Marcel Carne symbolizes the period, approximately 1930-1945, when French cinema recaptured the creative vitality and prestige it had relinquished almost completely to the American film industry. The first critical biography of this director of classic films, including the epic historical romance "Les Enfants du paradis" (Children of Paradise), relates the saga of Carne s meteoric rise in the 1930s and his decline from critical grace after the war.