Marcel Louis Henry Joseph Léon Courmes (13 June 1885 – 5 May 1950) was a French military officer and aviator during the First World War, and later one of the first French sound cinematographers.

Biography Family and background Courmes was born on June 13, 1885, to Euphémie SegondExtract from the Civil Status Registers of Marseille deposited at the registry of the Court of First Instance of the said city, 1889, volume 6, number 19. and Captain Arthur Louis Courmes (1849–1921), a Knight of the Legion of Honour.Service record of Captain Arthur Courmes : SHD - GR 5YE 86783 His paternal lineage traces back to Luc Courmes, a Huguenot captain born in 1580 in Grasse.Myriam A. Orban, Diplômée de la faculté de théologie protestante de Paris et de Montpellier : Grasse, ses seigneurs et la religion prétendue réformée au XVIe siècle. Recherches régionales. Alpes-Maritimes et contrées limitrophes. 2020, page 21. |url=https://www.departement06.fr/documents/A-votre-service/Culture/archives/recherches-regionales/recherches_regionales_217_1.pdfChristelle Accary and 16 other authors, "Entre terre, mer et ciel. Les cimetières des Alpes-Maritim (XIIe - XXIe siècles" editing Département des Alpes-Maritime snook. 2020, page 28.Christian Gabert "Histoire des familles" available at the Historical Library of Grasse He was also the great-grandnephew of Claude-Marie Courmes, who served as deputy of Var, mayor of Grasse, and was a Knight of the Legion of Honour.« Cote LH/611/53 [archive] », base Léonore, ministère français de la Culture

On March 21, 1910, Courmes married Louise Read Chadwick, the daughter of American painter Francis Brooks Chadwick and Swedish painter Emma Löwstädt-Chadwick, in Grez-sur-Loing.

Courmes had a son, Lieutenant Christian Courmes (1913–1987), and a daughter, Gilberte Courmes.État de services du lieutenant Christian Courmes : SHD - GR 2000-2-202-02818 Christian was imprisoned in 1942 at Colditz fortress, where he participated two escape attempts, that became known as "The Metro" and "The French Tunnel". Gilberte married Colonel Maurice Delage,Civil status, extract from the register of birth certificates for the year 1906. "Maurice Delage married in second marriage Douala, Cameroon, on August 7, 1946, to Gilberte Louise Courmes." a Companion of Liberation, who served with General Leclerc's "Force L" and established the 13th Engineering Battalion of the 2nd Armored Division. Delage eventually took part in the invasion of Normandy and the Liberation of Paris.- -

Military career

Courmes graduated 6th out of 277 from his class at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr, and Major out of 60 at École de cavalerie, Saumur.État de services du chef d'escadrons Marcel Courmes : SHD - GR 8YE 3139.

He was a classmate of Colonel de La Rocque and demonstrated his military loyalty to him by testifying as a character witness at La Rocque's trial. He was also close to the first Chinese Saint-Cyrien, General Prince Pao-Tchao Dan (1884–1958).

In 1907, he first served as a second lieutenant in the 5th African Hunter Regiment, then as lieutenant in the 2nd African Hunter Regiment from 1907–1908. During the Moroccan Campaign, he served in the 28th (1910–1911) and the 7th Dragoon Regiment (1913). He was described in his service record as a "brilliant but dreamy, excessively artistic cavalry officer who has a tendency towards too much benevolence in his command, which can have serious disadvantages in times of war."

In 1914, he was a special staff officer of the 4th Dragoon Regiment. He joined the French Air Force on August 1, 1915, in the French 2nd Bombardment Group, and then served in the Escadrille F 63. His service record categorised him as "an officer of perfect education, of an independent character who has great qualities of composure, courage and willpower, which make him an excellent pilot."

