Pierre Braunberger

Pierre Braunberger (29 July 1905, Paris – 16 November 1990, Aubervilliers) was a French producer, executive producer, and actor. Born into a family of physicians, Braunberger at the age of seven was already determined not have the same life as his father, and not to take up medicine as a career. He saw a screening of Fantômas at the Gaumont Théâtre, the first cinema to open in Paris, and decided to work in the cinema. After the First World War, at the age of 15, he produced and directed his first film: Frankfurt in Germany. He left for successive adventures in Berlin, London at Brocklis establishments, where he worked. In 1923, he left for New York, where he worked for a few weeks at Fox Film Corporation, and became a director of production along with Ferdinand H. Adam where he also worked on films with Frank Merrill. In the course of his films in Los Angeles, he came to know Irving Thalberg who employed him at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as one of his assistants. He stayed there for eighteen months, and established contacts with one of the greatest directors of the time. Wanting to direct and produce in France, he returned to Paris and got to know Jean Renoir, with whom he worked on Avec qui il va tourner, The Whirlpool of Fate, Nana and Tire-au-flanc. In 1929, Braunberger created Productions Pierre Braunberger and Néofilms for the production of his first French-speaking film (La route est belle by Robert Florey). In 1930, Braunberger became head of the Pantheon Cinema and co…