Paul van Yperen's Blog, page 425
March 18, 2014
Cécile Aubry
The petite, blue-eyed blonde Cécile Aubry (1928-2010) was often seen as the predecessor of Brigitte Bardot as the French cinema's sex goddess. Her acting career was successful but brief: during the late 1940s through the mid-'50s. Later the French actress started a second career as a writer of children’s books, which she also adapted for television. The TV series with the boy Sebastien, played by her own son Mehdi, became a classic among children’s series.
French postcard by Editions O.P, Paris, no. 55. Photo: Studio Harcourt.
French postcard by Editions O.P, Paris, no. 48. Photo: Teddy Piaz.
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 145. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Seductive Pout
Cécile Aubry was born Anne-José Madeleine Henriette Bénard in Paris, France, in 1928. Her family was well-to-do, and Cécile had an English governess and a personal dance teacher. In her late teens, she studied acting at the Cours Simon, where she was discovered by famous film director Henri-Georges Clouzot.
Clouzot fell immediately for her ingenuity, her green bronze eyes, her blond hair and her seductive pout. He offered the 20-year-old Aubry the title role in Manon (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1949), opposite Serge Reggiani and Michel Auclair . In this dark adaptation of the Abbé Prévost's 18th-century novel Manon Lescaut, set in post-World War II, she played a capricious, luxury-seeking young woman who corrupts her lover.
Aubry managed to bring out the duality of the character – both femme fatale and femme enfant. She was a sensation. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1949 and the 20-years-old Cécile landed on the cover of Life magazine. In the accompanying article, Life described her as a “frisky, pert, sugar-and-spice bundle of adolescence.”
Ronald Bergan described in The Guardian what happened next: "in a blaze of typical Hollywood publicity, Cécile Aubry was signed up by 20th Century-Fox to co-star with Tyrone Power and Orson Welles in Henry Hathaway's The Black Rose. It was to be Aubry's only American film, placing her among several French actresses who had short-lived Hollywood careers after the liberation of France in 1944."
In her next, European film, Barbe-bleu/Bluebeard (Christian Jacque, 1951) she played the last wife of Bluebeard, played in the French version by Pierre Brasseur and in the German version by Hans Albers . She performed a silhouetted striptease that left little to the imagination.
In the following years she only appeared in a few more films, including Piovuto dal cielo/Fallen From the Sky (Leonardo De Mitri, 1953) and Tanz in der Sonne/Dance in the Sun (Géza von Cziffra, 1954) with Franco Andrei .
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Still from The Black Rose (1950) with Tyrone Power .
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 377. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin. Photo: publicity still for Barbe-Bleue/Bluebeard (Christian-Jaque, 1951).
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 410. Photo: publicity still for Barbe-Bleue/Bluebeard (Christian-Jaque, 1951).
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin.
Secret Marriage
Cécile Aubry stopped acting after her marriage to Si Brahim El Glaoui, caïd (local administrator) of Telouet and the oldest son of T'hami El Glaoui, pasha of Marrakech.
During the filming of The Black Rose in the dunes of the Moroccan Atlas mountains, the couple had met when he visited the set. They married in secret because Aubry thought that a marriage would harm her Hollywood career. Their marriage lasted for six years.
After her divorce Cécile Aubry made one more film L'espionne sera à Nouméa/The spy will be in Noumea (Georges Péclet, 1960) starring Anouk Ferjac. Then, she announced her retirement from the cinema. She reportedly said that she had only enjoyed film acting for its travel opportunities.
She started a second successful career as a writer of children’s books. Her son Mehdi El Glaoui (only credited as Mehdi) later played roles in the French TV series Poly (1961-1973) about a boy and his horse, and in the three series around Sébastien (1965-1970). These series were all written and directed by Aubry.
The most popular of these series was Belle et Sébastien/Belle and Sebastian (1965), which tells the adventures of a young orphan boy, Sébastien, in a small village in the Pyrenees, and the large white dog, Belle, whom he finds wandering through the mountains. Aubrey's series were broadcasted all over Europe during the 1960s. Later she wrote and directed also the series Le jeune Fabre/The Young Fabre (1973), again with Mehdi in the lead, now as a teenager.
Belle et Sébastien was adapted in 1981 for a Japanese animated series, Meiken Jolie, which was itself translated into English. The Scottish rock band Belle and Sebastian took its name from Aubry’s series too.
In 2010, Cécile Aubry died of lung cancer in Dourdan, outside of Paris, at the age of 81.
Last year Belle et Sébastien was filmed again, but now for the cinema. In Belle et Sébastien/Belle and Sebastian (Nicolas Vanier, 2013), the six-year-old boy and his dog look to foil a Nazi effort to capture French Resistance fighters. Sébastien was played by Félix Bossuet and Mehdi El Glaoui played a supporting part.
Dutch postcard. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 179. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Mexican Collector's card, no. 302.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 629. Photo: Serge Beauvarlet, Paris.
French postcard by Editions d'art Yvon, Paris, no. 6. Photo: RTF/Gaumont. Publicity still for the film Sébastien parmi les hommes (Cécile Aubry, 1968) with Mehdi El Glaoui.
French postcard by Editions d'art Yvon, Paris, no. 40/001-19. Photo: RTF / Gaumont / Téléclip. Publicity still for the film Sebastien et la Mary-Morgane (Cécile Aubry, 1970) with Mehdi El Glaoui.
Sources: Ronald Bergan (The Guardian), Bruce Weber (The New York Times), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Sandra Brennan (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and .
French postcard by Editions O.P, Paris, no. 55. Photo: Studio Harcourt.
French postcard by Editions O.P, Paris, no. 48. Photo: Teddy Piaz.
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 145. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Seductive Pout
Cécile Aubry was born Anne-José Madeleine Henriette Bénard in Paris, France, in 1928. Her family was well-to-do, and Cécile had an English governess and a personal dance teacher. In her late teens, she studied acting at the Cours Simon, where she was discovered by famous film director Henri-Georges Clouzot.
Clouzot fell immediately for her ingenuity, her green bronze eyes, her blond hair and her seductive pout. He offered the 20-year-old Aubry the title role in Manon (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1949), opposite Serge Reggiani and Michel Auclair . In this dark adaptation of the Abbé Prévost's 18th-century novel Manon Lescaut, set in post-World War II, she played a capricious, luxury-seeking young woman who corrupts her lover.
Aubry managed to bring out the duality of the character – both femme fatale and femme enfant. She was a sensation. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1949 and the 20-years-old Cécile landed on the cover of Life magazine. In the accompanying article, Life described her as a “frisky, pert, sugar-and-spice bundle of adolescence.”
Ronald Bergan described in The Guardian what happened next: "in a blaze of typical Hollywood publicity, Cécile Aubry was signed up by 20th Century-Fox to co-star with Tyrone Power and Orson Welles in Henry Hathaway's The Black Rose. It was to be Aubry's only American film, placing her among several French actresses who had short-lived Hollywood careers after the liberation of France in 1944."
In her next, European film, Barbe-bleu/Bluebeard (Christian Jacque, 1951) she played the last wife of Bluebeard, played in the French version by Pierre Brasseur and in the German version by Hans Albers . She performed a silhouetted striptease that left little to the imagination.
In the following years she only appeared in a few more films, including Piovuto dal cielo/Fallen From the Sky (Leonardo De Mitri, 1953) and Tanz in der Sonne/Dance in the Sun (Géza von Cziffra, 1954) with Franco Andrei .
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Still from The Black Rose (1950) with Tyrone Power .
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 377. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin. Photo: publicity still for Barbe-Bleue/Bluebeard (Christian-Jaque, 1951).
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 410. Photo: publicity still for Barbe-Bleue/Bluebeard (Christian-Jaque, 1951).
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin.
Secret Marriage
Cécile Aubry stopped acting after her marriage to Si Brahim El Glaoui, caïd (local administrator) of Telouet and the oldest son of T'hami El Glaoui, pasha of Marrakech.
During the filming of The Black Rose in the dunes of the Moroccan Atlas mountains, the couple had met when he visited the set. They married in secret because Aubry thought that a marriage would harm her Hollywood career. Their marriage lasted for six years.
After her divorce Cécile Aubry made one more film L'espionne sera à Nouméa/The spy will be in Noumea (Georges Péclet, 1960) starring Anouk Ferjac. Then, she announced her retirement from the cinema. She reportedly said that she had only enjoyed film acting for its travel opportunities.
She started a second successful career as a writer of children’s books. Her son Mehdi El Glaoui (only credited as Mehdi) later played roles in the French TV series Poly (1961-1973) about a boy and his horse, and in the three series around Sébastien (1965-1970). These series were all written and directed by Aubry.
The most popular of these series was Belle et Sébastien/Belle and Sebastian (1965), which tells the adventures of a young orphan boy, Sébastien, in a small village in the Pyrenees, and the large white dog, Belle, whom he finds wandering through the mountains. Aubrey's series were broadcasted all over Europe during the 1960s. Later she wrote and directed also the series Le jeune Fabre/The Young Fabre (1973), again with Mehdi in the lead, now as a teenager.
Belle et Sébastien was adapted in 1981 for a Japanese animated series, Meiken Jolie, which was itself translated into English. The Scottish rock band Belle and Sebastian took its name from Aubry’s series too.
In 2010, Cécile Aubry died of lung cancer in Dourdan, outside of Paris, at the age of 81.
Last year Belle et Sébastien was filmed again, but now for the cinema. In Belle et Sébastien/Belle and Sebastian (Nicolas Vanier, 2013), the six-year-old boy and his dog look to foil a Nazi effort to capture French Resistance fighters. Sébastien was played by Félix Bossuet and Mehdi El Glaoui played a supporting part.
Dutch postcard. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 179. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Mexican Collector's card, no. 302.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 629. Photo: Serge Beauvarlet, Paris.
French postcard by Editions d'art Yvon, Paris, no. 6. Photo: RTF/Gaumont. Publicity still for the film Sébastien parmi les hommes (Cécile Aubry, 1968) with Mehdi El Glaoui.
French postcard by Editions d'art Yvon, Paris, no. 40/001-19. Photo: RTF / Gaumont / Téléclip. Publicity still for the film Sebastien et la Mary-Morgane (Cécile Aubry, 1970) with Mehdi El Glaoui.
Sources: Ronald Bergan (The Guardian), Bruce Weber (The New York Times), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Sandra Brennan (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and .
March 17, 2014
Vladimír Borský
Vladimir Borsky (1904-1962) started as a film actor of the Czech silent cinema. He then became a popular film comedy star of the 1930s and later expanded to be an actor-writer-director.
Czech postcard, no. 147. Photo: Foto Ströminger, Praha (Prague).
Counts, Doctors or Other Respectable Characters
Vladimír Borský (also written as Wladimir Borsky) was born as Vladimir Fuks in Prague, in Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic) in 1904.
He made his first film appearance in the silent comedy Prach a broky/Tarnation (Premysl Prazský, 1926).
He had his breakthrough in the sound film era with comedies like To neznáte Hadimrsku/Business Under Distress (Martin Fric, Carl Lamac, 1931) and Kariéra Pavla Camrdy/The Career of Pavel Camdra (Miroslav Josef Krnanský, 1931) opposite Hugo Haas and the beautiful Lída Baarová , who later would become a star of the German cinema during the Nazi era.
He made with the same co-stars the comedies Zapadlí vlastenci/Forgotten Patriots (Miroslav Josef Krnanský, 1932), Madla z cihelny/Madla from the Brickworks (Vladimír Slavínský, 1932) and the Ufa production Její lékar/Her Doctor (Vladimír Slavínský, 1933). In these films Borský often played counts, doctors or other respectable characters.
The following year he appeared in Poslední muz/The Last man (Martin Fric, 1934), again starring Hugo Haas. Haas was a celebrated comedy star in Czechoslovakia. The Nazi invasion forced him to leave his beloved country and he went to the United States. After the war he worked there as a character actor and also as a director of independent B-films.
Czech postcard, no. 217. Photo: Foto Ströminger, Praha (Prague).
Volga in Flames
Vladimir Borský continued acting in Czech films during the 1930s and 1940s.
He had a small role in the French-Czech co-production Volga en flammes/Volga in Flames (Victor Tourjansky, 1934) starring Albert Préjean and Danielle Darrieux .
The comedy Anita v ráji/Anita in Paradise (Jan Sviták, 1934) was an alternative language version of the German production Annette im Paradies (Max Obal, 1934).
Other films were Vdavky Nanynky Kulichovy/Nanynka Kulichova's Wedding (Vladimír Slavínský, 1935), Tri muzi ve snehu/Three Men in the Snow (Vladimír Slavínský, 1936), based on the novel by Erich Kästner, and Svadlenka/The Seamstress (Martin Fric, 1936) again starring Lída Baarová and Hugo Haas.
Another Czech star of the 1930’s and 1940’s with whom Borsky co-starred was Adina Mandlová. They appeared together in the drama Porucik Alexander Rjepkin/Lieutenant Alexander Rjepkin (Václav Binovec, 1937) and the musical drama Druhe mládi/Second Youth (Václav Binovec, 1938).
He also frequently appeared opposite Hana Vítová, such as in Bláhové devce/A Foolish Girl (Václav Binovec, 1938) and the drama Písen lásky/Love Song (Václav Binovec, 1940).
Danielle Darrieux . French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 20.
Master of Orphans
During the war years, Vladimir Borský only appeared incidentally in films. He played a supporting role in the comedy Host do domu/The Guest House ( Zdenek Gina Hasler, 1942).
In 1936 he had started a second career as a film director. His first film was the drama Vojnarka (1936). Other films were Jan Výrava (1938), the romantic comedy Cekanky/Chicory (1940), Palicova dcera/The Incendiary's Daughter (1941) with Lída Baarová , and the war drama Jan Rohac z Dube/Warriors of Faith (1947).
