Jean Marchat

Jean Marchat was born on Jun 08, 1902 in France. Jean Marchat's big-screen debut came with Le poignard malais directed by Roger Goupillières in 1931, strarring Lucien Moutier. Jean Marchat is known for Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne directed by Robert Bresson, Paul Bernard stars as Jean and María Casares as Hélène. The upcoming new movie Jean Marchat plays is Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne which will be released on Apr 03, 1964.

A prestigious theater actor and stage director, member of the Comédie-Française, Jean Marchat also founded his own company, the Rideau de Paris. But, as is often the case with great names of the stage, Marchat's movie career does not live up to what he achieved on the boards. The handsome, manly, impressive actor could proudly say: 'I served Corneille, Péguy, Gide, Giraudoux, Mérimée, Roblès ... and many others'. He certainly did not boast about the ones he worked for in films: Gleize, Paulin, Stelli, Reinert, Vernay or Kapps! Not that any of their work was systematically terrible but those filmmakers definitely lacked ambition and personality. Occasionally though, Marchat would appear in a more artistic work. He was in a scene or two for Grémillon, Bresson or Guitry. But most of the time he lent his name to run-of-the-mill productions. He did it playing by the rules, without disdain. He always brought all his authority and his assurance to the characters he played, inferior as the film he was in was. He particularly shone when he embodied unpleasant fellows (an arrogant aristocrat, an upper class criminal, a spy, a collaborator) or figures of authority such as judges, prosecutors, bishops, generals and nobles.