Career in film

Courmes was one of the first French sound cinematographers, along with Joseph de Bretagne, with both working on many French films of the 1930s. In 1931, the pair featured in film La Chienne directed by Jean Renoir, for which Courmes was both the artistic director and played the role of "The Colonel". Courmes and Bretagne were supported by technical advisors from Western Electric, Bell and Hotchckiss, who assisted in direct capture of outdoor sound. The pair's contribution is most apparent in the film's final sequence, a tracking shot with dialogue between Michel Simon and Alexis Godart on a busy street. The "sound trucks" necessary for this sequence were used by the novice technicians with the help of experts from Western Electric.

Courmes is also credited in Braunberger and Richebé films such as Fantômas (with Bell in 1932) and The Agony of the Eagles (1933, with Bell). He also recorded the street sounds of La Tête d'un homme for Julien Duvivier (1932, production Vandal et Delac) and those of Hôtel du Nord for Marcel Carné in 1938. Later, with Bretagne again, he worked on the Renoir film Madame Bovary (1933) and Le Voyage de M. Perrichon (1934) by Jean Tarride.

Awards and honors Courmes obtained the following distinctions:Extracts from the service records of Squadron Leader Marcel Courmes : SHD - GR 8YE 3139. : Citation to the Order of the Army num. 3428D of 13 July 1916 and list of decorations. Knight of the Legion of Honor (July 6, 1929) Croix de Guerre (1914–1918), with Palm Morocco commemorative medal (1909), Morocco Clasp Citation to the Order of the Army, number 32489 (July 13, 1916) with mention: "Bold and skillful pilot carried out 10 bombings, including 9 at night; this is particularly distinguished by carrying out successfully on the night of the 17th on May 18, 1916 a particularly perilous expedition to an important station."

Filmography Marcel Courmes was one of the first French sound cinematographers and was also the artistic director of Jean Renoir's film La Chienne. He participated in the following filmsCiné-ressources.net search : Marcel Courmes. 1931 : La Chienne by Jean Renoir 1931 : L'Amour à l'américaine by Paul Fejos 1932 : Fantômas by Paul Fejos 1932 : Criminel by Jack Forrester 1933 : L'agonie des aigles by Roger Richebé 1933 : La tête d'un homme by Julien Duvivier 1933 : L'Homme à l'Hispano by Jean Epstein 1933 : Madame Bovary by Jean Renoir 1933 : Quelqu'un a tué by Jack Forrester 1933 : Tire-au-flanc by Henry Wulschleger 1933 : Tour de chant by Alberto Cavalcanti 1934 : Cessez le feu by Jacques de Baroncelli 1934 : Les nuits moscovites by Alexis Granowsky 1934 : Le Voyage de monsieur Perrichon by Jean Tarride 1935 : Le comte Obligado by Léon Mathot 1935 : Le Billet de mille by Marc Didier 1935 : Quelle drôle de gosse by Léo Joannon 1935 : Golgotha by Julien Duvivier 1935 : Les yeux noirs by Victor Tourjanski 1935 : Le Roman d'un jeune homme pauvre by Abel Gance 1936 : Sous les yeux d'occident by Marc Allégret 1936 : Aventure à Paris by Marc Allégret 1936 : Partie de campagne by Jean Renoir 1936 : Les Hommes nouveaux by Marcel L'Herbier 1936 : Tarass Boulba by Alexis Granowsky 1936 : Opéra de Paris by Claude Lambert (short film) 1936 : Le grand refrain by Yves Mirande 1937 : Vous n'avez rien à déclarer? by Léo Joannon 1937 : Les Perles de la couronne by Sacha Guitry 1938 : Orage by Marc Allégret 1938 : Hôtel du Nord by Marcel Carné 1938 : Carrefour by Kurt Bernhardt 1938 : Durand bijoutier by Jean Stelli 1938 : Lumières de Paris by Richard Pottier 1938 : Le train pour Venise by André Berthomieu 1939 : La charrette fantôme by Julien Duvivier 1939 : La famille Duraton by Christian Stengel 1939 : Le déserteur by Léonide Moguy 1943 : L'Auberge de l'abîme by Willy Rozier 1943 : Les Deux timides by Yves Allégret 1943 : Le camion blanc by Léo Joannon

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