Jan Rohac z Dube was the first colour film in Czechoslovakia. The main hero Jan Rohac of Duba was a 15th Century Bohemian Hussite marshal originated from Bohemian gentry. Following the death of Jan Zizka, he became Master of Orphans, a radical Hussite sect. He survived the Battle of Lipany and, in 1437, he moved with his last remaining disciples on the castle Sion. There he was besieged and later assaulted by Hungarian troops. He was hanged three days later in Prague. Borský had also written the screenplay for this film.
Among Borsky later films were Kudy kam/Whence and Where to? (1956) and a documentary about the actor Stanislav Neuman, Herec Stanislav Neuman/Actor Stanislav Neuman (1961).
Borský’s last film role was a supporting part in Slecna od vody/The Young Lady from the Riverside (Borivoj Zeman, 1959).
Vladimír Borský died in 1962 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic).
Albert Préjean . French postcard by Pathé Consortium, no. 44. Photo: Roger Karan.
Source: .
Czech postcard, no. 147. Photo: Foto Ströminger, Praha (Prague).
Counts, Doctors or Other Respectable Characters
Vladimír Borský (also written as Wladimir Borsky) was born as Vladimir Fuks in Prague, in Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic) in 1904.
He made his first film appearance in the silent comedy Prach a broky/Tarnation (Premysl Prazský, 1926).
He had his breakthrough in the sound film era with comedies like To neznáte Hadimrsku/Business Under Distress (Martin Fric, Carl Lamac, 1931) and Kariéra Pavla Camrdy/The Career of Pavel Camdra (Miroslav Josef Krnanský, 1931) opposite Hugo Haas and the beautiful Lída Baarová , who later would become a star of the German cinema during the Nazi era.
He made with the same co-stars the comedies Zapadlí vlastenci/Forgotten Patriots (Miroslav Josef Krnanský, 1932), Madla z cihelny/Madla from the Brickworks (Vladimír Slavínský, 1932) and the Ufa production Její lékar/Her Doctor (Vladimír Slavínský, 1933). In these films Borský often played counts, doctors or other respectable characters.
The following year he appeared in Poslední muz/The Last man (Martin Fric, 1934), again starring Hugo Haas. Haas was a celebrated comedy star in Czechoslovakia. The Nazi invasion forced him to leave his beloved country and he went to the United States. After the war he worked there as a character actor and also as a director of independent B-films.
Czech postcard, no. 217. Photo: Foto Ströminger, Praha (Prague).
Volga in Flames
Vladimir Borský continued acting in Czech films during the 1930s and 1940s.
He had a small role in the French-Czech co-production Volga en flammes/Volga in Flames (Victor Tourjansky, 1934) starring Albert Préjean and Danielle Darrieux .
The comedy Anita v ráji/Anita in Paradise (Jan Sviták, 1934) was an alternative language version of the German production Annette im Paradies (Max Obal, 1934).
Other films were Vdavky Nanynky Kulichovy/Nanynka Kulichova's Wedding (Vladimír Slavínský, 1935), Tri muzi ve snehu/Three Men in the Snow (Vladimír Slavínský, 1936), based on the novel by Erich Kästner, and Svadlenka/The Seamstress (Martin Fric, 1936) again starring Lída Baarová and Hugo Haas.
Another Czech star of the 1930’s and 1940’s with whom Borsky co-starred was Adina Mandlová. They appeared together in the drama Porucik Alexander Rjepkin/Lieutenant Alexander Rjepkin (Václav Binovec, 1937) and the musical drama Druhe mládi/Second Youth (Václav Binovec, 1938).
He also frequently appeared opposite Hana Vítová, such as in Bláhové devce/A Foolish Girl (Václav Binovec, 1938) and the drama Písen lásky/Love Song (Václav Binovec, 1940).
Danielle Darrieux . French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 20.
Master of Orphans
During the war years, Vladimir Borský only appeared incidentally in films. He played a supporting role in the comedy Host do domu/The Guest House ( Zdenek Gina Hasler, 1942).
In 1936 he had started a second career as a film director. His first film was the drama Vojnarka (1936). Other films were Jan Výrava (1938), the romantic comedy Cekanky/Chicory (1940), Palicova dcera/The Incendiary's Daughter (1941) with Lída Baarová , and the war drama Jan Rohac z Dube/Warriors of Faith (1947).
Jan Rohac z Dube was the first colour film in Czechoslovakia. The main hero Jan Rohac of Duba was a 15th Century Bohemian Hussite marshal originated from Bohemian gentry. Following the death of Jan Zizka, he became Master of Orphans, a radical Hussite sect. He survived the Battle of Lipany and, in 1437, he moved with his last remaining disciples on the castle Sion. There he was besieged and later assaulted by Hungarian troops. He was hanged three days later in Prague. Borský had also written the screenplay for this film.
Among Borsky later films were Kudy kam/Whence and Where to? (1956) and a documentary about the actor Stanislav Neuman, Herec Stanislav Neuman/Actor Stanislav Neuman (1961).
Borský’s last film role was a supporting part in Slecna od vody/The Young Lady from the Riverside (Borivoj Zeman, 1959).
Vladimír Borský died in 1962 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic).
Albert Préjean . French postcard by Pathé Consortium, no. 44. Photo: Roger Karan.
Source: .
March 16, 2014
Jean-Claude Drouot
Belgian actor Jean-Claude Drouot (1938) started his acting career with a boom in the French TV series Thierry La Fronde (1963-1966) and with Agnès Varda’s controversial masterpiece Le Bonheur (1965). Although he went on to appear in many film, TV and stage roles he would never completely lose the image of Thierry la Fronde, the French Robin Hood.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 983bis. Photo: Philips.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 969. Photo: Philips / Alibert.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 984bis. Photo: Philips.
So Passionate About Theatre
Jean-Claude Constant Nestor Gustave Drouot was born in Lessines (Lessen), Belgium, in 1938. He studied law and later medicine at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he also appeared at the Jeune Théâtre (Youth Theatre).
He was so passionate about theatre that he gave up his academic studies. He settled in Paris where he attended acting courses by Charles Dullin .
From 1962 on, he interpreted the classic tragedies classics and the plays by Molière. He was spotted for television when he appeared in Orestes in 1962.
Between 1963 and 1966, Drouot played the title role in the legendary TV series Thierry La Fronde/Thierry the Sling Man (Pierre Goutas, 1963-1966), created for television by Jean-Claude Deret (who also played the traitor Florent in the series). The series, created to compete with the overwhelming British and American TV productions with medieval themes, became one of the most popular programs on French television in the 1960s. Thierry La Fronde is credited with boosting the use of the sling shot in French school playgrounds and turning the relatively rare first name, Thierry, into one of the most popular names for French boys.
On IMDb, Canadian reviewer Animal 8 5 writes: “Thierry was not only an unmatched sling man, but the savvy leader of a band of French rebels during the Hundred Year War. Jean-Claude Drouot portrayed Thierry of Janville, who begins the series as a young lord betrayed out of his title and property by conniving steward, Florent, played by Jean-Claude Deret. Actress Céline Léger played his love interest, Isabelle. Joined by his friends, Thierry becomes a 'Robin Hood' type of character and fights undercover to end the iron rule of the ruthless Brits. I remember the adventure was top-notch and very watchable.”
In 1963 Jean-Claude Drouot also appeared in a short film, L'évasion/The Avoidance (Henri Fishbach, 1963).
French postcard by Éditions d'art Yvon, Arcueil, no. 2. Photo: O.R.T.F. / Télé France Film / Photo Bruguière. Still from Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966).
French postcard by Éditions d'art Yvon, Arcueil. Photo: O.R.T.F. / Télé France Film / Photo Bruguière. Still from Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966).
French postcard by Éditions d'art Yvon, Arcueil, no. 6. Photo: O.R.T.F. / Télé France Film / Photo Bruguière. Still from Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966) with Jean-Claude Drouot and Céline Léger.
An Invitation To Free Love
Jean-Claude Drouot made his feature film debut in Le Bonheur/Happiness (Agnès Varda, 1965) in which he performed with his wife Claire and his children Olivier and Sandrine. Agnès Varda’s third film (and her first colour film) is associated with the French Nouvelle Vague (New Wave).
Le Bonheur/Happiness provoked something of a scandal when it was first released in France, at the height of the sexual revolution in the mid-1960s. What was so shocking about the film was not so much its subject but the way in which Varda approaches it, in a way that suggests a kind of moral equivalence between love in a stable marriage and love in an adulterous relationship. The film can be interpreted as an invitation to free love, even implying that the lives of married couples can only be improved by an extra-marital affair or two.
Hal Erickson at AllMovie writes: “To critics who carped that her choice of hues was not "realistic", she responded that she was choosing the hues that were best suited psychologically to her story. The film's protagonist is a young, married carpenter (Jean-Claude Drouot). He takes a mistress ( Marie-France Boyer ), assuming that he can be equally in love with both his wife and the new woman in his life. When the wife drowns, the mistress quietly takes her place. This plot twist remains a subject of debate amongst Varda’s admirers.”
At Films de France , James Travers adds: “Le Bonheur is actually a far more subtle film than this, and indeed it is one of the most ironic and truthful portrayals of romantic love in French cinema. The film doesn’t celebrate open relationships, as its detractors claimed, but merely observes that marital infidelity is an inevitable fact of life. It also reminds us that there is no so such thing as the perfect love affair.”
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 970. Photo: Laurent Camil / Philips.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 983. Photo: Philips.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 968. Photo: Philips / Alibert.
Jules Verne Adventure
Jean-Claude Drouot next played a role in Les ruses du diable/The Devil's Tricks (Paul Vecchiali, 1965) with Michel Piccoli.
Later he appeared in British and American films as the Vladimir Nabokov adaptation Laughter in the Dark (Tony Richardson, 1969) starring Nicol Williamson and Anna Karina , the anti-imperialist satirical farce Mr. Freedom (William Klein, 1959) with Delphine Seyrig and John Abbey, the Jules Verne adventure The Lighthouse at the End of the World (Kevin Billington, 1970) with Kirk Douglas, and the historical drama Nicholas and Alexandra (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1971) about the rise and fall of the last of the Russian Romanovs.
In France, director Claude Chabrol made him a mentally ill addict in the thriller La Rupture/The Breach (1970) starring Stéphane Audran , and he appeared in L'histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise/The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot (Nina Companéez, 1973) with Francis Huster and Brigitte Bardot in her final role.
On television, Drouot starred in popular series such as Gaston Phoebus (Bernard Borderie, 1978). He founded with some friends La Coopérative théâtrale, a theatre group, where they were both producers and actors. Their plays included Cyrano de Bergerac, The Three Musketeers and Kean.
From 1984 till 1986, he directed the Centre dramatique national de Reims (National Dramatic Center of Reims), and from 1985 till 1989, the Théâtre national de Belgique (National Theatre of Belgium).
He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1999 till 2001. He is also artistic director of the Compagnie Jean-Claude Drouot and director of numerous plays co-produced with the Théâtre régional des Pays de la Loire.
His most recent film is Va, petite!/Go, girl! (Alain Guesnier, 2003). He also appeared in TV series such as Trois femmes... un soir d'été/Three women... A Summer Evening (Alain Guesnier, 2003) and Les Rois maudits/The Cursed Kings (Josée Dayan, 2005) with Philippe Torreton and Jeanne Moreau .
Since then Jean-Claude Drouot dedicates himself mainly to the stage, but in 2010 he made a new TV film, Les châtaigniers du desert/The Sweet Chestnut Trees of the Desert (Caroline Huppert, 2010), followed by more TV films and he had a small part in the comedy Les conquérants/The Conquerors (Xabi Molia, 2013), starring Agnès Varda's son Mathieu Demy.
In October of 2012, it was announced that a modern version of Thierry la Fronde is in production. However, IMDb does not mention the production,
Since 1960, Jean-Claude Drouot is married to Claire Drouot.
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 396. Photo: FIEBIG.
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 395. Photo: FIEBIG.
French postcard by E.D.U.G.. Photo: FIEBIG.
Leader of Thierry La Fronde (1963). Source: Benoitus xvi (YouTube).
Sources: James Travers (Films de France), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Evene.fr (French), Wikipedia and .
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 983bis. Photo: Philips.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 969. Photo: Philips / Alibert.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 984bis. Photo: Philips.
So Passionate About Theatre
Jean-Claude Constant Nestor Gustave Drouot was born in Lessines (Lessen), Belgium, in 1938. He studied law and later medicine at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he also appeared at the Jeune Théâtre (Youth Theatre).
He was so passionate about theatre that he gave up his academic studies. He settled in Paris where he attended acting courses by Charles Dullin .
From 1962 on, he interpreted the classic tragedies classics and the plays by Molière. He was spotted for television when he appeared in Orestes in 1962.
Between 1963 and 1966, Drouot played the title role in the legendary TV series Thierry La Fronde/Thierry the Sling Man (Pierre Goutas, 1963-1966), created for television by Jean-Claude Deret (who also played the traitor Florent in the series). The series, created to compete with the overwhelming British and American TV productions with medieval themes, became one of the most popular programs on French television in the 1960s. Thierry La Fronde is credited with boosting the use of the sling shot in French school playgrounds and turning the relatively rare first name, Thierry, into one of the most popular names for French boys.
On IMDb, Canadian reviewer Animal 8 5 writes: “Thierry was not only an unmatched sling man, but the savvy leader of a band of French rebels during the Hundred Year War. Jean-Claude Drouot portrayed Thierry of Janville, who begins the series as a young lord betrayed out of his title and property by conniving steward, Florent, played by Jean-Claude Deret. Actress Céline Léger played his love interest, Isabelle. Joined by his friends, Thierry becomes a 'Robin Hood' type of character and fights undercover to end the iron rule of the ruthless Brits. I remember the adventure was top-notch and very watchable.”
In 1963 Jean-Claude Drouot also appeared in a short film, L'évasion/The Avoidance (Henri Fishbach, 1963).
French postcard by Éditions d'art Yvon, Arcueil, no. 2. Photo: O.R.T.F. / Télé France Film / Photo Bruguière. Still from Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966).
