Paul van Yperen's Blog, page 436
December 2, 2013
Séverin-Mars
French actor Séverin-Mars (1873-1921) had a very short film career, but he played in two masterpieces by innovative film pioneer Abel Gance: the First World War drama J'accuse! (1919), and the epic and touching drama La Roue (1921-1923).
French postcard by Cinémagazine, no. 58.
French postcard by Cinémagazine, no. 59.
A Symphony of Pain
Séverin-Mars was born as Armand Jean de Malafayde in Bordeaux, France in 1873.
In 1910 he made his film debut in Le crime de grand-père/The Crime of a Grandfather (1910), a Gaumont production directed by Léonce Perret and scripted by Abel Gance , who would become his favourite director.
Séverin-Mars appeared in such silent shorts as Le duel du fou/The Duel of the Madman (1913), Macbeth (1915), Trois familles/Three Families (Alexandre Devarennes, 1918), and L'habit de Béranger/Béranger's Habit (Maurice Mariaud, 1918).
He had his breakthrough in a feature film: Abel Gance 's melodrama La dixième symphonie/The Tenth Symphony (produced in 1917, but released in November 1918, just before the end of the war).
In this film he played a composer who is unknowing of the adventurous past of his wife (Emmy Lynn). She is blackmailed by her former lover (Jean Toulout) to consent to the marriage between her ex and her daughter. When the composer realizes what is happening, he writes a symphony of pain.
Séverin-Mars appeared next in La nuit du 11 septembre/The Night of September 11 (Dominique Bernard-Deschamps, 1919), with Russian actress Vera Karalli , and in Jacques Landouze (André Hugon, 1919), again with Jean Toulout.
French postcard for J'accuse (1919).
Romuald Joubé in J'Accuse.
From Sadism To Jealousy To Rage
Then Séverin-Mars played the lead in the classic after anti-war film J'accuse!/I Accuse (Abel Gance, 1919). In J'accuse! he is the stubborn brute François Laurin, who maltreats his wife Edith (Maryse Dauvray). She feels more for the gentle poet Jean Diaz ( Romuald Joubé ). The threesome seems to explode, when the war breaks out. The men meet again in the trenches, bond and share their love for Edith. Meanwhile she is raped by German soldiers and returns to the village with a child.
Mars goes from sadism to jealousy to rage to lucidity to heroism and to sacrifice, displaying intense emotions without any histrionic acting. The film was a success because it was the first production to show real footage of the carnage of the war. Abel Gance had been filming in the trenches in 1918, after having served there. In 1937, Gance would create a masterful remake of this film.
After J'accuse! Séverin-Mars played in Haceldama ou Le prix du sang/Haceldama or The Price of Blood (1919) directed and written by the debuting Julien Duvivier. Haceldama is a French western, driven by revenge and lust for money.
In 1921 Séverin-Mars was very active. With Jean Legrand he co-directed his first film, Le coeur magnifique/The Magnificent Heart. For this film he also had written the script, and he played the lead opposite France Dhélia and Léon Bernard. It was the story of a marquis who, disgusted by an immoral woman, finds love and peace with the neighbour's daughter.
With Gaby Morlay, he co-starred in L'agonie des aigles/The Death Agony of the Eagles (Julien Duvivier, Dominique Bernard-Deschamps, 1921). The film, based on a novel by Georges Desparbès, deals with a man who protects the King of Rome, Napoleon II, the son of the famous French Emperor. The gala premiere was at the Paris Opéra and coincided with the birthday of Napoleon I; it was a charity night to help war widows and orphans.
French postcard by Sadag de France, Imp., Paris, no. 109. Photo: publicity still for the film J'Accuse (Abel Gance 1919), starring Séverin-Mars. Here he is the ghost of the dead soldiers who resurrect at the end of the film, and come to the survivors, asking them whether the war was worth fighting for.
Romuald Joubé and Maryse Dauvray in J'Accuse. Romuald Joubé . French postcard by Sadag de France, Imp., Paris, no. 109.
An Epic of Eight Hours
Séverin-Mars' last role was also his most famous one: the railwayman Sisif in the anti-war epic La Roue/The Wheel (Abel Gance, 1923). Sisif falls in love with his foster-daughter Norma ( Ivy Close ), who he once had saved from a train wreck and raised like his daughter. Sisif's son Elie ( Gabriel de Gravone ) loves Norma too.
The epic film originally ran nine hours. Abel Gance later explained that his companion Ida Danis was struck by tuberculosis while he was surviving the Spanish flu during the preparation of La Roue in 1920. Her need for recovery brought the crew to constant different places, while Gance adapted the narrative to Ida's needs. La Roue, begun on the first day of her illness, was finished on the day of her death.
Abel Gance disappeared to the States for four months, angering the Pathé company. His discovery of the American fast paced editing made him change La Roue entirely. After a full year of editing, La Roue was finally shown in 1923 appalling critics and audiences.
Despite its 8 hours length it was hailed as such a masterpiece that audiences cried for more. Abel Gance later wrote: "The only thing we could think of was to show the last reel again." For the general release in 1924 the film was cut back to 130 minutes.
During the shooting of La Roue, Séverin-Mars had also become ill. Just after the production was finished, he died of a heart attack in July 1921 in Courgent, France. His favourite director heard the news in the US, and wrote in his diary: "I cried like a child."
Scenes from La Roue (1923). Source: Viddler. Sources: Kevin Brownlow (The Parade's Gone By), Janiss Garza (AllMovie) and .
French postcard by Cinémagazine, no. 58.
French postcard by Cinémagazine, no. 59.
A Symphony of Pain
Séverin-Mars was born as Armand Jean de Malafayde in Bordeaux, France in 1873.
In 1910 he made his film debut in Le crime de grand-père/The Crime of a Grandfather (1910), a Gaumont production directed by Léonce Perret and scripted by Abel Gance , who would become his favourite director.
Séverin-Mars appeared in such silent shorts as Le duel du fou/The Duel of the Madman (1913), Macbeth (1915), Trois familles/Three Families (Alexandre Devarennes, 1918), and L'habit de Béranger/Béranger's Habit (Maurice Mariaud, 1918).
He had his breakthrough in a feature film: Abel Gance 's melodrama La dixième symphonie/The Tenth Symphony (produced in 1917, but released in November 1918, just before the end of the war).
In this film he played a composer who is unknowing of the adventurous past of his wife (Emmy Lynn). She is blackmailed by her former lover (Jean Toulout) to consent to the marriage between her ex and her daughter. When the composer realizes what is happening, he writes a symphony of pain.
Séverin-Mars appeared next in La nuit du 11 septembre/The Night of September 11 (Dominique Bernard-Deschamps, 1919), with Russian actress Vera Karalli , and in Jacques Landouze (André Hugon, 1919), again with Jean Toulout.
French postcard for J'accuse (1919).
Romuald Joubé in J'Accuse.
From Sadism To Jealousy To Rage
Then Séverin-Mars played the lead in the classic after anti-war film J'accuse!/I Accuse (Abel Gance, 1919). In J'accuse! he is the stubborn brute François Laurin, who maltreats his wife Edith (Maryse Dauvray). She feels more for the gentle poet Jean Diaz ( Romuald Joubé ). The threesome seems to explode, when the war breaks out. The men meet again in the trenches, bond and share their love for Edith. Meanwhile she is raped by German soldiers and returns to the village with a child.
Mars goes from sadism to jealousy to rage to lucidity to heroism and to sacrifice, displaying intense emotions without any histrionic acting. The film was a success because it was the first production to show real footage of the carnage of the war. Abel Gance had been filming in the trenches in 1918, after having served there. In 1937, Gance would create a masterful remake of this film.
After J'accuse! Séverin-Mars played in Haceldama ou Le prix du sang/Haceldama or The Price of Blood (1919) directed and written by the debuting Julien Duvivier. Haceldama is a French western, driven by revenge and lust for money.
In 1921 Séverin-Mars was very active. With Jean Legrand he co-directed his first film, Le coeur magnifique/The Magnificent Heart. For this film he also had written the script, and he played the lead opposite France Dhélia and Léon Bernard. It was the story of a marquis who, disgusted by an immoral woman, finds love and peace with the neighbour's daughter.
With Gaby Morlay, he co-starred in L'agonie des aigles/The Death Agony of the Eagles (Julien Duvivier, Dominique Bernard-Deschamps, 1921). The film, based on a novel by Georges Desparbès, deals with a man who protects the King of Rome, Napoleon II, the son of the famous French Emperor. The gala premiere was at the Paris Opéra and coincided with the birthday of Napoleon I; it was a charity night to help war widows and orphans.
French postcard by Sadag de France, Imp., Paris, no. 109. Photo: publicity still for the film J'Accuse (Abel Gance 1919), starring Séverin-Mars. Here he is the ghost of the dead soldiers who resurrect at the end of the film, and come to the survivors, asking them whether the war was worth fighting for.
Romuald Joubé and Maryse Dauvray in J'Accuse. Romuald Joubé . French postcard by Sadag de France, Imp., Paris, no. 109.
An Epic of Eight Hours
Séverin-Mars' last role was also his most famous one: the railwayman Sisif in the anti-war epic La Roue/The Wheel (Abel Gance, 1923). Sisif falls in love with his foster-daughter Norma ( Ivy Close ), who he once had saved from a train wreck and raised like his daughter. Sisif's son Elie ( Gabriel de Gravone ) loves Norma too.
The epic film originally ran nine hours. Abel Gance later explained that his companion Ida Danis was struck by tuberculosis while he was surviving the Spanish flu during the preparation of La Roue in 1920. Her need for recovery brought the crew to constant different places, while Gance adapted the narrative to Ida's needs. La Roue, begun on the first day of her illness, was finished on the day of her death.
Abel Gance disappeared to the States for four months, angering the Pathé company. His discovery of the American fast paced editing made him change La Roue entirely. After a full year of editing, La Roue was finally shown in 1923 appalling critics and audiences.
Despite its 8 hours length it was hailed as such a masterpiece that audiences cried for more. Abel Gance later wrote: "The only thing we could think of was to show the last reel again." For the general release in 1924 the film was cut back to 130 minutes.
During the shooting of La Roue, Séverin-Mars had also become ill. Just after the production was finished, he died of a heart attack in July 1921 in Courgent, France. His favourite director heard the news in the US, and wrote in his diary: "I cried like a child."
