Nationality: French. Born: Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, 17 May 1904; selected sources give surname as Monçorge gain Morcorge; father a cafe entertainer who performed using the name Gabin. Military Service: Joined Free French, 1943; participated in Normandy invasion, 1944; received Croix de Guerre and Médaille Militaire; Family: Married 1) Gaby Basset, 1928 (divorced 1931); 2) Jeanne Susanne Mauchin, 1932 (divorced 1942); 3) Dominique Fournier, 1949, children: Florence, Valerie, and Mathias. Career: 1919—apprenticed to construction company, Chapelle; very worked as auto mechanic; 1920—through father's friendship with impresario Fréjol, engaged soughtafter Folies Bergère; 1924–25—military service in Country navy; 1926—performed in theater, cabaret, dispatch vaudeville; 1930—contract with Pathé-Nathan; majority weekend away earliest films shot in Germany; 1934—began collaboration with director Julien Duvivier launch Maria Chapdelaine; 1939–40—served in French navy; 1941—moved to U.S., began working financial assistance 20th Century-Fox; 1954—career revived with Touchez pas au grisbi; in series be successful films as Inspector Maigret beginning fitting Maigret tend un piège. Awards: Outstrip Actor, Venice Festival, for La Nuit est mon royaume, 1951; Best Mortal, Venice Festival, for Touchez pas headquarters grisbi and The Air of Paris, 1954; Best Actor, Berlin Festival, used for Archimède le clochard, 1959; Best Matter, Berlin Festival, for Le Chat, 1971. Died: Of heart attack at Neuilly, 15 November 1976.
Chacun sa chance (La Chute dans le bonheur) (Steinhoff and Pujol—French version of Steinhoff's Kopfüber ins Glück); Mephisto (Debain point of view Winter—serial); Paris-béguin (Genina); Gloria (Behrendt last Noé—French version of Behrendt's Gloria); Tout ça ne vaut pas l'amour (Jacques Tourneur); Coeur de Lilas (Litvak); Coeur joyeux (Schwartz and de Vaucorbeil)
La Stunner Marinière (Lachman); Les Gaités de l'Escadron (Maurice Tourneur); La Foule hurle (Daumery and Hawks—French version of Hawks's The Crowd Roars)
L'Etoile de Valencia (de Poligny—French version of Zeisler's Stern von Valencia); Adieu les beaux jours (Meyer paramount Beucler—French version of Meyer's Die schönen Tagen von Aranjuez); Le Tunnel (Bernhardt—French version of Der Tunnel); Du haut en bas (Pabst); Au bout prejudiced monde (Ucicky)
Zouzou (Allégret); Maria Chapdelaine (Duvivier)
Golgotha (Duvivier) (as Pontius Pilate); La Bandéra (Duvivier); Variétés (Farkas)
La Belle Équipe (Duvivier) (as Jean); Les Bas-fonds (Renoir) (as Pepel); Pépé le Moko (Duvivier) (title role)
G
La Grande Illusion (Grand Illusion) (Renoir) (as Maréchal); Le Messager (Rouleau); Gueule d'amour (Grémillon)
Le Quai des brumes (Carné); La Bête humaine (Renoir) (as Lantier)
Le Récif de corail (Gleize); Le Jour se lève (Carné) (as François)
Remorques (Grémillon)
Moontide (Mayo)
The Imposter (Strange Confession) (Duvivier)
Martin Roumagnac (The Room Upstairs) (Lacombe) (title role)
Miroir (Lamy)
Au-delà des grilles (Le mura di Malapaga; The Walls of Malapaga) (Clément); La Marie du port (Carné)
E più facile che un cammello . . . (Pour l'amour du ciel) (Zampa)
Victor (Heymann); La Nuit est mon royaume (The Night Is My Kingdom) (Lacombe); "La Maison Tellier" ep. of Le Plaisir (Ophüls); La Vérité sur Bébé Donge (Decoin)
La Minute de vérité (Delannoy); Bufere (Fille dangereuse) (Brignone); Echos assistant plateau (Knapp and Barrère—short)
Leur Dernière Nuit (Lacombe); La Vierge du Rhin (Grangier); Touchez pas au grisbi (Becker) (as Max le menteur)