French postcard by Éditions d'art Yvon, Arcueil. Photo: O.R.T.F. / Télé France Film / Photo Bruguière. Still from Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966).
French postcard by Éditions d'art Yvon, Arcueil, no. 6. Photo: O.R.T.F. / Télé France Film / Photo Bruguière. Still from Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966) with Jean-Claude Drouot and Céline Léger.
An Invitation To Free Love
Jean-Claude Drouot made his feature film debut in Le Bonheur/Happiness (Agnès Varda, 1965) in which he performed with his wife Claire and his children Olivier and Sandrine. Agnès Varda’s third film (and her first colour film) is associated with the French Nouvelle Vague (New Wave).
Le Bonheur/Happiness provoked something of a scandal when it was first released in France, at the height of the sexual revolution in the mid-1960s. What was so shocking about the film was not so much its subject but the way in which Varda approaches it, in a way that suggests a kind of moral equivalence between love in a stable marriage and love in an adulterous relationship. The film can be interpreted as an invitation to free love, even implying that the lives of married couples can only be improved by an extra-marital affair or two.
Hal Erickson at AllMovie writes: “To critics who carped that her choice of hues was not "realistic", she responded that she was choosing the hues that were best suited psychologically to her story. The film's protagonist is a young, married carpenter (Jean-Claude Drouot). He takes a mistress ( Marie-France Boyer ), assuming that he can be equally in love with both his wife and the new woman in his life. When the wife drowns, the mistress quietly takes her place. This plot twist remains a subject of debate amongst Varda’s admirers.”
At Films de France , James Travers adds: “Le Bonheur is actually a far more subtle film than this, and indeed it is one of the most ironic and truthful portrayals of romantic love in French cinema. The film doesn’t celebrate open relationships, as its detractors claimed, but merely observes that marital infidelity is an inevitable fact of life. It also reminds us that there is no so such thing as the perfect love affair.”
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 970. Photo: Laurent Camil / Philips.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 983. Photo: Philips.
French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 968. Photo: Philips / Alibert.
Jules Verne Adventure
Jean-Claude Drouot next played a role in Les ruses du diable/The Devil's Tricks (Paul Vecchiali, 1965) with Michel Piccoli.
Later he appeared in British and American films as the Vladimir Nabokov adaptation Laughter in the Dark (Tony Richardson, 1969) starring Nicol Williamson and Anna Karina , the anti-imperialist satirical farce Mr. Freedom (William Klein, 1959) with Delphine Seyrig and John Abbey, the Jules Verne adventure The Lighthouse at the End of the World (Kevin Billington, 1970) with Kirk Douglas, and the historical drama Nicholas and Alexandra (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1971) about the rise and fall of the last of the Russian Romanovs.
In France, director Claude Chabrol made him a mentally ill addict in the thriller La Rupture/The Breach (1970) starring Stéphane Audran , and he appeared in L'histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise/The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot (Nina Companéez, 1973) with Francis Huster and Brigitte Bardot in her final role.
On television, Drouot starred in popular series such as Gaston Phoebus (Bernard Borderie, 1978). He founded with some friends La Coopérative théâtrale, a theatre group, where they were both producers and actors. Their plays included Cyrano de Bergerac, The Three Musketeers and Kean.
From 1984 till 1986, he directed the Centre dramatique national de Reims (National Dramatic Center of Reims), and from 1985 till 1989, the Théâtre national de Belgique (National Theatre of Belgium).
He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1999 till 2001. He is also artistic director of the Compagnie Jean-Claude Drouot and director of numerous plays co-produced with the Théâtre régional des Pays de la Loire.
His most recent film is Va, petite!/Go, girl! (Alain Guesnier, 2003). He also appeared in TV series such as Trois femmes... un soir d'été/Three women... A Summer Evening (Alain Guesnier, 2003) and Les Rois maudits/The Cursed Kings (Josée Dayan, 2005) with Philippe Torreton and Jeanne Moreau .
Since then Jean-Claude Drouot dedicates himself mainly to the stage, but in 2010 he made a new TV film, Les châtaigniers du desert/The Sweet Chestnut Trees of the Desert (Caroline Huppert, 2010), followed by more TV films and he had a small part in the comedy Les conquérants/The Conquerors (Xabi Molia, 2013), starring Agnès Varda's son Mathieu Demy.
In October of 2012, it was announced that a modern version of Thierry la Fronde is in production. However, IMDb does not mention the production,
Since 1960, Jean-Claude Drouot is married to Claire Drouot.
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 396. Photo: FIEBIG.
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 395. Photo: FIEBIG.
French postcard by E.D.U.G.. Photo: FIEBIG.
Leader of Thierry La Fronde (1963). Source: Benoitus xvi (YouTube).
Sources: James Travers (Films de France), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Evene.fr (French), Wikipedia and .
March 15, 2014
Atelier Willinger
Hungarian-born photographer Laszlo Willinger (1909–1989) is most noted for his phenomenal Hollywood star portraits of the 1930s and 1940s. Less known is that both Willinger and his mother, photographer Margaret Willinger, made also hundreds of portraits of film actors and other celebrities during the 1920s and 1930s. They were often used for European film star postcards, but which of the Atelier Willinger portraits is made by Margaret and which by Laszlo?
Livio Pavanelli . Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 744. Photo: Atelier Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Gustav Fröhlich. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8772/1, 1933-1934. Photo: Willinger, Wien (Laszlo Willinger).
Passion For Photography
Laszlo Willinger was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1909. Willinger's father owned a news agency, and his mother was a professional photographer. He grew up surrounded by art and photography as his mother Margarete shared her passion for photography with her son at a very early age.
Laszlo went to Berlin to study photography. At 16, he became a professional photographer when he opened his first studio in Berlin. At 19 he went to Paris, where he managed the portrait studio of the Keystone Agency, also known as the Talbot Studios. In 1931, he established a new studio in Berlin. (The sources differ about which studio he opened where).
Later he said about his start: “When I started out in Germany in the late 1920s, photographers used either daylight or a very diffused light. I never did. I used spots-arcs, which give you a point source of light.”
He worked as a freelance photojournalist for such German magazines as Berliner Illustrierte, Hamburger Illustrierte, and Munchener Illustrierte. His subjects included Josephine Baker , the French President Paul Doumer, Sacha Guitry, and Yvonne Printemps . In 1932 he visited the US on assignment of Mercedes Benz.
Willinger left Germany in 1933 when Adolf Hitler became chancellor. He settled in Vienna where his mother already had a studio, Atelier Weninger. He photographed such celebrities as Sigmund Freud, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung, Marlene Dietrich , Hedy Lamarr (then Hedvig Kiesler), and Emil Jannings . He also documented Max Reinhardt’s stage productions.
In 1936 Willinger travelled for Keystone Press Agency through Africa and Asia. His photos were published in the London Daily Express. That year, he was also stationed in Spain during the Civil War.
Between 1933 and 1937 he was unable to obtain the necessary working permits for Germany, so any photographs reproduced in German photo annuals during this period were credited to his mother, Margaret Willinger.
Ellen Richter . German postcard by Rotophot., no. 1651. Photo: Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Albert Bassermann and Else Bassermann. German postcard, no. 8772. Photo: Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Suzanne Grandais . French postcard, no. 7872. Photo Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Richard Eichberg. German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, K. 1618. Photo Willinger, Berlin (Margaret Willinger).
MGM's Last Sweep For European Talent
According to Wikipedia and to David Fahey and Linda Rich in their study Masters of Starlight, Laszlo Willinger was ‘discovered ‘and invited by studio photographer Eugene Robert Richee to move to the United States.
However, the blog mistress at Iconista cites a source which claims that it was Louis B. Mayer, who was looking for talent for MGM Studios. In Vienna, Mayer signed Willinger, but also Hedy Lamarr and Luise Rainer at the same time as part of the studio’s last European sweep for talent before the outbreak of the Second World War.
In Hollywood Willinger replaced studio photographer Ted Allan at MGM (others say he replaced George Hurrell).
Kendra Bean at her blog Vivandlarry.com: “Willinger brought a fresh look to MGM and Hollywood photography — his prints have a crisp luminescence and his compositions often orient his subjects on the diagonal, which gives them a modern, European sophistication.”
Iconista describes how he worked in Hollywood: “Willinger acted as the art director when photographing the stars. The only thing expected of him was to make images that the press would choose to print over everyone else’s. There could be up to 5000 pictures available on any major star. To get printed, your photograph had to be the best. One thing he always kept in mind, regardless of the subject, is that the photograph has a purpose – and that’s to sell.”
Albert Paulig. German postcard by Photochemie, no. K. 1332. Berlin. Sent by mail in 1917. Photo: Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Livio Pavanelli . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1598/1, 1927-1928. Photo Willinger, Vienna (Margaret Willinger). Livio Pavanelli in the German silent film Die letzte Einquartierung aka Küssen ist keine Sünd'/Kissing is no sin (Rudolf Walther-Fein, Rudolf Dworsky, 1926), starring Xenia Desni .
Grete Mosheim . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3204/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Willinger (Laszlo Willinger).
André Mattoni . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3745/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Willinger, Berlin (Laszlo Willinger).
Stalking Chaplin
In Hollywood, Laszlo Willinger photographed as many as four stars every week, using lighting, costumes and emotion as a film director might.
MGM divas Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford wanted Willinger to make all their portraits. He photographed Shearer beautifully for Marie Antoniette (1937) and The Women (1939).
Decades later, Willinger said in an interview with author and photo collector John Kobal: “If Shearer liked 10 percent of a sitting, you were going great. With Crawford you could figure 80 percent would be okay.”
Willinger considered Crawford, Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh his favorite subjects: “The one I liked best to work with was Vivien Leigh . She was a thorough professional.” His 1940 series of portraits of Olivier and Leigh are housed in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Willinger was also one of the first Hollywood photographers to experiment in the use of colour. He worked exclusively for MGM until 1944.
Later, he spent 40 years at FPG, a New York photo agency that stocked about 50,000 of his photos. Willinger was a frequent contributor to magazines and periodicals, providing magazine cover portraits of the young Marilyn Monroe and other popular stars.
Wikipedia describes how Willinger shortly before his death was accused of stalking some celebrities, including Charlie Chaplin . An investigation into the matter led to the uncovering of thousands of personal pictures of Chaplin.
In 1989, Laszlo Willinger died of heart failure in Los Angeles at age 83 (some sources suggest that he committed suicide because of the investigation). He was survived by his wife Yvonne Willinger.
There is no information about what happened to his mother, Margaret Willinger.
Lida Baarova and Gustav Fröhlich. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9228/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Willinger, Wien (Laszlo Willinger).
Hedy Lamarr . French postcard by Editions Chantal, no. 10. Photo: MGM (Laszlo Willinger, 1939).
This is the tenth and final post in a series on film star photographers. Earlier posts were on the Reutlinger Studio in Paris, Italian star photographer Attilio Badodi, the German photographer Ernst Schneider, Dutch photo artist Godfried de Groot, Milanese photographers Arturo Varischi and Giovanni Artico, the French Studio Lorelle, the British 'royal' photographer Dorothy Wilding, Berlin duo Becker & Maass and French Lucienne Chevert.
Sources: David Fahey & Linda Rich (Masters of Starlight), Myrna Oliver (Los Angeles Times), Kendra Bean (vivandlarry.com), John Kobal (Movie Star Portraits of the Forties), Iconista, Vintage Movie Star Photos, AP News Archive, Wikipedia and .
Livio Pavanelli . Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 744. Photo: Atelier Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Gustav Fröhlich. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8772/1, 1933-1934. Photo: Willinger, Wien (Laszlo Willinger).
Passion For Photography
Laszlo Willinger was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1909. Willinger's father owned a news agency, and his mother was a professional photographer. He grew up surrounded by art and photography as his mother Margarete shared her passion for photography with her son at a very early age.
Laszlo went to Berlin to study photography. At 16, he became a professional photographer when he opened his first studio in Berlin. At 19 he went to Paris, where he managed the portrait studio of the Keystone Agency, also known as the Talbot Studios. In 1931, he established a new studio in Berlin. (The sources differ about which studio he opened where).
Later he said about his start: “When I started out in Germany in the late 1920s, photographers used either daylight or a very diffused light. I never did. I used spots-arcs, which give you a point source of light.”
He worked as a freelance photojournalist for such German magazines as Berliner Illustrierte, Hamburger Illustrierte, and Munchener Illustrierte. His subjects included Josephine Baker , the French President Paul Doumer, Sacha Guitry, and Yvonne Printemps . In 1932 he visited the US on assignment of Mercedes Benz.
Willinger left Germany in 1933 when Adolf Hitler became chancellor. He settled in Vienna where his mother already had a studio, Atelier Weninger. He photographed such celebrities as Sigmund Freud, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung, Marlene Dietrich , Hedy Lamarr (then Hedvig Kiesler), and Emil Jannings . He also documented Max Reinhardt’s stage productions.
In 1936 Willinger travelled for Keystone Press Agency through Africa and Asia. His photos were published in the London Daily Express. That year, he was also stationed in Spain during the Civil War.
Between 1933 and 1937 he was unable to obtain the necessary working permits for Germany, so any photographs reproduced in German photo annuals during this period were credited to his mother, Margaret Willinger.
Ellen Richter . German postcard by Rotophot., no. 1651. Photo: Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Albert Bassermann and Else Bassermann. German postcard, no. 8772. Photo: Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Suzanne Grandais . French postcard, no. 7872. Photo Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Richard Eichberg. German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, K. 1618. Photo Willinger, Berlin (Margaret Willinger).
MGM's Last Sweep For European Talent
According to Wikipedia and to David Fahey and Linda Rich in their study Masters of Starlight, Laszlo Willinger was ‘discovered ‘and invited by studio photographer Eugene Robert Richee to move to the United States.
However, the blog mistress at Iconista cites a source which claims that it was Louis B. Mayer, who was looking for talent for MGM Studios. In Vienna, Mayer signed Willinger, but also Hedy Lamarr and Luise Rainer at the same time as part of the studio’s last European sweep for talent before the outbreak of the Second World War.
