Paul van Yperen's Blog, page 443
September 26, 2013
Adolphe Engers
Every year during the last week of September, Utrecht is the Dutch capital of film with the Netherlands Film Festival. During the festival, EFSP provides you daily with postcards of Dutch films and stars from the past. Today's star is Adolphe Engers (1884-1945), who appeared in some 55 German and Dutch films during the 1920s and 1930s.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3186/1, 1928-1929. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Extra for the Comédie-Française
Adolphe Engers was born in 1884 in Gulpen, in the south of the Netherlands. He was the son of a policeman, and attended a trade school in Elberfeld, Germany. There he also took acting classes from Max Martersteig. He returned to the Netherlands and worked a while for an insurance company.
Soon he moved to Paris and started to work as an extra for French theatre companies like the Comédie-Française. In Paris he made also his first film appearances. In 1912 he returned to Holland and got employ here as a stage actor. He also worked as a translator, in particular of the works of Franz Molnar.
Engers made his Dutch film debut with De Kroon der schande/The Crown of Shame (Maurits Binger, 1918) before he appeared in the British-Dutch production Fate's Plaything/Wat eeuwig blijft (Maurits Binger, B.E. Doxat-Pratt, 1920) and the Dutch production De Bruut/The Brute (Theo Frenkel, 1922).
Ernst Winar . Vintage postcard, no. 988/1. Collection: Egbert Barten. The Dutch actor-director Ernst Winar directed Adolphe Engers in the silent Flappy serial in Berlin, and later again in Holland in the film musical Op stap/On the Road (1935).
Asta Nielsen
In 1920 Adolphe Engers moved to Germany where he became a very busy film actor. He played in well-known films like Die Benefiz-Vorstellung der vier Teufel/The Benefit performance of the Four Devils (A.W. Sandberg, 1920), Die Geliebte Roswolskys/The Lover of Roswolky (Felix Basch, 1921) starring the Danish diva Asta Nielsen , Sie und die Drei/She and the Three (Ewald André Dupont, 1922) starring Henny Porten , Der Frauenkönig/The King of the Ladies (Jaap Speyer, 1923), Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s delicious comedy Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs/Finances of the Grand Duke (1924), Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of That Pompadour Woman (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924) and Elegantes Pack/Elegant Suit (Jaap Speyer, 1925).
Adolphe Engers was also very successful with his leading role in the Flappy serial, three short films directed by Dutch director Ernst Winar for the Berliner Terra Film AG. Winar directed him also in the Dutch-German crime film De man op den Achtergrond/Der Mann im Hintergrund/The Man in the Background (Ernst Winar, 1923).
In the second part of the 1920s the impressive actor went on to appear in such films as Der Prinz und die Tänzerin/The Prince and the Dancer (Richard Eichberg, 1926) with Hans Albers , Die Fahrt ins Abenteuer/The Wooing of Eve (Max Mack, 1926) with Ossi Oswalda and Willy Fritsch , Gehetzte Frauen/Badgered Women (Richard Oswald, 1927) again opposite Asta Nielsen , Die Königin seines Herzens/The Queen of His Heart (Victor Janson, 1928) with Liane Haid , Don Juan in der Mädchenschule/Don Juan in the Girls’ School ( Reinhold Schünzel , 1928), Sündig und süss/Sinful and Sweet (Carl Lamac, 1929) with Anny Ondra , and Sensation im Wintergarten/Their Son (Joe May, Gennaro Righelli, 1929) till the end of the silent era. He also appeared on stage, e.g. at the Deutschen Künstlertheater.
Dutch vintage postcard by Monopole Film NV. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Still for De Big van het Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Berufsverbot
The sound film meant the end of Adolphe Enger's film career in Germany. After a tour through the Dutch Indies, he returned to Holland where he co-wrote and played the lead in the film Terra Nova/New Land (Gerard Rutten, 1932). This fisher drama was meant as the first Dutch sound film, but disappeared completely after differences about the result between the director and the producer.
In the following years, Engers acted regularly in front of the camera, while the Dutch film industry blossomed and many German emigrants started to work here. Engers appeared in the musical Op stap/On the Road ( Ernst Winar , 1935) with Fien de la Mar , the military comedy De Big van het regiment/The Mascot of the Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935) with Frits van Dongen a.k.a. Philip Dorn, Op een avond in mei/One Evening in May (Jaap Speyer, 1936), Veertig Jaren/Forty Years (Johan De Meester, Edmond T. Gréville, 1938) and as a nervous magician in the comic thriller De spooktrein/The Ghost Train (Carl Lamac, 1939), again co-starring with Fien de la Mar .
In the 1930s he was also active as an author of stage plays and novels like Ardjoena - Indische roman (1936). He also gave acting classes at the Conservatory of The Hague. At the start of World War II, he was a member of the stage company De Komedianten (The Comedians), but the Nazis gave the half Jewish Engers a Berufsverbot.
Engers last film was a curiosity he made while hiding for the Nazis. Moord in het modehuis/Murder in the Fashion Store (Alfred Mazure, Piet van der Ham, 1943), was a film version of Mazure’s popular detective comic Dick Bos. The film would never be shown in the cinema. One of the reasons was that Mazure refused to make a Nazi of his hero.
Adolphe Engers died in 1945 in The Hague. In 1991 suddenly a copy of his lost film Terra Nova (1932) was found. The former Dutch Filmmuseum (now Eye) reconstructed the film, added a new score to it and reissued the film in 1994.
Dutch vintage postcard by Monopole Film NV. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Still for De Big van het Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Source: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Filmtotaal.nl (Dutch), Wikipedia (German) and .
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3186/1, 1928-1929. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Extra for the Comédie-Française
Adolphe Engers was born in 1884 in Gulpen, in the south of the Netherlands. He was the son of a policeman, and attended a trade school in Elberfeld, Germany. There he also took acting classes from Max Martersteig. He returned to the Netherlands and worked a while for an insurance company.
Soon he moved to Paris and started to work as an extra for French theatre companies like the Comédie-Française. In Paris he made also his first film appearances. In 1912 he returned to Holland and got employ here as a stage actor. He also worked as a translator, in particular of the works of Franz Molnar.
Engers made his Dutch film debut with De Kroon der schande/The Crown of Shame (Maurits Binger, 1918) before he appeared in the British-Dutch production Fate's Plaything/Wat eeuwig blijft (Maurits Binger, B.E. Doxat-Pratt, 1920) and the Dutch production De Bruut/The Brute (Theo Frenkel, 1922).
Ernst Winar . Vintage postcard, no. 988/1. Collection: Egbert Barten. The Dutch actor-director Ernst Winar directed Adolphe Engers in the silent Flappy serial in Berlin, and later again in Holland in the film musical Op stap/On the Road (1935).
Asta Nielsen
In 1920 Adolphe Engers moved to Germany where he became a very busy film actor. He played in well-known films like Die Benefiz-Vorstellung der vier Teufel/The Benefit performance of the Four Devils (A.W. Sandberg, 1920), Die Geliebte Roswolskys/The Lover of Roswolky (Felix Basch, 1921) starring the Danish diva Asta Nielsen , Sie und die Drei/She and the Three (Ewald André Dupont, 1922) starring Henny Porten , Der Frauenkönig/The King of the Ladies (Jaap Speyer, 1923), Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s delicious comedy Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs/Finances of the Grand Duke (1924), Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of That Pompadour Woman (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924) and Elegantes Pack/Elegant Suit (Jaap Speyer, 1925).
Adolphe Engers was also very successful with his leading role in the Flappy serial, three short films directed by Dutch director Ernst Winar for the Berliner Terra Film AG. Winar directed him also in the Dutch-German crime film De man op den Achtergrond/Der Mann im Hintergrund/The Man in the Background (Ernst Winar, 1923).
