Jacques B. Brunius
Encyclopedia
Jacques B. Brunius, French actor, director and writer, was born Jacques Henri Cottance in Paris on September 16, 1906, died Exeter, Devon (UK), on April 24, 1967. He was cremated in Sidmouth, with a tribute by Mesens.
Assistant director to Luis Buñuel on L'Âge d'or, he appeared in more than 30 movies, using several alternate names: Jacques Borel, J.B. Brunius, Jacques-Bernard Brunius, Jacques Brunius, Brunius, J.B.Brunius. He acted in many of the early, more political, movies of his friend Jean Renoir
. He married French-English actress Cecile Chevreau in 1951. Their son Richard was born in 1956.
Member of the surrealist group in France and then in England, with his friend E.L.T. Mesens, Conroy Maddox, Ithell Colquhoun, Simon Watson Taylor and Roland Penrose. Brunius attacked Toni del Renzio, who was attempting to reanimate an inactive English group in 1942–3. Brunius' countersigned the tract Idolatry and Confusion, which condemned and mocked del Renzio unjustifiably. In reality, Mesens feared a takeover of the group leadership by del Renzio.
He never missed an opportunity to defend surrealism, and participated in many a radio show. In 1959, he undertook a vigorous defense of the poetic valor of nursery rhymes.
The text was published by John Lyle in Transforma(c)tion n°7 under the title Language and lore of children.
Director
Assistant Director
Assistant director to Luis Buñuel on L'Âge d'or, he appeared in more than 30 movies, using several alternate names: Jacques Borel, J.B. Brunius, Jacques-Bernard Brunius, Jacques Brunius, Brunius, J.B.Brunius. He acted in many of the early, more political, movies of his friend Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
. He married French-English actress Cecile Chevreau in 1951. Their son Richard was born in 1956.
Member of the surrealist group in France and then in England, with his friend E.L.T. Mesens, Conroy Maddox, Ithell Colquhoun, Simon Watson Taylor and Roland Penrose. Brunius attacked Toni del Renzio, who was attempting to reanimate an inactive English group in 1942–3. Brunius' countersigned the tract Idolatry and Confusion, which condemned and mocked del Renzio unjustifiably. In reality, Mesens feared a takeover of the group leadership by del Renzio.
He never missed an opportunity to defend surrealism, and participated in many a radio show. In 1959, he undertook a vigorous defense of the poetic valor of nursery rhymes.
The text was published by John Lyle in Transforma(c)tion n°7 under the title Language and lore of children.
Filmography
Actor- 1965: Return from the Ashes .... 1st Detective
- 1965: Le Chant du monde (aka Song of the World) (as Jacques Borel)
- 1964: The Yellow Rolls-Royce .... Duc de d'Angoulême (England) (uncredited)
- 1961: The Greengage SummerThe Greengage SummerThe Greengage Summer is a 1961 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Kenneth More and Susannah York . It was based on the novel, Greengage Summer, by Rumer Godden...
(aka Loss of Innocence) .... M. Joubert - 1961: Mon frère Jacques (TV), dir. Pierre Prévert .... as himself
- 1960: The Four Just Men (TV, 1 episode) .... The Mayor
- 1960: The Miracle of St. Phillipe (TV episode) .... The Mayor
- 1958: Orders to Kill .... Cmndt. Morand
- 1957: True as a Turtle (aka aka Plain Sailing) .... Monsieur Charbonnier
- 1957: Dangerous Exile (uncredited)
- 1956: House of Secrets (aka Triple Deception) .... Lessage
- 1956: Wicked As They ComeWicked as they ComeWicked As They Come is a 1956 British film starring Arlene Dahl, Philip Carey and Michael Goodliffe, with support from Sid James...
(aka Portrait in Smoke) .... Inspector Caron - 1955: Barbie (TV, 1 episode) .... Mr. Morrisot
- 1955: The Cockleshell HeroesThe Cockleshell HeroesThe Cockleshell Heroes is a 1955 film with Trevor Howard, Anthony Newley, David Lodge and José Ferrer, who also directed. Set during the Second World War, it is a fictionalised account of Operation Frankton, the December 1942 raid by canoe-borne British commandos on shipping in Bordeaux Harbour...
