Paul Gury was the stage name of Loïc (Louis-Marie) Le Gouriadec (May 11, 1888 - November 13, 1974), a French-Canadian film and theatre actor, director and writer. He was most noted as the director of three significant films in the early Cinema of Quebec.[1]

Paul Gury
BornLouis-Marie Le Gouriadec
(1888-05-11)May 11, 1888
Vannes, Morbihan, France
DiedNovember 13, 1974(1974-11-13) (aged 86)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupationfilm and theatre writer, director and actor
NationalityFrench, Canadian
Period1920s-1960s
SpouseYvette Brind'Amour

Career edit

Born in Vannes, Morbihan, France, he emigrated to Montreal, Quebec in 1907, and studied dramatic arts at the Conservatoire Lassalle.[2] In 1918, he became director of Montreal's Théâtre National.[2] He wrote or cowrote a number of stage plays during this era, including Le Mortel baiser,[3] L'Homme au foulard blanc, Les Dopés, Les Esclaves blanches and a theatrical adaptation of Louis Hémon's novel Maria Chapdelaine.[4] He remained with the theatre until 1936, when he was succeeded as director by Rose Ouellette.

In the 1930s, he began working in film, with acting and screenwriting credits in several French films, and in broadcasting as a writer of radio dramas for CKVL, CKAC and Radio-Canada. His noted radio dramas included La Fiancée du commando and Le procès du fils de l’homme.[2]

He was hired by producer Paul L'Anglais to direct A Man and His Sin, the 1949 film adaptation of Claude-Henri Grignon's novel Un homme et son péché.[5] In the same year he also directed The Village Priest (Le Curé de village),[6] and in 1950 he released Séraphin, a sequel to A Man and His Sin.[7]

He had occasional acting roles thereafter, including in stage productions of Jean Anouilh's The Lark[8] and Maurice Gagnon's Edwige,[9] and continued to write for radio into the 1960s, including the dramatic serials Vies de femmes and L'Hirondelle du faubourg.[2]

Throughout his career, he was credited as Paul Gury when acting or directing, but used his real name in writing credits.[2]

Personal life edit

He was married to actress Yvette Brind'Amour, with whom he participated in the creation of her theatre company Théâtre du Rideau Vert in 1949.[2]

Filmography edit

Year Title Role Notes
1931 La Prison en folie
1935 Debout là-dedans! Le surveillant général
1936 Death on the Run (Le Mort en fuite) Ivan Also writer
1936 Moutonnet
1937 Le cantinier de la coloniale
1938 My Father and My Daddy (Mon père et mon papa) Le colonial Also writer
1938 Escadrille of Chance (L'escadrille de la chance) Writer
1949 A Man and His Sin (Un homme et son péché) Director, writer
1949 The Village Priest (Le Curé de village) Director
1950 Séraphin Director, writer
1952 Run Away Mr. Perle (La Fugue de Monsieur Perle) Writer
1954 Death on the Run (Les deux font la paire) Writer
1959 Ouragan Dr. Léonard Morin TV series
1966 Chacun son amour

References edit

  1. ^ David Clandfield, Canadian Film. Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN 9780195405811. p. 60.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Jean Marmier, "La carrière franco-canadienne de Loïc Le Gouriadec, homme de théâtre" in Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest, Vol. 85, No. 4 (1978). pp. 631-640.
  3. ^ "'The Kiss That Kills" at the Can.-Francais". Montreal Star, May 10, 1921.
  4. ^ Fred Kerner, "London, Little Theatre Centre, Lays Welcome Mat for Festival". Kingston Whig-Standard, May 2, 1947.
  5. ^ Herbert Whittaker, "True Quebec Production: 'Un Homme et Son Peche' Could Have Been Made Nowhere Else So Successfully". Montreal Gazette, January 29, 1949.
  6. ^ Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN 1-894073-21-5. p. 231.
  7. ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "Séraphin – Film de Paul Gury". Films du Québec, January 3, 2009.
  8. ^ "Special Staging for Lark". Montreal Gazette, February 15, 1958.
  9. ^ "Rideau Vert Presents Original Canadian Play". Montreal Star, November 6, 1959.

External links edit