In the second part of the 1920s the impressive actor went on to appear in such films as Der Prinz und die Tänzerin/The Prince and the Dancer (Richard Eichberg, 1926) with Hans Albers , Die Fahrt ins Abenteuer/The Wooing of Eve (Max Mack, 1926) with Ossi Oswalda and Willy Fritsch , Gehetzte Frauen/Badgered Women (Richard Oswald, 1927) again opposite Asta Nielsen , Die Königin seines Herzens/The Queen of His Heart (Victor Janson, 1928) with Liane Haid , Don Juan in der Mädchenschule/Don Juan in the Girls’ School ( Reinhold Schünzel , 1928), Sündig und süss/Sinful and Sweet (Carl Lamac, 1929) with Anny Ondra , and Sensation im Wintergarten/Their Son (Joe May, Gennaro Righelli, 1929) till the end of the silent era. He also appeared on stage, e.g. at the Deutschen Künstlertheater.
Dutch vintage postcard by Monopole Film NV. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Still for De Big van het Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Berufsverbot
The sound film meant the end of Adolphe Enger's film career in Germany. After a tour through the Dutch Indies, he returned to Holland where he co-wrote and played the lead in the film Terra Nova/New Land (Gerard Rutten, 1932). This fisher drama was meant as the first Dutch sound film, but disappeared completely after differences about the result between the director and the producer.
In the following years, Engers acted regularly in front of the camera, while the Dutch film industry blossomed and many German emigrants started to work here. Engers appeared in the musical Op stap/On the Road ( Ernst Winar , 1935) with Fien de la Mar , the military comedy De Big van het regiment/The Mascot of the Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935) with Frits van Dongen a.k.a. Philip Dorn, Op een avond in mei/One Evening in May (Jaap Speyer, 1936), Veertig Jaren/Forty Years (Johan De Meester, Edmond T. Gréville, 1938) and as a nervous magician in the comic thriller De spooktrein/The Ghost Train (Carl Lamac, 1939), again co-starring with Fien de la Mar .
In the 1930s he was also active as an author of stage plays and novels like Ardjoena - Indische roman (1936). He also gave acting classes at the Conservatory of The Hague. At the start of World War II, he was a member of the stage company De Komedianten (The Comedians), but the Nazis gave the half Jewish Engers a Berufsverbot.
Engers last film was a curiosity he made while hiding for the Nazis. Moord in het modehuis/Murder in the Fashion Store (Alfred Mazure, Piet van der Ham, 1943), was a film version of Mazure’s popular detective comic Dick Bos. The film would never be shown in the cinema. One of the reasons was that Mazure refused to make a Nazi of his hero.
Adolphe Engers died in 1945 in The Hague. In 1991 suddenly a copy of his lost film Terra Nova (1932) was found. The former Dutch Filmmuseum (now Eye) reconstructed the film, added a new score to it and reissued the film in 1994.
Dutch vintage postcard by Monopole Film NV. Photo: Dick van Maarseveen. Still for De Big van het Regiment (Max Nosseck, 1935). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Source: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Filmtotaal.nl (Dutch), Wikipedia (German) and .
September 25, 2013
Jeroen Krabbé
Every year during the last week of September, Utrecht is the Dutch capital of film with the Netherlands Film Festival. During the festival, EFSP provides you daily with postcards of Dutch films and stars from the past. Burly, handsome Dutch actor and film director Jeroen Krabbé (1944) appeared in many Dutch and international films. He had his international breakthrough with two Dutch films by Paul Verhoeven, and later played the villain in the James Bond film The Living Daylights (1987).
Dutch postcard.
The Most Expensive Dutch Film Ever
Jeroen Aart Krabbé was born into an artistic family in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1944. He was the son of Margreet (née Reiss), a Jewish film translator, and Maarten Krabbé, a well-known painter. After studies at the Rietveld Academy of Art, Amsterdam (1961-1962), Krabbé changed course and went to Drama School in Amsterdam, graduating in 1965.
In 1963, he made his film debut in the comedy Fietsen naar de maan/Bicycling to the Moon (Jef van der Heyden, 1963). Other early film appearances were in the German-Dutch comedy Professor Columbus (Rainer Erler, 1968) with Rudolf Platte , the American family film The Little Ark (James B. Clark, 1972) based on a novel by Jan de Hartog about the big flood in 1953 which struck a big part of The Netherlands, and the Dutch production Alicia (Wim Verstappen, 1974). However, Krabbé was mainly active on stage and TV. He founded a touring theatre company, directed plays, worked as a costume designer, and translated foreign plays into Dutch.
Internationally he first came to prominence in Paul Verhoeven's Dutch film Soldaat van Oranje/Soldier of Orange (1977) opposite Rutger Hauer. Soldaat van Oranje is set during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, and shows how individual students have different roles in the war. The film had a budget of ƒ 5,000,000 (€2,300,000), at the time the most expensive Dutch film ever. With 1,547,183 viewers, it was the most popular Dutch film of 1977 and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980. In the election for best Dutch film of the twentieth century at the Netherlands Film Festival in 1999 Soldaat van Oranje/Soldier of Orange reached the second place, right after another Paul Verhoeven film Turks fruit/Turkish Delight (1973). Krabbé had a supporting part in Verhoeven’s Spetters (Paul Verhoeven, 1980), which was a small success in the US.
He played the lead in Een Vlucht Regenwulpen/A Flight of Rainbirds (Ate de Jong, 1981) and in the terrific erotic thriller De vierde man/The Fourth Man (Paul Verhoeven, 1983). In the latter Renée Soutendijk plays a woman who may or may not have killed her three previous husbands. Krabbe is the intended fourth, a broken-down bisexual writer who is pulled into Soutendijk's web like an unsuspecting fly. De vierde man/The Fourth Man was a decent box office hit in the Netherlands, and was even more successful in the United States, where it received widespread critical acclaim. This helped to launch Krabbé’s international career.
Rudolf Platte . German postcard by Rüdel-Verlag. Photo: CCC / Gloria.
James Bond Villain
Jeroen Krabbé had already started to work in international productions. He had a part in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries World War III (Boris Sagal, David Greene, 1982) with Rock Hudson and David Soul. In Great-Britain he played Ben Kingsley’s neighbour in the drama Turtle Diary (John Irvin, 1985) based on a screenplay adapted by Harold Pinter from Russell Hoban's novel.
His first big American film was the Whoopi Goldberg comedy Jumpin' Jack Flash (Penny Marshall, 1986). However, it was his roles as villains in a string of international productions which brought him international stardom. Notable roles included Losado in No Mercy (Richard Pearce, 1986) opposite Richard Gere, and Gianni Franco in The Punisher (Mark Goldblatt, 1989) starring Dolph Lundgren.
He is probably best remembered as KGB agent General Georgi Koskov in The Living Daylights (John Glen, 1987), the fifteenth entry in the James Bond film series and the first to star Timothy Dalton.
Other interesting films were the British-Dutch production Shadow Man (Piotr Andrejew, 1988) about a Polish-Jewish refugee (Tom Hulce) during a fictional war in Amsterdam, the British drama Scandal (Michael Caton Jones, 1989), a fictionalised account of the Profumo Affair, with Ian McKellan as the conservative Minister of War.
He also played in two early films by Steven Soderbergh, the mystery thriller Kafka (Steven Soderbergh, 1991), featuring Jeremy Irons, and King of the Hill (Steven Soderbergh, 1993), which was nominated for the Palme d'Or, at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.
Maximilian Schell . German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf.no. 2275. Photo: Real / Europa / Gabriele. Publicity still for Ein Herz kehrt heim/A Heart returns home (Eugen York, 1956).
The Discovery of Heaven
In Hollywood, Jeroen Krabbé appeared in the romantic drama The Prince of Tides (Barbra Streisand, 1991), and as Dr. Charles Nichols in the box-office smash The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993) opposite Harrison Ford. In the meanwhile he kept working in the European cinema. In the Netherlands, he appeared in Voor een Verloren Soldaat/For a Lost Soldier (Roeland Kerbosch, 1992) based upon the autobiographical novel of the same title by ballet dancer and choreographer Rudi van Dantzig. He appeared as the composer Handel in Farinelli (Gérard Corbiau 1994) about the life and career of the Italian castrato singer Farinelli (Stefano Dionisi).
