Fabre, Saturnin

(1884-1961)

   Actor. Saturnin Fabre began his career as a comic stage actor. He made a name for himself in the theater before turning to cinema. Although he had tried his hand at cinema during the silent-film era in films like André Antoine's Mademoiselle de la Seglière (1919) and Jacques de Baroncelli's La Rafale (1920), Fabre awaited the coming of sound before transitioning into film.

   His first sound film was Robert Florey's La Route est belle (1930). Thereafter, Fabre appeared in more than seventy films, establishing himself as a comic actor on a par with Fernandel, who was his contemporary. He could, however, play other types of parts as well. The 1930s and 1940s marked the height of Fabre's career. During the 1930s, he appeared in such films as Henry Roussel's Atout coeur (1931); René Guissart's Le Fils improvisé (1932), Le Père prématuré (1933), and Toi, c'est moi (1936); Léo Joannen's On a trouvé une femme nue (1934), Train de plaisir (1935), and Vous n'avez rien à déclarer (1937); Abel Gance's Roman d'un jeune homme pauvre (1935) and Le Voleur de femmes (1937); Yves Mirande's Sept hommes et une femme (1936) and Messieurs les ronds de cuire (1937); Julien Duvivier's Pépé leMoko (1937); and Sacha Guitry's Ils étaient neuf célibataires (1939).

   In the 1940s, Fabre's career remained strong. During the Occupation, he remained in France, continuing to make films and working for the Nazi-owned production company, Continental Films. Fabre's films from the decade include Henri Decoin's Battement de coeur (1940), Marcel L'Herbier's La Nuit fantastique (1942), Jacques de Baroncelli's Fausse alerte (1945), Marc Allégret's Lunegarde (1946), Roger Richebé's Les J3 (1946), Marcel Carné's Les Portes de la nuit (1946), Pierre Chenal's Clochmerle (1948), and Maurice Cloche's Docteur Laënnec (1949).

   Fabre made only a handful of films in the 1950s, and the decade was the last in which he made films. His film roles from that period include parts in Henri-Georges Clouzot's Miquette et sa mère (1950), Marcel Aboulker's La Dame de chez Maxim's (1950), Duvivier's La Fête à Henriette (1952), and Carlo Rim's Escalier de service (1954), which was his final film.

   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins