Biography

A pioneer of cinema, one of the oldest in the directors' guild, after having done theatre at the Odéon and the Théâtre Antoine, where he was, for many months, one of Antoine 's faithful collaborators, when the creator of the Théâtre Libre was still on Boulevard de Strasbourg.

He was struck by what he thought was a simple cold that would only require a few days in bed. Refusing to abandon his colleagues for 'a simple cold', when a day in the studio cost twenty tickets, he insisted on continuing to come to the studios: "I'll take care of myself at the studio. I'll warm myself in the sunlight. "The 'simple cold ' turned out to be pneumonia, which carried him off in a few days.

Having worked for the Army Film Service, he was commissioned by the Ministry of Colonies to participate in a film propaganda mission in French Equatorial Africa.

Henri Desfontaines was a French director, actor and screenwriter.

From 1902 onwards, he embarked on a career in cinema, first as an actor, then as a director, notably staging Shakespearean plays , including "Hamlet", "The Taming of the Shrew" , and "Shylock" . He also directed the famous "The Loves of Queen Elizabeth" with Sarah Bernhardt, which the Famous brothers bought for the United States, and which was the origin of Paramount 's fortune.