He was both director and producer of Left Luggage (1998), a film about Orthodox Jews during the 1970s in Antwerp, Belgium, co-starring Isabella Rossellini and Maximilian Schell . Left Luggage was entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. Krabbé also directed The Discovery of Heaven (Jeroen Krabbé, 2001), based on the novel by Harry Mulisch and starring Stephen Fry.
He continued to appear in international productions, like the American biographical drama Dangerous Beauty (Marshall Herskovitz, 1998), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (Andy Tennant, 1998) starring Drew Barrymore, the big budget Hollywood crime comedy Ocean's Twelve (Steven Soderbergh, 2004) with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, and the British gothic horror film Snuff-Movie (Bernard Rose, 2005) in which he starred as a horror film maker. His television work includes playing Satan in the Biblical telefilm Jesus (Roger Young, 1999) and an uncanny psychic in series 11 of Midsomer Murders, Talking to the Dead (2008).
Apart from acting and directing he is an accomplished artist. In 2004 Jeroen Krabbé: Schilder/Jeroen Krabbé: painter by Ruud van der Neut, a comprehensive account of his career in painting, was published in Dutch and English editions. He also co-authored a Dutch cookbook. Krabbé has three sons with his wife Herma, radio and TV presenter Martijn Krabbé, artist and TV presenter Jasper Krabbé and Jacob Krabbé. His brother is master chess player, journalist and novelist Tim Krabbé.
Recently Jeroen Krabbé appeared in the successful Dutch TV series In therapie/In Treatment (Alain de Levita, 2011), the comedy Alleen maar nette mensen/Only Decent People (Lodewijk Crijns, 2012) as the father of Geza Weisz, and the historical war drama Tula: The Revolt (Jeroen Leinders, 2013), about the big slave uprising on the island of Curacao in 1795.
Trailer De vierde man/The Fourth Man (1983). Source: Malvolio80 (YouTube).
Trailer The Discovery of Heaven (2001). Source: Ximon.nl (YouTube).
Official trailer Tula: The Revolt (2013). Source: Tula PR (YouTube).
Sources: Sandra Brennan (AllMovie), Poul Webb (Art & Artists), Wikipedia (English and Dutch), and .
Dutch postcard.
The Most Expensive Dutch Film Ever
Jeroen Aart Krabbé was born into an artistic family in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1944. He was the son of Margreet (née Reiss), a Jewish film translator, and Maarten Krabbé, a well-known painter. After studies at the Rietveld Academy of Art, Amsterdam (1961-1962), Krabbé changed course and went to Drama School in Amsterdam, graduating in 1965.
In 1963, he made his film debut in the comedy Fietsen naar de maan/Bicycling to the Moon (Jef van der Heyden, 1963). Other early film appearances were in the German-Dutch comedy Professor Columbus (Rainer Erler, 1968) with Rudolf Platte , the American family film The Little Ark (James B. Clark, 1972) based on a novel by Jan de Hartog about the big flood in 1953 which struck a big part of The Netherlands, and the Dutch production Alicia (Wim Verstappen, 1974). However, Krabbé was mainly active on stage and TV. He founded a touring theatre company, directed plays, worked as a costume designer, and translated foreign plays into Dutch.
Internationally he first came to prominence in Paul Verhoeven's Dutch film Soldaat van Oranje/Soldier of Orange (1977) opposite Rutger Hauer. Soldaat van Oranje is set during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, and shows how individual students have different roles in the war. The film had a budget of ƒ 5,000,000 (€2,300,000), at the time the most expensive Dutch film ever. With 1,547,183 viewers, it was the most popular Dutch film of 1977 and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980. In the election for best Dutch film of the twentieth century at the Netherlands Film Festival in 1999 Soldaat van Oranje/Soldier of Orange reached the second place, right after another Paul Verhoeven film Turks fruit/Turkish Delight (1973). Krabbé had a supporting part in Verhoeven’s Spetters (Paul Verhoeven, 1980), which was a small success in the US.
He played the lead in Een Vlucht Regenwulpen/A Flight of Rainbirds (Ate de Jong, 1981) and in the terrific erotic thriller De vierde man/The Fourth Man (Paul Verhoeven, 1983). In the latter Renée Soutendijk plays a woman who may or may not have killed her three previous husbands. Krabbe is the intended fourth, a broken-down bisexual writer who is pulled into Soutendijk's web like an unsuspecting fly. De vierde man/The Fourth Man was a decent box office hit in the Netherlands, and was even more successful in the United States, where it received widespread critical acclaim. This helped to launch Krabbé’s international career.
Rudolf Platte . German postcard by Rüdel-Verlag. Photo: CCC / Gloria.
James Bond Villain
Jeroen Krabbé had already started to work in international productions. He had a part in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries World War III (Boris Sagal, David Greene, 1982) with Rock Hudson and David Soul. In Great-Britain he played Ben Kingsley’s neighbour in the drama Turtle Diary (John Irvin, 1985) based on a screenplay adapted by Harold Pinter from Russell Hoban's novel.
His first big American film was the Whoopi Goldberg comedy Jumpin' Jack Flash (Penny Marshall, 1986). However, it was his roles as villains in a string of international productions which brought him international stardom. Notable roles included Losado in No Mercy (Richard Pearce, 1986) opposite Richard Gere, and Gianni Franco in The Punisher (Mark Goldblatt, 1989) starring Dolph Lundgren.
He is probably best remembered as KGB agent General Georgi Koskov in The Living Daylights (John Glen, 1987), the fifteenth entry in the James Bond film series and the first to star Timothy Dalton.
Other interesting films were the British-Dutch production Shadow Man (Piotr Andrejew, 1988) about a Polish-Jewish refugee (Tom Hulce) during a fictional war in Amsterdam, the British drama Scandal (Michael Caton Jones, 1989), a fictionalised account of the Profumo Affair, with Ian McKellan as the conservative Minister of War.
He also played in two early films by Steven Soderbergh, the mystery thriller Kafka (Steven Soderbergh, 1991), featuring Jeremy Irons, and King of the Hill (Steven Soderbergh, 1993), which was nominated for the Palme d'Or, at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.
Maximilian Schell . German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf.no. 2275. Photo: Real / Europa / Gabriele. Publicity still for Ein Herz kehrt heim/A Heart returns home (Eugen York, 1956).
The Discovery of Heaven
In Hollywood, Jeroen Krabbé appeared in the romantic drama The Prince of Tides (Barbra Streisand, 1991), and as Dr. Charles Nichols in the box-office smash The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993) opposite Harrison Ford. In the meanwhile he kept working in the European cinema. In the Netherlands, he appeared in Voor een Verloren Soldaat/For a Lost Soldier (Roeland Kerbosch, 1992) based upon the autobiographical novel of the same title by ballet dancer and choreographer Rudi van Dantzig. He appeared as the composer Handel in Farinelli (Gérard Corbiau 1994) about the life and career of the Italian castrato singer Farinelli (Stefano Dionisi).
He was both director and producer of Left Luggage (1998), a film about Orthodox Jews during the 1970s in Antwerp, Belgium, co-starring Isabella Rossellini and Maximilian Schell . Left Luggage was entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. Krabbé also directed The Discovery of Heaven (Jeroen Krabbé, 2001), based on the novel by Harry Mulisch and starring Stephen Fry.
He continued to appear in international productions, like the American biographical drama Dangerous Beauty (Marshall Herskovitz, 1998), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (Andy Tennant, 1998) starring Drew Barrymore, the big budget Hollywood crime comedy Ocean's Twelve (Steven Soderbergh, 2004) with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, and the British gothic horror film Snuff-Movie (Bernard Rose, 2005) in which he starred as a horror film maker. His television work includes playing Satan in the Biblical telefilm Jesus (Roger Young, 1999) and an uncanny psychic in series 11 of Midsomer Murders, Talking to the Dead (2008).
