André Zwobada(1910-1994)

André Zwoboda (1910-1994) was a shooting star. His first effort, co-directed by Renoir, Becker and Le Chanois, was a communist party's propaganda movie "La Vie Est À Nous" (1936) which has not worn well. "Croisières Sidérales" (1942) was a rare French attempt at a science-fiction movie. Its subject was the theory of relativity, perhaps the first time screenwriters had used it. But though the credits claimed that the movie was based on scientific facts, it did not delude for long. "François Villon" was a biography of the poet, its only asset was the casting of Serge Reggiani as the writer. His best movie, however, remained unsung: "La Septième Porte" (1948) is a curious philosophical tale, one of the most fascinating movies of the genre. "Les Noces De Sable" (1949) transferred the legend of Tristan and Iseut to Africa: and if the intention was not clear enough, Cocteau was the narrator. "Capitaine Ardant" his final effort, based on a novel by Pierre Nord, was a colonial film which dealt with Moroccan rebellions.