Jean Delannoy was born on January 12, 1908 in Noisy-le-Sec, France. After working for a short time as an actor, he took up post as a film editor for Paramount francaise in the early 1930s, before embarking on his long and distinguished career as a film director.

In the late 1930s and 1940s, Delannoy made a succession of major French works which established him as one of the most respected directors of his era. He worked with some of the finest actors of his time.

Very much a traditional film director, Delannoy insisted that his role was to realize the work of his script writers to the best of his ability – not impose his own artistic vision on the film.

Though his filmmaking career fell into decline in the 1960s, Delannoy then turned to television beginning in the 1970s – directing TV dramas, before returning to film in the 1980s with the first of his religious dramas, BERNADETTE. The film was then followed by its sequel, THE PASSION OF BERNADETTE.

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