John Berry: Biography

A child actor in theater, Berry acted and directed with Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre in the late 1930s. He assisted Billy Wilder on Double Indemnity and began directing films in the mid '40s, including the musical Casbah and the crime film He Ran All the Way. Branded a communist before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Berry made the documentary The Hollywood Ten and then left for France. His first French film, C'Est Arrive A Paris, was signed by Henri Lavoral, but the films Berry went on to direct and co-script, such as Je Suis Un Sentimental and Don Juan (aka Pantaloons), have his name. His re-entry into the American film industry came in the mid 1960s with the adventure tale Maya, filmed in India. His subsequent American films include the romantic comedies Claudine and Thieves. After directing television films in the early '80s, he returned to France to helm Le Voyage A Paimpol and Maldonne. ~ All Movie Guide