In Hollywood Willinger replaced studio photographer Ted Allan at MGM (others say he replaced George Hurrell).
Kendra Bean at her blog Vivandlarry.com: “Willinger brought a fresh look to MGM and Hollywood photography — his prints have a crisp luminescence and his compositions often orient his subjects on the diagonal, which gives them a modern, European sophistication.”
Iconista describes how he worked in Hollywood: “Willinger acted as the art director when photographing the stars. The only thing expected of him was to make images that the press would choose to print over everyone else’s. There could be up to 5000 pictures available on any major star. To get printed, your photograph had to be the best. One thing he always kept in mind, regardless of the subject, is that the photograph has a purpose – and that’s to sell.”
Albert Paulig. German postcard by Photochemie, no. K. 1332. Berlin. Sent by mail in 1917. Photo: Willinger (Margaret Willinger).
Livio Pavanelli . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1598/1, 1927-1928. Photo Willinger, Vienna (Margaret Willinger). Livio Pavanelli in the German silent film Die letzte Einquartierung aka Küssen ist keine Sünd'/Kissing is no sin (Rudolf Walther-Fein, Rudolf Dworsky, 1926), starring Xenia Desni .
Grete Mosheim . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3204/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Willinger (Laszlo Willinger).
André Mattoni . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3745/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Willinger, Berlin (Laszlo Willinger).
Stalking Chaplin
In Hollywood, Laszlo Willinger photographed as many as four stars every week, using lighting, costumes and emotion as a film director might.
MGM divas Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford wanted Willinger to make all their portraits. He photographed Shearer beautifully for Marie Antoniette (1937) and The Women (1939).
Decades later, Willinger said in an interview with author and photo collector John Kobal: “If Shearer liked 10 percent of a sitting, you were going great. With Crawford you could figure 80 percent would be okay.”
Willinger considered Crawford, Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh his favorite subjects: “The one I liked best to work with was Vivien Leigh . She was a thorough professional.” His 1940 series of portraits of Olivier and Leigh are housed in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Willinger was also one of the first Hollywood photographers to experiment in the use of colour. He worked exclusively for MGM until 1944.
Later, he spent 40 years at FPG, a New York photo agency that stocked about 50,000 of his photos. Willinger was a frequent contributor to magazines and periodicals, providing magazine cover portraits of the young Marilyn Monroe and other popular stars.
Wikipedia describes how Willinger shortly before his death was accused of stalking some celebrities, including Charlie Chaplin . An investigation into the matter led to the uncovering of thousands of personal pictures of Chaplin.
In 1989, Laszlo Willinger died of heart failure in Los Angeles at age 83 (some sources suggest that he committed suicide because of the investigation). He was survived by his wife Yvonne Willinger.
There is no information about what happened to his mother, Margaret Willinger.
Lida Baarova and Gustav Fröhlich. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9228/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Willinger, Wien (Laszlo Willinger).
Hedy Lamarr . French postcard by Editions Chantal, no. 10. Photo: MGM (Laszlo Willinger, 1939).
This is the tenth and final post in a series on film star photographers. Earlier posts were on the Reutlinger Studio in Paris, Italian star photographer Attilio Badodi, the German photographer Ernst Schneider, Dutch photo artist Godfried de Groot, Milanese photographers Arturo Varischi and Giovanni Artico, the French Studio Lorelle, the British 'royal' photographer Dorothy Wilding, Berlin duo Becker & Maass and French Lucienne Chevert.
Sources: David Fahey & Linda Rich (Masters of Starlight), Myrna Oliver (Los Angeles Times), Kendra Bean (vivandlarry.com), John Kobal (Movie Star Portraits of the Forties), Iconista, Vintage Movie Star Photos, AP News Archive, Wikipedia and .
March 14, 2014
Nerio Bernardi
Nerio Bernardi (1889–1971) was one of the dashing heroes and gentlemen in the melodramas and diva films of the silent Italian cinema. In his long career the handsome stage and screen actor played in some 210 films.
Italian postcard by Neg. Vettori, Bologna, no. 404.
Italian postcard by G. Vettori, Bologna, no. 977. Photo: Medusa Film. Publicity still of Nerio Bernardi and Silvana Morello in La maschera/The Mask (Ivo Illuminati, 1921), based on a play by Henry Bataille.
An Agressive Lover
Nerio Bernardi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1889.
After having studied mathematics, medicine, counterpoint and composition, he became an active stage and screen actor. Between 1918 and 1922 Bernardi was one of the dashing heroes and gentlemen in the Italian melodramas and diva films.
In 1918 his screen career started at the small company Felsina Film in his hometown Bologna, where he acted in Rebus (Mario Isma aka Alfredo Masi, 1918) and Marinella (Raimondo Scotti, 1918, released only in 1920). Both films were photographed by Raimondo Scotti whose photography was praised, while critics were less impressed with the rest.
After moving to Rome, Nerio Bernardi started to act with acclaimed actors and directors at the famous Cines company. In Bernardi's first Cines production, Il gorgo fascinatore/The Things Men Do (Mario Caserini, 1919), he played an agressive lover who tries to rape Luisa (Bianca Stagno-Bellincioni) but accidentally dies. When Luisa begs another lover, Glauco ( Alberto Capozzi ), to remove the body, he is arrested for murder.
In 1920 various films followed. He played his first lead role in La buona figliola/The good daughter (Mario Caserini, 1920) with Vera Vergani. Other films were La casa in rovina/The house in ruins (Amleto Palermi, 1920) with Gustavo Salvini, La modella/The model (Mario Caserini, 1920), again with Vergani, Il mulino/The mill (Camilo De Riso, 1920), and Musica profana/Profane music (Mario Caserini, 1920) with Elena Lunda and again with Bernardi in the lead.
A peak year for Bernardi was 1921 in which he made seven films. These included three films with Vera Vergani : Caterina (Mario Caserini, 1921), Il filo d’Arianna/Ariadne's thread (Mario Caserini, 1921), and Fior d’amore/Flower of love (Mario Caserini, 1921).
That year, he also appeared in L’eredità di Caino/Cain's heritage (Giuseppe Maria Viti, 1921) with Elena Sangro and Gianna Terribili-Gonzales, Giovanna la pallida/Giovanna the pallid (Ivo Illuminati, 1921) with Silvana Morello, and La maschera/The mask (Ivo Illuminati, 1921).
1922 was Bernardi’s last year in the Italian silent cinema. His films included La vittima/The victim (Jacques Creusy, 1922) with Vergani, Bolshevismo!/Bolshevism (directed by and starring Daisy Sylvan, 1922), and Nero (J. Gordon Edwards, 1922), with Bernardi acting as the Apostle opposite Jacques Grétillat as Emperor Nero and Edy Darclea as Acte.
Edwards’ production for Fox, shot in Italy, was followed by another epic film by him, the biblical The Shepherd King (J. Gordon Edwards, 1923), in which many of the cast of Nero returned including Darclea and Bernardi, who played the male lead as (King) David.
Italian postcard. Photo: Alberto Montacchini, Parma. The car is an Isotta Fraschini.
Italian postcard by Cines, no. 450. Photo: Vera Vergani and Nerio Bernardi in the Italian silent film Il filo d'Arianna/Ariadne's thread (1921), directed by Mario Caserini.
Coppa Mussolini
Bernardi then shifted to the stage, debuting at the Teatro degli italiani, under the direction of Lucio D’Ambra.
In the following years Bernardi acted all over Italy and a.o. under direction of Max Reinhardt (The Merchant of Venice, 1935). He acted opposite the famous stage actresses of those years, such as Tatjana Pavlova, Andreina Rossi and Alda Borelli.
In 1938 he founded a theatre company with Romano Calò and Olga Solbelli.
After the introduction of sound film, Bernardi took up acting in Italian film again with a part in Tempo Massimo/Maximum time (Mario Mattoli, 1934), starring Vittorio De Sica and Milly.
In the same year Bernardi had the male lead in Teresa Confalonieri/Loyalty of Love (Guido Brignone, 1934), with Marta Abba in the title role. The patriottic film won the Coppa Mussolini for best film at the 1934 Venice film festival.
From the mid-1930s on, Bernardi had a steady career in the Italian sound cinema. Between 1936 and 1943, he appeared in some 12 films in various genres: including the Science Fiction comedy Mille chilometri al minuto!/1Thousand kilometres per minute (Mario Mattoli, 1940), the literary melodrama Fedora (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1942) and the patriottic drama Antonio Meucci (Enrico Guazzoni, 1940), in which he played Graham Bell opposite the Italian inventor of the telephone, played by Luigi Pavese.
During the Second World War he moved to Spain where he worked in several films and also dubbed films. Back in Italy he continued his career as a voice actor, dubbing for Cedric Hardwicke (Rope), Basil Rathbone (The Mark of Zorro), George Sanders (Son of Fury), Donald Crisp (How Green Was My Valley) and Henry Travers (Shadow of a Doubt).
From 1952 he taught make up and scenic behaviour at the Accademia d'arte drammatica Silvio D'Amico in Rome.
Italian postcard, no. 33.
Italian postcard by Neg. Vettori, Bologna, no. 342.
Working with the New Generation of Actresses
In the postwar Italian cinema Nerio Bernardi co-starred with actresses who had peaked in the war years such as Vivi Gioi in La portatrice di pane/The bread delivery woman (1950) and Maria Mercader in Cuore/Heart (1948).
But he also worked with the new generation of actresses such as with Carla Del Poggio in Core ʼngrato/The Ungrateful Heart(1951), Cosetta Greco in Il viale della speranza/The avenue of hope (1953), Alida Valli in La mano dello straniero/The Stranger's Hand (1953), based on Graham Greene’s The Stranger’s Hand, and with Silvana Pampanini in Bellezze in biciletta/Beauties on Bicycles (1951).
He also acted in various films with Totò such as Il medico dei pazzi/The doctor of the insane (Mario Mattoli, 1954), Siamo uomini o caporali/Are We Men or Corporals? (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1955), Totò all’inferno/Toto in Hell (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1955), and Totò contro Maciste/Toto vs. Maciste (Fernando Cerchio, 1962).
Bernardi also often incarnated mythological and historical characters, such as Agamemnon in Adamo e Eva/Adam and Eve (Mario Mattoli, 1949) starring Macario, and in the same role in La guerra di Troia/The Trojan War (Giorgio Ferroni, 1961) starring Steve Reeves. He also was Belisarius in Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio/Theodora, Slave Empress (Riccardo Freda, 1954) starring Gianna Maria Canale .
In the later 1950s and 1960s, Bernardi acted in many sword and sandal films by directors such as Giorgio Ferroni and in particular Luigi Capuano. He played for instance Cicero in Giulio Cesare, il conquistatore delle Gallie/Caesar the Conqueror (Tanio Boccia, 1962) starring Cameron Mitchell, and Cardinal Richelieu in Zorro e i tre moschettieri/Zorro and the Three Musketeers (Luigi Capuano, 1963), starring Gordon Scott.
He also performed in auteur films such as La lunga notte del ʼ43/It Happened in '43 (Florestano Vancini, 1960), playing the father of Gabriele Ferzetti ’s character, and Vanina Vanini/The Betrayer (Roberto Rossellini, 1961) as Cardinal Savelli opposite Sandra Milo and Laurent Terzieff .
Bernardi acted in various French and Franco-Italian productions as well, such as Thérèse Raquin (Marcel Carné, 1953) starring Simone Signoret , Mam’zelle Nitouche (Yves Allégret, 1954) with Fernandel , the period pieces La chartreuse de Parme (1948) and Fanfan-la-Tulipe (1952), both directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Gérard Philipe , and Plein soleil/Purple Noon (René Clement, 1960) starring Alain Delon .
In the late 1960s Bernardi acted in Spaghetti Westerns and comic book thrillers as well.
Nerio Bernardi died in 1971 in Rome, Italy. He was 71.
Italian postcard by Neg. Vettori, Bologna, no. 502.
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini Editori, Frenze, no. 2694. Photo: Produzione SAPF. Nerio Bernardi in the period piece Teresa Confalonieri/Loyalty of Love (Guido Brignone, 1934), with Marta Abba in the title role. Content: in 1821 count Federico Confalonieri (Bernardi) was arrested on ground of conspiracy against the Austrian regime and was condemned to death. With great efforts, his wife Teresa (Abba) obtains a pardon from the Austrian Emperor, so the death penalty was changed into lifetime imprisonment at the notorious Spielberg prison in Brno, where the count remained locked up until 1836.
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano, 1918-1922), Wikipedia (Italian, German and English) and .
Italian postcard by Neg. Vettori, Bologna, no. 404.
Italian postcard by G. Vettori, Bologna, no. 977. Photo: Medusa Film. Publicity still of Nerio Bernardi and Silvana Morello in La maschera/The Mask (Ivo Illuminati, 1921), based on a play by Henry Bataille.
An Agressive Lover
Nerio Bernardi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1889.
After having studied mathematics, medicine, counterpoint and composition, he became an active stage and screen actor. Between 1918 and 1922 Bernardi was one of the dashing heroes and gentlemen in the Italian melodramas and diva films.
In 1918 his screen career started at the small company Felsina Film in his hometown Bologna, where he acted in Rebus (Mario Isma aka Alfredo Masi, 1918) and Marinella (Raimondo Scotti, 1918, released only in 1920). Both films were photographed by Raimondo Scotti whose photography was praised, while critics were less impressed with the rest.
After moving to Rome, Nerio Bernardi started to act with acclaimed actors and directors at the famous Cines company. In Bernardi's first Cines production, Il gorgo fascinatore/The Things Men Do (Mario Caserini, 1919), he played an agressive lover who tries to rape Luisa (Bianca Stagno-Bellincioni) but accidentally dies. When Luisa begs another lover, Glauco ( Alberto Capozzi ), to remove the body, he is arrested for murder.