Apart from acting and directing he is an accomplished artist. In 2004 Jeroen Krabbé: Schilder/Jeroen Krabbé: painter by Ruud van der Neut, a comprehensive account of his career in painting, was published in Dutch and English editions. He also co-authored a Dutch cookbook. Krabbé has three sons with his wife Herma, radio and TV presenter Martijn Krabbé, artist and TV presenter Jasper Krabbé and Jacob Krabbé. His brother is master chess player, journalist and novelist Tim Krabbé.
Recently Jeroen Krabbé appeared in the successful Dutch TV series In therapie/In Treatment (Alain de Levita, 2011), the comedy Alleen maar nette mensen/Only Decent People (Lodewijk Crijns, 2012) as the father of Geza Weisz, and the historical war drama Tula: The Revolt (Jeroen Leinders, 2013), about the big slave uprising on the island of Curacao in 1795.
Trailer De vierde man/The Fourth Man (1983). Source: Malvolio80 (YouTube).
Trailer The Discovery of Heaven (2001). Source: Ximon.nl (YouTube).
Official trailer Tula: The Revolt (2013). Source: Tula PR (YouTube).
Sources: Sandra Brennan (AllMovie), Poul Webb (Art & Artists), Wikipedia (English and Dutch), and .
September 24, 2013
Dood water (1934)
Every year during the last week of September, Utrecht is the Dutch capital of film. This is the time of the
Netherlands Film Festival
(NFF), when public and industry alike concentrate solely on Dutch cinema in all its facets. Like every year, EFSP organizes its own traditional Dutch Film Star Postcard Festival. So during the 32nd Netherlands Film Festival, from 25 September till 4 October, we will supply you again with postcards of Dutch stars and films. Veel plezier!, as we say in the Netherlands.
We start with one of the most remarkable Dutch films of the 1930s. Dood water/Dead Water (1934) re-enacts the historical closing of the Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) between 1927 and 1932. The award winning drama was directed and co-written by Gerard Rutten and starred renowned Dutch stage actor Jan Musch as a doomed fisherman.
Dutch postcard, no. 38996. Photo: Nederlandse Filmgemeenschap, Holland. Publicity still for Dood water/Dead water (1934) with Max Croiset and Arnold Marlé. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Dead Water
Dood water/Dead Water tells the dramatic tale of a conflict between young and old fishermen in the little village of Volendam about the fishing in the Zuiderzee (the former Southern Sea, now IJsselmeer).
In 1927, the construction of the Afsluitdijk (the enclosure dam which made a lake of the Zuiderzee) was started. In Volendam, there is talk of 'dead water' and people realize that everything will not be like it was.
The old fisherman Willem de Geus ( Jan Musch ) desperately tries to blow up the dam, but he dies during the explosion.
Dutch poster for Dood water/Dead Water (1934).
Golden Lion
Dood water/Dead Water was largely shot on location, using natural light. The cameraman was Andor von Barsy, a respected Hungarian cinematographer who’d already been successful in the Netherlands with short avant-garde films such as Hoogstraat (1929).
At the second edition of the Venice Film Festival (Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica), the film won a Golden Lion for best cinematography.
Dood water received favourable reviews in the Italian press, and later also in the Netherlands and Germany. MGM distributed the low-budget production internationally. However, the film was not a commercial success.
Jan Musch . Dutch postcard by REB in the series Portrettengalerij, no. 105.
One Of The Great Stars
The leading actor of Dood water, Jan Musch (1875-1960), was one of the great stars of the Dutch theatre during the first decades of the 20th Century.
In the 1930s he starred in a few Dutch films, including De Man zonder hart/The Man Without a Heart (Leo Joannon, 1937), and the thriller De spooktrein/The Ghost Train (Carl Lamac, 1939) with Fien de la Mar .
After the war, Gerard Rutten directed successful films like Sterren stralen overal/Stars Twinkle Everywhere (1953) and Het wonderlijke leven van Willem Parel/The Wondrous life of Willem Parel (1955) with Wim Sonneveld .
Dutch postcard, no. 38993. Photo: Nederlandse Filmgemeenschap, Holland. Publicity still for Dood water/Dead water (1934). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Sources: Film in the Netherlands, MovieMeter (Dutch), Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.
We start with one of the most remarkable Dutch films of the 1930s. Dood water/Dead Water (1934) re-enacts the historical closing of the Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) between 1927 and 1932. The award winning drama was directed and co-written by Gerard Rutten and starred renowned Dutch stage actor Jan Musch as a doomed fisherman.
Dutch postcard, no. 38996. Photo: Nederlandse Filmgemeenschap, Holland. Publicity still for Dood water/Dead water (1934) with Max Croiset and Arnold Marlé. Collection: Egbert Barten.
Dead Water
Dood water/Dead Water tells the dramatic tale of a conflict between young and old fishermen in the little village of Volendam about the fishing in the Zuiderzee (the former Southern Sea, now IJsselmeer).
In 1927, the construction of the Afsluitdijk (the enclosure dam which made a lake of the Zuiderzee) was started. In Volendam, there is talk of 'dead water' and people realize that everything will not be like it was.
The old fisherman Willem de Geus ( Jan Musch ) desperately tries to blow up the dam, but he dies during the explosion.
Dutch poster for Dood water/Dead Water (1934).
Golden Lion
Dood water/Dead Water was largely shot on location, using natural light. The cameraman was Andor von Barsy, a respected Hungarian cinematographer who’d already been successful in the Netherlands with short avant-garde films such as Hoogstraat (1929).
At the second edition of the Venice Film Festival (Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica), the film won a Golden Lion for best cinematography.
Dood water received favourable reviews in the Italian press, and later also in the Netherlands and Germany. MGM distributed the low-budget production internationally. However, the film was not a commercial success.
Jan Musch . Dutch postcard by REB in the series Portrettengalerij, no. 105.
One Of The Great Stars
The leading actor of Dood water, Jan Musch (1875-1960), was one of the great stars of the Dutch theatre during the first decades of the 20th Century.
In the 1930s he starred in a few Dutch films, including De Man zonder hart/The Man Without a Heart (Leo Joannon, 1937), and the thriller De spooktrein/The Ghost Train (Carl Lamac, 1939) with Fien de la Mar .
After the war, Gerard Rutten directed successful films like Sterren stralen overal/Stars Twinkle Everywhere (1953) and Het wonderlijke leven van Willem Parel/The Wondrous life of Willem Parel (1955) with Wim Sonneveld .
Dutch postcard, no. 38993. Photo: Nederlandse Filmgemeenschap, Holland. Publicity still for Dood water/Dead water (1934). Collection: Egbert Barten.
Sources: Film in the Netherlands, MovieMeter (Dutch), Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.
September 23, 2013
Imported from the USA: Farley Granger
American actor Farley Granger (1925–2011) is best remembered for his two films with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope (1948) and Strangers on a Train (1951). He also worked in Italy, most famously with Luchino Visconti on Senso (1953).
Italian postcard by Bromostampa, Milano. Photo: Publicity still of Farley Granger in Senso (1954).
Dazzling Handsome
Farley Earle Granger was born in San Jose, California in 1925. He was the son of Eva (née Hopkins) and Farley Earle Granger, a successful car dealer who was financially ruined after the crash of 1929. The family then moved to a small apartment in Los Angeles.
Granger was enrolled by his mother at Ethel Meglin's, the dance and drama instruction studio where Judy Garland and Shirley Temple had started. With his sensuous face, doe eyes, full lips, jet-black hair, he was a dazzling handsome boy, and in his first small stage production, The Wookie, his good looks were noticed by talent agent Phil Gersh. He contacted Granger's parents and Farley got the small part of a teenaged Russian boy in the Samuel Goldwyn production The North Star (Lewis Milestone, 1943) starring Dana Andrews. This propaganda film, written by Lillian Hellman, praised the Soviet Union at the height of the war. In the Cold War 1950s however, it would be condemned for its political bias.
Goldwyn signed the young actor to a seven-year contract for $100 per week. Next, he got a bigger role in another war-film, The Purple Heart (Lewis Milestone, 1944) as a member of a bomber crew captured and tortured by the Japanese. Then Granger had to do naval service and landed in a unit in Honolulu that arranged troop entertainment in the Pacific. Here he made useful contacts with visiting entertainers like Bob Hope, Betty Grable and Hedy Lamarr , and also discovered his bisexuality.
