Clair thought of himself as a screenwriter as well as a director. He put his stamp on French screen comedy in the 20s and 30s with such classics as The Italian Straw Hat , Sous les toits de Paris, Le Million and Le quatorze juillet, all of which he wrote or adapted himself. When the war came he went to Hollywood, but, like so many other Europeans used to a personal cinema, found their methods strange. He returned to France after the war, and Le silence est d'or, Les Belles de nuit and Porte des Lilas - about his beloved Paris -showed all his old command of sentimental irony.
Gavin Millar talks to colleagues and stars who worked with him: Leslie Caron , Gina Lollobrigida , Jean-Pierre Cassel , directors Claude Autant-Lara and Michel Boisrond.
With extracts from 40 years of his films.
Written and produced by GAVIN MILLAR Studio director CHARLES CHABOT
Film editor CHRISTOPHER SWAYNE Arena editor ALAN YENTOB