In 1920 various films followed. He played his first lead role in La buona figliola/The good daughter (Mario Caserini, 1920) with Vera Vergani. Other films were La casa in rovina/The house in ruins (Amleto Palermi, 1920) with Gustavo Salvini, La modella/The model (Mario Caserini, 1920), again with Vergani, Il mulino/The mill (Camilo De Riso, 1920), and Musica profana/Profane music (Mario Caserini, 1920) with Elena Lunda and again with Bernardi in the lead.
A peak year for Bernardi was 1921 in which he made seven films. These included three films with Vera Vergani : Caterina (Mario Caserini, 1921), Il filo d’Arianna/Ariadne's thread (Mario Caserini, 1921), and Fior d’amore/Flower of love (Mario Caserini, 1921).
That year, he also appeared in L’eredità di Caino/Cain's heritage (Giuseppe Maria Viti, 1921) with Elena Sangro and Gianna Terribili-Gonzales, Giovanna la pallida/Giovanna the pallid (Ivo Illuminati, 1921) with Silvana Morello, and La maschera/The mask (Ivo Illuminati, 1921).
1922 was Bernardi’s last year in the Italian silent cinema. His films included La vittima/The victim (Jacques Creusy, 1922) with Vergani, Bolshevismo!/Bolshevism (directed by and starring Daisy Sylvan, 1922), and Nero (J. Gordon Edwards, 1922), with Bernardi acting as the Apostle opposite Jacques Grétillat as Emperor Nero and Edy Darclea as Acte.
Edwards’ production for Fox, shot in Italy, was followed by another epic film by him, the biblical The Shepherd King (J. Gordon Edwards, 1923), in which many of the cast of Nero returned including Darclea and Bernardi, who played the male lead as (King) David.
Italian postcard. Photo: Alberto Montacchini, Parma. The car is an Isotta Fraschini.
Italian postcard by Cines, no. 450. Photo: Vera Vergani and Nerio Bernardi in the Italian silent film Il filo d'Arianna/Ariadne's thread (1921), directed by Mario Caserini.
Coppa Mussolini
Bernardi then shifted to the stage, debuting at the Teatro degli italiani, under the direction of Lucio D’Ambra.
In the following years Bernardi acted all over Italy and a.o. under direction of Max Reinhardt (The Merchant of Venice, 1935). He acted opposite the famous stage actresses of those years, such as Tatjana Pavlova, Andreina Rossi and Alda Borelli.
In 1938 he founded a theatre company with Romano Calò and Olga Solbelli.
After the introduction of sound film, Bernardi took up acting in Italian film again with a part in Tempo Massimo/Maximum time (Mario Mattoli, 1934), starring Vittorio De Sica and Milly.
In the same year Bernardi had the male lead in Teresa Confalonieri/Loyalty of Love (Guido Brignone, 1934), with Marta Abba in the title role. The patriottic film won the Coppa Mussolini for best film at the 1934 Venice film festival.
From the mid-1930s on, Bernardi had a steady career in the Italian sound cinema. Between 1936 and 1943, he appeared in some 12 films in various genres: including the Science Fiction comedy Mille chilometri al minuto!/1Thousand kilometres per minute (Mario Mattoli, 1940), the literary melodrama Fedora (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1942) and the patriottic drama Antonio Meucci (Enrico Guazzoni, 1940), in which he played Graham Bell opposite the Italian inventor of the telephone, played by Luigi Pavese.
During the Second World War he moved to Spain where he worked in several films and also dubbed films. Back in Italy he continued his career as a voice actor, dubbing for Cedric Hardwicke (Rope), Basil Rathbone (The Mark of Zorro), George Sanders (Son of Fury), Donald Crisp (How Green Was My Valley) and Henry Travers (Shadow of a Doubt).
From 1952 he taught make up and scenic behaviour at the Accademia d'arte drammatica Silvio D'Amico in Rome.
Italian postcard, no. 33.
Italian postcard by Neg. Vettori, Bologna, no. 342.
Working with the New Generation of Actresses
In the postwar Italian cinema Nerio Bernardi co-starred with actresses who had peaked in the war years such as Vivi Gioi in La portatrice di pane/The bread delivery woman (1950) and Maria Mercader in Cuore/Heart (1948).
But he also worked with the new generation of actresses such as with Carla Del Poggio in Core ʼngrato/The Ungrateful Heart(1951), Cosetta Greco in Il viale della speranza/The avenue of hope (1953), Alida Valli in La mano dello straniero/The Stranger's Hand (1953), based on Graham Greene’s The Stranger’s Hand, and with Silvana Pampanini in Bellezze in biciletta/Beauties on Bicycles (1951).
He also acted in various films with Totò such as Il medico dei pazzi/The doctor of the insane (Mario Mattoli, 1954), Siamo uomini o caporali/Are We Men or Corporals? (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1955), Totò all’inferno/Toto in Hell (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1955), and Totò contro Maciste/Toto vs. Maciste (Fernando Cerchio, 1962).
Bernardi also often incarnated mythological and historical characters, such as Agamemnon in Adamo e Eva/Adam and Eve (Mario Mattoli, 1949) starring Macario, and in the same role in La guerra di Troia/The Trojan War (Giorgio Ferroni, 1961) starring Steve Reeves. He also was Belisarius in Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio/Theodora, Slave Empress (Riccardo Freda, 1954) starring Gianna Maria Canale .
In the later 1950s and 1960s, Bernardi acted in many sword and sandal films by directors such as Giorgio Ferroni and in particular Luigi Capuano. He played for instance Cicero in Giulio Cesare, il conquistatore delle Gallie/Caesar the Conqueror (Tanio Boccia, 1962) starring Cameron Mitchell, and Cardinal Richelieu in Zorro e i tre moschettieri/Zorro and the Three Musketeers (Luigi Capuano, 1963), starring Gordon Scott.
He also performed in auteur films such as La lunga notte del ʼ43/It Happened in '43 (Florestano Vancini, 1960), playing the father of Gabriele Ferzetti ’s character, and Vanina Vanini/The Betrayer (Roberto Rossellini, 1961) as Cardinal Savelli opposite Sandra Milo and Laurent Terzieff .
Bernardi acted in various French and Franco-Italian productions as well, such as Thérèse Raquin (Marcel Carné, 1953) starring Simone Signoret , Mam’zelle Nitouche (Yves Allégret, 1954) with Fernandel , the period pieces La chartreuse de Parme (1948) and Fanfan-la-Tulipe (1952), both directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Gérard Philipe , and Plein soleil/Purple Noon (René Clement, 1960) starring Alain Delon .
In the late 1960s Bernardi acted in Spaghetti Westerns and comic book thrillers as well.
Nerio Bernardi died in 1971 in Rome, Italy. He was 71.
Italian postcard by Neg. Vettori, Bologna, no. 502.
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini Editori, Frenze, no. 2694. Photo: Produzione SAPF. Nerio Bernardi in the period piece Teresa Confalonieri/Loyalty of Love (Guido Brignone, 1934), with Marta Abba in the title role. Content: in 1821 count Federico Confalonieri (Bernardi) was arrested on ground of conspiracy against the Austrian regime and was condemned to death. With great efforts, his wife Teresa (Abba) obtains a pardon from the Austrian Emperor, so the death penalty was changed into lifetime imprisonment at the notorious Spielberg prison in Brno, where the count remained locked up until 1836.
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano, 1918-1922), Wikipedia (Italian, German and English) and .
March 13, 2014
Will Dohm
German film actor Will Dohm (1897–1948) appeared in more than fifty films between 1926 and 1946.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2760/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Endemann / Terra.
Dance on the Volcano
Wilhelm Dohm was born in Köln (Cologne), Germany in 1897. His father was a postal worker.
After the end of World War I, Dohm worked as a bank clerk in Dresden and at the same time he took private acting lessons by former theatre director Georg Kiesau. This was followed by engagements in theatres in Dresden and München (Munich).
In 1928, Dohm made his film debut in Waterloo (Karl Grüne, 1929) with Charles Vanel as Napoleon. In 1932 Dohm played in the sound film remake of the war film Kreuzer Emden/Cruiser Emden (Louis Ralph, 1932). In the cast were also the young and still unknown O. E. Hasse and Helmut Käutner.
One of Dohm’s best known films is Peter Voss – Der Millionendieb/Peter Voss Who Stole Millions (Ewald André Dupont, 1932).
More roles followed in the science fiction film Der Tunnel/The Tunnel (Kurt Bernhardt, 1933), the drama Barcarole (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1935) starring Lida Baarová , the romantic comedy Allotria/Hokum ( Willi Forst , 1936) starring Renate Müller and Heinz Rühmann , and the drama Tanz auf dem Vulkan/Dance on the Volcano (Hans Steinhoff, 1938) with Gustaf Gründgens in the leading role.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3114/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Sandau, Berlin.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3957/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.
The German Voice of Oliver Hardy
In most of his over 50 films, Will Dohm embodied comic characters in sympathetic supporting parts.
Popular examples were his roles as journalist Charles Forestier in the box office hit Bel Ami ( Willi Forst , 1939) and as agent Möller in the musical Kora Terry (Georg Jacoby, 1940) starring Marika Rökk .
Another example was his final film role as prison director Michel Falke opposite Marte Harell and Johannes Heesters in Die Fledermaus/The Bat (Géza von Bolváry, 1946), based on the operetta by Johan Strauss.
Dohm also worked as a voice actor for the radio (including the radio play Hans Sonnenstössers Höllenfahrt/Hans Sonnenstössers descent into hell, 1937) and for film synchronization.
He was the German voice of American stars like Lionel Barrymore and Oliver Hardy in Bonnie Scotland (James W. Horne, 1935).
In 1948 Will Dohm died in Munich. He was only 51. Dohm was married to actress Heli Finkenzeller . They had two children: Michel Dohm and Gaby Dohm, who became also a well-known actress.
Heli Finkenzeller . German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3746/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.
Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Film Zeit.de, Wikipedia (German and English), and.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2760/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Endemann / Terra.
Dance on the Volcano
Wilhelm Dohm was born in Köln (Cologne), Germany in 1897. His father was a postal worker.
After the end of World War I, Dohm worked as a bank clerk in Dresden and at the same time he took private acting lessons by former theatre director Georg Kiesau. This was followed by engagements in theatres in Dresden and München (Munich).
In 1928, Dohm made his film debut in Waterloo (Karl Grüne, 1929) with Charles Vanel as Napoleon. In 1932 Dohm played in the sound film remake of the war film Kreuzer Emden/Cruiser Emden (Louis Ralph, 1932). In the cast were also the young and still unknown O. E. Hasse and Helmut Käutner.
One of Dohm’s best known films is Peter Voss – Der Millionendieb/Peter Voss Who Stole Millions (Ewald André Dupont, 1932).
More roles followed in the science fiction film Der Tunnel/The Tunnel (Kurt Bernhardt, 1933), the drama Barcarole (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1935) starring Lida Baarová , the romantic comedy Allotria/Hokum ( Willi Forst , 1936) starring Renate Müller and Heinz Rühmann , and the drama Tanz auf dem Vulkan/Dance on the Volcano (Hans Steinhoff, 1938) with Gustaf Gründgens in the leading role.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3114/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Sandau, Berlin.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3957/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.
The German Voice of Oliver Hardy
In most of his over 50 films, Will Dohm embodied comic characters in sympathetic supporting parts.
Popular examples were his roles as journalist Charles Forestier in the box office hit Bel Ami ( Willi Forst , 1939) and as agent Möller in the musical Kora Terry (Georg Jacoby, 1940) starring Marika Rökk .
Another example was his final film role as prison director Michel Falke opposite Marte Harell and Johannes Heesters in Die Fledermaus/The Bat (Géza von Bolváry, 1946), based on the operetta by Johan Strauss.
Dohm also worked as a voice actor for the radio (including the radio play Hans Sonnenstössers Höllenfahrt/Hans Sonnenstössers descent into hell, 1937) and for film synchronization.
He was the German voice of American stars like Lionel Barrymore and Oliver Hardy in Bonnie Scotland (James W. Horne, 1935).
In 1948 Will Dohm died in Munich. He was only 51. Dohm was married to actress Heli Finkenzeller . They had two children: Michel Dohm and Gaby Dohm, who became also a well-known actress.
Heli Finkenzeller . German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3746/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.
Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Film Zeit.de, Wikipedia (German and English), and.
March 12, 2014
The Mystery of Miss Pielson
Who was Miss Pielson? We have this beautiful postcard of her, but there is no information on the net about this beautiful silent film star. So we asked this question about her identity in a 2011 post. French film star postcard specialist Marlène Pilaete solved the puzzle.
French postcard by A.N., Paris in the Les Vedettes de Cinéma series, no. 157. Photo: G.L. Manuel Frères.
7 March 2011
EFSP: "Who was Miss Pielson? Nothing is known about her on the internet. She must have been a vedette, a star of the silent cinema of the 1920s as this beautiful vintage postcard witnesses.
The Les vedettes de Cinéma series is a French, sepia tinted series of film star postcards, published in the 1920s by Paris-based A.N.
The picture was taken by Studio G.L. Manuel Frères, who were also based in Paris and often worked for A.N.
The Manuel brothers were commercial photographers who took photographs of French polticians, literary figures and performing artists between 1911 and ca. 1935.
Their work is conserved in the Harvard University Department of French collection of portrait photographs and in several other important international collections.
Perhaps the name Pielson was misspelled and this postcard refers to Suzy Pierson, a French actress active in the 1920's and the 1930's. Maybe - or maybe not.
So, we'd be grateful if anyone gives us more information which can help us solve this little mystery. Anyone?"
12 March 2014
Marlène Pilaete of the French blog La Collectionneuse mails me:
"I saw your older post on your 'Miss Pielson' postcard. I’ve compared it to my Suzy Pierson postcards and they look very different. So I don’t think she is Suzy Pierson.
On the other hand, I think that Miss Pielson really looks a lot like British actress Mabel Poulton. I’ve compared it with my Mabel Poulton postcards and with the photos I’ve found on Internet. The features of Miss Pielson and Mabel Poulton are very similar.