After the war director Nicholas Ray cast Granger in his debut feature, the film noir Thieves Like Us. He played the lead role of the emotionally unstable crook Bowie. The film was nearing completion in October 1947 when Howard Hughes acquired RKO Radio Pictures, and the new studio head shelved it for two years before releasing it under the title They Live by Night in a single theatre in London. Enthusiastic reviews led RKO to finally release the film in the States in late 1949. During the two years it had remained in limbo, it had been screened numerous times in private screening rooms, and one of the people who saw it during this period was Alfred Hitchcock.
Dutch postcard, no. 552. Photo: RKO Radio Films.
Homosexual Subtext
Alfred Hitchcock cast Farley Granger in Rope (1948), a fictionalized account of the Leopold and Loeb murder case. Granger and John Dall portrayed two highly intelligent friends who commit a thrill killing simply to prove they can get away with it. The two characters and their former professor, played by James Stewart, were supposed to be homosexual, and Granger and Dall discussed the subtext of their scenes, but because The Hays Office was keeping close tabs on the project, the final script was so discreet that scriptwriter Arthur Laurents remained uncertain of whether Stewart ever realized that his own character was homosexual.
Hitchcock shot the film in continuous, uninterrupted ten-minute takes, the amount of time a reel of Technicolor film lasted, and as a result technical problems frequently brought the action to a frustrating halt throughout the twenty-one day shoot. Granger started a romantic relationship with Arthur Laurents that lasted about a year and their frequently tempestuous friendship extended for decades beyond their breakup. The film earned mixed reviews but much critical praise for Granger himself.
Hitchcock then cast him again in Strangers on a Train. He played the more conventional role of a handsome tennis champion, Guy Haines, mentally seduced by the unhinged Bruno (Robert Walker). Bruno obligingly murders the sportsman's wife, who is holding back Guy's career and social ambitions. When the killer wants repayment in kind – via the death of his own bullying father – matters go horribly wrong. This film also carried a sub-theme of homosexuality, although it was toned down from Patricia Highsmith's original novel.
Later, Granger described this as his happiest film-making experience, though he was deeply affected by his friend Walker's accidental drug-death just before the film's release. Strangers on a Train (1951) proved to be a box office hit, the first major success of Granger's career. His subsequent projects including the war film I Want You (Mark Robson, 1951), the Gift of the Magi segment of the anthology film O. Henry's Full House (Henry King a.o., 1952 ), and the musical film Hans Christian Andersen (Charles Vidor, 1952), starring Danny Kaye, were not so successful.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. D 8. Photo: R.K.O. Radio.
Small card.
Visconti
Then Farley Granger accepted a role in Italy in Senso (1954), directed by Luchino Visconti. He was cast as the embittered romantic Franz Mahler, an Austrian lieutenant in occupied Venice just before the revolution that brought unification to Italy in 1871. He betrays the married woman ( Alida Valli ) besotted with him. Her marriage, her title, her country are nothing, as her post-coital eyes glow with a sexual intensity—senso—that she feels for the first time. She in turn betrays not only her country, Italy, but also those struggling politically against the invading forces.
Richard Corliss in Time : “That was a great break for Granger, who got the role of his lifetime, and for the film—because Senso is the story of a strong woman ruined by her passion for a handsome, weak man, exactly the sort Granger had played before. This is a woman's picture, a domestic tragedy about the destructive effects of a lady's self-deception."
Filming in Italy lasted nine months, although Granger frequently was idle during this period, allowing him free time to explore Italy. He met Mike Todd, who cajoled him into making a cameo appearance as a gondolier in his epic Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson, 1956).
At the 15th Venice International Film Festival, Visconti was nominated for the Golden Lion award for Senso. The film is now regarded as a masterpiece of the Italian cinema.
Spanish postcard by Edicio Gambon, no. 95.
They Call Me Trinity
Farley Granger returned to Hollywood where Darryl F. Zanuck offered him a two-picture deal. In quick succession he made The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (Richard Fleischer, 1955) with Joan Collins and Ray Milland , and the melodrama The Naked Street (Maxwell Shane, 1955), with Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft.
Then he went to work on Broadway, but his three productions there were unsuccessful. With both his film and theatrical career foundering, Granger turned to television. Later he would achieve some success on Broadway in The Seagull (1964), The Crucible (1965), The Glass Menagerie (1965), and Ira Levin’s Deathtrap (1978-1981).
In the early 1970s, Granger and his partner since 1963, Robert Calhoun moved to Rome. There he appeared in several Italian films, most notably the successful Spaghetti Western Lo chiamavano Trinità/They Call Me Trinity (E.B. Clucher aka Enzo Barboni, 1970), starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer . He appeared with Yul Brynner and Dirk Bogarde in the French thriller Le Serpent/Night Flight from Moscow (Henri Verneuil, 1973). Granger co-starred with Giovanna Ralli and Mario Adorf in the slasher film La Polizia chiede aiuto/What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (Massimo Dallamano, 1974), a hybrid between Giallo and Poliziottesco.
Back in the US, he played in the slasher The Prowler (Joseph Zito, 1981) and in such soap operas as One Life to Live (1976-1977), and As the World Turns (1986-1987), for which Robert Calhoun was executive producer. In 1986 Granger won the Obie Award for his performance in the Lanford Wilson play Talley & Son.
Later he appeared in several documentaries discussing Hollywood and Alfred Hitchcock, including The Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 1995), discussing the depiction of homosexuality in film and the use of subtext in various films, including his own. In 2003, Granger made his last film appearance in the documentary Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (Rick MacKay, 2003). In it, he tells the story of leaving Hollywood at the peak of his fame, buying out his contract from Samuel Goldwyn, and moving to Manhattan to work on the Broadway stage. In 2007, Granger published the memoir Include Me Out, co-written with Robert Calhoun. Farley Granger died of natural causes in 2011, at age 85. Calhoun had died in 2008.
Trailer for Strangers on a Train (1951). Source: warnervoduk (YouTube).
Italian trailer for Senso (1954). Source: (YouTube).
This was the sixth episode of 'Imported from the USA'. Earlier episodes were dedicated to Jayne Mansfield , Josephine Baker , Lex Barker, Anna May Wong and Carroll Baker.
Sources: Richard Corliss (Time), Brian Baxter (The Guardian), Andre Soares (Alt Film Guide), Internet Broadway Database, Wikipedia and .
Italian postcard by Bromostampa, Milano. Photo: Publicity still of Farley Granger in Senso (1954).
Dazzling Handsome
Farley Earle Granger was born in San Jose, California in 1925. He was the son of Eva (née Hopkins) and Farley Earle Granger, a successful car dealer who was financially ruined after the crash of 1929. The family then moved to a small apartment in Los Angeles.
Granger was enrolled by his mother at Ethel Meglin's, the dance and drama instruction studio where Judy Garland and Shirley Temple had started. With his sensuous face, doe eyes, full lips, jet-black hair, he was a dazzling handsome boy, and in his first small stage production, The Wookie, his good looks were noticed by talent agent Phil Gersh. He contacted Granger's parents and Farley got the small part of a teenaged Russian boy in the Samuel Goldwyn production The North Star (Lewis Milestone, 1943) starring Dana Andrews. This propaganda film, written by Lillian Hellman, praised the Soviet Union at the height of the war. In the Cold War 1950s however, it would be condemned for its political bias.
Goldwyn signed the young actor to a seven-year contract for $100 per week. Next, he got a bigger role in another war-film, The Purple Heart (Lewis Milestone, 1944) as a member of a bomber crew captured and tortured by the Japanese. Then Granger had to do naval service and landed in a unit in Honolulu that arranged troop entertainment in the Pacific. Here he made useful contacts with visiting entertainers like Bob Hope, Betty Grable and Hedy Lamarr , and also discovered his bisexuality.
