Trivia

His relationship with Stéphane Audran ended when he fell in love with his frequent collaborator Aurore Chabrol (nee Aurore Pajot). He always liked to claim that it was Stéphane who threw him into Aurore's arms as, during the shooting of Ten Days Wonder (1971), she couldn't attend his birthday dinner and jokingly suggested that he should jump on the script-girl instead. The script-girl was Aurore and the friendship between her and Claude developed into a love affection. Audran always claimed that the story wasn't true.

Fritz Lang was one of his main influences.

He studied pharmacology at the University of Paris, before going into film-making.

Simenon and Balzac were his main literary sources of inspiration.

The Good Girls (1960), now regarded as one of his masterworks, was a critical and commercial failure when it was originally released. In her autobiography "Le Roman de ma vie", Bernadette Lafont remembers that, at one point during the movie premiere, a viewer furiously screamed that he wanted back the 5 francs he had paid for the ticket. Chabrol, who was sitting before him, turned around and gave them to him. Also, at the end of the screening, another spectator tried to get in a fist fight with the director. The two men were separated.

He was famous for his drunken antics on movie sets. Stéphane Audran remembers that, one day during the shooting of The Butcher (1970), he drank so much wine that he had to be brought away with a cart.

Was a critic for Cahiers du Cinéma in the 50s.

He often cast in his movies: Henri Attal (29 times), Dominique Zardi (26 times), Stéphane Audran (24 times), Thomas Chabrol (13 times), Bernadette Lafont (7 times), Michel Bouquet (7 times), Isabelle Huppert (7 times), Michel Duchaussoy (6 times), Jean-Claude Brialy (5 times), Jean-Pierre Cassel (5 times), François Cluzet (5 times), Juliette Mayniel (4 times), Jean Yanne (4 times), Maurice Ronet (4 times), Jean Carmet (4 times), Roger Hanin (3 times), Benoît Magimel (3 times), Noël Simsolo (3 times). He directed several of these actors in some TV productions as well.

He never told which ones of his own movies were his personal favourites, comparing this kind of choice to that of a parent asked to pick a favourite son.

Said that he valued very much a good sense of humour in his actors and that his collaboration with Emmanuelle Béart in Hell (1994) was a difficult one because she was completely devoid of it.

Was a great gourmet. He often chose filming locations based on the number of good restaurants in the area. While his wife Stéphane Audran was shooting The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), Chabrol prepared delicious dishes that she would share with members of the cast and crew.

His murder mysteries often reflected the influence of Alfred Hitchcock, on whom he co-authored (with Eric Rohmer) a critical analysis. Many of his other films were preoccupied with the follies of the bourgeoisie.

In 2009, he stated that the three worst movies ever made are: Fanny (1961), Day and Night (1997) and his own film, The Twist (1976).

He's well-known for the very inconsistent quality of his resume, being credited with having directed some of the best movies of French cinema along with some of the worst. His frequent collaborator, writer Paul Gégauff, claims that Chabrol didn't even bother to supervise the final editing of the movies he hadn't cared for in the first place and that he would immediately move on to something else. Having directed some infamous titles actually became a source of pride for Chabrol, although, in the documentary The Life and Work of Claude Chabrol (2006), he stated that, at one point in his life, he became more careful and concerned about the quality of his projects and that he regards Death Rite (1975) and The Twist (1976) as his last movies that qualify as very bad.

During the shooting of Bluebeard (1963), producer Carlo Ponti was so appalled by Stéphane Audran's performance that he asked 'who's that slut who's playing Fernande?' Chabrol (who was already engaged to Audran) slapped Ponti in the face and screamed 'that's my woman!' The director and the actress married one year later.

While his wife Stéphane Audran often stated that she owed everything to him, some critics have tried to claim that it was the other way around, with Chabrol's cinema benefiting a lot from the director's encounter with the actress. Chabrol himself wasn't too fond of this take on his long partnership with Audran, stating that Stéphane had been a pivotal figure in the making of The Butcher (1970) by suggesting he pair her with Jean Yanne for a film, but this was as far as her influence on his work went.

Was able to do several of his early movies due to the financial backing of his first wife Agnès Goute. After divorcing her to marry Stéphane Audran, it became more increasingly difficult to him to pursue the projects he wanted and he had to strive a bit for a few years, losing his production company (AJYM) as well.

French film director considered a master in the mystery genre. He is credited with starting the "nouvelle vague" French film movement.

Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 2000.

After completing his military service, he got his first job in the film industry in the Paris department of 20th Century Fox.

James Gray is a great fan of Chabrol, having intended his noir The Yards (2000) as a homage to those of the great French director. The film opened at Cannes film festival to the audience's whistles, something that greatly angered Chabrol.

He once stated that the bus scene in The Breach (1970) where Hélène (his wife Stéphane Audran) tells her family's story to her lawyer was the occasion when he finally thought that Stéphane had become an actress.

His film Line of Demarcation (1966) was originally intended for Anthony Mann to direct, but the latter declined the offer and recommended Chabrol instead. Chabrol took the job against the grain and once claimed that he had been drunk during most of the shooting.

Spent several of his childhood years in Sardenne. That's where his debut film, Le Beau Serge (1958), takes place.

Between 1978 and 1980 made commercials for Mamie Nova, R5, Gueule d'Amour and Franco Russe.

He cast Micheline Presle in The Blood of Others (1984), one of the many projects he had accepted against the grain and chosen to handle in the most superficial way as possible. When Micheline asked him if he had any ideas about how she should have played her character, he replied that he didn't. The actress eventually played the role to good reviews, leading the director to tell her with self-irony that she had been much more praised than the film itself.

Father of Thomas Chabrol and Matthieu Chabrol.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 194-199. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

Studied pharmacology and law in his youth.