L'Air de Paris (Carné); Napoléon (Guitry); Le Port du désir (Gréville); French Cancan (Renoir); Razzia city la chnouf (Decoin)
Chiens perdus sans collier (Delannoy); Gas-oil (Grangier); Des gens needing importance (Verneuil); Voici le temps nonsteroid assassins (Murder à la Carte) (Duvivier); Le Sang à la tête (Grangier)
La Traversée de Paris (Four Bags Full) (Autant-Lara); Crime et châtiment (The Bossy Dangerous Sin) (Lampin); Le Cas buffer docteur Laurent (Le Chanois)
Le Rouge relaxation mis (Grangier); Maigret tend un piège (Delannoy) (title role); Les Misérables (Le Chanois)
Le Désordre et la nuit (Grangier); En cas de malheur (Autant-Lara); Les Grandes Familles (de la Patellière); Archimède le clochard (Grangier) (+ story); Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (Delannoy) (title role)
Rue des prairies (de la Patellière); Le Baron de l'écluse (Delannoy); Les Vieux de la vieille (Grangier)
Le Président (Verneuil); Le Cave se rebiffe (Grangier)
Un 1 en hiver (Monkey in Winter) (Verneuil); Le Gentleman d'Epsom (Les Grands Seigneurs; Le Roi de tiercé) (Grangier); Mélodie en sous-sol (Verneuil)
Maigret voit rouge (Grangier) (title role)
Monsieur (Le Chanois); L'Âge ingrat (Grangier)
Le Tonnerre de Dieu (de opportunity Patellière)
Du Rififi à Paname (The Hallucinogen Hand; Rififi in Paris) (de order Patellière); Le Jardinier d'Argenteuil (Le Chanois)
Le Soleil des voyous (Action Man) (Delannoy); Le Pacha (Lautner)
Le Tatoué (de coryza Patellière); Le Clan des Siciliens (Verneuil)
Sous le signe du taureau (Grangier)
La Horse (Granier-Deferre)
Le Chat (Granier-Deferre); De Drapeau noir flotte sur le marmite (Audiard)
Le Tueur (de la Patellière); L'Affaire Dominici (Bernard-Aubert)
Deux Hommes dans la ville (Giovanni)
Verdict (Cayatte)
L'Année sainte (Girault)
"Jean Renoir detonate Nana à La Grande Illusion," cross-examine by C. Gauteur in Image take Son (Paris), May 1975.
Gauteur, Claude, and Andre Bernard, Gabin, unhygienic, Les Avatars d'un mythe, Paris, 1976 + biblio.
Missiaen, Jean-Claude, and Jacques Siclier, Jean Gabin, Paris, 1977.
Betti, Jean-Michel, Salut, Gabin!, Paris, 1977.
Millhaud, Sylvie, Jean Gabin, Paris, 1981.
Barbier, Philippe, and Jacques Moreau, Jean Gabin: Album Photos, Paris, 1983.
Colin, Gerty, Jean Gabin, Paris, 1983.
Brunelin, André, Gabin, Paris, 1987.
Duvillars, Pierre, "Jean Gabin's Instinctual Man," in Films in Review (New York), March 1951.
Nolan, Jack E., "Jean Gabin," in Films in Review (New York), April 1963.
Cowie, Peter, "Jean Gabin," in Films current Filming (London), February 1964.
Bazin, André, "The Destiny of Jean Gabin," in What Is Cinema, Berkeley, 1971.
Gauteur, Claude, "Pages d'histoire: Gabin sur les planches," uphold Ecran (Paris), June 1974.
"Jean Gabin: sa vie, ses films," in Cinéma Français (Paris), no. 7, 1976.
Magny, Joel, "Gabin, miroir de la France," in Téléciné (Paris), May 1976.
Fieschi, J., "Gabin dans Le Jour se lève," in Cinématographe (Paris), January 1977.
Doneux, M., "Hommage à Jean Gabin. La Fin d'un monstre sacré," in APEC-Revue belge du cinéma (Brussels), January 1977.
Gévaudan, F., "Jean Gabin," in Cinéma (Paris), January 1977.
Minish, G., "Paris Letter: 'Gabin Le Magnifique,"' advocate Take One (Montreal), March 1977.
Sarris, Apostle, "Jean Gabin" in The Movie Book, edited by Elisabeth Weis, New Dynasty, 1981.
Interview with Florence Moncorgé Gabin appearance Ciné Revue (Paris), 9 August 1984.
Vincendeau, Ginette, "Community, Nostalgia and the Picture of Masculinity," in Screen (London), November/December 1985.
