Léonce Perret
Léonce Joseph Perret was a prolific and innovative French film actor, director and producer. He also worked as a stage actor and director. Often described as avant-garde for his unorthodox directing methods, Perret introduced innovative camera, lighting and film scoring techniques to French cinema. Perret began his career as a relatively undistinguished stage actor. He was recruited to the film industry by Gaumont. His numerous short films gained significant accolade in French cinematography. Until his emigration to the United States in 1917, he was a fixture of Gaumont. On American soil, he produced several popular films, the most notable being Lest We Forget (N'oublions jamais) in 1918. After returning to France, he directed the successful Koenigsmark in 1923. His film Madame Sans-Gêne (1925), starring Gloria Swanson, was the first joint Franco-American film production.
Photo: Valentine Perret, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