After the war director Nicholas Ray cast Granger in his debut feature, the film noir Thieves Like Us. He played the lead role of the emotionally unstable crook Bowie. The film was nearing completion in October 1947 when Howard Hughes acquired RKO Radio Pictures, and the new studio head shelved it for two years before releasing it under the title They Live by Night in a single theatre in London. Enthusiastic reviews led RKO to finally release the film in the States in late 1949. During the two years it had remained in limbo, it had been screened numerous times in private screening rooms, and one of the people who saw it during this period was Alfred Hitchcock.
Dutch postcard, no. 552. Photo: RKO Radio Films.
Homosexual Subtext
Alfred Hitchcock cast Farley Granger in Rope (1948), a fictionalized account of the Leopold and Loeb murder case. Granger and John Dall portrayed two highly intelligent friends who commit a thrill killing simply to prove they can get away with it. The two characters and their former professor, played by James Stewart, were supposed to be homosexual, and Granger and Dall discussed the subtext of their scenes, but because The Hays Office was keeping close tabs on the project, the final script was so discreet that scriptwriter Arthur Laurents remained uncertain of whether Stewart ever realized that his own character was homosexual.
Hitchcock shot the film in continuous, uninterrupted ten-minute takes, the amount of time a reel of Technicolor film lasted, and as a result technical problems frequently brought the action to a frustrating halt throughout the twenty-one day shoot. Granger started a romantic relationship with Arthur Laurents that lasted about a year and their frequently tempestuous friendship extended for decades beyond their breakup. The film earned mixed reviews but much critical praise for Granger himself.
Hitchcock then cast him again in Strangers on a Train. He played the more conventional role of a handsome tennis champion, Guy Haines, mentally seduced by the unhinged Bruno (Robert Walker). Bruno obligingly murders the sportsman's wife, who is holding back Guy's career and social ambitions. When the killer wants repayment in kind – via the death of his own bullying father – matters go horribly wrong. This film also carried a sub-theme of homosexuality, although it was toned down from Patricia Highsmith's original novel.
Later, Granger described this as his happiest film-making experience, though he was deeply affected by his friend Walker's accidental drug-death just before the film's release. Strangers on a Train (1951) proved to be a box office hit, the first major success of Granger's career. His subsequent projects including the war film I Want You (Mark Robson, 1951), the Gift of the Magi segment of the anthology film O. Henry's Full House (Henry King a.o., 1952 ), and the musical film Hans Christian Andersen (Charles Vidor, 1952), starring Danny Kaye, were not so successful.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. D 8. Photo: R.K.O. Radio.
Small card.
Visconti
Then Farley Granger accepted a role in Italy in Senso (1954), directed by Luchino Visconti. He was cast as the embittered romantic Franz Mahler, an Austrian lieutenant in occupied Venice just before the revolution that brought unification to Italy in 1871. He betrays the married woman ( Alida Valli ) besotted with him. Her marriage, her title, her country are nothing, as her post-coital eyes glow with a sexual intensity—senso—that she feels for the first time. She in turn betrays not only her country, Italy, but also those struggling politically against the invading forces.
Richard Corliss in Time : “That was a great break for Granger, who got the role of his lifetime, and for the film—because Senso is the story of a strong woman ruined by her passion for a handsome, weak man, exactly the sort Granger had played before. This is a woman's picture, a domestic tragedy about the destructive effects of a lady's self-deception."
Filming in Italy lasted nine months, although Granger frequently was idle during this period, allowing him free time to explore Italy. He met Mike Todd, who cajoled him into making a cameo appearance as a gondolier in his epic Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson, 1956).
At the 15th Venice International Film Festival, Visconti was nominated for the Golden Lion award for Senso. The film is now regarded as a masterpiece of the Italian cinema.
Spanish postcard by Edicio Gambon, no. 95.
They Call Me Trinity
Farley Granger returned to Hollywood where Darryl F. Zanuck offered him a two-picture deal. In quick succession he made The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (Richard Fleischer, 1955) with Joan Collins and Ray Milland , and the melodrama The Naked Street (Maxwell Shane, 1955), with Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft.
Then he went to work on Broadway, but his three productions there were unsuccessful. With both his film and theatrical career foundering, Granger turned to television. Later he would achieve some success on Broadway in The Seagull (1964), The Crucible (1965), The Glass Menagerie (1965), and Ira Levin’s Deathtrap (1978-1981).
In the early 1970s, Granger and his partner since 1963, Robert Calhoun moved to Rome. There he appeared in several Italian films, most notably the successful Spaghetti Western Lo chiamavano Trinità/They Call Me Trinity (E.B. Clucher aka Enzo Barboni, 1970), starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer . He appeared with Yul Brynner and Dirk Bogarde in the French thriller Le Serpent/Night Flight from Moscow (Henri Verneuil, 1973). Granger co-starred with Giovanna Ralli and Mario Adorf in the slasher film La Polizia chiede aiuto/What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (Massimo Dallamano, 1974), a hybrid between Giallo and Poliziottesco.
Back in the US, he played in the slasher The Prowler (Joseph Zito, 1981) and in such soap operas as One Life to Live (1976-1977), and As the World Turns (1986-1987), for which Robert Calhoun was executive producer. In 1986 Granger won the Obie Award for his performance in the Lanford Wilson play Talley & Son.
Later he appeared in several documentaries discussing Hollywood and Alfred Hitchcock, including The Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 1995), discussing the depiction of homosexuality in film and the use of subtext in various films, including his own. In 2003, Granger made his last film appearance in the documentary Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (Rick MacKay, 2003). In it, he tells the story of leaving Hollywood at the peak of his fame, buying out his contract from Samuel Goldwyn, and moving to Manhattan to work on the Broadway stage. In 2007, Granger published the memoir Include Me Out, co-written with Robert Calhoun. Farley Granger died of natural causes in 2011, at age 85. Calhoun had died in 2008.
Trailer for Strangers on a Train (1951). Source: warnervoduk (YouTube).
Italian trailer for Senso (1954). Source: (YouTube).
This was the sixth episode of 'Imported from the USA'. Earlier episodes were dedicated to Jayne Mansfield , Josephine Baker , Lex Barker, Anna May Wong and Carroll Baker.
Sources: Richard Corliss (Time), Brian Baxter (The Guardian), Andre Soares (Alt Film Guide), Internet Broadway Database, Wikipedia and .
September 22, 2013
Suzanne Bianchetti
French film actress Suzanne Bianchetti (1889-1936) was one of France's most loved and respected actresses of her time. She played Marie Antoinette in Abel Gance's epic Napoléon (1927) and worked with many other great names of the silent cinema. After her death the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti was created in her memory, an annual French award to be given to the most promising young actress.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 175. in the series 'Les Vedettes de Cinéma'. Photo: J. des Boutin.
Short Silent Comedies
Suzanne Bianchetti was born in Paris in 1889. During the First World War she made her cinema debut. Her first appearance was in the propaganda film La femme française pendant la guerre/The French Woman during the War (Alexandre Devarennes, 1917).
She quickly became popular with short silent comedies like Riquette se marie/Riquette marries (Alexandre Devarennes, 1918).
Her first dramatic part was in La Marseillaise (Henri Desfontaines, 1920) opposite André Nox. According to IMDb , she later “said in an interview that she thought of quitting film acting when she saw herself in that film”.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 344. Photo: Alban. Suzanne Bianchetti in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun (1928).
French postcard by Edition Cinémagazine. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales (1924) with Raquel Meller and Suzanne Bianchetti.
Ideal As Sovereigns
During the 1920s Suzanne Bianchetti became one of France's most loved and respected actresses, and worked with many of the notables of the silent film era, such as Antonin Artaud and the singer Damia .
Her silent films include Flipotte (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1920) starring Gabriel Signoret and based on a novel by Henry Kistemaekers, Jocelyn (Léon Poirier, 1922), the popular serial Les Mystères de Paris/The Mysteries of Paris (Charles Burguet, 1922), Violettes imperials/Imperial Violets (Henry Roussel, 1924) with Raquel Meller , and the American romantic costume comedy-drama Madame Sans-Gêne (Léonce Perret, 1925), a Paramount production starring Gloria Swanson.
