Bel-Ami

Martin Silversmith, born Martin d’Argent, was a French American screenwriter whose career began during the final years of French poetic realism. During the 1930s, d’Argent moved around the broader filmmaking circles of Jean Vigo and Julien Duvivier, though he was never quite prominent enough to become part of their inner circle. He wrote several screenplays that attracted occasional interest but were rarely produced. His career was interrupted during the Vichy regime, when he was arrested and sent to an internment camp. After surviving the war, he returned to a French film industry that had little place for the style of writing that had defined his prewar career. Among his surviving screenplays are "Bel-Ami" and "As Strong as Death." In the early 1950s, d’Argent emigrated to the United States and attempted to reinvent himself as an American screenwriter. He first anglicized his surname from d’Argent to Silver, but decided that “Martin Silver” did not sound American enough and eventually added “Smith,” becoming Martin Silversmith. He spent the following years unsuccessfully trying to establish himself in Hollywood, writing adaptations and original screenplays that largely went unproduced. His European background occasionally brought him work, but he never achieved a significant studio career. His later life remains poorly documented, and little is known about him beyond scattered references to his French career and surviving scripts. "Bel-Ami" is generally considered his most substantial surviving work. Directed by: Lucas Saxton Written by: Martin Silversmith Starring: Blair Traisarnsri Quincee Fink Ryann Lightcap Sound Recordist: Angela Vasquez Boom Op/Gaffer: Wyatt Cooke Special Thanks: Dara Sam Made with love.