.... French Fisherman (as Jacques Brunius) - 1955: Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (aka Foreign Legionnaire) (TV, 1 episode) .... Pakka
- 1955: To Paris with Love .... Monsieur Marconne
- 1954: Forbidden CargoForbidden Cargo (1954 film)Forbidden Cargo is a 1954 British film starring Jack Warner, Nigel Patrick and Elizabeth Sellars. The plot involved a narcotics agent tryinng to halt illegal drug smuggling under the cover of bird-watching.-Cast:* Jack Warner as Major Alec White...
.... Det. Pierre Valance - French police - 1953: Laughing AnneLaughing AnneLaughing Anne is a 1953 British adventure film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Wendell Corey, Margaret Lockwood, Forrest Tucker and Ronald Shiner. A sea captain has a tempestuous affair with a French singer...
(aka Between the Tides) .... Frenchie - 1953: Always a Bride .... Inspector (as Jacques Brunius)
- 1953: Sea DevilsSea DevilsSea Devils is a 1953 British-American historical adventure film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Rock Hudson and Yvonne De Carlo. The story was adapted from the novel Les Travailleurs de la mer by Victor Hugo...
.... Fouche - 1953: South of AlgiersSouth of AlgiersSouth of Algiers is a 1953 British adventure film, directed by Jack Lee and starring Van Heflin, Wanda Hendrix and Eric Portman...
(aka The Golden Mask) .... Kress (as Jacques Brunius) - 1952: 24 Hours of a Woman's Life (aka Affair in Monte Carlo).... Concierge, Pension Lisa (as Jacques Brunius)
- 1951: The Lavender Hill MobThe Lavender Hill MobThe Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T.E.B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass...
, dir Charles Crichton (as Jacques Brunius) .... Customs Official - 1951: Une fille à croquer (aka Good Enough to Eat, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge) (as Jacques Borel)
- 1951: The Changing face of Europe .... Narrator, as himself
- 1951: Andalousie (uncredited)
- 1951: El Sueño de Andalucía (uncredited)
- 1950: The Wooden HorseThe Wooden HorseThe Wooden Horse is a 1950 British Second World War war film starring Leo Genn, Anthony Steel and David Tomlinson and directed by Jack Lee. It is based on the book of the same name by Eric Williams, who also wrote the screenplay....
.... André (as Jacques Brunius) - 1938: La Bête humaine (aka Judas Was a Woman, The Human Beast), dir. Jean Renoir (uncredited) .... Un garçon de ferme
- 1938: Le Schpountz (aka Heartbeat), dir. Marcel Pagnol .... L'Accessoiriste
- 1937: Le Temps des cerises (aka The Time of the Cherries) (as Jacques-Bernard Brunius) .... Le petit-fils du directeur
- 1936: La Vie est à nous (aka Life Belongs to UsLife Belongs to UsLife Belongs to Us is a documentary propaganda film paid for by the Communist Party of France. Parts of the film was taken from newsreels mixed with new sketches about working population, the peasants and intellectuals....
) .... Le président du conseil d'administration - 1936: Le Crime de Monsieur Lange (aka The Crime of Monsieur Lange), dir. Jean Renoir (as J.B. Brunius) .... Mr. Baigneur
- 1936: Moutonnet
- 1936: Partie de campagne (aka A Day in the Country), dir. Jean Renoir (as Jacques Borel) .... Rodolphe
- 1934: L'Hôtel du libre échange .... Le monsieur du train
- 1932: L'Affaire est dans le sac (aka It's in the Bag), dir. Pierre Prévert .... Adrien, le client au béret (as J.B.Brunius)
- 1930: L'Âge d'or (aka The Golden Age), dir. Luis Buñuel.... Passer-by in the street (uncredited)
Director
- 1953: The Blakes Slept HereThe Blakes Slept HereThe Blakes Slept Here is a 1953 film directed by Jacques B. Brunius. Brunius also wrote the screenplay along with Roy Plomley. The 36-minute film chronicles the life of a middle class British family from roughly 1850 to the end of World War II....
- 1952: Brief City
- 1951: The Changing Face of Europe (3rd segment: "Somewhere to Live")
- 1939: Violons d'Ingres (also as writer and editor)
- 1936: La Vie est à nous (aka The People of France) (also as writer and editor)
Assistant Director
- 1930: L'Âge d'or (aka The Golden Age), dir. Luis Buñuel.
- 1929: Le Requin