The talented Bianchetti was ideal for roles as sovereigns. In 1927, Bianchetti appeared in her two most famous films, as Marie Antoinette in the classic epic Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927) and as Catherine II in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927) featuring Ivan Mozzhukhin .
A year later she appeared in another silent classic, Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun (Léon Poirier, 1928) as the wife of the French soldier ( Albert Préjean ).
French postcard by Edition Cinémagazine. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales (1924) with Raquel Meller as Violetta and Suzanne Bianchetti as Empress Eugénie. Visible in the back is the Chateau de Compiègne, Napoleon III's residence.
French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 35. Photo: Wyndham.
A Martyr
After the introduction of sound film, Suzanne Bianchetti could be seen in re-edited versions with sound-effects of Verdun, visions d'histoire, retitled as Verdun, souvenirs d'histoire (1931), Violettes impériales (1932) and Napoléon as Napoléon Bonaparte (1935).
Her final film was L'Appel du Silence/The Call (Leon Poirier, 1936), based on the life of Charles de Foucauld (Jean Yonnel). Foucauld was a French priest living among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for the protection of the Tuareg, and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr.
In 1936 Suzanne Bianchetti died in Paris at the age of 47. Bianchetti was married to writer and actor René Jeanne who served as the director of L'Etablissement Cinématographique des Armées.
French postcard.
French postcard. Spa - Rueil.
Prix Suzanne Bianchetti
A year after her death, her husband created an award in her memory to be given annually to the most promising young actress. It was given for the first time in 1937 to Junie Astor for her performance in Club de femmes.
The award comes in the form of a medallion engraved with Suzanne Bianchetti's image. Since its inception, the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti has been awarded to many of the greatest names in French cinema who went on to national and international success.
Among the winners are Micheline Presle , Simone Signoret , Marina Vlady , Annie Girardot, Pascale Petit , Isabelle Adjani , Isabelle Huppert , Juliette Binoche and Audrey Tautou. The winner in 2013 was Belgian actress Pauline Étienne.
French postcard by Editions FILMA, Paris, no. 109. Photo: Wyndham.
French postcard by Editions Filma in the series Les vedettes de l'ecran, no. 109. Photo: Manuel Frères.
Sources: Marlène Pilaete (CinéArtistes) (French), Wikipedia and .
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 175. in the series 'Les Vedettes de Cinéma'. Photo: J. des Boutin.
Short Silent Comedies
Suzanne Bianchetti was born in Paris in 1889. During the First World War she made her cinema debut. Her first appearance was in the propaganda film La femme française pendant la guerre/The French Woman during the War (Alexandre Devarennes, 1917).
She quickly became popular with short silent comedies like Riquette se marie/Riquette marries (Alexandre Devarennes, 1918).
Her first dramatic part was in La Marseillaise (Henri Desfontaines, 1920) opposite André Nox. According to IMDb , she later “said in an interview that she thought of quitting film acting when she saw herself in that film”.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 344. Photo: Alban. Suzanne Bianchetti in Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun (1928).
French postcard by Edition Cinémagazine. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales (1924) with Raquel Meller and Suzanne Bianchetti.
Ideal As Sovereigns
During the 1920s Suzanne Bianchetti became one of France's most loved and respected actresses, and worked with many of the notables of the silent film era, such as Antonin Artaud and the singer Damia .
Her silent films include Flipotte (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1920) starring Gabriel Signoret and based on a novel by Henry Kistemaekers, Jocelyn (Léon Poirier, 1922), the popular serial Les Mystères de Paris/The Mysteries of Paris (Charles Burguet, 1922), Violettes imperials/Imperial Violets (Henry Roussel, 1924) with Raquel Meller , and the American romantic costume comedy-drama Madame Sans-Gêne (Léonce Perret, 1925), a Paramount production starring Gloria Swanson.
The talented Bianchetti was ideal for roles as sovereigns. In 1927, Bianchetti appeared in her two most famous films, as Marie Antoinette in the classic epic Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927) and as Catherine II in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927) featuring Ivan Mozzhukhin .
A year later she appeared in another silent classic, Verdun, visions d'histoire/Verdun (Léon Poirier, 1928) as the wife of the French soldier ( Albert Préjean ).
French postcard by Edition Cinémagazine. Photo: publicity still for Violettes impériales (1924) with Raquel Meller as Violetta and Suzanne Bianchetti as Empress Eugénie. Visible in the back is the Chateau de Compiègne, Napoleon III's residence.
French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 35. Photo: Wyndham.
A Martyr
After the introduction of sound film, Suzanne Bianchetti could be seen in re-edited versions with sound-effects of Verdun, visions d'histoire, retitled as Verdun, souvenirs d'histoire (1931), Violettes impériales (1932) and Napoléon as Napoléon Bonaparte (1935).
Her final film was L'Appel du Silence/The Call (Leon Poirier, 1936), based on the life of Charles de Foucauld (Jean Yonnel). Foucauld was a French priest living among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for the protection of the Tuareg, and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr.
In 1936 Suzanne Bianchetti died in Paris at the age of 47. Bianchetti was married to writer and actor René Jeanne who served as the director of L'Etablissement Cinématographique des Armées.
French postcard.
French postcard. Spa - Rueil.
Prix Suzanne Bianchetti
A year after her death, her husband created an award in her memory to be given annually to the most promising young actress. It was given for the first time in 1937 to Junie Astor for her performance in Club de femmes.
The award comes in the form of a medallion engraved with Suzanne Bianchetti's image. Since its inception, the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti has been awarded to many of the greatest names in French cinema who went on to national and international success.
Among the winners are Micheline Presle , Simone Signoret , Marina Vlady , Annie Girardot, Pascale Petit , Isabelle Adjani , Isabelle Huppert , Juliette Binoche and Audrey Tautou. The winner in 2013 was Belgian actress Pauline Étienne.
French postcard by Editions FILMA, Paris, no. 109. Photo: Wyndham.
French postcard by Editions Filma in the series Les vedettes de l'ecran, no. 109. Photo: Manuel Frères.
Sources: Marlène Pilaete (CinéArtistes) (French), Wikipedia and .
September 21, 2013
Andrew Brunelle
Andrew Brunelle (1894-1943) was an actor of the French silent cinema. Later he worked as a film director.
French postcard by Coquemer Gravures, Paris. Photo: Gaumont. Still for La nouvelle mission de Judex/The New Mission of Judex (Louis Feuillade, 1917-1918).
Judex
André François Achille Eugène Brunelle was born in Cambrai in the North of France in 1894.
In 1917 he debuted as film actor in the part of the evil Dr. Howey in the French crime serial La nouvelle mission de Judex/The New Mission of Judex (1917-1918), directed by Louis Feuillade.
Until the mid-1920s, he had a regular career in French silent cinema, acting in La maison d’argile/The clay house (Gaston Ravel, 1918) with Léon Mathot , and Chignole (René Plaisetty, 1919; released in 1927 as La grande envolée/The great surge).
In La force de la vie/The force of life (René Leprince, 1920) Brunelle had the lead of a Parisian who gets involved in a Corsican feud.
Afterwards, he played in two films by Louis Delluc: Le silence/The Silence (1920) with Ève Francis and Gabriel Signoret , and Fièvre/Fever (1921) with again Francis and Edmond Van Daële.
These were followed by Le Carilloneur (René Coiffard, 1922) starring Edouard de Max , Stella lucente (Raul d’Auchy, 1922) in which Brunelle had the lead, L’aiglonne/The synomous (Emile Keppens, René Navarre , 1922), L’empereur des pauvres/The Emperor of the poor (René Leprince, 1922) starring Léon Mathot , and La faute des autres/The fault of others (Jacques Oliver, 1923) starring Charles de Rochefort .
Gabriel Signoret . French postcard. Photo: Pathé.
Directing, Writing, Editing
In 1923 Andrew Brunelle directed his first film, the comedy Théodore cherche des allumettes/Theodore looks for matches (1923), featuring René Hiéronimus.