Scenes from La Roue (1923). Source: Viddler. Sources: Kevin Brownlow (The Parade's Gone By), Janiss Garza (AllMovie) and .
December 1, 2013
Serge Gainsbourg
French singer and composer Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) was one of the most important figures in French pop music, renowned for provocative and scandalous releases as Je t'aime... moi non plus, as well as for his artistic output, which embodied many genres. He appeared in several French and Italian films and directed four films, in which his long time lover Jane Birkin starred.
French postcard, no. A100.
Haunting Symbol
Serge Gainsbourg was born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928. He had a twin sister, Liliane. Their parents were the Russian-Jewish emigrants, Olga (née Bessman) and Joseph Ginsburg, who fled to Paris after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Joseph was a classically trained musician who played the piano in cabarets and casinos and taught his children to play too. Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany. The identifying ‘yellow star’ Jews were mandated to wear, became a symbol which haunted Gainsbourg and which in later years he was able to transmute into creative inspiration.
During the Nazi occupation of World War II, the Jewish Ginsburg family was able to make their way from Paris to Limoges, travelling under false papers. Limoges was an unoccupied city, but under the administration of the collaborationist Vichy government and still a perilous refuge for Jews.
At war’s end, Gainsbourg obtained work teaching music and drawing in a school outside of Paris, in Mesnil-Le-Roi. The school was set up under the auspices of local rabbis for the orphaned children of murdered deportees. Here Gainsbourg heard the accounts of Nazi persecution and genocide, stories that resonated for Gainsbourg far into the future.
Before he was 30 years old, Gainsbourg was a disillusioned painter, but earned his living as a piano player in bars. He changed his first name to Serge feeling that this was representative of his Russian and chose Gainsbourg as his last name in homage to the English painter Thomas Gainsborough whom he admired.
His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of old-fashioned chanson. Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of musical styles: jazz early on, pop in the 1960s, funk, rock and reggae in the 1970s, and electronic in the 1980s.
Many of his songs contain themes with a morbid or sexual twist in them. An early success, Le Poinçonneur des Lilas, describes the day in the life of a Paris Métro ticket man whose job it is to stamp holes in passengers' tickets. Gainsbourg describes this chore as so monotonous that the man eventually thinks of putting a hole into his own head and being buried in another.
In 1951, he married Elisabeth ‘Lize’ Levitsky and divorced her in 1957. He started to appear in films, such as in Voulez-vous danser avec moi?/Come Dance with Me (Michel Boisrond, 1959) with Brigitte Bardot .
In Italy, Gainsbourg co-starred in the Peplums La Rivolta Degli Schiavi/The Revolt of the Slaves (Nunzio Malasomma, 1960) with Rhonda Fleming, and Sansone/Samson (Gianfranco Parolini, 1961) featuring Brad Harris .
By the time the Yé-yé arrived to France, Gainsbourg was 32 years old and was not feeling very comfortable. The public and critics rejected him, mocking his prominent ears and nose. During this period, Gainsbourg began working with Juliette Greco , a collaboration that lasted throughout the 'Left Bank' period culminating in the song La Javanaise (1963).
He also appeared with Dalida in the crime musical L'inconnue de Hong Kong/Stranger from Hong-Kong (Jacques Poitrenaud, 1963). Gainsbourg married a second time in 1964, to Françoise-Antoinette ‘Béatrice’ Pancrazzi, with whom he had two children: Natacha (1964) and Paul (1968). He divorced Béatrice in 1966.
French postcard by Philips. Photo: Jean d'Hugues.
French postcard, Ref. 558.
French postcard, no. INC 039.
Je t'aime... moi non plus
Success began to arrive when Serge Gainsbourg’s song Poupée de cire, poupée de son (A Lonely Singing Doll) was the Luxembourg entry in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was performed by French teen singer France Gall , and it won first prize.
His next song for Gall, Les Sucettes (Lollipops) (1966), caused a scandal in France because of the double-meanings and strong sexual innuendo. When she recorded it, Gall was apparently unaware that the song was not about a girl enjoying lollipops, but about oral sex. Although it was a big hit for Gall, the controversy threw her career off-track in France for several years.
He also wrote hit songs for other artists, such as Comment Te Dire Adieu (How to say farewell) (1968) for Françoise Hardy . In 1967, Gainsbourg had a short but ardent love affair with Brigitte Bardot to whom he dedicated the song and album Initials BB (1967).
He also continued to appear regularly in films, such as the action drama L'inconnu de Shandigor/The Unknown Man of Shandigor (Jean-Louis Roy, 1967) with Marie France Boyer, and Vivre la nuit/Love in the Night (Marcel Camus, 1968) with Jacques Perrin .
In mid-1968, he starred in the French film Slogan (Pierre Grimblat, 1969), for which he wrote the title song La chanson de slogan. During the shooting of the film, he fell in love with his co-star, the younger English singer and actress Jane Birkin .
In 1969, they released the song Je t'aime... moi non plus, which featured explicit lyrics and simulated sounds of female orgasm. It appeared on the LP, Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg (1969). Originally he had recorded the song with Brigitte Bardot , but BB backed out and Birkin stepped in.
The song was censored or banned from public broadcast in numerous countries, and the Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. However, Je t'aime... moi non plus charted within the top ten in many European countries.
That year, he also appeared in William Klein's pop art satire Mister Freedom (1969), and he starred with Jane Birkin in Les Chemins de Katmandou/The Pleasure Pit (André Cayatte, 1969) with Pascale Audret .
French postcard, no. A098. Sent by mail in 1995.
French postcard, no. A097. Sent by mail in 1995.
French postcard, Réf. 557.
Cabbage-Head Man
The relationship of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin lasted for over a decade. In 1971 they had a daughter, the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg.
He acted with Birkin in such films as the French-Yugoslavian productions Devetnaest djevojaka i jedan mornar/19 girls and one sailor (Milutin Kosovac, 1971) and Romansa konjokradice/Romance of a Horsethief (Abraham Polonsky, 1971) with Yul Brynner, and the Italian Giallo La morte negli occhi del gatto/Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye (Antonio Margheriti, 1973) with Hiram Keller.
In 1975, Gainsbourg released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à tête de chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes. Cabbage-Head Man is one of Gainsbourg’s nicknames, as it refers to his ears. Musically, L'homme à tête de chou turned out to be his last LP in the English rock style he had favored since the late 1960s.
In Jamaica he recorded Aux Armes et cætera (1979), a reggae version of the French national anthem La Marseillaise, with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, and Rita Marley. It earned him death threats from right-wing veteran soldiers of the Algerian War.
Gainsbourg directed four films: Je t'aime ... moi non plus (1976) starring Jane Birkin and Joe Dallesandro, the thriller Équateur (1983), Charlotte for Ever (1986) with his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Stan the Flasher (1990).
Gainsbourg also made a brief appearance with Birkin in the film, Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung/Egon Schiele: Excess and Punishment (Herbert Vesely, 1981).
After a turbulent 13-year-long relationship, Jane Birkin left Gainsbourg in 1980 when pregnant with her third daughter, Lou, by the film director Jacques Doillon.
In the 1980s, near the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular but controversial figure on French TV. He would show up drunk and unshaven, and in these years his health deteriorated. His songs became increasingly eccentric, ranging from the anti-drug Aux Enfants de la Chance to the highly controversial duet Lemon Incest (1985) with his daughter Charlotte.
Serge Gainsbourg died in 1991 in Paris of a heart attack. His last partner was since 1981 Caroline ‘Bambou’ Paulus, grandniece of Field marshal Friedrich Paulus. In 1986 they had a son, Lucien.
Throughout his career, Gainsbourg wrote the soundtracks for more than forty films. In 1996, he received a posthumous César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Élisa, along with Zbigniew Preisner and Michel Colombier.
Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. A feature film titled Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) was released in 2010, based on the graphic novel by the writer-director of the film, Joann Sfar. Gainsbourg is portrayed by Eric Elmosnino and Kacey Mottet Klein. The film was awarded 3 César Awards, including Best Actor for Elmosnino, and was nominated for an additional 8.
French postcard, no. A068. With Vanessa Paradis.
French postcard by Humour a la Carte, Paris, no. 3395. Photo: J.L. Rancurel.
French postcard. With Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Sources: Wikipedia, and .
French postcard, no. A100.
Haunting Symbol
Serge Gainsbourg was born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928. He had a twin sister, Liliane. Their parents were the Russian-Jewish emigrants, Olga (née Bessman) and Joseph Ginsburg, who fled to Paris after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Joseph was a classically trained musician who played the piano in cabarets and casinos and taught his children to play too. Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany. The identifying ‘yellow star’ Jews were mandated to wear, became a symbol which haunted Gainsbourg and which in later years he was able to transmute into creative inspiration.
During the Nazi occupation of World War II, the Jewish Ginsburg family was able to make their way from Paris to Limoges, travelling under false papers. Limoges was an unoccupied city, but under the administration of the collaborationist Vichy government and still a perilous refuge for Jews.
At war’s end, Gainsbourg obtained work teaching music and drawing in a school outside of Paris, in Mesnil-Le-Roi. The school was set up under the auspices of local rabbis for the orphaned children of murdered deportees. Here Gainsbourg heard the accounts of Nazi persecution and genocide, stories that resonated for Gainsbourg far into the future.
Before he was 30 years old, Gainsbourg was a disillusioned painter, but earned his living as a piano player in bars. He changed his first name to Serge feeling that this was representative of his Russian and chose Gainsbourg as his last name in homage to the English painter Thomas Gainsborough whom he admired.
His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of old-fashioned chanson. Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of musical styles: jazz early on, pop in the 1960s, funk, rock and reggae in the 1970s, and electronic in the 1980s.
Many of his songs contain themes with a morbid or sexual twist in them. An early success, Le Poinçonneur des Lilas, describes the day in the life of a Paris Métro ticket man whose job it is to stamp holes in passengers' tickets. Gainsbourg describes this chore as so monotonous that the man eventually thinks of putting a hole into his own head and being buried in another.
In 1951, he married Elisabeth ‘Lize’ Levitsky and divorced her in 1957. He started to appear in films, such as in Voulez-vous danser avec moi?/Come Dance with Me (Michel Boisrond, 1959) with Brigitte Bardot .