Mabel Poulton was featured in the 1924 French movie Ame d’artiste, so it is plausible that she was photographed by the Manuel Frères studio. I think that we have a clue in the way her name is mentioned on the card.
The 'Les vedettes de cinéma' A.N. series never referred to actresses as 'Miss', they always wrote the name in full (first name and surname). Anyway, if Pielson was French and if her first name was unknown to the publishers, she would have been called 'Mademoiselle Pielson', and not 'Miss Pielson'.
So, if they used the word 'Miss', she must be an Anglo-Saxon actress. On Internet, I’ve found a French old magazine called Cinemagazine which has an advertisement for Ame d’artiste and Mabel Poulton is referred to as 'Miss Poulton'. Her first name is not mentioned. See here (page 4/25 above left).
So, we can imagine that the A.N. publishers have misspelled the name and transformed 'Miss Poulton' into 'Miss Pielson'. Those two names, 'Poulton' and 'Pielson' have several letters in common."
I think Marlène has solved this puzzle with her excellent research. Thanks, Marlène!
For more info about Mabel Poulton and a postcard of her, check out Wikipedia .
Sources: Vintage Movie Star Postcard Publishers, Harvard University Library, and
French postcard by A.N., Paris in the Les Vedettes de Cinéma series, no. 157. Photo: G.L. Manuel Frères.
7 March 2011
EFSP: "Who was Miss Pielson? Nothing is known about her on the internet. She must have been a vedette, a star of the silent cinema of the 1920s as this beautiful vintage postcard witnesses.
The Les vedettes de Cinéma series is a French, sepia tinted series of film star postcards, published in the 1920s by Paris-based A.N.
The picture was taken by Studio G.L. Manuel Frères, who were also based in Paris and often worked for A.N.
The Manuel brothers were commercial photographers who took photographs of French polticians, literary figures and performing artists between 1911 and ca. 1935.
Their work is conserved in the Harvard University Department of French collection of portrait photographs and in several other important international collections.
Perhaps the name Pielson was misspelled and this postcard refers to Suzy Pierson, a French actress active in the 1920's and the 1930's. Maybe - or maybe not.
So, we'd be grateful if anyone gives us more information which can help us solve this little mystery. Anyone?"
12 March 2014
Marlène Pilaete of the French blog La Collectionneuse mails me:
"I saw your older post on your 'Miss Pielson' postcard. I’ve compared it to my Suzy Pierson postcards and they look very different. So I don’t think she is Suzy Pierson.
On the other hand, I think that Miss Pielson really looks a lot like British actress Mabel Poulton. I’ve compared it with my Mabel Poulton postcards and with the photos I’ve found on Internet. The features of Miss Pielson and Mabel Poulton are very similar.
Mabel Poulton was featured in the 1924 French movie Ame d’artiste, so it is plausible that she was photographed by the Manuel Frères studio. I think that we have a clue in the way her name is mentioned on the card.
The 'Les vedettes de cinéma' A.N. series never referred to actresses as 'Miss', they always wrote the name in full (first name and surname). Anyway, if Pielson was French and if her first name was unknown to the publishers, she would have been called 'Mademoiselle Pielson', and not 'Miss Pielson'.
So, if they used the word 'Miss', she must be an Anglo-Saxon actress. On Internet, I’ve found a French old magazine called Cinemagazine which has an advertisement for Ame d’artiste and Mabel Poulton is referred to as 'Miss Poulton'. Her first name is not mentioned. See here (page 4/25 above left).
So, we can imagine that the A.N. publishers have misspelled the name and transformed 'Miss Poulton' into 'Miss Pielson'. Those two names, 'Poulton' and 'Pielson' have several letters in common."
I think Marlène has solved this puzzle with her excellent research. Thanks, Marlène!
For more info about Mabel Poulton and a postcard of her, check out Wikipedia .
Sources: Vintage Movie Star Postcard Publishers, Harvard University Library, and
Karl Beckersachs
German actor Karl Beckersachs (1886-1951) was the gallant lover in many of the early silent films of the Weimar cinema. His career fizzled out in the late 1920s and later this pioneer film actor got completely forgotten.
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 207/1, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 207/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
Wilhelminian Film Divas
Karl Beckersachs, also Carl Beckersachs was born as Karl Nikolaus Beckersachs in Neuenhain, Germany in 1881 ( Wikipedia ) or 1886 ( IMDb and Cyranos ). He spent his school years in Darmstadt and started as a volunteer at the local Hoftheater (court theatre).
In 1906 he received his first engagement in Aachen. Three years later, he arrived at the Schiller Theater in Berlin.
In 1912, he began his career as a silent film actor. That year he appeared in Europäisches Sklavenleben/European slave life (Emil Justitz, 1912) with Friedrich Zelnik , and Die Papierspur/The paper trail (Emil Albes, 1912).
Then he appeared in Komödianten/Behind Comedy's Mask (Urban Gad, 1913) opposite the Danish diva Asta Nielsen . They play a divorcing stage couple with a dying son.
He then worked with the other diva of the Wilhelminian cinema, Henny Porten in the melodrama Das Ende vom Liede/The end of the song (Rudolf Biebrach, 1915).
In Carl und Carla/Carl and Carla (Carl Wilhelm, 1915), his co-star was Lisa Weise, and in the following years they made several films together. These included Ein Zirkusmädel/A circus girl (Carl Wilhelm, 1917), Das große Los/The big prize (Friedrich Zelnik, 1917) and Klein Doortje/Little Dorrit ( Friedrich Zelnik , 1917).
German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 5448. Photo: publicity still for Das grosse Los/The big prize (1917) with Lisa Weise.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 260/2, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 260/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
A Gallant Lover
Karl Beckersachs made his name as a gallant lover opposite the major female stars of the era. He starred with Erika Glässner in Das Wäschermädel Seiner Durchlaucht (Danny Kaden, 1917), with Lotte Neumann in Der Geigenspieler/The violin player (Paul von Woringen, 1917) and Wanda Treumann in Der Dieb/The thief (Franz Eckstein, Rosa Porten , 1918).
He played opposite Max Landa in the Krimi Mitternacht/Midnight (1918) in which he plays Lieutenant Commander Donald Gordon who is suspected to have murdered the stepmother of his fiancée.
After WWI, he continued to play in films like Heddas Rache/Hedda’s revenge (Jaap Speyer, 1919) with Mia Pankau .
He directed himself in Die gestohlene Seele/The stolen soul (Karl Beckersachs, Carl Boese, 1919) .
He regularly worked with director Friedrich Feher as for Carrière - Aus dem Leben einer Tänzerin/Career, from the life of a dancer (Friedrich Feher, Heinz Heil, 1922).
He was the co-star of Bartolomeo Pagano in Maciste und der Sträfling Nr. 51/ Maciste and the convict no. 51 (Luigi Romano Borgnetto, 1923).
His parts became smaller in the mid-1920s. His best known films of this period are the comedy Ein Walzertraum/A Waltz-Dream (Ludwig Berger, 1925) starring Willy Fritsch and Mady Christians , and Richard Oswald's drama Halbseide/Semi-silk (1925) with Bernd Aldor and Mary Parker .
In the sound film era, he only made two films. His last film was Der lachende Dritte/The Chuckling Third (Georg Zoch, 1936) with Lucie Englisch .
In 1938 he managed the Theater am Kottbusser Tor in Berlin, and his last sign of life is from the year 1944, when he ran his own little tour-theatre.
Karl Beckersachs died in 1951 in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. He was married to Maria Katharina Freiin von Schenk zu Schweinsberg (1908-1925).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 348/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Atelier Balász.
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 179. Photo: Alex Binder , Berlin.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1293/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder .
Sources: Stephanie D’heil (Steffi-line) (German), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia (German) and.
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 207/1, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 207/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
Wilhelminian Film Divas
Karl Beckersachs, also Carl Beckersachs was born as Karl Nikolaus Beckersachs in Neuenhain, Germany in 1881 ( Wikipedia ) or 1886 ( IMDb and Cyranos ). He spent his school years in Darmstadt and started as a volunteer at the local Hoftheater (court theatre).
In 1906 he received his first engagement in Aachen. Three years later, he arrived at the Schiller Theater in Berlin.
In 1912, he began his career as a silent film actor. That year he appeared in Europäisches Sklavenleben/European slave life (Emil Justitz, 1912) with Friedrich Zelnik , and Die Papierspur/The paper trail (Emil Albes, 1912).
Then he appeared in Komödianten/Behind Comedy's Mask (Urban Gad, 1913) opposite the Danish diva Asta Nielsen . They play a divorcing stage couple with a dying son.
He then worked with the other diva of the Wilhelminian cinema, Henny Porten in the melodrama Das Ende vom Liede/The end of the song (Rudolf Biebrach, 1915).
In Carl und Carla/Carl and Carla (Carl Wilhelm, 1915), his co-star was Lisa Weise, and in the following years they made several films together. These included Ein Zirkusmädel/A circus girl (Carl Wilhelm, 1917), Das große Los/The big prize (Friedrich Zelnik, 1917) and Klein Doortje/Little Dorrit ( Friedrich Zelnik , 1917).
German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 5448. Photo: publicity still for Das grosse Los/The big prize (1917) with Lisa Weise.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 260/2, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 260/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass .
A Gallant Lover
Karl Beckersachs made his name as a gallant lover opposite the major female stars of the era. He starred with Erika Glässner in Das Wäschermädel Seiner Durchlaucht (Danny Kaden, 1917), with Lotte Neumann in Der Geigenspieler/The violin player (Paul von Woringen, 1917) and Wanda Treumann in Der Dieb/The thief (Franz Eckstein, Rosa Porten , 1918).
He played opposite Max Landa in the Krimi Mitternacht/Midnight (1918) in which he plays Lieutenant Commander Donald Gordon who is suspected to have murdered the stepmother of his fiancée.
After WWI, he continued to play in films like Heddas Rache/Hedda’s revenge (Jaap Speyer, 1919) with Mia Pankau .
He directed himself in Die gestohlene Seele/The stolen soul (Karl Beckersachs, Carl Boese, 1919) .
He regularly worked with director Friedrich Feher as for Carrière - Aus dem Leben einer Tänzerin/Career, from the life of a dancer (Friedrich Feher, Heinz Heil, 1922).
He was the co-star of Bartolomeo Pagano in Maciste und der Sträfling Nr. 51/ Maciste and the convict no. 51 (Luigi Romano Borgnetto, 1923).
His parts became smaller in the mid-1920s. His best known films of this period are the comedy Ein Walzertraum/A Waltz-Dream (Ludwig Berger, 1925) starring Willy Fritsch and Mady Christians , and Richard Oswald's drama Halbseide/Semi-silk (1925) with Bernd Aldor and Mary Parker .
In the sound film era, he only made two films. His last film was Der lachende Dritte/The Chuckling Third (Georg Zoch, 1936) with Lucie Englisch .
In 1938 he managed the Theater am Kottbusser Tor in Berlin, and his last sign of life is from the year 1944, when he ran his own little tour-theatre.
Karl Beckersachs died in 1951 in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. He was married to Maria Katharina Freiin von Schenk zu Schweinsberg (1908-1925).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 348/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Atelier Balász.
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 179. Photo: Alex Binder , Berlin.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1293/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder .
Sources: Stephanie D’heil (Steffi-line) (German), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia (German) and.
March 11, 2014
Charlotte Rampling
English actress Charlotte Rampling (1946) became a legend with her ice-blue eyes, diamond-cut diction and much-remarked-upon cheekbones in such controversial classics like La Caduta degli dei/The Damned (1969) and Il Portiere di notte/The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani, 1974). In Hollywood, she worked successfully with Woody Allen and Sidney Lumet, and this century she returned spectacularly to the A-list of the cinema in François Ozon’s Sous le sable/Under the Sand (2000), and Swimming Pool (2003).
French postcard by Editions Admira & Bettina Rheims, no. PHN 139, 1987. Photo: Bettina Rheims, 1985.
A Traumatic Event
Charlotte Rampling was born Tessa Charlotte Rampling in Sturmer, Great Britain, in 1946. She is the daughter of Anne Isabelle Rampling-Gurteen, a painter, and Godfrey Rampling, an army officer. Her father had won silver in the athletics track event 4x400m relay at the 1932 Olympics, and gold in the 4x400m relay at the 1936 Olympics.
Charlotte attended the Jeanne d'Arc Académie in Versailles, France and the exclusive St. Hilda's School, Bushey, England. At 17 she was spotted on the street, and asked to appear in a Cadbury television commercial.
She enjoyed a successful modelling career, before she made her first, uncredited screen appearance as a water skier in the comedy The Knack ...and How to Get It (Richard Lester, 1965). The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival.
Later that year she played the female lead in the comedy Rotten to the Core (John Boulting, 1965) with Anton Rodgers and Eric Sykes. At the time London was swinging and the 20 years old Rampling was one of the city’s ‘it’ girls.
She played Meredith, the bitchy but beautiful roommate of Georgy (Lynn Redgrave) in the successful comedy drama Georgy Girl (Silvio Narizzano, 1966).
But that year, a traumatic event occurred, when her elder sister Sarah shot herself in Argentina after giving birth prematurely and losing her child. Charlotte was devastated by this loss, which she experienced as an abandonment by her sister. She and her father lied to her mother, telling her that Sarah had died of a stroke.
Charlotte seemingly overcame this trauma and was able to continue acting. In 1967 she played the gunfighter Hana Wilde in The Superlative Seven, an episode of the hit series The Avengers with Patrick Macnee.
After this, her acting career blossomed in both English and French cinema. Among the early roles were the female lead in the British adventure film The Long Duel (Ken Annakin, 1967) starring Yul Brynner and Trevor Howard , and the thriller Target: Harry (Roger Corman, 1969).
