Jules Dassin Biography

Jules Dassin was a distinguished American film director, actor, producer and screen writer who became a successful director in Europe after being blacklisted from Hollywood. His earlier association with the American ‘Communist Party’ saw him becoming a subject of Hollywood blacklist during the mid-20th century. Dassin had to leave the US in 1953 and by that time he had already become successful in carving a niche in Hollywood directing noir films like ‘Thieves Highway’, ‘The Naked City’, ‘Brute Force’ and ‘Night and the City’. He moved to France and after struggling for a few years accepted to direct a low-budget film ‘Rififi’, which went on to become a huge success in France apart from garnering critical acclaim. The film fetched him the Best Director award at the 1955 ‘Cannes Film Festival’ and also paved way for other opportunities. Some of his remarkable films followed including ‘Never on Sunday’, ‘Topkapi’, ‘He Who Must Die’ and ‘La Legge’, of which the last two were joint efforts with the Greek actress Melina Mercouri who starred in many of his films and later became his better-half. He also performed in many of his films. He directed ‘Illya Darling’, a Broadway musical. It was based on his film ‘Never on Sunday’ and starred Mercouri, who received a ‘Tony Award’ nomination for her performance. Dassin revived his career in Hollywood in the late 1960s with films like ‘Uptight’ and ‘Promise at Dawn’.