In Italy, Gainsbourg co-starred in the Peplums La Rivolta Degli Schiavi/The Revolt of the Slaves (Nunzio Malasomma, 1960) with Rhonda Fleming, and Sansone/Samson (Gianfranco Parolini, 1961) featuring Brad Harris .
By the time the Yé-yé arrived to France, Gainsbourg was 32 years old and was not feeling very comfortable. The public and critics rejected him, mocking his prominent ears and nose. During this period, Gainsbourg began working with Juliette Greco , a collaboration that lasted throughout the 'Left Bank' period culminating in the song La Javanaise (1963).
He also appeared with Dalida in the crime musical L'inconnue de Hong Kong/Stranger from Hong-Kong (Jacques Poitrenaud, 1963). Gainsbourg married a second time in 1964, to Françoise-Antoinette ‘Béatrice’ Pancrazzi, with whom he had two children: Natacha (1964) and Paul (1968). He divorced Béatrice in 1966.
French postcard by Philips. Photo: Jean d'Hugues.
French postcard, Ref. 558.
French postcard, no. INC 039.
Je t'aime... moi non plus
Success began to arrive when Serge Gainsbourg’s song Poupée de cire, poupée de son (A Lonely Singing Doll) was the Luxembourg entry in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was performed by French teen singer France Gall , and it won first prize.
His next song for Gall, Les Sucettes (Lollipops) (1966), caused a scandal in France because of the double-meanings and strong sexual innuendo. When she recorded it, Gall was apparently unaware that the song was not about a girl enjoying lollipops, but about oral sex. Although it was a big hit for Gall, the controversy threw her career off-track in France for several years.
He also wrote hit songs for other artists, such as Comment Te Dire Adieu (How to say farewell) (1968) for Françoise Hardy . In 1967, Gainsbourg had a short but ardent love affair with Brigitte Bardot to whom he dedicated the song and album Initials BB (1967).
He also continued to appear regularly in films, such as the action drama L'inconnu de Shandigor/The Unknown Man of Shandigor (Jean-Louis Roy, 1967) with Marie France Boyer, and Vivre la nuit/Love in the Night (Marcel Camus, 1968) with Jacques Perrin .
In mid-1968, he starred in the French film Slogan (Pierre Grimblat, 1969), for which he wrote the title song La chanson de slogan. During the shooting of the film, he fell in love with his co-star, the younger English singer and actress Jane Birkin .
In 1969, they released the song Je t'aime... moi non plus, which featured explicit lyrics and simulated sounds of female orgasm. It appeared on the LP, Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg (1969). Originally he had recorded the song with Brigitte Bardot , but BB backed out and Birkin stepped in.
The song was censored or banned from public broadcast in numerous countries, and the Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. However, Je t'aime... moi non plus charted within the top ten in many European countries.
That year, he also appeared in William Klein's pop art satire Mister Freedom (1969), and he starred with Jane Birkin in Les Chemins de Katmandou/The Pleasure Pit (André Cayatte, 1969) with Pascale Audret .
French postcard, no. A098. Sent by mail in 1995.
French postcard, no. A097. Sent by mail in 1995.
French postcard, Réf. 557.
Cabbage-Head Man
The relationship of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin lasted for over a decade. In 1971 they had a daughter, the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg.
He acted with Birkin in such films as the French-Yugoslavian productions Devetnaest djevojaka i jedan mornar/19 girls and one sailor (Milutin Kosovac, 1971) and Romansa konjokradice/Romance of a Horsethief (Abraham Polonsky, 1971) with Yul Brynner, and the Italian Giallo La morte negli occhi del gatto/Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye (Antonio Margheriti, 1973) with Hiram Keller.
In 1975, Gainsbourg released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à tête de chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes. Cabbage-Head Man is one of Gainsbourg’s nicknames, as it refers to his ears. Musically, L'homme à tête de chou turned out to be his last LP in the English rock style he had favored since the late 1960s.
In Jamaica he recorded Aux Armes et cætera (1979), a reggae version of the French national anthem La Marseillaise, with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, and Rita Marley. It earned him death threats from right-wing veteran soldiers of the Algerian War.
Gainsbourg directed four films: Je t'aime ... moi non plus (1976) starring Jane Birkin and Joe Dallesandro, the thriller Équateur (1983), Charlotte for Ever (1986) with his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Stan the Flasher (1990).
Gainsbourg also made a brief appearance with Birkin in the film, Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung/Egon Schiele: Excess and Punishment (Herbert Vesely, 1981).
After a turbulent 13-year-long relationship, Jane Birkin left Gainsbourg in 1980 when pregnant with her third daughter, Lou, by the film director Jacques Doillon.
In the 1980s, near the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular but controversial figure on French TV. He would show up drunk and unshaven, and in these years his health deteriorated. His songs became increasingly eccentric, ranging from the anti-drug Aux Enfants de la Chance to the highly controversial duet Lemon Incest (1985) with his daughter Charlotte.
Serge Gainsbourg died in 1991 in Paris of a heart attack. His last partner was since 1981 Caroline ‘Bambou’ Paulus, grandniece of Field marshal Friedrich Paulus. In 1986 they had a son, Lucien.
Throughout his career, Gainsbourg wrote the soundtracks for more than forty films. In 1996, he received a posthumous César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Élisa, along with Zbigniew Preisner and Michel Colombier.
Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. A feature film titled Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) was released in 2010, based on the graphic novel by the writer-director of the film, Joann Sfar. Gainsbourg is portrayed by Eric Elmosnino and Kacey Mottet Klein. The film was awarded 3 César Awards, including Best Actor for Elmosnino, and was nominated for an additional 8.
French postcard, no. A068. With Vanessa Paradis.
French postcard by Humour a la Carte, Paris, no. 3395. Photo: J.L. Rancurel.
French postcard. With Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Sources: Wikipedia, and .
November 30, 2013
Barbara Frey
German actress Barbara Frey (1941) was as a 16 year old chosen to play the lead opposite Horst Buchholz in the romantic teenage drama Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958). After her debut she took acting classes and played in more similar films.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. B.F. 1. Photo: Nora Filmverleih.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3943. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Grimm. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958).
Romantic Teenage Dramas
Barbara Frey was born Barbara Freyde in Berlin in 1941.
As a 16 year old she was chosen to play the lead in the romantic teenage drama Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (Georg Tressler, 1958) opposite teen idol Horst Buchholz .
After her debut she took acting classes and played in more similar productions like Mit 17 weint man nicht/17 Year Olds Don't Cry (Alfred Vohrer, 1960) with Matthias Fuchs , and in the German episode of Liebe mit zwanzig/L’amour à vingt ans/Love at Twenty (Marcel Ophüls, Francois Truffaut a.o., 1962).
She appeared also in several crime and adventure films, including Mann im Schatten/man in the Shadows (Arthur Maria Rabenalt, 1961) with Helmut Qualtinger and Ellen Schwiers .
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 2826. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Grimm. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958) with Horst Buchholz .
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 113. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Schlawe. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958).
Spaghetti Westerns
During the production of the spaghetti western I Cento cavalieri/100 Horsemen (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1964), Barbara Frey met the American actor Mark Damon.
With Damon she also starred in the interesting spaghetti western Requiescant/Kill and Pray (Carlo Lizzani, 1967), also with Lou Castel and director Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Frey and Damon married in 1971, but the marriage lasted only for two years
During the 1970s, Barbara Frey did not work for the cameras but since the mid 1980s she continued her acting career on German television in films and series.
During the 1990s she appeared in Krimis like SOKO 5113 (1996), Tatort (1998) and Der Letzte Zeuge/The Last Witness (1999), but also in popular comedies like Das Traumschiff/The Dream Boat (1992) and Liebling - Kreuzberg/My Love - Kreuzberg (1997).
IMDb writes that she directed Uncle Wanja for TV in 2004, but there she is mistaken for the Swiss director Barbara Frey (1963).
German Postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.h., Minden-Westf, no. 1285. Photo: Ultrafilm / Lilo. Publicity card for Mit 17 weint man nicht! (1960).
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. 563. Photo: Lilo / Europa.
Scenes from the Krimi Der Letzte Zeuge/The Last Witness (1999) with Birgit Doll and Barbara Frey. Source: Vivadante (YouTube).
Sources: Wikipedia and .
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. B.F. 1. Photo: Nora Filmverleih.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3943. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Grimm. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958).
Romantic Teenage Dramas
Barbara Frey was born Barbara Freyde in Berlin in 1941.
As a 16 year old she was chosen to play the lead in the romantic teenage drama Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (Georg Tressler, 1958) opposite teen idol Horst Buchholz .
After her debut she took acting classes and played in more similar productions like Mit 17 weint man nicht/17 Year Olds Don't Cry (Alfred Vohrer, 1960) with Matthias Fuchs , and in the German episode of Liebe mit zwanzig/L’amour à vingt ans/Love at Twenty (Marcel Ophüls, Francois Truffaut a.o., 1962).
She appeared also in several crime and adventure films, including Mann im Schatten/man in the Shadows (Arthur Maria Rabenalt, 1961) with Helmut Qualtinger and Ellen Schwiers .
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 2826. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Grimm. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958) with Horst Buchholz .
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 113. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Schlawe. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958).
Spaghetti Westerns
During the production of the spaghetti western I Cento cavalieri/100 Horsemen (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1964), Barbara Frey met the American actor Mark Damon.
With Damon she also starred in the interesting spaghetti western Requiescant/Kill and Pray (Carlo Lizzani, 1967), also with Lou Castel and director Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Frey and Damon married in 1971, but the marriage lasted only for two years
During the 1970s, Barbara Frey did not work for the cameras but since the mid 1980s she continued her acting career on German television in films and series.
During the 1990s she appeared in Krimis like SOKO 5113 (1996), Tatort (1998) and Der Letzte Zeuge/The Last Witness (1999), but also in popular comedies like Das Traumschiff/The Dream Boat (1992) and Liebling - Kreuzberg/My Love - Kreuzberg (1997).
IMDb writes that she directed Uncle Wanja for TV in 2004, but there she is mistaken for the Swiss director Barbara Frey (1963).
German Postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.h., Minden-Westf, no. 1285. Photo: Ultrafilm / Lilo. Publicity card for Mit 17 weint man nicht! (1960).
