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Jacques Becker

Jacques Becker

Director, writer and actor · Died February 21, 1960, aged 53 · Paris, France

Jacques Becker (French: [bɛkɛʁ]; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French screenwriter and film director. Becker first worked in the 1930s as an assistant to director Jean Renoir during what is considered the latter's peak period, including such works as Partie de campagne (1936) and La Grande Illusion (1937). In the early part of World War II, Becker was held in a German prisoner-of-war camp for a year. During the Nazi occupation of France, he became a film director in his own right and he also joined the Comité de libération du cinéma français. He would go on to direct the period romance Casque d'or (1952), the influential gangster film Touchez pas au grisbi (1954), and the prison escape drama Le Trou (1959). While he remains lesser-known internationally than peers such as Marcel Carné and Renoir, Becker is nonetheless regarded as a major French filmmaker, with Casque d'or held in high esteem among film critics. Becker died at the age of 53 in 1960 and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jacques Becker, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 15, 1906
Died
February 21, 1960 (aged 53)
From
Paris, France
Works as
Director, writer and actor
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 27% in 30 days

What are Jacques Becker's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.

Genres

Comedy3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 76th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 96th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 47th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 72nd percentile
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
31%
Power
26%
Self
21%
Morality
12%
Survival
5%
Society
5%
Class5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 5 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Melancholic
5
Joyful
4
Warm
4
Romantic
3
Other
7

How their films linger

Feel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic3
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Jacques Becker's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (2).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jacques Becker's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

24 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Le Trou(1960)

    Director · Dialogue · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Montparnasse 19(1958)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Adventures of Arsène Lupin(1957)

    Director · Writer · as The crown prince

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves(1954)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Touchez pas au grisbi(1954)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Rue de l'estrapade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Director

  • Casque d'Or(1952)

    Director · Adaptation · Dialogue · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Edward and Caroline (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Director · Writer

  • Rendezvous in July(1949)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Antoine & Antoinette (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Director · Writer

  • A Day in the Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    First Assistant Director · as Seminarian (uncredited)

  • Paris Frills(1945)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • It Happened at the Inn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    Director · Adaptation

  • The Trump Card (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Director

  • Cristobal's Gold (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Director

  • The Great Hope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Director

  • Grand Illusion(1937)

    First Assistant Director · as British Officer (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Life Is Ours(1936)

    Director · Writer · as Le jeune chômeur

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Pitiless Gendarme (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Director · Screenplay · as Un Saint-Cyrien

  • Chotard and Co. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    as Un invité au bal costumé (uncredited)

  • Boudu Saved from Drowning (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Assistant Director · as Le Poète (uncredited)

  • Night at the Crossroads (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Assistant Director · Production Manager

  • Y'en a pas deux comme Angélique (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Assistant Director

  • Le Bled(1929)

    as Un ouvrier agricole

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 24 titles from 1929 to 1960.

Biggest box office

Touchez pas au grisbi (1954)

$132K worldwide

Highest rated

Le Trou (1960)

Midcredits 99th

Film career

  • 1932Screen debut· Boudu Saved from Drowning

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting8 of 24: 2 only acting, 6 with another roleDirecting17 of 24: 4 only directing, 13 with another role · typical Midcredits score78thWriting13 of 24: 0 only writing, 13 with another role · typical Midcredits score78thOther crew5 of 24: 2 only other crew, 3 with another role

24 titles, 16 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 13 of them.

By decade

1920s1 · acting1930s8 · 5 acting · 7 crew1940s7 · 1 acting · 7 crew1950s7 · 1 acting · 7 crew1960s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Jacques Becker's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 78th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

79thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

None of their 11 titles divides audiences: 4 are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed1

Most loved · director, writer

Le Trou (1960)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 78/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Jacques Becker work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jacques Becker's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Marguerite Renoir shares the most, 10.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers