Sébastien Japrisot
Sébastien Japrisot | |
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Born |
Jean-Baptiste Rossi 4 July 1931 Marseille, France |
Died |
4 March 2003 71) Vichy, France | (aged
Pen name |
Sébastien Japrisot Robert Huart |
Occupation |
Author Screenwriter Film director |
Nationality | French |
Period | 1950-2003 |
Genre | Literary fiction, thriller |
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Signature |
Sébastien Japrisot (4 July 1931 – 4 March 2003) was a French author, screenwriter and film director, born in Marseille. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Japrisot has been nicknamed "the Graham Greene of France".
Famous in the Francophony, he is little known in the English-speaking world, though a number of his novels have been translated into English and have been made into films.
Biography
Sébastien Japrisot made his mark as an author at seventeen, when his novel Les Mal Partis was published in France and United States. He followed this with outstanding translations of J. D. Salinger's novels. He pursued a successful career in advertising and publicity.
In 1962, he had an intriguing idea for a crime novel. As he did not feel at ease about his entry into this new field, he used an anagram of his own name as his pseudonym. However, the reception to The 10.30 from Marseille left no one in doubt that a great crime writer had made his debut. The book was quickly made into The Sleeping Car Murders, a film by Costa-Gavras starring Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Catherine Allégret, Jacques Perrin, etc.
His second mystery was Trap for Cinderella. This won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for 1963. The film starred Dany Carrel, and Madeleine Robinson.
He followed this with The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, which won him a second major French award - Le Prix d'Honneur 1966. In England it won the Crime Writer's Association Silver Dagger for the best Thriller published in the United Kingdom in 1968 by a foreign writer. It became a film by Anatole Litvak in 1970 with Samantha Eggar and Oliver Reed.
He was also scriptwriter and film director. One Deadly Summer was made into a film starring Isabelle Adjani. A Very Long Engagement was an international bestseller and won the Prix Interallié.
French bibliography
Novels
- Les Mal Partis - Prix de l'Unanimité 1966 (as J.-B. Rossi, Robert Laffont, 1950)
- Visages de l'amour et de la haine (as J.-B. Rossi, in Réalités n° 57,1950)
- L'Odyssexe (illustrated album by Trez, as J.-B. Rossi, Denoël, 1965)
- L'Été meurtrier - Prix des Deux-Magots 1978, Prix de l'Académie suédoise 1978 ( Denoël, 1977). NB : film adaptation by Jean Becker, with Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon…
- La Passion des femmes (Denoël, 1986)
- Un long dimanche de fiançailles, Prix Interallié 1991 ( Denoël, 1991). NB : film adaptation by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Crime novels
- Compartiment tueurs (Denoël, coll. "Crime/club" n° 203, 1962). NB : 1965 film adaptation by Costa-Gavras, with Simone Signoret and Yves Montand; English title The Sleeping Car Murders.
- Piège pour Cendrillon - Grand Prix de littérature policière 1963 (Denoël, coll. "Crime/club" n° 209, 1963). NB : film adaptation by André Cayatte.
- La Dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil (Denoël, 1966). Made into the film The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun in 1970 by Anatole Litvak.
Screenplays
- La Machine à parler d'amour (as J.-B. Rossi, L'Avant-scène cinéma n° 66, 01/1967)
- Adieu l'ami (Denoël, 1968). NB : directed by Jean Vautrin, with Charles Bronson and Alain Delon
- The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970)
- La Course du lièvre à travers les champs (Denoël, 1972). NB : directed by René Clément, with Robert Ryan.
- Le Passager de la pluie (Denoël, 1992). NB : directed by René Clément.
Translations in French
- Hopalong Cassidy entre en jeu (Hopalong Cassidy With the Trail Herd), novel by Clarence E. Mulford as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 1, 1951)
- Hopalong Cassidy et la couvée de l’aigle (Hopalong Cassidy With the Eagle’s Brood), novel by Clarence E. Mulford, as Robert Huart ( Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 2, 1951).
- Hopalong Cassidy trouve un double (Hopalong Cassidy Returns), novel by Clarence E. Mulford, as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 3, 1951)
- Hopalong Cassidy : les Hors-la-loi de West Fork (Hopalong Cassidy and the Rustlers of West Fork, 1951), novel by Louis L'Amour, as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 6, 1951). (NB : the name of the author in the main title is "Tex Burns")
- Pistes dans la nuit (Trails by Night), novel by Tom J. Hopkins, as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 7, 1951).
- Hopalong Cassidy et les Compagnons du ranch 20 (Hopalong Cassidy, Bar 20, Rides Again) novel by Clarence E. Mulford, as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 8, 1951).
- Hopalong Cassidy : le Shérif de Twin River (Hopalong Cassidy serves a write), novel by Clarence E. Mulford (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 10, 1952).
- Hopalong Cassidy : (Meurtres sur) la Piste des sept pins (Hopalong Cassidy and the Trail to Seven Pines, 1951), novel by Louis L'Amour, as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 11, 1952).
- La Poursuite blanche (Murder in the Outlands), novel by James Beardsley Hendryx, as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 12, 1952).
- Hopalong Cassidy : Panique à Tasotal (Hopalong Cassidy and the Riders of High Rock, 1951), novel by Louis L'Amour as Robert Huart (Éd. Originale Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 14, 1952).
- Hopalong Cassidy : l’Inquiétant tireur (Hopalong Cassidy : Trouble Shooter, 1952), novel by Louis L'Amour, as Robert Huart (Robert Laffont, coll. "Arizona" n° 16, 1953)
- L'Attrape-Cœurs (The Catcher in the Rye, novel by J. D. Salinger (Robert Laffont, coll. « Pavillons », 1953)
- Mais... qui a tué Harry ? (The Trouble with Harry), novel by Jack Trevor Story (Robert Laffont, 1956)
- Nouvelles (Nine Stories), J. D. Salinger (Robert Laffont, coll. « Pavillons », 1961)
Collections
- Écrit par Jean-Baptiste Rossi (Denoël - Éditions Robert Laffont, 1987)
- Japrisot volume 1 (thriller novels) (Denoël, coll. "Des heures durant", 2003)
- Japrisot volume 2 (novels) (Denoël, coll. "Des heures durant", 2004)
English translations
Year of publication in France | Original French title | English title / translation | Publication | |
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1950 | Les Mal Partis | The False Start = Awakening Transl. ? |
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1950 | Visages de l'amour et de la haine | Faces of Love and Hatred | - | |
1962 | Compartiment tueurs | The 10:30 from Marseille = The Sleeping-car murders Transl. by Francis Price |
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1963 | Piège pour Cendrillon | Trap for Cinderella Transl. by Helen Weaver |
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1965 | L'Odyssexe | - | - | |
1966 | La Dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil | The Lady in the car with glasses and a gun Transl. by Helen Weaver |
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1968 | Adieu l'ami | Goodbye, friend Transl. by Patricia Allen Dreyfus |
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1977 | L'Été meurtrier | One Deadly Summer Transl. by Alan Sheridan |
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1986 | La Passion des femmes | Women in Evidence = The Passion Of Women Transl. by Ros Schwartz |
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1991 | Un long dimanche de fiançailles | A Very Long Engagement Transl. by Linda Coverdale |
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1992 | Le Passager de la pluie | Rider on the Rain Transl. by Linda Coverdale |
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Filmography
- 1965 : Piège pour Cendrillon aka A Trap for Cinderella (novel)
- 1965 : Compartiment tueurs aka The Sleeping Car Murders (screenwriter, novel)
- 1968 : Adieu l'ami aka Honor Among Thieves aka Farewell, Friend (UK title) aka So Long, Friend (screenwriter)
- 1970 : Le Passager de la pluie aka Rider on the Rain aka Passenger of the Rain (screenwriter)
- 1970 : The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (screenwriter, novel)
- 1972 : La Course du lièvre à travers les champs aka And Hope to Die (screenwriter, based on a novel by David Goodis)
- 1975 : Histoire d'O aka Story of O (screenwriter, based on a novel by Pauline Réage)
- 1975 : Folle à tuer aka Mad Enough To Kill (screenwriter, based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette)
- 1976 : Les Mal Partis (director, screenwriter, novel)
- 1983 : L'Été meurtrier aka One Deadly Summer (screenwriter, novel)
- 1988 : Juillet en septembre aka July In September (director, screenwriter)
- 1999 : Les Enfants du marais aka Children of the Marshland (screenwriter, based on a novel by Georges Montforez)
- 2001 : Un crime au Paradis aka A Crime In Paradise (screenwriter, based on a film by Sacha Guitry)
- 2004 : Un long dimanche de fiançailles aka A Very Long Engagement (novel)
- 2013 : Trap for Cinderella (novel)
- 2015 : La Dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil aka The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (novel)
Additionally, in 1992, Daam Autos (The Lady in the Car) premiered in Estonia, which is based on the novel La Dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil by Japrisot. It was directed by Peeter Urbla, adapted for screen by Roman Balayan.
Director - Filmography
- Juillet en septembre (1988)
- Les mal partis (as Jean-Baptiste Rossi) - Bad Starters (1976)
- L'idée fixe (1961)
- La machine à parler d'amour (as Jean-Baptiste Rossi) (1961)
Awards
- 1963 : Grand Prix de Littérature policière for Piège pour Cendrillon (Denoël, 1963).
- 1966 : Prix de l'Unanimité for Les Mal Partis
- 1966 : Prix d'Honneur for La Dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil
- 1968 : Gold Dagger Award for the Best Crime Novel of the Year 1968 (Best Foreign) - The Crime Writer's Association for The Lady in the Car (Souvenir Press)
- 1978 : Prix des Deux-Magots for L'Été meurtrier (Denoël, 1977)
- 1981 : The Martin Beck Award - Svenska Deckarakademin (Académie suédoise) - for Vedergällningen (L'Été meurtrier)
- 1984 : César de la meilleure adaptation cinématographique (Best Original Screenplay) - French Academy of Cinema - for L'Été meurtrier (film de Jean Becker, 1983).
- 1991 : Prix Interallié for Un long dimanche de fiançailles (Denoël, 1991).
- 1996 : Adult Great Read (Honorable Mention) - Northern California Independent Booksellers Associated (NCIBA) (USA) for A very long Engagement