Charlotte Rampling is interviewed by Gian Luca Farinelli before the screening of The Damned in Cinema Jolly at the Cinema Ritrovato 2011 festival in Bologna, Italy. 27 June 2011.
Mysterious, Sensitive and Ultimately Tragic
Charlotte Rampling has performed controversial roles. In Luchino Visconti's classic, she played a young wife sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Critics praised her performance, and it cast her in a whole new image: mysterious, sensitive and ultimately tragic. ‘The Look’ as co-star Dirk Bogarde called it, became her trademark.
She played Anne Boleyn in the film adaptation of Henry VIII and His Six Wives (Waris Hussein, 1972), with Keith Michell as Henry VIII. In the US, she played the wife of Robert Blake in the drama Corky (Leonard Horn, 1972).
In 1972, Rampling also married the actor and publicist Bryan Southcombe and had one child, Barnaby Southcombe (1972), now a television and film director. They were widely reported to be living in a ménage à trois with a male model, Randall Laurence, although Rampling always denied there was ever any sexual relationship.
She co-starred with Sean Connery in the science fiction/fantasy film Zardoz (John Boorman, 1974).
In Il Portiere di notte/The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani, 1974), she portrayed a concentration camp survivor who is reunited with the Nazi guard ( Dirk Bogarde ) who tortured her, and resumes their ambiguous relationship.
In France, she offered a passionate rendering of a violent heiress confined to a mental institution in La Chair de l'orchidée/The Flesh of the Orchid (1975), an adaptation of the pulp novel The Flesh of the Orchid (1948) by James Hadley Chase. The film was the directorial debut of French author and stage director Patrice Chéreau, and also stars Simone Signoret , Bruno Cremer and Edwige Feuillère .
Other interesting European films were Un taxi mauve/The Purple Taxi (Yves Boisset, 1977) with Peter Ustinov, Philippe Noiret and Fred Astaire, and Max mon amour/Max, My Love (Nagisa Oshima, 1986), in which she played a woman who fell in love with a chimpanzee.
Rampling gained recognition from American audiences in a remake of Raymond Chandler's detective story Farewell, My Lovely (Dirk Richards, 1975) with Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe.
Later she stole the show with her part in Stardust Memories (Woody Allen, 1980) as a beautiful but emotionally fragile depressive.
She had again success in Hollywood as the deceitful Laura in the acclaimed courtroom drama The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982), starring Paul Newman.
Five years later she appeared with Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro. in the American voordoo themed thriller Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987), as an ill-fated woman whose heart is irrevocably extracted from her body.
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 43079. Photo: publicity still for The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982) with Paul Newman.
A Commanding, Devastating, and Nuanced Performance
In the following decade, Charlotte Rampling mainly worked for TV, such as in Great Expectations (Julian Jarrold, 1999), BBC's BAFTA award-winning adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. She played the decayed spinster Miss Havisham opposite Ioan Gruffudd as Pip.
Charlotte Rampling credits François Ozon with drawing her back to film in the 2000s, a period when she came to terms with the death of her eldest sister Sarah. Ozon gave her the lead role in his French drama Sous le sable/Under the Sand (François Ozon, 2000), which was nominated for three César Awards and was critically well received.
Bob Mastrangelo at AllMovie : “Sous le Sable belongs to Charlotte Rampling. Delivering a commanding, devastating, and nuanced performance, Rampling portrays Marie Drillon, a middle-aged professor who goes through an emotional roller coaster after the sudden disappearance of her husband. Rampling beautifully handles Marie's various transformations, making it appear outwardly as if she is coping with reality, while inwardly she is collapsing.”
The character she played in Ozon's Swimming Pool (François Ozon, 2003), Sarah Morton, was named in her sister's honour. For most of Rampling's life, she would say only that her sister had died of a brain haemorrhage; when she and her father heard the news, they agreed they would never let her mother know the truth. They kept their secret until Rampling's mother died in 2001. A year later, Rampling became a Dame of France's Legion.
At 59, Rampling appeared in Vers le Sud/Heading South (Laurent Cantet, 2005), a film about sexual tourism. She plays Ellen, a professor of French literature and single Englishwoman, who holidays in 1970s Haiti to get the sexual attention she does not get at home.
Ozon directed her also in the costume drama Angel (François Ozon, 2007). Furthermore, she portrayed the mother of Keira Knightley's character in The Duchess (Saul Dibb, 2008), and she appeared in the terrorist thriller Cleanskin (Hadi Hajaig, 2010), starring Sean Bean and James Fox.
Very interesting is the Polish-Swedish co-production The Mill and the Cross (Lech Majewski, 2011) starring Rutger Hauer as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, on whose 1564 painting The Procession to Calvary the film is inspired.
She was also among the cast of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia (2011) starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg .
Charlotte Rampling played the title role in the noir thriller I, Anna (2012) written and directed by her son, Barnaby Southcombe. Rampling married twice. In 1976, she had met French composer Jean Michel Jarre at a dinner party; and left her first husband Bryan Southcombe the next day. Two years later she married Jarre and had a second son, magician and singer David Jarre.
During 20 years, she accompanied Jarre on his worldwide music and light shows. She also brought up stepdaughter Émilie Jarre, now a fashion designer. Then the marriage was publicly dissolved in 1997 when she learned from tabloid newspaper stories about Jarre's affairs with other women and had a nervous breakdown.
Since 1998, she has been engaged to Jean-Noël Tassez, a French communications tycoon.
Charlotte Rampling stays very active on the screen. In 2013 she played Dr. Evelyn Vogel in the American hit series Dexter, had a small part in Night Train to Lisbon (Bille August,2013) and she appeared in Francois Ozon’s Jeune & jolie/Young & Beautiful (2013).
Scene from Il Portiere di note/The Night Porter (1974). Source: ctrlzjones (YouTube).
Trailer Sous le sable/Under the Sand (2000). Source: Daniel Fogarty (YouTube).
Trailer documentary The Look (Angelina Maccarone, 2011). Source: TrailerTVOne (YouTube).
Sources: Tracie Cooper (AllMovie), Bob Mastrangelo (AllMovie), Sholto Byrnes (The Independent), Pete Stampede, David K. Smith and Alan Hayes (The Avengers Forever), Wikipedia, and .
French postcard by Editions Admira & Bettina Rheims, no. PHN 139, 1987. Photo: Bettina Rheims, 1985.
A Traumatic Event
Charlotte Rampling was born Tessa Charlotte Rampling in Sturmer, Great Britain, in 1946. She is the daughter of Anne Isabelle Rampling-Gurteen, a painter, and Godfrey Rampling, an army officer. Her father had won silver in the athletics track event 4x400m relay at the 1932 Olympics, and gold in the 4x400m relay at the 1936 Olympics.
Charlotte attended the Jeanne d'Arc Académie in Versailles, France and the exclusive St. Hilda's School, Bushey, England. At 17 she was spotted on the street, and asked to appear in a Cadbury television commercial.
She enjoyed a successful modelling career, before she made her first, uncredited screen appearance as a water skier in the comedy The Knack ...and How to Get It (Richard Lester, 1965). The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival.
Later that year she played the female lead in the comedy Rotten to the Core (John Boulting, 1965) with Anton Rodgers and Eric Sykes. At the time London was swinging and the 20 years old Rampling was one of the city’s ‘it’ girls.
She played Meredith, the bitchy but beautiful roommate of Georgy (Lynn Redgrave) in the successful comedy drama Georgy Girl (Silvio Narizzano, 1966).
But that year, a traumatic event occurred, when her elder sister Sarah shot herself in Argentina after giving birth prematurely and losing her child. Charlotte was devastated by this loss, which she experienced as an abandonment by her sister. She and her father lied to her mother, telling her that Sarah had died of a stroke.
Charlotte seemingly overcame this trauma and was able to continue acting. In 1967 she played the gunfighter Hana Wilde in The Superlative Seven, an episode of the hit series The Avengers with Patrick Macnee.
After this, her acting career blossomed in both English and French cinema. Among the early roles were the female lead in the British adventure film The Long Duel (Ken Annakin, 1967) starring Yul Brynner and Trevor Howard , and the thriller Target: Harry (Roger Corman, 1969).
Charlotte Rampling is interviewed by Gian Luca Farinelli before the screening of The Damned in Cinema Jolly at the Cinema Ritrovato 2011 festival in Bologna, Italy. 27 June 2011.
Mysterious, Sensitive and Ultimately Tragic
Charlotte Rampling has performed controversial roles. In Luchino Visconti's classic, she played a young wife sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Critics praised her performance, and it cast her in a whole new image: mysterious, sensitive and ultimately tragic. ‘The Look’ as co-star Dirk Bogarde called it, became her trademark.
She played Anne Boleyn in the film adaptation of Henry VIII and His Six Wives (Waris Hussein, 1972), with Keith Michell as Henry VIII. In the US, she played the wife of Robert Blake in the drama Corky (Leonard Horn, 1972).
In 1972, Rampling also married the actor and publicist Bryan Southcombe and had one child, Barnaby Southcombe (1972), now a television and film director. They were widely reported to be living in a ménage à trois with a male model, Randall Laurence, although Rampling always denied there was ever any sexual relationship.
She co-starred with Sean Connery in the science fiction/fantasy film Zardoz (John Boorman, 1974).
In Il Portiere di notte/The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani, 1974), she portrayed a concentration camp survivor who is reunited with the Nazi guard ( Dirk Bogarde ) who tortured her, and resumes their ambiguous relationship.
In France, she offered a passionate rendering of a violent heiress confined to a mental institution in La Chair de l'orchidée/The Flesh of the Orchid (1975), an adaptation of the pulp novel The Flesh of the Orchid (1948) by James Hadley Chase. The film was the directorial debut of French author and stage director Patrice Chéreau, and also stars Simone Signoret , Bruno Cremer and Edwige Feuillère .
Other interesting European films were Un taxi mauve/The Purple Taxi (Yves Boisset, 1977) with Peter Ustinov, Philippe Noiret and Fred Astaire, and Max mon amour/Max, My Love (Nagisa Oshima, 1986), in which she played a woman who fell in love with a chimpanzee.
Rampling gained recognition from American audiences in a remake of Raymond Chandler's detective story Farewell, My Lovely (Dirk Richards, 1975) with Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe.
Later she stole the show with her part in Stardust Memories (Woody Allen, 1980) as a beautiful but emotionally fragile depressive.
She had again success in Hollywood as the deceitful Laura in the acclaimed courtroom drama The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982), starring Paul Newman.
Five years later she appeared with Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro. in the American voordoo themed thriller Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987), as an ill-fated woman whose heart is irrevocably extracted from her body.
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 43079. Photo: publicity still for The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982) with Paul Newman.
A Commanding, Devastating, and Nuanced Performance
In the following decade, Charlotte Rampling mainly worked for TV, such as in Great Expectations (Julian Jarrold, 1999), BBC's BAFTA award-winning adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. She played the decayed spinster Miss Havisham opposite Ioan Gruffudd as Pip.
Charlotte Rampling credits François Ozon with drawing her back to film in the 2000s, a period when she came to terms with the death of her eldest sister Sarah. Ozon gave her the lead role in his French drama Sous le sable/Under the Sand (François Ozon, 2000), which was nominated for three César Awards and was critically well received.
Bob Mastrangelo at AllMovie : “Sous le Sable belongs to Charlotte Rampling. Delivering a commanding, devastating, and nuanced performance, Rampling portrays Marie Drillon, a middle-aged professor who goes through an emotional roller coaster after the sudden disappearance of her husband. Rampling beautifully handles Marie's various transformations, making it appear outwardly as if she is coping with reality, while inwardly she is collapsing.”
The character she played in Ozon's Swimming Pool (François Ozon, 2003), Sarah Morton, was named in her sister's honour. For most of Rampling's life, she would say only that her sister had died of a brain haemorrhage; when she and her father heard the news, they agreed they would never let her mother know the truth. They kept their secret until Rampling's mother died in 2001. A year later, Rampling became a Dame of France's Legion.
At 59, Rampling appeared in Vers le Sud/Heading South (Laurent Cantet, 2005), a film about sexual tourism. She plays Ellen, a professor of French literature and single Englishwoman, who holidays in 1970s Haiti to get the sexual attention she does not get at home.
Ozon directed her also in the costume drama Angel (François Ozon, 2007). Furthermore, she portrayed the mother of Keira Knightley's character in The Duchess (Saul Dibb, 2008), and she appeared in the terrorist thriller Cleanskin (Hadi Hajaig, 2010), starring Sean Bean and James Fox.
Very interesting is the Polish-Swedish co-production The Mill and the Cross (Lech Majewski, 2011) starring Rutger Hauer as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, on whose 1564 painting The Procession to Calvary the film is inspired.
She was also among the cast of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia (2011) starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg .
Charlotte Rampling played the title role in the noir thriller I, Anna (2012) written and directed by her son, Barnaby Southcombe. Rampling married twice. In 1976, she had met French composer Jean Michel Jarre at a dinner party; and left her first husband Bryan Southcombe the next day. Two years later she married Jarre and had a second son, magician and singer David Jarre.
During 20 years, she accompanied Jarre on his worldwide music and light shows. She also brought up stepdaughter Émilie Jarre, now a fashion designer. Then the marriage was publicly dissolved in 1997 when she learned from tabloid newspaper stories about Jarre's affairs with other women and had a nervous breakdown.
Since 1998, she has been engaged to Jean-Noël Tassez, a French communications tycoon.
Charlotte Rampling stays very active on the screen. In 2013 she played Dr. Evelyn Vogel in the American hit series Dexter, had a small part in Night Train to Lisbon (Bille August,2013) and she appeared in Francois Ozon’s Jeune & jolie/Young & Beautiful (2013).
Scene from Il Portiere di note/The Night Porter (1974). Source: ctrlzjones (YouTube).
Trailer Sous le sable/Under the Sand (2000). Source: Daniel Fogarty (YouTube).
Trailer documentary The Look (Angelina Maccarone, 2011). Source: TrailerTVOne (YouTube).
