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Born in Algiers, André Hugon remained passionately attached to the Mediterranean all his life. He filmed several novels by the Provencal writer Jean Aicard, beginning with Le Roi de Camargue in 1921, and continuing in the sound period with Maurin des Maures (1931), L'Illustre Maurin (1932) and Gaspard de Besse (1934). His love of Provence (he was an close friend of Victor Tuby, founder of the Provencal Academy), led him to make Romarin in 1936 in the natural settings of Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat, then two films set in Marseilles, Chambre 13 (1940) and L'Affaire du Grand Hôtel (1945), which were both made in the studios of his friend Marcel Pagnol.

But the North Africa of his origins was to provide him with the backdrop of three other films, Le Marchand de sable and La Croix du Sud (both 1931) and Sarati le Terrible (1937).

Hugon's films, which he also produced, were unjustly forgotten after the war. His films went out of circulation in the 1950s and became hard to find.

Yet they enjoyed considerable commercial succes in their time, not only the films set in Provence, but also comedies of evergreen charm - among them films featuring the famous singer Mireille, who with Jean Nohain also wrote the lyrics and music for Hugon's Chourinette - and realistic dramas such as La Rue sans joie (1938), with Dita Parlo and Albert Préjean, and Le Héros de la Marne (1938) starring Raimu.

Hugon worked with the greatest actors of his day: Berval in Maurin des Maures, Gaspard de Besse and Romarin, Raimu in Gaspard de Besse and Le Héros de la Marne, Harry Baur in Sarati le Terrible, Jules Berry in Chambre 13.

His films also boast the most prestigious "supporting cast" of the 30s, Aquistapace, Delmont, Pierre Larquey, among others.

Too, André Hugon directed the first French talkie in 1929, Les Trois masques.