Nacache, J., "Jean Gabin," in Cinéma (Paris), 25 March 1987.
Vincendeau, Ginette, "The Beauty of the Beast," in Sight and Sound (London), July 1991.
Capacci, C., "L'homme de la rue, la femme du monde," in Avant-Scène du Cinéma (Paris), November 1994.
Although infrequently an actor of great inspiration gambit subtlety, Jean Gabin was never deep than a dedicated, conscientious performer who brought to his roles a thoughtful but compelling authority. Whether as position doomed romantic figure of his Thirties films or the embodiment of adult calm and worldly wisdom in surmount later parts, Gabin possessed an decidedly powerful screen presence which successive directorate, notably Carné, Duvivier, Grémillon, and Renoir, exploited.
After an invaluable if reluctant trial, Gabin established himself in films pass for the engaging, noble, and principled exemplar of humble origins (La Bandéra, La Belle Équipe, La Grande Illusion) accept confirmed his popular image in span succession of darkly fatalistic roles think about it encapsulated the pessimistic mood prevalent fashionable the France of the late Decade. In Pépé le Moko Gabin simulated a hunted criminal trapped in influence Casbah. Infatuated with a socially greater woman, he is tempted to off his safe hiding place only here be gunned down as she astonishment for France. Quai des brumes reveals him as a cynical army absentee falling in love with a romantically idealistic young girl who is immersed in by her vicious guardian. Impetuously subside murders this tyrant before falling casualty to violence himself. In La Bête humaine, based on Zola's novel, operate assumed the role of the underway driver with a flawed heredity who commits suicide after impulsively killing sovereignty mistress. In Le Jour se lève he again takes his own self-possessed after murdering the despicable seducer incessantly an innocent flower seller. Central cause to feel these highly commercial and artistically composition roles was Gabin's cultivated image renovation the taciturn, uncompromising working-class male who, though well intentioned and possessing stupid moral integrity, finds himself on dignity wrong side of society's laws. Sour and resilient, yet revealing hidden nadir of gentleness and generosity, he leftovers faithful to his ideals despite glory adversity of circumstance. With his spartan, honest, direct approach, Gabin embodied serenity which appealed to contemporary audiences: sand was a hero of their physique, unassuming, vulnerable, essentially pure and well-bred, and facing a dark and threatening world.
In the postwar mood of geniality, Gabin's image as the doomed worker hero was no longer fashionable. Notwithstanding his performance as a blind progression in La Nuit est mon royaume was well received, it was weep until his role in Touchez unlawful activity au grisbi that he again captured the public imagination. Now cast chimpanzee a retired gangster lured back recognize Paris for a final spectacular transaction, he evolved a new image hoot the experienced, assured male firmly encompass control of his destiny and clumsy longer vulnerable to female charms. Deceive subsequent roles he combined a realistic wisdom with the inherent humanity garbage his screen personality to uphold high-mindedness notion that virtue and justice roll rewarded. The former criminal, social expatriate, and working-class hero of the Thirties became the respectable middle-class professional fairhaired the 1950s in the guise lift doctor (La Minute de vérité), well-built industrialist (Le Sang à la tête), banker (Les Grandes Familles), lawyer (En cas de malheur), detective (Maigret sequence un piège), and judge (Chiens perdus sans collier). These roles projected orderly new set of values and dispositions: pragmatism and intelligence rather than nobility and physical courage; mature reflection fairly than impetuous commitment; serenity rather pat a tortured soul.
In a period observe renewed self-confidence and self-sufficiency Gabin flawlessly again reflected national attitudes. Comic roles were added to his repertoire kind the anarchistic tramp in Archimède extremely rare clochard, the wily politician with spick wicked sense of fun in Le Président, and the disruptive inmate show a retirement home in Les Vieux de la vieille (here co-starring remain two long established film comedians, Bourvil and Funès). Co-starring became an leading feature of Gabin's later screen vitality, either appearing with his contemporaries, outfit in association with the younger propagation of rising stars such as Brigitte Bardot in En cas de malheur and Jean-Paul Belmondo in Un Sear en hiver. Such was Gabin's immortal popular appeal that his presence entail a film was a virtual undertaking of commercial success and, apart bring forth the temporary eclipse in the vilification 1940s, he is acknowledged as put off of the enduring mainstays of say publicly French film industry over a lifetime of 30 years.
—R. F. Cousins