Hubert, Roger

(1903-1964)

   Cinematographer. Roger Hubert began his career during the silent-film era. His first film experience was as the cameraman and cinematographer for Jean Epstein on his legendary film, L'Auberge rouge (1923). During the 1930s and 1940s, no doubt because of his talent and his early formation with a technical master, Hubert was invited to work with some of the greatest directors in France, particularly the directors associated with Le Réalisme poétique or poetic realism.

   Hubert worked with Marc Allégret on Mam'zelle Nitouche (1931), La Petite chocolatière (1932), Fanny (1932), and L'Hôtel du libre échange (1934), with Marcel Carné on Jenny (1936), Les Visiteurs du soir (1942), Les Enfants du paradis (1945), and La Fleur de l'âge (1947), with Julien Duvivier on Pension Mimosas (1935), and L'Homme du jour (1937), and with Jacques Feyder on La Piste du nord (1939).

   Hubert was also in demand with other, mostly artistically inclined directors. He was the preferred cinematographer of the director Abel Gance, and worked with Gance on La Fin du monde (1931), Mater Dolorosa (1932), Napoléon Bonaparte (1934), La Dame aux camélias (1934), Le Roman d'un jeune homme pauvre (1935), Lucrèce Borgia (1935), Le Voleur de femmes (1936), and J'Accuse (1938). He also worked with Jean Delannoy on L'Éternel retour (1943), with Marcel L'Herbier on L'Affaire du collier de la reine (1946), and with Georges Lacombe on Martin Roumagnac (1946).

   In the 1950s and 1960s, as French filmmaking changed directions, Hubert found himself working on different kinds of films for different kinds of directors. He worked with Henri Verneuil on crime films and Gilles Grangier on comedies, but he also found occasion to work with some familiar directors. He worked with Duvivier again on La Fête à Henriette (1952) and L'Homme à l'imperméable (1957) and with Carné on Thérèse Raquin (1953). He also worked with Jean Dréville on his films La Reine Margot (1954) and La Fayette (1961).