Claude Barma (3 November 1918, in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), was a French director and screenwriter, and an early creator of French television programmes.

Biography

After studying electrical engineering, he entered television in 1946 with the drama ''Chambre 34'', his directorial debut. On 24 February 1950, he produced the first live French television show by transmitting part of

Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (; ; 4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. Marivaux is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, w ...

's ''

Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard ''The Game of Love and Chance'' (, ) is a three-act romantic comedy by French playwright Marivaux. ''The Game of Love and Chance'' was first performed 23 January 1730 by the Comédie Italienne. In this play, a young woman is visited by her b ...

'' and the ''

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

''. His first series followed in 1950, ''Agence Nostradamus'', which was also the first series on French television. In 1955, he staged a trial court scripted by Peter Desgraupes and Dumayet Peter (producers of the series). ''En votre âme et conscience'' was an original series, designed for small-screen drama, taking place entirely in a court where the camera filmed uninterrupted. In 1959, the television drama ''

Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers) is a 1921 French silent adventure film serial directed by Henri Diamant-Berger based on the 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. Plot summary Cast * Aimé Simon-Girard ... d'Artagnan * Henri Rollan ... Athos ...

'' was adapted by Barma for live transmission, with the role of

D'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fr ...

played by the young

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward, frequently portraying police officer ...

, who would later be known for his roles in ''

À bout de souffle ''Breathless'' () is a 1960 French New Wave crime drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as a wandering criminal named Michel, and Jean Seberg as his American girlfriend Patricia. The film was Godard's ...

'' and ''

Classe tous risques ''Classe tous risques'' (; literally "All-Risk Class", but also a pun on the French expression "Classe Touriste", Economy Class), which was first released in the United States as ''The Big Risk'', is a 1960 French-Italian gangster film directed by ...

''. In the early 1960s, he adapted three Shakespeare plays: ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' in 1959, ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' in 1960 and ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' in 1962 . In 1967, ''Les Enquêtes du commissaire Maigret'' depicted the popular character

Jules Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

, created by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

. Barma oversaw the series until 1981. Claude Barma died in 1992, and was buried in

Ars-en-Ré Ars-en-Ré () is a Communes of France, commune on the Île de Ré in the western French Departments of France, department of Charente-Maritime, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Formerly called just ''Ars'', the commune changed to its current name on 8 Marc ...

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

Major works

* 1991 : Le Manège de Pauline (TV) 1991 : The Armoury of Pauline (TV) * 1991 : Le Squale (TV) 1991 : The Squale (TV) * 1990 : Coma dépassé (TV) 1990 : Coma exceeded (TV) * 1989 : Les Sirènes de minuit (TV) 1989 : The Sirens of Midnight (TV) * 1985 : Hôtel de police, série TV 1985 : Hall police TV series * 1984 : Emmenez-moi au théâtre : Amphitryon 38 1984 : Take me to the theater: Amphitryon 38 * 1967 - 1982 : Les Enquêtes du commissaire Maigret (45 épisodes) In 1967 - 1 982 : The Investigation of Inspector Maigret (45 episodes) * 1979 : Orient-Express (mini-série TV) 1979 : Orient-Express (TV miniseries) * 1977 : Dossiers : Danger immédiat, série télévisée 1977 : Records: Danger, television series * 1972 : La Tragédie de Vérone (TV) 1972 : The Tragedy of Verona (TV) * 1972 : ''

Les Rois maudits ''The Accursed Kings'' ( ) is a series of seven historical novels by French author Maurice Druon about the French monarchy in the 14th century. Published between 1955 and 1977, the series has been adapted as a miniseries twice for television in ...

'' (TV) 1972 : ''The Accursed Kings'' (TV) * 1969 : D'Artagnan (TV) 1969 : D'Artagnan (TV) * 1966 : Corsaires et flibustiers (série TV) 1966 : Corsairs and pirates (TV series) * 1965 : Belphégor ou le Fantôme du Louvre (TV) 1965 : Belphegor or the Phantom of the Louvre (TV) * 1963 : L'inspecteur Leclerc enquête (TV) 1963 : The inquiry inspector Leclerc (TV) * 1962 : La nuit des rois (TV) 1962 : Twelfth Night (TV) * 1962 : Les Parisiennes (séquence Françoise ) 1962 : Les Parisiennes (sequence Françoise) * 1960 : Cyrano de Bergerac pour la RTF 1960 : Cyrano de Bergerac for the RTF * 1960 : Du côté de l'enfer (TV) 1960 : On the side of Hell (TV) * 1959 : Les Trois Mousquetaires 1959 : The Three Musketeers * 1958 : Les Femmes des autres 1958 : The Women of other * 1957 : En votre âme et conscience, de Pierre Desgraupes et Pierre Dumayet 1957 : In all conscience, to Desgraupes Pierre and Pierre Dumayet * 1957 : Casino de Paris 1957 : Casino de Paris * 1954 : Nous irons à Valparaiso (TV) * 1953 : Madame Bovary 1953 : Madame Bovary * 1951 : '' The Turkey'' * 1950 : '' The Gamblers''

Theatre

* 1956 : Monsieur Masure de , Comédie-Wagram 1956 : Mr. Hovel Claude Magnier, Comedy Wagram * 1960 : Un garçon d'honneur d' Antoine Blondin et Paul Guimard d'après Le Crime de Lord Arthur Saville d' Oscar Wilde, Théâtre Marigny 1960 : A groomsman to Antoine Blondin and Paul Guimard from The Crime of Lord Arthur Saville of Oscar Wilde, Theatre Marigny * 1960 : Hamlet de William Shakespeare, Grand Théâtre de la Cité Carcassonne 1960 : Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Grand Theatre de la Cite Carcassonne

Awards

* 1957 : Grand Prix de la télévision française 1957 Grand Prix French television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barma, Claude 1918 births 1992 deaths People from Nice French film directors French television directors French people of Italian descent