Alex Joffé
1918–1995 · French film director and screenwriter
Biography
Alex Joffé (Alexandria, 1918 – Paris, 1995) was a French director and screenwriter, active mainly between the 1940s and the 1960s. Before directing he worked as a camera operator and as secretary to Jean Aurenche, which gave him a hands-on grounding in filmmaking from the writing side.
He wrote the scripts for many films before making his directing debut in 1946 with Six heures à perdre. As a director he made comedies and thrillers, among them Les Hussards (1955), Du rififi chez les femmes (1959) and Fortunat (1960), often starring Bourvil, who returned for several of his films. His work is commercial in character and moves between humour and suspense. He also appeared as an actor in Shoot the Piano Player (1960), directed by François Truffaut. He died in Paris in 1995. His son, Arthur Joffé, also became a film director.
Key films
- Shoot the Piano Player (1960): an acting appearance in François Truffaut's film.
- Les Hussards (1955): a comedy directed by Joffé, with Bourvil, Bernard Blier and Louis de Funès in the cast.
- Du rififi chez les femmes (1959): a thriller directed by Joffé with Robert Hossein and Roger Hanin.
- Fortunat (1960): a comedy starring Bourvil and Michèle Morgan.
Trivia
Born in Egypt
Joffé was born in Alexandria, Egypt, though his career unfolded in France. His full name was Alexandre Joffé.
From camera operator to screenwriter
Before writing and directing, he started as a camera operator and worked as secretary to Jean Aurenche, one of the most influential screenwriters of French cinema of his time.
On Cinematopedia
Shoot the Piano Player1960Cavalrymen1955Cavalrymen1955Six Hours to Lose1947Six Hours to Lose1947
Millionaires for One Day1949
The Riff Raff Girls1959
Alone in Paris1951Girl in His Pocket1957Girl in His Pocket1957Fortunat1960Fortunat1960Les Assassins du dimanche1956Les Assassins du dimanche1956The Fanatics1957The Fanatics1957Impossible on Saturday1965Impossible on Saturday1965Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.