Sources: Tracie Cooper (AllMovie), Bob Mastrangelo (AllMovie), Sholto Byrnes (The Independent), Pete Stampede, David K. Smith and Alan Hayes (The Avengers Forever), Wikipedia, and .
March 10, 2014
Alberto Sordi
Last year's
Il Cinema Ritrovato
(29 June - 6 July 2013) had a section Bigger than Life: a journey through European Cinemascope, which included Mario Monicelli's La grande guerra/The Great War (1959). EFSP did a post then about the female lead of this dark comedy, gorgeous
Silvana Mangano
. Today, the newly restored version of
La grande guerra/The Great War
will be presented in the Netherlands, in Eye Film Institute, with an introduction by film historian and EFSP contributor Ivo Blom.
A fine opportunity to do a post today about one of the male leads of La grande guerra/The Great War, Alberto Sordi (1920-2003). In a career that spanned seven decades, the actor established himself as an icon of Italian cinema with his representative skills at both comedy and light drama. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian versions of some Laurel & Hardy films.
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano (Milan), no. 325. Photo: Galfano, Roma.
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano (Milan), no. 697.
Fellini Classics
Alberto Sordi was born in Rome in 1920 to a schoolteacher and a musician. He discovered his comic vocation when, as an altar boy, he raised giggles when he waved the censer too boisterously. At 10, he was singing in the Sistine Chapel choir, thanks to his father, a tuba player at the Rome opera house.
At 16, he went to Milan to record his own fairy tales. He enrolled in Milan's dramatic arts academy but gave up when a teacher told him he would never have an acting career unless he got rid of his thick Roman accent. This accent that would later prove to be his trademark.
His film career began in the late 1930s with bit parts and secondary characters in wartime films. After the war he began working as a voice actor for the Italian versions of Laurel and Hardy shorts, dubbing Oliver Hardy.
His first notable film roles were plum parts in two early Federico Fellini classics: Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, 1952) as the exotic hero of fotoromanzi (melodramatic photo dime novels), and Fellini's I vitelloni (Federico Fellini, 1953) about a group of young slackers (also including Franco Interlenghi and Franco Fabrizi ).
The year after I Vitelloni, Sordi played leading roles in 13 films. One was a short, in which he played a freakish Roman who is completely crazy for everything that comes from the States. Repeating the character in a full-length film, Un Americano a Roma/An American in Rome (Steno, 1954), he established himself as a star. Then followed a starring role opposite Nino Manfredi in Lo scapolo/The Bachelor (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1955) playing a single man trying to find love.
In 1959 he appeared with Vittorio Gassman as seedy first world war soldiers, who become heroes in spite of their cowardliness, in La grande guerra/The Great War (Mario Monicelli, 1959). The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and is considered by many critics and film historians to be one of the best Italian comedies.
Sordi became known for satirizing his country's social mores in pungent black comedies and farces. In the World War II comedy The Best of Enemies (Guy Hamilton, 1961), Sordi played a wide-eyed, expressive Italian commander opposite stiff-upper-lip British officer David Niven .
He directed himself as an honest Sicilian smuggled into New York as a hit man in Mafioso (Alberto Sordi, 1962). The film was barely seen outside of Italy at the time and was long forgotten, but American distributor Rialto re-released Mafioso in 2007 and netted enthusiastic reviews. Bruce Eder at AllMovie : "Alberto Lattuada's Mafioso (1962) was a movie so far ahead of its era, that -- looking at it 45 years after its release -- it seems at times as though it had been made in a time warp. After all, who made comedies about the mob -- even the Sicilian mob -- in 1962? And in a neo-realist style, to boot? "
Another example is Il diavolo/To Bed or Not to Bed (Gian Luigi Polidoro, 1963) about an Italian fur merchant in Sweden. The film depicts the clash between his fantasies about sex in Sweden with the reality of what he finds. The Hollywood Foreign Press awarded him for this part with a Golden Globe.
Another highly regarded comedy is the anthology I complessi/Complexes (Luigi Filippo D'Amico, Dino Risi, Franco Rossi, 1965) about various psychological complexes. The two other episodes featured Nino Manfredi and Ugo Tognazzi .
Gary Brumburgh at IMDb : "The titles of some of his most prolific characters were as simple as their titles: The Seducer, The Bachelor, The Husband, The Widower, The Traffic Cop, and The Moralist. Most of his protagonists amusingly, but not always pleasantly, stereotyped the worst attributes of Italian men and society, yet many of his films are unparalleled in quality and considered masterpieces. "
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano (Milan), no. 697.
Alberto Sordi and David Niven in The Best of Enemies (1961). Collection: Pierre sur le Ciel.
Underdog and Prevaricator
Wikipedia indicates that Alberto Sordi was really masterful in two broad roles: the underdog, militating against injustices and prevarications, but also the prevaricator himself.
An example of the underdog is the returning emigrant unjustly convicted in Detenuto in attesa di giudizio/In Prison Awaiting Trial (Nanni Loy, 1972) or the miserly sub-proletarian of Lo scopone scientifico/The Scientific Cardplayer (Luigi Comencini, 1972) teased by the old millionaire Bette Davis into endless card games where he hopes to find release from his poverty.
A typical prevaricator is the rampant, unscrupulous doctor in Il medico della mutua/Be Sick... It's Free (Luigi Zampa, 1968). These characters were both truly despicable and completely believable.
Sordi also succeeded in dramatic roles, most notably in Un borghese piccolo piccolo/A Very Small Petit Bourgeois (Mario Monicelli, 1977) in which he portrays an elderly middle-class man, who after seeing his son killed in an armed robbery, takes justice in his own hands. According to John Francis Lane in The Guardian it was his 'best performance'.
He was also among the large international cast of the dark comedy L'Ingorgo/Traffic Jam (Luigi Comencini, 1979) in which the stories of numerous individuals whose cars are stalled in a massive Roman traffic jam are told. The film was based on a novel by Julio Cortazar.
In Tutti dentro/Off to jail, everybody (Alberto Sordi, 1984), he played a judge who has warrants for corruption served on ministers and businessmen. Sordi directed and co-scripted the film nearly a decade before magistrate Antonio Di Pietro revolutionised Italian politics by doing just that. In 1985, Sordi was a member of the jury at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.
One of his last films was the character study Romanzo di un giovane povero/The History of a poor, young man (Ettore Scola, 1995). He played an old man fed up with his despotic wife, who during an outburst asks his young and also sad neighbour (Rolando Ravello) to help him to get rid of his wife by simulating an accident with the promise of a considerable amount of money.
Sordi won during his long career seven David di Donatello’s, Italy's most prestigious film award, and is the record holder of David di Donatello awards as best actor. He also received a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 1995.
In 2003, Alberto Sordi died in Rome shortly before his eighty-third birthday following a heart attack. He was never married, but didn't disdain female company according to John Francis Lane in his obituary: "A loner, he enjoyed a quiet life with his dogs and his two sisters in a splendid villa near the Caracalla Baths." A huge crowd gathered to pay their last respects at his funeral.
Scene from Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (1952). Source: NanniAglione (YouTube).
Scene from La grande guerra/The Great War (1959). Source: GoatDigital (YouTube). Sorry, no subtitles.
Trailer Lo scopone scientifico/The Scientific Cardplayer (1972). Source: FILMAUROsrl (YouTube).
Sources: John Francis Lane (The Guardian), Bruce Eder (AllMovie), (IMDb), AllMovie, Wikipedia and .
A fine opportunity to do a post today about one of the male leads of La grande guerra/The Great War, Alberto Sordi (1920-2003). In a career that spanned seven decades, the actor established himself as an icon of Italian cinema with his representative skills at both comedy and light drama. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian versions of some Laurel & Hardy films.
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano (Milan), no. 325. Photo: Galfano, Roma.
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano (Milan), no. 697.
Fellini Classics
Alberto Sordi was born in Rome in 1920 to a schoolteacher and a musician. He discovered his comic vocation when, as an altar boy, he raised giggles when he waved the censer too boisterously. At 10, he was singing in the Sistine Chapel choir, thanks to his father, a tuba player at the Rome opera house.
At 16, he went to Milan to record his own fairy tales. He enrolled in Milan's dramatic arts academy but gave up when a teacher told him he would never have an acting career unless he got rid of his thick Roman accent. This accent that would later prove to be his trademark.
His film career began in the late 1930s with bit parts and secondary characters in wartime films. After the war he began working as a voice actor for the Italian versions of Laurel and Hardy shorts, dubbing Oliver Hardy.
His first notable film roles were plum parts in two early Federico Fellini classics: Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, 1952) as the exotic hero of fotoromanzi (melodramatic photo dime novels), and Fellini's I vitelloni (Federico Fellini, 1953) about a group of young slackers (also including Franco Interlenghi and Franco Fabrizi ).
The year after I Vitelloni, Sordi played leading roles in 13 films. One was a short, in which he played a freakish Roman who is completely crazy for everything that comes from the States. Repeating the character in a full-length film, Un Americano a Roma/An American in Rome (Steno, 1954), he established himself as a star. Then followed a starring role opposite Nino Manfredi in Lo scapolo/The Bachelor (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1955) playing a single man trying to find love.
In 1959 he appeared with Vittorio Gassman as seedy first world war soldiers, who become heroes in spite of their cowardliness, in La grande guerra/The Great War (Mario Monicelli, 1959). The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and is considered by many critics and film historians to be one of the best Italian comedies.
Sordi became known for satirizing his country's social mores in pungent black comedies and farces. In the World War II comedy The Best of Enemies (Guy Hamilton, 1961), Sordi played a wide-eyed, expressive Italian commander opposite stiff-upper-lip British officer David Niven .
He directed himself as an honest Sicilian smuggled into New York as a hit man in Mafioso (Alberto Sordi, 1962). The film was barely seen outside of Italy at the time and was long forgotten, but American distributor Rialto re-released Mafioso in 2007 and netted enthusiastic reviews. Bruce Eder at AllMovie : "Alberto Lattuada's Mafioso (1962) was a movie so far ahead of its era, that -- looking at it 45 years after its release -- it seems at times as though it had been made in a time warp. After all, who made comedies about the mob -- even the Sicilian mob -- in 1962? And in a neo-realist style, to boot? "
Another example is Il diavolo/To Bed or Not to Bed (Gian Luigi Polidoro, 1963) about an Italian fur merchant in Sweden. The film depicts the clash between his fantasies about sex in Sweden with the reality of what he finds. The Hollywood Foreign Press awarded him for this part with a Golden Globe.
Another highly regarded comedy is the anthology I complessi/Complexes (Luigi Filippo D'Amico, Dino Risi, Franco Rossi, 1965) about various psychological complexes. The two other episodes featured Nino Manfredi and Ugo Tognazzi .
Gary Brumburgh at IMDb : "The titles of some of his most prolific characters were as simple as their titles: The Seducer, The Bachelor, The Husband, The Widower, The Traffic Cop, and The Moralist. Most of his protagonists amusingly, but not always pleasantly, stereotyped the worst attributes of Italian men and society, yet many of his films are unparalleled in quality and considered masterpieces. "
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano (Milan), no. 697.
Alberto Sordi and David Niven in The Best of Enemies (1961). Collection: Pierre sur le Ciel.
Underdog and Prevaricator
Wikipedia indicates that Alberto Sordi was really masterful in two broad roles: the underdog, militating against injustices and prevarications, but also the prevaricator himself.
An example of the underdog is the returning emigrant unjustly convicted in Detenuto in attesa di giudizio/In Prison Awaiting Trial (Nanni Loy, 1972) or the miserly sub-proletarian of Lo scopone scientifico/The Scientific Cardplayer (Luigi Comencini, 1972) teased by the old millionaire Bette Davis into endless card games where he hopes to find release from his poverty.
A typical prevaricator is the rampant, unscrupulous doctor in Il medico della mutua/Be Sick... It's Free (Luigi Zampa, 1968). These characters were both truly despicable and completely believable.
Sordi also succeeded in dramatic roles, most notably in Un borghese piccolo piccolo/A Very Small Petit Bourgeois (Mario Monicelli, 1977) in which he portrays an elderly middle-class man, who after seeing his son killed in an armed robbery, takes justice in his own hands. According to John Francis Lane in The Guardian it was his 'best performance'.
He was also among the large international cast of the dark comedy L'Ingorgo/Traffic Jam (Luigi Comencini, 1979) in which the stories of numerous individuals whose cars are stalled in a massive Roman traffic jam are told. The film was based on a novel by Julio Cortazar.
In Tutti dentro/Off to jail, everybody (Alberto Sordi, 1984), he played a judge who has warrants for corruption served on ministers and businessmen. Sordi directed and co-scripted the film nearly a decade before magistrate Antonio Di Pietro revolutionised Italian politics by doing just that. In 1985, Sordi was a member of the jury at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.
One of his last films was the character study Romanzo di un giovane povero/The History of a poor, young man (Ettore Scola, 1995). He played an old man fed up with his despotic wife, who during an outburst asks his young and also sad neighbour (Rolando Ravello) to help him to get rid of his wife by simulating an accident with the promise of a considerable amount of money.
Sordi won during his long career seven David di Donatello’s, Italy's most prestigious film award, and is the record holder of David di Donatello awards as best actor. He also received a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 1995.
In 2003, Alberto Sordi died in Rome shortly before his eighty-third birthday following a heart attack. He was never married, but didn't disdain female company according to John Francis Lane in his obituary: "A loner, he enjoyed a quiet life with his dogs and his two sisters in a splendid villa near the Caracalla Baths." A huge crowd gathered to pay their last respects at his funeral.
Scene from Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (1952). Source: NanniAglione (YouTube).
Scene from La grande guerra/The Great War (1959). Source: GoatDigital (YouTube). Sorry, no subtitles.
Trailer Lo scopone scientifico/The Scientific Cardplayer (1972). Source: FILMAUROsrl (YouTube).
Sources: John Francis Lane (The Guardian), Bruce Eder (AllMovie), (IMDb), AllMovie, Wikipedia and .
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