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. 563. Photo: Lilo / Europa.
Scenes from the Krimi Der Letzte Zeuge/The Last Witness (1999) with Birgit Doll and Barbara Frey. Source: Vivadante (YouTube).
Sources: Wikipedia and .
Lili Beck
Danish actress Lili Beck or Lili Bech (1883-1939) was the leading lady of many early Swedish films directed by Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström.
Swedish postcard by Svenska Biografteatern. Photo: Ferd Flodin, Stockholm.
Snake Enchantress
Lili Bech was born Lili Beck in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1883.
She started as a stage actress in 1905. Her debut in the Danish cinema was in the film Morfinisten/The Morphine Takers (1911), directed by Louis Von Kohl and produced by Det Skandinavisk-Russiske Handelshus.
Already in her next film, Taifun/The Typhoon (Louis Von Kohl, 1911) she played the lead.
After that Lili would play in four more films by the same company, including Alfred Lind's circus films Den flyvende Cirkus/The Flying Circus (1912) and Bjornetaemmern/The Bear Tamer (1912), in which she played a snake enchantress.
In 1913 she moved to the Nordisk Film Kompagni where she played in three films by Robert Dinesen (all 1913) and one by August Blom (1914).
In 1913 it was rumoured Beck would go and work for American film company Vitagraph. Instead she started to work for the Swedish company Svenska Biograftheatren.
Gösta Ekman . Swedish postcard by Axel Eliassons Konstförlag, Stockholm, no. 413, mailed in 1916. Photo: Uno Falkengren, Göteborg.
Lars Hanson . Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stocholm, no. 1286. Photo: Goodwin, 1924.
Sjöström and Stiller
Lili Beck was married shortly to Erik Magnusson in 1912. She remarried Swedish film director Victor Sjöström, in whose debut Trädgardsmästeren/The Gardener (1912) she played opposite Sjöström himself and Gösta Ekman .
It was her first Swedish film and Beck would henceforth pursue her career there. Between 1912 and 1916, Lili Beck played in nine films by Sjöström.
Beck also performed in eleven films by director Mauritz Stiller, the discoverer of Greta Garbo . These films include Vampyren/The Vampire (1913) and Vingarne/The Wings (1916), based on Herman Bang's 1902 novel Mikaël.
Vingarne was a very early gay-themed film. The story is that of a conniving countess (played by Lili Beck) coming between a gay sculptor, Claude Zoret (Egil Eide), and his bisexual model and lover, Mikaël ( Lars Hanson ). The film is also notable for its innovative use of a framing story and telling the plot primarily through the use of flashbacks.
In 1916 she divorced Victor Sjöström. IMDb stops her filmography then, but the site of the Danish Film Institute informs us that Lili returned to Denmark. She remarried for the third time to Danish stage and film actor Hakon Ahnfelt-Ronne and a fourth time to a certain mr. Lundquist.
In 1920 she had her comeback as a film actress at the Nordisk company, where she would play in three films by Holger Madsen between 1920 and 1925, and after that in three films by August Blom.
Lili Beck died in 1939, aged 55.
In 1941, a fire in the archives of the Svenski Filmindustri destroyed the negatives and other related material of many of the Swedish films in which Lili Beck starred. Vingarne was one of the destroyed films.
With a script and frame prints on paper film historian Gösta Werner reconstructed the shape of the film and when in 1987 a copy of the central part of the film was found in Oslo, it was possible to reconstruct the film. This version was premiered at the Swedish Film Institute in 1987.
Victor Sjöström. French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 146.
Source: Det Danske Filminstitut (Danish), Richard Dyer/Julianne Pidduck (Now You See It), Wikipedia and .
Swedish postcard by Svenska Biografteatern. Photo: Ferd Flodin, Stockholm.
Snake Enchantress
Lili Bech was born Lili Beck in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1883.
She started as a stage actress in 1905. Her debut in the Danish cinema was in the film Morfinisten/The Morphine Takers (1911), directed by Louis Von Kohl and produced by Det Skandinavisk-Russiske Handelshus.
Already in her next film, Taifun/The Typhoon (Louis Von Kohl, 1911) she played the lead.
After that Lili would play in four more films by the same company, including Alfred Lind's circus films Den flyvende Cirkus/The Flying Circus (1912) and Bjornetaemmern/The Bear Tamer (1912), in which she played a snake enchantress.
In 1913 she moved to the Nordisk Film Kompagni where she played in three films by Robert Dinesen (all 1913) and one by August Blom (1914).
In 1913 it was rumoured Beck would go and work for American film company Vitagraph. Instead she started to work for the Swedish company Svenska Biograftheatren.
Gösta Ekman . Swedish postcard by Axel Eliassons Konstförlag, Stockholm, no. 413, mailed in 1916. Photo: Uno Falkengren, Göteborg.
Lars Hanson . Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stocholm, no. 1286. Photo: Goodwin, 1924.
Sjöström and Stiller
Lili Beck was married shortly to Erik Magnusson in 1912. She remarried Swedish film director Victor Sjöström, in whose debut Trädgardsmästeren/The Gardener (1912) she played opposite Sjöström himself and Gösta Ekman .
It was her first Swedish film and Beck would henceforth pursue her career there. Between 1912 and 1916, Lili Beck played in nine films by Sjöström.
Beck also performed in eleven films by director Mauritz Stiller, the discoverer of Greta Garbo . These films include Vampyren/The Vampire (1913) and Vingarne/The Wings (1916), based on Herman Bang's 1902 novel Mikaël.
Vingarne was a very early gay-themed film. The story is that of a conniving countess (played by Lili Beck) coming between a gay sculptor, Claude Zoret (Egil Eide), and his bisexual model and lover, Mikaël ( Lars Hanson ). The film is also notable for its innovative use of a framing story and telling the plot primarily through the use of flashbacks.
In 1916 she divorced Victor Sjöström. IMDb stops her filmography then, but the site of the Danish Film Institute informs us that Lili returned to Denmark. She remarried for the third time to Danish stage and film actor Hakon Ahnfelt-Ronne and a fourth time to a certain mr. Lundquist.
In 1920 she had her comeback as a film actress at the Nordisk company, where she would play in three films by Holger Madsen between 1920 and 1925, and after that in three films by August Blom.
Lili Beck died in 1939, aged 55.
In 1941, a fire in the archives of the Svenski Filmindustri destroyed the negatives and other related material of many of the Swedish films in which Lili Beck starred. Vingarne was one of the destroyed films.
With a script and frame prints on paper film historian Gösta Werner reconstructed the shape of the film and when in 1987 a copy of the central part of the film was found in Oslo, it was possible to reconstruct the film. This version was premiered at the Swedish Film Institute in 1987.
Victor Sjöström. French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 146.
Source: Det Danske Filminstitut (Danish), Richard Dyer/Julianne Pidduck (Now You See It), Wikipedia and .
November 29, 2013
Dobry vojak Svejk (1955)
Because of his brilliant puppet animations, Czech puppeteer and stop-motion film-maker Jiří Trnka (1912-1969) was called ‘the Walt Disney of Eastern Europe’. For Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (1955), he adapted the classic anti-war satire Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek.
Czechoslovakian postcard by Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin. Photo: still from the puppet animation film Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955), based on Jaroslav Hasek's famous novel.
Brothers in Tricks
Jiří Trnka was born in the city of Pilsen, Austria-Hungary (now Plzeň, Czech Republic) in 1912. From the moment he could hold a pencil, Trnka drew pictures. At secondary school, his drawing teacher was the puppeteer and man of the theater Josef Skupa.
Trnka studied at Prague's School of Arts and Crafts, and in 1936 he began a wooden puppet theatre on Prague’s Wenceslas Square, which was disbanded after the outbreak of WWII.
During the war he designed stage sets and illustrated Špalíček veršů a pohádek, a collection of Czech rhymes and fairy tales by František Hrubín.
In the immediate wake of World War II, Trnka founded Bratři v triku (Brothers in Tricks) with fellow animators Eduard Hofman and Jiří Brdečka. This studio, dedicated to the production of traditional, hand-drawn animation, lives on today.
Their first film was Zasadil dědek řepu (Grandpa Planted a Beet), followed by the puppet film Christmassy Betlém (Bethlehem), which captures the atmosphere of a Czech folk Christmas.
In 1947, Trnka made the puppet film Špalíček (The Czech Year), which told six separate folk tales of Czech life. It was a defining moment for Trnka as he won several international awards three years running across Europe.
Puppet animation is a traditional Czech art form, of which Trnka became the undisputed master. Most of his films were intended for adults and many were adaptations of literary works. These included feature length covering working-class traditions and national heroes, such as Bajaja/Prince Bayaya (1950), and Staré povesti ceské/Old Czech Legends (1953).
They made him an internationally recognized artist and the winner of film festival awards at Venice and elsewhere. He was a puppet-maker, a sculptor, and a set and stage designer. All of these talents were abundantly well utilised in his highly distinctive film work.
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-11. Retail price: Kcs 1,20. Sent by mail in 1973. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-3. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Ant-War Satire
To explore the classics of Czech literature, Jiří Trnka decided in 1955 to adapt to the screen the immensely popular novel Osudy dobreho vojaka Svejka za svetove valky (The Good Soldier Švejk) written by Jaroslav Hašek. This anti-war satire is the most translated novel of Czech literature.
At the time, there already existed film adaptations with real actors, such as Dobrý voják Švejk/The Last Bohemian (Martin Frič, 1931), starring Saša Rašilov as Švejk. Trnka however was the first to make an animated film about the bumbling soldier who earnestly attempts to follow orders.
For the construction of the puppets, Trnka was inspired by the illustrations for the original book made by Josef Lada, which in the popular imagination were closely associated with the characters of Hašek.
Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955) is divided into three episodes, which tell the grotesque adventures of Švejk during World War I. The narrator was Jan Werich. The humorous film received several awards at international festivals.
Trnka's masterpiece was Sen noci svatojánské/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Jirî Trnka, 1959), which was presented in Cannes in 1959, which made him the icon of ‘Eastern country’ animators. Cerise Howard at Senses of Cinema : “a stunningly beautiful, highly faithful adaptation of Shakespeare’s play. Several years in the making, the puppet animation is more liquid, more balletic than ever.”
