From the age of 12, Delbez attended the
Lycée Charlemagne in
Paris. His parents sold their bistro and took up multiple jobs to help pay for this education. During
World War II, Delbez, along with other self-proclaimed pacifist students, led a series of protests against
German Occupation. While working in the office of the Treasury, Delbez met
Comédie-Française member
Julien Bertheau, who inspired Delbez to create a theatre troupe. Summoned to the
Service du travail obligatoire in 1943, he was able to cross the dividing line with false papers and join the
Free France forces in
Auvergne. After the war, Delbez entered the
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques. The actor
Pierre Fresnay put him in contact with director
Maurice Cloche, with whom he would direct several films as an assistant. Delbez worked alongside
Jean Grémillon,
Robert Bresson,
Guy Lefranc, and
Darry Cowl. His best known film is
On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels. In 1963, he adapted
Robert Sabatier's
Alain et le Nègre. However, the film was titled
Rue des Cascades. Delbez also worked in television, notably producing documentaries such as "La Mémoire aux images", which was broadcast on
France 3. His documentaries were typically broadcast on France 3 and
France 2. He wrote his autobiography,
Ma vie racontée à mon chien cinéphile, in 2001. It was published by
L'Harmattan. In May 2017, the Société nouvelle de cinématographie (SNC) and Celluloid Angels raised funds to restore
Rue des Cascades. In 2018,
M6 restored the film and released it on DVD. The channel also restored and distributed other Delbez films. In 2019,
Rue des Cascades was screened in
Salon-de-Provence. Maurice Delbez died on 23 March 2020 at the age of 97. ==Filmography==