Henri Bernstein

Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein (20 June 1876 – 27 November 1953) was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre.

Biography Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including La Rafale (1905), Le Voleur (1907), Samson (1908), Israël (1908), and Le Secret (1913), are written in a realistic style and powerfully depict harsh realities of modern life and society. Chevassu fired at Bernstein and missed, while one of Bernstein's seconds discharged the playwright's pistol. No one was injured in the duel. When asked why he didn't fire his own gun, Bernstein reportedly shrugged his shoulders and stated: "I forgot".

Bernstein was involved in another gun duel at the Parc des Princes in 1911, this time with journalist Gustave Tery. This duel was prompted by rioting at the presentation of Bernstein's play Après moi, and particularly by insults from a group of men towards Bernstein's honor. This duel also ended in no injuries, though one photographer covering the event was nearly hit by Bernstein's bullet.

The far-right royalist Camelots du Roi youth organization of the Action française organized an anti-Semitic riot against a production of one of his plays in 1911. During the Second World War, he fled to the United States and lived in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria. Jean-Pierre Aumont relates in his work Le Soleil et les Ombres (Robert Laffont, 1976) the luxury in which he lived, as well as his general lack of interest in the war.

He is buried in the Cimetière de Passy in Paris.

Works Le Marché (The Market), 1900 Le Détour, 1902 Joujou, 1902 Le Bercail, 1904 La Rafale (Whirlwind), 1905 La Griffe, La Renaissance, 1906 (known in English as The Claw or The Talon) Le Voleur (The Thief), 1906 Samson, 1907 Israël, 1908 Après moi (After Me), 1911 L'Assaut (The Assault), 1912 Le Secret, 1913 L'Élévation, 1917 Judith, 1922 La Galerie des glaces (The Hall of Mirrors), 1924 Félix, 1926 Mélo, 1929 Le Bonheur (Happiness), 1933 Le Cœur (The Heart), 1936 Le Messager, 1937 Elvire, 1939 La Soif (The Thirst), 1949 Victor, 1950 Evangéline, 1952 Espoir (Hope), 1955 Le Venin (The Poison), 1927

Filmography The Thief, directed by Edgar Lewis (Silent film, 1914, based on the play Le Voleur) Samson, directed by Edgar Lewis (Silent film, 1915, based on the play Samson) Sold, directed by Edwin S. Porter and Hugh Ford (Silent film, 1915, based on the play Le Secret) , directed by Marcel L'Herbier (Silent film, 1919, based on the play Le Bercail) , directed by Telemaco Ruggeri (Silent film, 1920, based on the play L'Élévation) , directed by Jacques de Baroncelli (Silent film, 1920, based on the play La Rafale) Shackles of Gold, directed by Herbert Brenon (Silent film, 1922, based on the play Samson) Samson, directed by Torello Rolli (Silent film, 1923, based on the play Samson) The Washington Masquerade, directed by Charles Brabin (English, 1932, based on the play La Griffe) Dreaming Lips, directed by Paul Czinner (German, 1932, based on the play Mélo) ''Mélo, directed by Paul Czinner (French, 1932, based on the play Mélo) , directed by Maurice Tourneur (French, 1933, based on the play Le Voleur) Le Bonheur, directed by Marcel L'Herbier (French, 1934, based on the play Le Bonheur) , directed by Robert Land and Giorgio Simonelli (Italian, 1934, based on the play Mélo) Samson, directed by Maurice Tourneur (French, 1936, based on the play Samson) , directed by Pierre-Jean Ducis (French, 1936, based on the play L'Assaut) Dreaming Lips, directed by Paul Czinner (English, 1937, based on the play Mélo) The Messenger, directed by Raymond Rouleau (French, 1937, based on the play Le Messager) Orage, directed by Marc Allégret (French, 1938, based on the play Le Venin) Victor, directed by Claude Heymann (French, 1951, based on the play Victor) Dreaming Lips, directed by Josef von Báky (German, 1953, based on the play Mélo) , directed by Giorgio Capitani and Pierre Billon (Italian, 1954, based on the play Le Venin) Mélo, directed by Alain Resnais (French, 1986, based on the play Mélo)