Sacha Guitry
Sacha Guitry (1885–1957) was a French playwright, actor, director, and screenwriter known for witty comedies and films such as The Story of a Cheat.
French theatre: The theatrical tradition and institutions of France, spanning classical drama, popular entertainment, and modern performance. Guitry built his reputation in France’s theatres before adapting his stage craft to cinema.
The Story of a Cheat: A 1936 French comedy film written, directed, and narrated by Sacha Guitry, adapted from his novel. This film is his best-known experiment in turning a first-person tale into cinematic narration.
Lucien Guitry: A French stage actor, 1860–1925, widely regarded as one of the leading actors of his generation. Sacha’s father was a major actor whose theatrical career shaped his son’s early life and ambitions.
French cinema: The films, filmmakers, industries, and institutions associated with cinema in France. Guitry’s prolific directing career forms one distinctive strand of French cinema’s transition to sound.
French comedy: A tradition of comic writing and performance in France, from farce and satire to witty social comedy. Guitry’s rapid dialogue and social satire belong to this broad comic tradition.
My Father Was Right: A 1919 French comedy play by Sacha Guitry, later adapted by him as a film. The play exemplifies the domestic comedy and pointed dialogue that established Guitry on stage.
Yvonne Printemps: A French singer and actress, 1894–1977, celebrated for musical theatre and operetta. Printemps, Guitry’s second wife, starred in many of his plays and films.
French theatre in the twentieth century: The theatrical writing, performance, and institutions of France from 1900 through 1999. His long run of popular plays made him a major commercial force in twentieth-century French theatre.
Dramatic monologue: A speech in which a character addresses an audience or another character, revealing personality through performance. Guitry often made a character’s extended, witty address the engine of a scene.
Quadrille: A 1937 French comedy film written and directed by Sacha Guitry, adapted from his play of the same name. Its film version shows Guitry transferring a stage comedy about jealousy and romantic rivalry to cinema.