Trnka's last film, Ruka/The Hand (Jirî Trnka, 1965), was an unexpected and surprising break in his work thus far. It was something completely new in content and form. The Hand is a merciless political allegory, which strictly follows story outline without developing lyrical details as usual.
In 1968, he received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustrators, recognizing his career contribution to children's literature.
Jiri Trnka died in 1969 in Prague, only 57 years old. Four months later, The Hand was banned; all copies were confiscated by the secret police, put in a safe and the film was forbidden for screening for the next twenty years.
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-4. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-5. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Sources: Cerise Howard (Senses of Cinema), Edgar Datko (Animation World Magazine),
Czechoslovakian postcard by Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin. Photo: still from the puppet animation film Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955), based on Jaroslav Hasek's famous novel.
Brothers in Tricks
Jiří Trnka was born in the city of Pilsen, Austria-Hungary (now Plzeň, Czech Republic) in 1912. From the moment he could hold a pencil, Trnka drew pictures. At secondary school, his drawing teacher was the puppeteer and man of the theater Josef Skupa.
Trnka studied at Prague's School of Arts and Crafts, and in 1936 he began a wooden puppet theatre on Prague’s Wenceslas Square, which was disbanded after the outbreak of WWII.
During the war he designed stage sets and illustrated Špalíček veršů a pohádek, a collection of Czech rhymes and fairy tales by František Hrubín.
In the immediate wake of World War II, Trnka founded Bratři v triku (Brothers in Tricks) with fellow animators Eduard Hofman and Jiří Brdečka. This studio, dedicated to the production of traditional, hand-drawn animation, lives on today.
Their first film was Zasadil dědek řepu (Grandpa Planted a Beet), followed by the puppet film Christmassy Betlém (Bethlehem), which captures the atmosphere of a Czech folk Christmas.
In 1947, Trnka made the puppet film Špalíček (The Czech Year), which told six separate folk tales of Czech life. It was a defining moment for Trnka as he won several international awards three years running across Europe.
Puppet animation is a traditional Czech art form, of which Trnka became the undisputed master. Most of his films were intended for adults and many were adaptations of literary works. These included feature length covering working-class traditions and national heroes, such as Bajaja/Prince Bayaya (1950), and Staré povesti ceské/Old Czech Legends (1953).
They made him an internationally recognized artist and the winner of film festival awards at Venice and elsewhere. He was a puppet-maker, a sculptor, and a set and stage designer. All of these talents were abundantly well utilised in his highly distinctive film work.
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-11. Retail price: Kcs 1,20. Sent by mail in 1973. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-3. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Ant-War Satire
To explore the classics of Czech literature, Jiří Trnka decided in 1955 to adapt to the screen the immensely popular novel Osudy dobreho vojaka Svejka za svetove valky (The Good Soldier Švejk) written by Jaroslav Hašek. This anti-war satire is the most translated novel of Czech literature.
At the time, there already existed film adaptations with real actors, such as Dobrý voják Švejk/The Last Bohemian (Martin Frič, 1931), starring Saša Rašilov as Švejk. Trnka however was the first to make an animated film about the bumbling soldier who earnestly attempts to follow orders.
For the construction of the puppets, Trnka was inspired by the illustrations for the original book made by Josef Lada, which in the popular imagination were closely associated with the characters of Hašek.
Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955) is divided into three episodes, which tell the grotesque adventures of Švejk during World War I. The narrator was Jan Werich. The humorous film received several awards at international festivals.
Trnka's masterpiece was Sen noci svatojánské/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Jirî Trnka, 1959), which was presented in Cannes in 1959, which made him the icon of ‘Eastern country’ animators. Cerise Howard at Senses of Cinema : “a stunningly beautiful, highly faithful adaptation of Shakespeare’s play. Several years in the making, the puppet animation is more liquid, more balletic than ever.”
Trnka's last film, Ruka/The Hand (Jirî Trnka, 1965), was an unexpected and surprising break in his work thus far. It was something completely new in content and form. The Hand is a merciless political allegory, which strictly follows story outline without developing lyrical details as usual.
In 1968, he received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustrators, recognizing his career contribution to children's literature.
Jiri Trnka died in 1969 in Prague, only 57 years old. Four months later, The Hand was banned; all copies were confiscated by the secret police, put in a safe and the film was forbidden for screening for the next twenty years.
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-4. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-5. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).
Sources: Cerise Howard (Senses of Cinema), Edgar Datko (Animation World Magazine),
November 28, 2013
New: Geoffrey Donaldson Instituut
Today, a new film institute will open its doors: the Geoffrey Donaldson Instituut (GDI) in the little town of Noordscharwoude in the Netherlands.
The GDI will promote research of film production, film screening and film culture in the Netherlands. The archive contains a large collection of films, books, photos, posters and other objects.
The institute is named after the first film historian of the Netherlands, Geoffrey Donaldson (1929-2002). Chairman of the board of GDI is our friend, film historian Egbert Barten.
To join today's festivities we present you ten wonderful postcards of Egbert Barten's collection, which will now be part of the GDI collection.
Truus van Aalten . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3618, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Maurice Chevalier . French postcard. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for Le petit café/Playboy of Paris (Ludwig Berger, 1931). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Hansje Andriesen. Dutch postcard by Monopole Film N.V. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Still for De Big van het Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Ernst Winar . Vintage postcard, no. 988/1. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Henkie Klein . Dutch postcard by B. Brouwer, Amsterdam. Photo: Bernard Eilers, Amsterdam. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Lya Mara . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 56/3, 1925-1926. Photo: Zelnik Film. Publicity still for An der schöne blauen Donau/The Beautiful Blue Danube (Friedrich Zelnik, 1926). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Jan van Ees, Esther de Boer-van Rijk. Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / M.H.D. Film. Publicity still for Op Hoop van Zegen (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1934). Collection Egbert Barten.
Lien Deyers . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5315/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Ufa. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Dutch postcard by Tobis filmdistributie N.V. Amsterdam. Photo: Tobis. Publicity still for La Kermesse Heroique (1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 4026. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Publicity still for The Diary of Anne Frank (George Stevens, 1959) with Millie Perkins. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Egbert, congratulations with the Geoffrey Donaldson Instituut . You've done it!
Today, it's also Postcard Friendship Friday on the net. A weekly event in which postcard blogs present themselves. Start at Beth's blog with the great title The Best Hearts Are Crunchy , and enjoy some rare vintage postcards that are preserved on the net by bloggers like me.
The GDI will promote research of film production, film screening and film culture in the Netherlands. The archive contains a large collection of films, books, photos, posters and other objects.
The institute is named after the first film historian of the Netherlands, Geoffrey Donaldson (1929-2002). Chairman of the board of GDI is our friend, film historian Egbert Barten.
To join today's festivities we present you ten wonderful postcards of Egbert Barten's collection, which will now be part of the GDI collection.
Truus van Aalten . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3618, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Maurice Chevalier . French postcard. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for Le petit café/Playboy of Paris (Ludwig Berger, 1931). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Hansje Andriesen. Dutch postcard by Monopole Film N.V. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Still for De Big van het Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Ernst Winar . Vintage postcard, no. 988/1. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Henkie Klein . Dutch postcard by B. Brouwer, Amsterdam. Photo: Bernard Eilers, Amsterdam. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Lya Mara . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 56/3, 1925-1926. Photo: Zelnik Film. Publicity still for An der schöne blauen Donau/The Beautiful Blue Danube (Friedrich Zelnik, 1926). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Jan van Ees, Esther de Boer-van Rijk. Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / M.H.D. Film. Publicity still for Op Hoop van Zegen (Alex Benno, Louis Saalborn, 1934). Collection Egbert Barten.
Lien Deyers . German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5315/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Ufa. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Dutch postcard by Tobis filmdistributie N.V. Amsterdam. Photo: Tobis. Publicity still for La Kermesse Heroique (1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 4026. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Publicity still for The Diary of Anne Frank (George Stevens, 1959) with Millie Perkins. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Egbert, congratulations with the Geoffrey Donaldson Instituut . You've done it!
Today, it's also Postcard Friendship Friday on the net. A weekly event in which postcard blogs present themselves. Start at Beth's blog with the great title The Best Hearts Are Crunchy , and enjoy some rare vintage postcards that are preserved on the net by bloggers like me.
November 27, 2013
Vanessa Paradis
Only 14, Vanessa Paradis (1972) became a child star with the worldwide hit single Joe le taxi (1987). Since then, the French beauty made several films and albums, became the face of Chanel, and was in a long relationship with Johnny Depp.
French postcard, no C 198.
French postcard, no CP. 104.
Sensual, Untamed, Mysterious and Frankly Disturbing
Vanessa Chantal Paradis was born in the Paris suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés in 1972, to interior designers André and Corinne Paradis. Her younger sister is actress Alysson Paradis.
Vanessa began to develop her singing career at the age of eight when her uncle, record producer Didier Pain, helped her appear on the local television program L'École des fans, a talent show for child singers.
She recorded her first single, La Magie des surprises-parties, in 1983 and performed it in an Italian festival in 1985. Although La Magie des surprises-parties was not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she became internationally famous, Joe le taxi (1987), when she was 14 years old.
Joe le taxi was no. 1 in France for 11 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the United Kingdom, where it reached no. 3. It was taken from her first album M&J (it stands for Marilyn & John) which, although it gained a number 13 placing in France, drew little attention in the UK and did not enter the chart.
From 1988 to 1991, Paradis dated French singer Florent Pagny. In March 1989, at age 16, she left high school in order to pursue her career. She released the album Variations sur le même t'aime in 1990, containing a remake of the Lou Reed song Walk on the Wild Side. The album was written by acclaimed French composer Serge Gainsbourg, whom she met when she received the best singer award at Les Victoires de la Musique in 1990.
Paradis made her film debut in Noce Blanche/White Wedding (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1990) with Bruno Cremer. For her role as a moody 17 year old girl in love with her 47 years old philosophy teacher, Paradis won the 1990 César Award for Most Promising Actress.
James Travers at French Film Guide : “Although a teenager when she made this, her first, film, she portrays her character with an uncanny maturity and natural spontaneity. Sensual, untamed, mysterious and frankly disturbing, Paradis brings new depth and meaning to the traditional femme fatale of French cinema.” Regrettably, the promising young actress then decided to give up acting and concentrate on a singing and modelling career.
