James Henri Le Bailly de la Falaise was born on February 11, 1898, in Saint-Cyr-l'École, France, the eldest son and second child of Louis Venant Gabriel Le Bailly de la Falaise, écuyer (1866–1910), a three time Olympic gold-medallist in fencing and former Army officer.

[2][3] After his father died in 1910, his widowed mother married her second husband, Count Antoine Hocquart de Turtot (1872–1954), a cavalry officer and major French horse-racing figure, in 1912.

It is now held by his grand-nephew (grandson of Alain), Daniel de La Falaise, a professional chef and food writer.

"[citation needed] La Falaise directed at least five motion pictures, notably among them are two travelogue drama silent films about primitive life and customs: Kliou, the Killer (1934, released 1936, also known as Kliou, the Killer Tiger) although the disparity in the titling remains unknown even today,[8] and Legong: Dance of the Virgins (1933, released 1935, also known as Djanger: Love Rite of Bali).

[11] He may also have written a film script for Gloria Swanson, his first wife, called Paris Luck, a 1927 work that bore the name of Robert Bailly.