René Clément was one of the leading French directors of the after-World War II era. He then directed some of the greatest films of the time such as La bataille du rail (1946), Jeux interdits (1952) and _Jour et l'heure, Le (1962)_. He was later almost forgotten as a director. He was back in public attention briefly when his epic Paris brûle-t-il? (1966) (the cast of which featured a great number of popular actors) was released in 1966, but the film was much criticized. During the 60s and the 70s he directed a number of unnoticed international productions, always with his usual filmmaking brio and technical virtuosity. Indeed, what characterizes most the films of René Clément is how, even to serve sometimes very unexceptional scripts, the directing is always breathtakingly original, inventive, featuring technical virtuosity and the use of special effects. When a remarkable script is associated with these qualities, a film such as "Jeux interdits (1951)" is the result: the masterpiece of a lifetime. I think we can say that René Clément was one of the most unlucky very talented filmmakers that existed, because of unfortunate career choices. He died in March 1996.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 137-140. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.His movie Gervaise (1956) was Oscar-nominated for "Best Foreign Language Film". _Au-delà des grilles (1949)_ and Jeux interdits (1952) won Honorary Awards as Best Foreign Language Films.Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1964