Pierre Mac Orlan, sometimes written MacOrlan (born Pierre Dumarchey, February 26, 1882 – June 27, 1970), was a French novelist and songwriter. His novel ''

Quai des Brumes ''Port of Shadows'' (french: Le Quai des brumes , "The dock of mists") is a 1938 French film directed by Marcel Carné. An example of poetic realism, it stars Jean Gabin, Michel Simon and Michèle Morgan. The screenplay was written by Jacques Pr ...

'' was the source for Marcel Carné's 1938 film of the same name, starring Jean Gabin. He was also a prolific writer of ''chansons'', many of which were recorded and popularized by French singers such as Juliette Gréco,

Monique Morelli Monique is a female given name. It is the French form of the name Monica. The name has enjoyed some popularity in the United States since about 1955, and is less common in other English-speaking countries except for Canada although mostly used ...

, Catherine Sauvage, and

Germaine Montero Germaine Montero (1909–2000) was a French singer and a stage, television and film actress.Conway p.87 Partial filmography * '' Sapho'' (1934) - Madame Sombreuse * '' The Sin of Rogelia Sanchez'' (1940) - Rogelia Sanchez * '' Saint Rogelia'' (1 ...

Life

Born in Péronne, Somme, in northern France, Mac Orlan lived in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

as a young man, working at a variety of jobs and learning to play the accordion. In his twenties, he travelled widely in Europe, before returning to Paris and becoming a noted figure in bohemian art circles. In particular, his song performances were a regular feature at the Lapin Agile cabaret. During this period, he was part of a broad circle of writers and painters including Max Jacob, Guillaume Apollinaire, Maurice Utrillo and Francis Carco. He fought in the war against Germany until wounded in 1916, after which he worked as a war correspondent. In later years he earned a living as a writer in

Saint Cyr-sur-Morin Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin (, literally ''Saint-Cyr on Morin'') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Inhabitants of Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin are called ''Saint-Cyriens''. See also *Communes of th ...

, outside Paris. In the late 1920s he became an influential critic of film and photography, writing important essays about the work of Eugène Atget, Germaine Krull and others.

Works

In addition to ''

'', his many novels included ''

A Bord de l'Etoile Matutine A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'', translated into English by Malcolm Cowley as ''

On Board the Morning Star On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...

'', and '' La Bandera'' (1931). Among the popular ''chansons'' written by Mac Orlan are "Fille de Londres", "Le Pont du Nord" and "Nelly". The French singer

released an extensive set of her interpretations of Mac Orlan songs on the CD ''Meilleur de Germaine Montero''. Most recently, new English translations of his books "A Handbook for the Perfect Adventurer," translated by Napoleon Jeffries (2013), and "Mademoiselle Bambù," translated by Chris Clarke (2017), have been published in the United States by Wakefield Press. Using his real name, Pierre Dumarchey, and various pseudonyms including: Docteur Fowler, Pierre du Bourdel, Pierre de Jusange, Sadie Blackeyes, Chevalier de X, and Sadinet, he was for several years a writer of pornographic novels, which frequently depicted

flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

and sado-masochism. These titles include: ''La Comtesse au fouet'' (1908), the story of a cruel dominatrix, ''Les Grandes Flagellées de l'histoire'' (1909), ''Lise Fessée'' (1910), ''Masochism in America'' (1910), ''Miss'' (1912), and ''Petite dactylo et autres textes de flagellation'' (1913). He told Pascal Pia that he used the Dumarchey name to upset an uncle of his who made his life hard.

Influences and legacy

The French writer and political theorist Guy Debord, founder of the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolutio ...

was a constant reader of Mac Orlan's novels of urban adventure and "low life". The well-known photographer of New York in the 1930s Berenice Abbott was highly influenced by Mac Orlan's writings on the "fantastique" and the "social fantastique". The physicist Freeman Dyson, in his 2008 AMS Albert Einstein Lecture, interprets MacOrlan's song "La Ville Morte" ("The Dead City") as an example of the "empty city archetype", a Jungian archetype as described by mathematician Yuri I. Manin.

Filmography

*'' La Bandera'', directed by Julien Duvivier (1935, based on the novel '' La Bandera'') *''

Port of Shadows ''Port of Shadows'' (french: Le Quai des brumes , "The dock of mists") is a 1938 French film directed by Marcel Carné. An example of poetic realism, it stars Jean Gabin, Michel Simon and Michèle Morgan. The screenplay was written by Jacques Pr� ...

'', directed by Marcel Carné (1938, based on the novel ''Le Quai des brumes'') *', directed by Roger Richebé (1939, based on the novel ''La Tradition de minuit'') *'' Marguerite de la nuit'', directed by

Claude Autant-Lara Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director and later Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Biography Born at Luzarches in Val-d'Oise, Autant-Lara was educated in France and at London's Mill Hill ...

(1955, based on the novel ''Marguerite de la nuit'')

Screenwriter

*'' L'Inhumaine'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier (1924) *', directed by

Georges Monca Georges Monca ( 23 October 1867 – 26 December 1939) was a French film director. He was extremely prolific, making nearly four hundred films during his career - mainly during the silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recor ...

and (1937) * ''

Voyage Without Hope ''Voyage Without Hope'' (French: ''Voyage sans espoir'') is a French 1943 French crime drama film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Simone Renant, Jean Marais and Paul Bernard. It was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris. The film's ...

'', directed by

Christian-Jaque Christian-Jaque (byname of Christian Maudet; 4 September 1904 – 8 July 1994) was a French filmmaker. From 1954 to 1959, he was married to actress Martine Carol, who starred in several of his films, including '' Lucrèce Borgia'' (1953), '' ...

(1943) *''

François Villon François Villon ( Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these ...

'', directed by

André Zwoboda André Zwoboda (1910–1994) was a French screenwriter, producer and film director.Rège p.476 Selected filmography Director * ''Life Belongs to Us ''Life Belongs to Us'' (french: La vie est à nous) is a 1936 documentary propaganda film comm ...

(1945)

References

External links

Alexis Lykiard Alexis Lykiard (born 1940) is a British writer of Greek heritage, who began his prolific career as novelist and poet in the 1960s. His poems about jazz have received particular acclaim, including from Maya Angelou, Hugo Williams, Roy Fisher, Ke ...

"Mac Orlan"
(brief biography) *Andy Merrifielod
"The Strange Odyssey of Pierre Mac Orlan"
The Brooklyn Rail, 1 September 2004. Notes on Mac Orlan by Guy Debord biographer

Bureau of Public Secrets, References to Mac Orlan's popular songs {{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Orlan, Pierre 1882 births 1970 deaths People from Péronne, Somme Writers from Hauts-de-France Lyricists 20th-century French novelists People of Montmartre French military personnel of World War I