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