Director of classic thrillers dies at 74

French film director Jacques Deray, known for classic thrillers and police movies, has died at home in a Paris suburb, his family said today. He was 74.

Deray made nine films starring Alain Delon, notably La Piscine, (The Swimming Pool), a 1968 psychological drama set in a villa in the beach resort of St Tropez. Austrian actress Romy Schneider also appeared.

Successes in the 1970s included Flic Story (Cop Story) and Borsalino, which starred Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo and focused on crooks in the bustling southern port city of Marseille.

Deray’s family said today that he died at home in Boulogne-Billancourt overnight. Information on funeral arrangements was not immediately available.