French postcard, no. A068.
Swiss postcard by Editions de la Lune, no. VP 106, 1989. Photo: Patrick Rouchon.
Smitten Men All Over The World
In 1991, Vanessa Paradis signed a lucrative contract with Chanel to be the spokesperson for Coco, their latest endeavor. In an advertisement shot by Jean-Paul Goude, she was covered in black feathers, portraying a bird swinging in a cage.
In 1992, she moved to the United States to work with Lenny Kravitz, whom she also dated at the time. She started working on a new album in English, a language in which she was now fluent. Written and produced by Kravitz, the album, titled Vanessa Paradis, topped the French chart and briefly made the UK listings (number 45).
One of the singles from it was Be My Baby, which made number 5 in France and gave her another Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at no. 6. After the relationship with Kravitz ended, she dated French-Slovenian actor Stanislas Merhar, until their breakup in 1998.
In March 1993, Paradis started her first international tour, the Natural High Tour; she performed in France, England and Canada. In 1994, Live was released in France.
Paradis filmed Élisa (Jean Becker, 1995) with Gérard Depardieu as her father. The film was a big success in France.
Other films were Un amour de sorcière/Witch Way Love (René Manzor, 1997) with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, and Une chance sur deux/Half a Chance (Patrice Leconte, 1998), with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo .
The dreamy black-and-white romance La fille sur le Pont/Girl on the Bridge (Patrice Leconte, 1999) gave her worldwide the status as an emerging actress.
Jason Clark at AllMovie : “Playing the object of affection of acclaimed French actor Daniel Auteuil, Paradis earned rave reviews and a place in the hearts of smitten men all over the world.”
French postcard, no. C84.
French postcard, no C. 133.
Johnny
In Mon Ange/My Angel (Serge Frydman, 2004), Vanessa Paradis played a call girl in Amsterdam who reluctantly finds herself taking care of an orphaned teen-age boy after trying to do a favour for a fellow prostitute in trouble .
That same year Paradis promoted Chanel's new handbags called Ligne Cambon. The following year, she modelled for Chanel again for The New Mademoiselle handbag, and in 2008, she modelled for Miu Miu.
On the musical side, she was included in the French children's album and concert Le Soldat Rose (2006). In 2007 Paradis released the new album Divinidylle and started the Divinidylle Tour. Some concerts were filmed and a DVD/CD of the tour was released. Paradis won two Les Victoires de la Musique awards for this album in 2008.
Some of her later projects include the greatest hits CD Best of Vanessa Paradis, which includes the commercial jingle I love Paris in the Springtime.
In the cinema she starred in the romantic comedy L'arnacoeur/Heartbreaker (Pascal Chaumeil, 2010) featuring Romain Duris, and in the 3D animated musical adventure film Un monstre à Paris/A Monster in Paris (Bibo Bergeron, 2010).
In the Canadian film Café de Flore (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2011) she plays a single mother in the 1960s with a Down syndrome child. Paradis garnered a Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2012 Genie Awards (the Canadian Oscars).
She released an acoustic album Une nuit à Versailles (2011), recorded at L'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles. She also released Anthologie (2010), a set of DVDs with rare live performances and interviews from 1987–2007. In 2010, she also became the face of Chanel's new lipstick, Rouge Coco, and of their new handbag line Ranger. Her 2011 international tour included performances in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Turkey.
From 1998 to 2012, Paradis was in a relationship with American actor Johnny Depp. They have a daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp (1999), and a son, John Christopher ‘Jack’ Depp III (2002).
Vanessa Paradis was most recently seen in the films Dubaï Flamingo (Delphine Kreuter, 2012) with Sergi Lopéz, the comedy Je me suis fait tout petit/Low Profile (Cécilia Rouaud, 2012) and the psychological drama Cornouaille/House in Brittany (Anne Le Ny, 2012), with Samuel Le Bihan. In 2013 follows the American comedy Fading Gigolo (John Turturro, 2013) with Liev Schreiber and Woody Allen, and in 2014 Homosapiennes (Audrey Dana, 2014) with Laetitia Casta and Isabelle Adjani .
French postcard by Ed. F. Nugeron, no. Record 235. Photo: Paul Cox / London Features.
French postcard, no A067.
Sources: Jason Clark (AllMovie), James Travers (French Film Guide), Wikipedia and .
French postcard, no C 198.
French postcard, no CP. 104.
Sensual, Untamed, Mysterious and Frankly Disturbing
Vanessa Chantal Paradis was born in the Paris suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés in 1972, to interior designers André and Corinne Paradis. Her younger sister is actress Alysson Paradis.
Vanessa began to develop her singing career at the age of eight when her uncle, record producer Didier Pain, helped her appear on the local television program L'École des fans, a talent show for child singers.
She recorded her first single, La Magie des surprises-parties, in 1983 and performed it in an Italian festival in 1985. Although La Magie des surprises-parties was not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she became internationally famous, Joe le taxi (1987), when she was 14 years old.
Joe le taxi was no. 1 in France for 11 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the United Kingdom, where it reached no. 3. It was taken from her first album M&J (it stands for Marilyn & John) which, although it gained a number 13 placing in France, drew little attention in the UK and did not enter the chart.
From 1988 to 1991, Paradis dated French singer Florent Pagny. In March 1989, at age 16, she left high school in order to pursue her career. She released the album Variations sur le même t'aime in 1990, containing a remake of the Lou Reed song Walk on the Wild Side. The album was written by acclaimed French composer Serge Gainsbourg, whom she met when she received the best singer award at Les Victoires de la Musique in 1990.
Paradis made her film debut in Noce Blanche/White Wedding (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1990) with Bruno Cremer. For her role as a moody 17 year old girl in love with her 47 years old philosophy teacher, Paradis won the 1990 César Award for Most Promising Actress.
James Travers at French Film Guide : “Although a teenager when she made this, her first, film, she portrays her character with an uncanny maturity and natural spontaneity. Sensual, untamed, mysterious and frankly disturbing, Paradis brings new depth and meaning to the traditional femme fatale of French cinema.” Regrettably, the promising young actress then decided to give up acting and concentrate on a singing and modelling career.
French postcard, no. A068.
Swiss postcard by Editions de la Lune, no. VP 106, 1989. Photo: Patrick Rouchon.
Smitten Men All Over The World
In 1991, Vanessa Paradis signed a lucrative contract with Chanel to be the spokesperson for Coco, their latest endeavor. In an advertisement shot by Jean-Paul Goude, she was covered in black feathers, portraying a bird swinging in a cage.
In 1992, she moved to the United States to work with Lenny Kravitz, whom she also dated at the time. She started working on a new album in English, a language in which she was now fluent. Written and produced by Kravitz, the album, titled Vanessa Paradis, topped the French chart and briefly made the UK listings (number 45).
One of the singles from it was Be My Baby, which made number 5 in France and gave her another Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at no. 6. After the relationship with Kravitz ended, she dated French-Slovenian actor Stanislas Merhar, until their breakup in 1998.
In March 1993, Paradis started her first international tour, the Natural High Tour; she performed in France, England and Canada. In 1994, Live was released in France.
Paradis filmed Élisa (Jean Becker, 1995) with Gérard Depardieu as her father. The film was a big success in France.
Other films were Un amour de sorcière/Witch Way Love (René Manzor, 1997) with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, and Une chance sur deux/Half a Chance (Patrice Leconte, 1998), with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo .
The dreamy black-and-white romance La fille sur le Pont/Girl on the Bridge (Patrice Leconte, 1999) gave her worldwide the status as an emerging actress.
Jason Clark at AllMovie : “Playing the object of affection of acclaimed French actor Daniel Auteuil, Paradis earned rave reviews and a place in the hearts of smitten men all over the world.”
French postcard, no. C84.
French postcard, no C. 133.
Johnny
In Mon Ange/My Angel (Serge Frydman, 2004), Vanessa Paradis played a call girl in Amsterdam who reluctantly finds herself taking care of an orphaned teen-age boy after trying to do a favour for a fellow prostitute in trouble .
That same year Paradis promoted Chanel's new handbags called Ligne Cambon. The following year, she modelled for Chanel again for The New Mademoiselle handbag, and in 2008, she modelled for Miu Miu.
On the musical side, she was included in the French children's album and concert Le Soldat Rose (2006). In 2007 Paradis released the new album Divinidylle and started the Divinidylle Tour. Some concerts were filmed and a DVD/CD of the tour was released. Paradis won two Les Victoires de la Musique awards for this album in 2008.
Some of her later projects include the greatest hits CD Best of Vanessa Paradis, which includes the commercial jingle I love Paris in the Springtime.
In the cinema she starred in the romantic comedy L'arnacoeur/Heartbreaker (Pascal Chaumeil, 2010) featuring Romain Duris, and in the 3D animated musical adventure film Un monstre à Paris/A Monster in Paris (Bibo Bergeron, 2010).
In the Canadian film Café de Flore (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2011) she plays a single mother in the 1960s with a Down syndrome child. Paradis garnered a Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2012 Genie Awards (the Canadian Oscars).
She released an acoustic album Une nuit à Versailles (2011), recorded at L'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles. She also released Anthologie (2010), a set of DVDs with rare live performances and interviews from 1987–2007. In 2010, she also became the face of Chanel's new lipstick, Rouge Coco, and of their new handbag line Ranger. Her 2011 international tour included performances in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Turkey.
From 1998 to 2012, Paradis was in a relationship with American actor Johnny Depp. They have a daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp (1999), and a son, John Christopher ‘Jack’ Depp III (2002).
Vanessa Paradis was most recently seen in the films Dubaï Flamingo (Delphine Kreuter, 2012) with Sergi Lopéz, the comedy Je me suis fait tout petit/Low Profile (Cécilia Rouaud, 2012) and the psychological drama Cornouaille/House in Brittany (Anne Le Ny, 2012), with Samuel Le Bihan. In 2013 follows the American comedy Fading Gigolo (John Turturro, 2013) with Liev Schreiber and Woody Allen, and in 2014 Homosapiennes (Audrey Dana, 2014) with Laetitia Casta and Isabelle Adjani .
French postcard by Ed. F. Nugeron, no. Record 235. Photo: Paul Cox / London Features.
