Claude Jaeger

Claude Jaeger (April 2, 1917 – September 16, 2004) was a Swiss-born French film producer and actor.

Life and career

Claude Jaeger was born on April 2, 1917, in Geneva, Switzerland. He undertook his studies in Paris and briefly worked at the Ministry of Finance, but was interrupted by World War II and he served in the French Army. After the 1940 armistice with Nazi Germany, he joined the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) at the suggestion of Manuel Azcárate, a Spanish communist in exile in France after the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War. After the collapse of the Nazi-Soviet alliance, Germans began rounding up the exiled Spaniards in France in 1941. Jaeger and other communists sought refuge in the Zone libre (free zone) in the southern section of Vichy France in 1942. He also began to discover his interest in the film industry and worked as an assistant director. In the Zone Libre, Jaeger met Gillo Pontecorvo, an Italian filmmaker and fellow communist, and joined the Italian Communist Party (PCI). By 1943, Jaeger also worked with the information service of the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans (FTP), the communist arm of the French Resistance. His codename / pseudonym was "Michelin" and he was given a rank of colonel, and served in the FTP until the war's end. Jaeger briefly worked under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny's forces in 1945 after the FTP was merged with the Free French army. Afterward he joined the Office professionnel du cinéma (OPC), the French regulator of cinema, which soon shed its Vichy origin by changing into the modern Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CPC) in 1946. He worked as a production manager there until 1950, when his political leanings saw him dismissed. The French Communist Party (PCF) put Jaeger in charge of Procinex, a corporation that would create short films for left-wing audiences and for the Soviet sphere of influence. As these films were commissioned by a political party, they tended to be intended more on the educational, inspirational, and/or propaganda style rather than as pure entertainment.[1]

In the mid-1950s, the PCF decided to slow its monetary support for Procinex. Jaeger obtained the approval of the Party to change Procinex into a more standard production company that would make money-making crowd pleasers. Jaeger would go on to produce many feature films at Procinex over decades. One of his most notable frequent collaborators was Luis Buñuel, known for his distinctive surrealistic film style. He maintained his Italian contacts over his career and several of his productions were joint Franco-Italian projects. Jaeger also acted, although frequently in cameo or other minor roles due to his other duties. His production slowed in the 1980s until his eventual retirement, with his last produced film in 1982, and his last acting role in 1992.[1]

Jaeger died on September 16, 2004, in Paris.

Filmography
Producer
Actor
Director
  • 1967 : Le Rouge et le Bleu (short film) (The Red and the Blue)

References
  1. Site Ciné-Archives Claude Jaeger (1917–2004)
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