter who flourished in the 1930s. He was born in 1904 in Brussels, Belgium as Pierre Cohen. Chenal was best known for film noir thrillers such as the 1937 film L'Alibi, where he worked with Erich von Stroheim and Louis Jouvet. In 1939 he made Le Dernier Tournant, the first of many film treatments of James M. Cain's celebrated novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice. He was also known for Crime and Punishment (1935), Native Son (1951) and Versatile Lovers (1970). Chenal was Jewish and was forced to flee occupied France for South America in 1942. He made a number of films while living in Argentina and more in France after the war; but his post-war work never achieved the success and popularity of his pre-war efforts. He was married to Florence Marly. He died on December 23, 1990 in La Garenne-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, France.