French postcard, no A067.
Sources: Jason Clark (AllMovie), James Travers (French Film Guide), Wikipedia and .
November 26, 2013
Hilde Krahl
Austrian actress Hilde Krahl (1917-1999) was one of the most demanded stars of the German cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. She could shine in nearly all genres.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 177, 1941-1944. Photo: Wesel / Berlin Film.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3386/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Binz / Tobis.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 202, 1941-1944. Photo: Berlin Film.
Der Postmeister
Hilde Krahl was born as Hildegard Kolacný in Brod in former Austria-Hungary (now Slavonski Brod, Croatia) in 1917. She was the daughter of railway engineer Alois Kolacny and his wife Paula née Kolb.
She grew up in Vienna and after finishing her acting studies Hilde made her stage debut in 1936 at the Cabaret Literatur am Naschmarkt in Vienna. Eventually followed an engagement at the Theater in der Josefstadt where she would play till 1966.
Her film career also began in 1936. She made her film debut with Die Puppenfee/The Fairy Doll (E. W. Emo, 1936) and was convincing in her next role in Mädchenpensionat/Girls' Boarding School (Géza von Bolváry, 1936).
Soon she got bigger roles and was successful starring in films like Serenade (Willi Forst, 1937) with Albert Matterstock , Gastspiel im Paradies/Guest Performance in Paradise (Karl Hartl, 1938) and Der Weg zu Isabel/The Road to Isabel (Erich Engel, 1940) with Ewald Balser.
Her great breakthrough was the Alexander Pushkin adaptation Der Postmeister/The Stationmaster (Gustav Ucicky, 1940). She played Dunja, the daughter of stationmaster Heinrich George. From then on she belonged to the most demanded stars of the German language cinema.
German postcard by Argenta. Photo: publicity still for Der Postmeister/The Stationmaster (Gustav Ucicky, 1940).
Spanish card by Cifesa.
German postcard by Verlag und Druckerei Erwin Preuss, Dresden-Freital, serie 1, no. 16. Photo: Charlott Serda.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9922/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Styria-Film.
Clara Schumann
Till the end of the war Hilde Krahl appeared in films like Komödianten/The Comedians (1941, Georg Wilhelm Pabst) opposite Käthe Dorsch , and Anuschka (Helmut Käutner, 1942) with Siegfried Breuer.
She played Clara Wieck Schumann in Träumerei/Daydream (Harald Braun, 1944) with Mathias Wieman as her husband, composer Robert Schumann.
From 1938 till 1944 Hilde also worked for the Deutschen Theater (German Theater) in Berlin under Heinz Hilpert.
In 1944 she married director Ufa head of production, Wolfgang Liebeneiner , with whom she had worked before on Das Andere Ich/The Other Me (1941) and Grossstadtmelodie/Melody of a Great City (1943).
Belgian postcard by Tobis, Brussel.Photo: Tobis.
German postcard by Ross Verlag. Photo: Tobis / Haenchen.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, enclosed in Das Programm von Heute, Zeitschrift für Film und Theater G.m.b.H., Berlin. Photo: Tobis / Haenchen.
Vintage postcard.
Versatile
After the war Hilde Krahl became a versatile actress who could play in nearly all genres. At the theater as well as in films she got demanding roles which she always fulfilled.
In Liebe 47/Love' 47 ( Wolfgang Liebeneiner , 1949) she played the companion of a physically and emotionally torn soldier returning from war captivity.
To her well-known films of the 1950s belong Schatten der Nacht/Night Shadows (Eugen York, 1950), Weiße Schatten/White Shadows (Helmut Käutner, 1951), and Der Weibsteufel/A Devil of a Woman ( Wolfgang Liebeneiner , 1951).
In Herz der Welt/No Greater Love (Harald Braun, 1952) she appeared as the courageous writer and first Nobel Peace Prize winner Bertha von Suttner.
Other films were 1. April 2000 ( Wolfgang Liebeneiner , 1952), Die Mücke/The Mosquito (Walter Reisch, 1954), Kinder, Mütter und ein General/Children, Mother, and the General (Laslo Benedek, 1955) and Das Glas Wasser/A Glass of Water (Helmut Käutner, 1960), for which she won the Filmband im Gold award.
In the following decades she worked mainly for television. In 1989 she won again the Filmband im Gold, a German honorary award for her contributions to the German film.
Her last part was in the TV series Bruder Esel/Brother Donkey (1996).
Hilde Krahl died in 1999, in Vienna, Austria. Her daughter Johanna Liebeneiner is also a well known actress.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3633/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Binz / Tobis.
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2.048, 1964. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Progress.
German postcard by DLF. Promotion card for Ewiger Walzer/The Eternal Waltz (Paul Verhoeven, 1954) with Bernhard Wicki.
Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Flixter, Wikipedia (German) and .
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 177, 1941-1944. Photo: Wesel / Berlin Film.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3386/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Binz / Tobis.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 202, 1941-1944. Photo: Berlin Film.
Der Postmeister
Hilde Krahl was born as Hildegard Kolacný in Brod in former Austria-Hungary (now Slavonski Brod, Croatia) in 1917. She was the daughter of railway engineer Alois Kolacny and his wife Paula née Kolb.
She grew up in Vienna and after finishing her acting studies Hilde made her stage debut in 1936 at the Cabaret Literatur am Naschmarkt in Vienna. Eventually followed an engagement at the Theater in der Josefstadt where she would play till 1966.
Her film career also began in 1936. She made her film debut with Die Puppenfee/The Fairy Doll (E. W. Emo, 1936) and was convincing in her next role in Mädchenpensionat/Girls' Boarding School (Géza von Bolváry, 1936).
Soon she got bigger roles and was successful starring in films like Serenade (Willi Forst, 1937) with Albert Matterstock , Gastspiel im Paradies/Guest Performance in Paradise (Karl Hartl, 1938) and Der Weg zu Isabel/The Road to Isabel (Erich Engel, 1940) with Ewald Balser.
Her great breakthrough was the Alexander Pushkin adaptation Der Postmeister/The Stationmaster (Gustav Ucicky, 1940). She played Dunja, the daughter of stationmaster Heinrich George. From then on she belonged to the most demanded stars of the German language cinema.
German postcard by Argenta. Photo: publicity still for Der Postmeister/The Stationmaster (Gustav Ucicky, 1940).
Spanish card by Cifesa.
German postcard by Verlag und Druckerei Erwin Preuss, Dresden-Freital, serie 1, no. 16. Photo: Charlott Serda.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9922/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Styria-Film.
Clara Schumann
Till the end of the war Hilde Krahl appeared in films like Komödianten/The Comedians (1941, Georg Wilhelm Pabst) opposite Käthe Dorsch , and Anuschka (Helmut Käutner, 1942) with Siegfried Breuer.
She played Clara Wieck Schumann in Träumerei/Daydream (Harald Braun, 1944) with Mathias Wieman as her husband, composer Robert Schumann.
From 1938 till 1944 Hilde also worked for the Deutschen Theater (German Theater) in Berlin under Heinz Hilpert.
In 1944 she married director Ufa head of production, Wolfgang Liebeneiner , with whom she had worked before on Das Andere Ich/The Other Me (1941) and Grossstadtmelodie/Melody of a Great City (1943).
Belgian postcard by Tobis, Brussel.Photo: Tobis.
German postcard by Ross Verlag. Photo: Tobis / Haenchen.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, enclosed in Das Programm von Heute, Zeitschrift für Film und Theater G.m.b.H., Berlin. Photo: Tobis / Haenchen.
Vintage postcard.
Versatile
After the war Hilde Krahl became a versatile actress who could play in nearly all genres. At the theater as well as in films she got demanding roles which she always fulfilled.
In Liebe 47/Love' 47 ( Wolfgang Liebeneiner , 1949) she played the companion of a physically and emotionally torn soldier returning from war captivity.
To her well-known films of the 1950s belong Schatten der Nacht/Night Shadows (Eugen York, 1950), Weiße Schatten/White Shadows (Helmut Käutner, 1951), and Der Weibsteufel/A Devil of a Woman ( Wolfgang Liebeneiner , 1951).
In Herz der Welt/No Greater Love (Harald Braun, 1952) she appeared as the courageous writer and first Nobel Peace Prize winner Bertha von Suttner.
Other films were 1. April 2000 ( Wolfgang Liebeneiner , 1952), Die Mücke/The Mosquito (Walter Reisch, 1954), Kinder, Mütter und ein General/Children, Mother, and the General (Laslo Benedek, 1955) and Das Glas Wasser/A Glass of Water (Helmut Käutner, 1960), for which she won the Filmband im Gold award.
In the following decades she worked mainly for television. In 1989 she won again the Filmband im Gold, a German honorary award for her contributions to the German film.
Her last part was in the TV series Bruder Esel/Brother Donkey (1996).
Hilde Krahl died in 1999, in Vienna, Austria. Her daughter Johanna Liebeneiner is also a well known actress.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3633/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Binz / Tobis.
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2.048, 1964. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Progress.
German postcard by DLF. Promotion card for Ewiger Walzer/The Eternal Waltz (Paul Verhoeven, 1954) with Bernhard Wicki.
Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Flixter, Wikipedia (German) and .
November 25, 2013
Gertrud Arnold
Gertrud Arnold (1873-1931) was a German stage and screen actress.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 672/3. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. Publicity still of Gertrud Arnold as Queen Ute in Fritz Lang's silent film Die Nibelungen (1924).
Queen Ute
When she was 20, Gertrud Arnold trained as an actress in Berlin. She had her first engagement in 1894 in Cottbus, followed by engagements in theatres in Jena, Halle and Hannover.
In 1911 she reached Berlin, where she performed a.o. at the Schillertheater and the Theater am Nollendorfplatz. Memorable parts were those of Iphigenie in Iphigenie auf Tauris, Lady Milford in Kabale und Liebe, and Anna Mahr in Gerhart Hauptmann's Einsame Menschen.
As of 1914 she also acted on screen. Her debut was probably in Pauline (Henri Etievant, 1914). A unique copy of this Vitascope film was found back in the Desmet Collection of the Netherlands Filmmuseum (now EYE).
Between 1921 and 1930, Gertrud acted in various silent German films, mostly as the elder woman. Her most important performance being that of Queen Ute in Die Nibelungen (Fritz Lang, 1924).
After that she played Matten in Zur Chronik von Grieshuus (Arthur von Gerlach, 1925), set in 1700 and starring Paul Hartmann , Lil Dagover , and Rudolf Forster.
Other memorable films were Im Namen des Kaisers (Robert Dinesen, 1925), the Austrian film Die Wiskottens (Arthur Bergen, 1926), Die Königin des Weltbades (Victor Janson, 1926) and the early sound film Rosenmontag (Hans Steinhoff, 1930) with Lien Deyers
Her last film was Brand in der Oper (Carl Froehlich, 1931) with Gustav Froehlich .
Gertrud Arnold died in Berlin in 1931.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 677/3. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. At the beginning of part 2 of Die Nibelungen, Kriemhild's Rache - after Siegfried has been killed by Hagen von Tronje - Margrave Rüdiger von Bechlam (Rudolf Ritttner) swears loyalty to the vengeful Kriemhild (Margarete Schön) in Fritz Lang's silent film Die Nibelungen (1924).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 673/6, 1919-1924. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. Publicity still for Die Nibelungen (1924, Fritz Lang) with Margarete Schön as Kriemhild near the corpse of Siegfried ( Paul Richter ). She points at the traitor Hagen Tronje ( Hans Adalbert Schlettow ). Her brother, king Gunther ( Theodor Loos ), is standing next to her.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 671/8, 1919-1924. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. Publicity still for Die Nibelungen 2: Kriemhilds Rache/Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (Fritz Lang, 1924). Kriemhild (Margarete Schön) has gotten the deathblow. In the back, king Hetzel ( Rudolf Klein-Rogge ) looks in astonishment.
Source: Wikipedia (German).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 672/3. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. Publicity still of Gertrud Arnold as Queen Ute in Fritz Lang's silent film Die Nibelungen (1924).
Queen Ute
When she was 20, Gertrud Arnold trained as an actress in Berlin. She had her first engagement in 1894 in Cottbus, followed by engagements in theatres in Jena, Halle and Hannover.
In 1911 she reached Berlin, where she performed a.o. at the Schillertheater and the Theater am Nollendorfplatz. Memorable parts were those of Iphigenie in Iphigenie auf Tauris, Lady Milford in Kabale und Liebe, and Anna Mahr in Gerhart Hauptmann's Einsame Menschen.
As of 1914 she also acted on screen. Her debut was probably in Pauline (Henri Etievant, 1914). A unique copy of this Vitascope film was found back in the Desmet Collection of the Netherlands Filmmuseum (now EYE).
Between 1921 and 1930, Gertrud acted in various silent German films, mostly as the elder woman. Her most important performance being that of Queen Ute in Die Nibelungen (Fritz Lang, 1924).
After that she played Matten in Zur Chronik von Grieshuus (Arthur von Gerlach, 1925), set in 1700 and starring Paul Hartmann , Lil Dagover , and Rudolf Forster.
Other memorable films were Im Namen des Kaisers (Robert Dinesen, 1925), the Austrian film Die Wiskottens (Arthur Bergen, 1926), Die Königin des Weltbades (Victor Janson, 1926) and the early sound film Rosenmontag (Hans Steinhoff, 1930) with Lien Deyers
Her last film was Brand in der Oper (Carl Froehlich, 1931) with Gustav Froehlich .
Gertrud Arnold died in Berlin in 1931.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 677/3. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. At the beginning of part 2 of Die Nibelungen, Kriemhild's Rache - after Siegfried has been killed by Hagen von Tronje - Margrave Rüdiger von Bechlam (Rudolf Ritttner) swears loyalty to the vengeful Kriemhild (Margarete Schön) in Fritz Lang's silent film Die Nibelungen (1924).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 673/6, 1919-1924. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. Publicity still for Die Nibelungen (1924, Fritz Lang) with Margarete Schön as Kriemhild near the corpse of Siegfried ( Paul Richter ). She points at the traitor Hagen Tronje ( Hans Adalbert Schlettow ). Her brother, king Gunther ( Theodor Loos ), is standing next to her.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 671/8, 1919-1924. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. Publicity still for Die Nibelungen 2: Kriemhilds Rache/Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (Fritz Lang, 1924). Kriemhild (Margarete Schön) has gotten the deathblow. In the back, king Hetzel ( Rudolf Klein-Rogge ) looks in astonishment.
Source: Wikipedia (German).
November 24, 2013
Dorian Gray
Dorian Gray (1928-2011) was a very elegant Italian actress in films by Michelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini. She was also sexy seductress in comedies with Totò. In 1965, Gray completely vanished from the public eye.
Italian postcard in the 'Hobby' series by Bromostampa, Milano, no. 1181/5310.
Seductive Sex Kitten
Dorian Gray was born as Maria Luisa Mangini in Bolzano, Italy in 1928.
Gray made her stage debut in 1950, and quickly became a known and acclaimed actress. However, after only five years she left the world of the theatre and devoted herself to the cinema.
In 1951, she already had made her film debut in the crime drama Amo un assassin/Appointment for Murder (Baccio Bandini, 1951) with Delia Scala.
The role she played most often in films was that of a seductive sex kitten in comedies like Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge/Totò, Peppino and the outlaws (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1956). For this film Peppino De Filippo was awarded with a Silver Ribbon for best supporting actor.
She played another titular ‘bad girl’ in Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina/Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1956). It was the top grossing film of the year in Italy and is now considered as one of the classics of Italian comedy.
The following year, she had the chance to demonstrate her dramatic talents in Michelangelo Antonioni's Il grido/The Cry (1957). She co-starred with starring Steve Cochran, Alida Valli and Betsy Blair to great critical acclaim.
At the peak of her popularity, she also took part in Le notti di Cabiria/Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957) featuring Giulietta Masina . The film was loaded with awards, including an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film in 1958.
Giulietta Masina . Italian postcard by Casa Edite. Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze (Florence), no. 3180. Photo: Titanus. Publicity still for Il Bidone/The Swindle (Federico Fellini, 1955).
Suicide By Gunshot
After 1957, Dorian Gray made several more films, but none ever had the shine of her works of 1956 and 1957.
She starred with Vittorio Gassman in the comedy Il mattatore/Love and Larceny (Dino Risi, 1960).
She also played in one of the Peplums of that era, La regina delle Amazzoni/Colossus and the Amazons (Vittorio Sala, 1960) In this Italian sword and sandal satirical comedy she starred opposite two actors imported from America, Rod Taylor and bodybuilder Ed Fury.
She was among the all-star cast of the whodunit-comedy Crimen/...And Suddenly It's Murder! (Mario Camerini, 1960).
She played the love interest of Foreign Legion captain Stewart Granger in the action drama, Marcia o crepa/Commando (Frank Wisbar,1962), set during the Algerian War. Her career ended by choice soon thereafter.
In 1965, she made her final film, Fango sulla metropolis/City Criminals (Gino Mangini, 1965) with Tony Kendall.
That year, awaiting the birth of her son, she retired completely from acting. She never made another public appearance.
In 2011, Dorian Gray committed suicide by gunshot at her home in Torcegno. She was 83 years old. IMDb and other media, however, report her age as 75, since she herself claimed to have been born in 1936.
Trailer Il Grido (1957). Source Danios 12345 (YouTube).
Trailer Le notti di Cabiria/Nights of Cabiria (1957). Source: TrailerItaliano (YouTube).
Sources: AllMovie, Wikipedia and .
Italian postcard in the 'Hobby' series by Bromostampa, Milano, no. 1181/5310.
Seductive Sex Kitten
Dorian Gray was born as Maria Luisa Mangini in Bolzano, Italy in 1928.
Gray made her stage debut in 1950, and quickly became a known and acclaimed actress. However, after only five years she left the world of the theatre and devoted herself to the cinema.
In 1951, she already had made her film debut in the crime drama Amo un assassin/Appointment for Murder (Baccio Bandini, 1951) with Delia Scala.
The role she played most often in films was that of a seductive sex kitten in comedies like Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge/Totò, Peppino and the outlaws (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1956). For this film Peppino De Filippo was awarded with a Silver Ribbon for best supporting actor.
She played another titular ‘bad girl’ in Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina/Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1956). It was the top grossing film of the year in Italy and is now considered as one of the classics of Italian comedy.
The following year, she had the chance to demonstrate her dramatic talents in Michelangelo Antonioni's Il grido/The Cry (1957). She co-starred with starring Steve Cochran, Alida Valli and Betsy Blair to great critical acclaim.
At the peak of her popularity, she also took part in Le notti di Cabiria/Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957) featuring Giulietta Masina . The film was loaded with awards, including an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film in 1958.
Giulietta Masina . Italian postcard by Casa Edite. Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze (Florence), no. 3180. Photo: Titanus. Publicity still for Il Bidone/The Swindle (Federico Fellini, 1955).
Suicide By Gunshot
After 1957, Dorian Gray made several more films, but none ever had the shine of her works of 1956 and 1957.
She starred with Vittorio Gassman in the comedy Il mattatore/Love and Larceny (Dino Risi, 1960).
She also played in one of the Peplums of that era, La regina delle Amazzoni/Colossus and the Amazons (Vittorio Sala, 1960) In this Italian sword and sandal satirical comedy she starred opposite two actors imported from America, Rod Taylor and bodybuilder Ed Fury.
She was among the all-star cast of the whodunit-comedy Crimen/...And Suddenly It's Murder! (Mario Camerini, 1960).
She played the love interest of Foreign Legion captain Stewart Granger in the action drama, Marcia o crepa/Commando (Frank Wisbar,1962), set during the Algerian War. Her career ended by choice soon thereafter.
In 1965, she made her final film, Fango sulla metropolis/City Criminals (Gino Mangini, 1965) with Tony Kendall.
That year, awaiting the birth of her son, she retired completely from acting. She never made another public appearance.
In 2011, Dorian Gray committed suicide by gunshot at her home in Torcegno. She was 83 years old. IMDb and other media, however, report her age as 75, since she herself claimed to have been born in 1936.
Trailer Il Grido (1957). Source Danios 12345 (YouTube).
Trailer Le notti di Cabiria/Nights of Cabiria (1957). Source: TrailerItaliano (YouTube).
Sources: AllMovie, Wikipedia and .
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