After a gap of several years he retuned to the screen in 1929, directing La robe/The dress (1929) with Paul Capellani and acting in the early sound film Tarakanova (Raymond Bernard, 1930), starring Édith Jéhanne and Olaf Fjord .
It was his last film part.
Under the name of André Brunelle he directed three sound films in the 1930s, Bouton d’or/Buttercup (1933) with Jeanne Helbling , Vaccin 48 (1934) with Alice Tissot, and Ernest a le filon/Ernest the vein (1935).
He also wrote the script for one film, the comedy Deux de la reserve/Two of the reserve (René Pujol, 1938) and edited another comedy, Bach en correctionelle/Bach in the correctionel (Henry Wulschleger, 1940) with the popular comedian Bach.
Andrew Brunelle died in Paris in 1943.
Jeanne Helbling . French postcard by A.N., Paris in the series 'Les Vedettes de Cinéma', no. 69.
Source: Cineressources.bifi.fr and .
French postcard by Coquemer Gravures, Paris. Photo: Gaumont. Still for La nouvelle mission de Judex/The New Mission of Judex (Louis Feuillade, 1917-1918).
Judex
André François Achille Eugène Brunelle was born in Cambrai in the North of France in 1894.
In 1917 he debuted as film actor in the part of the evil Dr. Howey in the French crime serial La nouvelle mission de Judex/The New Mission of Judex (1917-1918), directed by Louis Feuillade.
Until the mid-1920s, he had a regular career in French silent cinema, acting in La maison d’argile/The clay house (Gaston Ravel, 1918) with Léon Mathot , and Chignole (René Plaisetty, 1919; released in 1927 as La grande envolée/The great surge).
In La force de la vie/The force of life (René Leprince, 1920) Brunelle had the lead of a Parisian who gets involved in a Corsican feud.
Afterwards, he played in two films by Louis Delluc: Le silence/The Silence (1920) with Ève Francis and Gabriel Signoret , and Fièvre/Fever (1921) with again Francis and Edmond Van Daële.
These were followed by Le Carilloneur (René Coiffard, 1922) starring Edouard de Max , Stella lucente (Raul d’Auchy, 1922) in which Brunelle had the lead, L’aiglonne/The synomous (Emile Keppens, René Navarre , 1922), L’empereur des pauvres/The Emperor of the poor (René Leprince, 1922) starring Léon Mathot , and La faute des autres/The fault of others (Jacques Oliver, 1923) starring Charles de Rochefort .
Gabriel Signoret . French postcard. Photo: Pathé.
Directing, Writing, Editing
In 1923 Andrew Brunelle directed his first film, the comedy Théodore cherche des allumettes/Theodore looks for matches (1923), featuring René Hiéronimus.
After a gap of several years he retuned to the screen in 1929, directing La robe/The dress (1929) with Paul Capellani and acting in the early sound film Tarakanova (Raymond Bernard, 1930), starring Édith Jéhanne and Olaf Fjord .
It was his last film part.
Under the name of André Brunelle he directed three sound films in the 1930s, Bouton d’or/Buttercup (1933) with Jeanne Helbling , Vaccin 48 (1934) with Alice Tissot, and Ernest a le filon/Ernest the vein (1935).
He also wrote the script for one film, the comedy Deux de la reserve/Two of the reserve (René Pujol, 1938) and edited another comedy, Bach en correctionelle/Bach in the correctionel (Henry Wulschleger, 1940) with the popular comedian Bach.
Andrew Brunelle died in Paris in 1943.
Jeanne Helbling . French postcard by A.N., Paris in the series 'Les Vedettes de Cinéma', no. 69.
Source: Cineressources.bifi.fr and .
September 20, 2013
Marie-France Boyer
French actress and businesswoman Marie-France Boyer (1938) was a beautiful starlet in many European films and TV-series of the 1960s. Her most notable film is Le Bonheur (1965), one of the masterpieces of the Nouvelle Vague, the French New Wave.
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/352. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Enormously Popular Adventure Series
Marie-France Boyer was born in 1938, in Marseille, France. She started her film career with a supporting part in La Verte moisson/Green Harvest (Francois Villiers, 1959) with Dany Saval.
Boyer then switched between the big screen and television. She appeared in the enormously popular adventure series Thierry la Fronde (Pierre Goutas, 1963) starring Jean-Claude Drouot as Thierry of Janville, both an unmatched sling man, and the savvy leader of a band of French rebels during the Hundred Year War.
Her first leading part was in an episode of the anthology film Les baisers/Kisses (Bernard Toublanc-Michel, 1964).
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) with Jean-Claude Drouot .
Tea For Two
Marie-France Boyer played a small part in the war film Week-end à Zuydcoote/Weekend at Dunkirk (Henri Verneuil, 1964) with Jean-Paul Belmondo , Catherine Spaak and François Périer .
Then followed a part as the wife of Jean-Louis Trintignant in La bonne occase/The Real Bargain (Michel Drach, 1965).
She became a TV celebrity as one of the hosts of the pop music show À chacun son la (1965), and she even had a hit record herself with the 1967 duet Tea for Two, with Frank Alamo.
Jean-Paul Belmondo . Italian postcard in the series Artisti di sempre by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 355.
Happiness
Marie-France Boyer’s best known film is probably Le Bonheur/Happiness (1965) directed by famous French director Agnès Varda. Le Bonheur was Varda's first colour film, and would win several prizes including a Silver Bear at the Film Festival of Berlin.
The 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 (played by his real-life wife, Claire Drouot) and the new woman in his life. When the wife drowns, the mistress quietly takes her place.
According to Hal Erickson at AllMovie , this plot twist remains a subject of debate amongst Varda's admirers. Critics carped that her choice of hues was not "realistic". Varda responded that she was choosing the hues that were best suited psychologically to her story.
IMDb-reviewer Howard Schumann comments: “One of the seminal works of the French New Wave, Le Bonheur was audacious in its day and still leaves us unsettled, 37 years later.”
Jean-Claude Drouot . French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 968. Photo: Philips / Alibert.
Sin With A Stranger
After this breakthrough role Marie-France Boyer was the leading actress of the TV comedy series Comment ne pas épouser un milliardaire/How not to marry a millionaire (Lazare Ilglesis, 1966), opposite Jean-Claude Pascal .
She also starred in several European film productions including the action drama L'inconnu de Shandigor/The Unknown Man of Shandigor (Jean-Louis Roy, 1967) with Ben Carruthers, Jeudi on chantera comme dimanche/Thursday We Shall Sing Like Sunday (Luc de Heusch, 1967) with Bernard Fresson, the thriller L'Etrangère/Sin With A Stranger (Serge Gobbi, 1968) with Pierre Vaneck, and the sex comedy The Man Who Had Power Over Women (John Krish, 1970) starring Australian actor Rod Taylor.
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 3093, 1968. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Unifrance Film.
Racehorses
Marie-France Boyer had been married for ten years to producer and director Remy Grumbach. In the early 1970s she married to Jean Zorbibe, CEO of Lancel. She retired from the cinema.
One of her last roles was as the heroine of the adventure TV series Quentin Durward (Gilles Grangier, 1970).
After selling the Lancel group in 1997, her husband started to breed racehorses. They have two children. Marie-France Boyer currently lives between Paris and Deauville, where the family owns a stud farm that still breeds racehorses.
Scene from Le Bonheur (1965). Source: Vinnystation (YouTube).
Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Howard Schumann (IMDb), Wikipedia (French) and .
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/352. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Enormously Popular Adventure Series
Marie-France Boyer was born in 1938, in Marseille, France. She started her film career with a supporting part in La Verte moisson/Green Harvest (Francois Villiers, 1959) with Dany Saval.
Boyer then switched between the big screen and television. She appeared in the enormously popular adventure series Thierry la Fronde (Pierre Goutas, 1963) starring Jean-Claude Drouot as Thierry of Janville, both an unmatched sling man, and the savvy leader of a band of French rebels during the Hundred Year War.
Her first leading part was in an episode of the anthology film Les baisers/Kisses (Bernard Toublanc-Michel, 1964).
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) with Jean-Claude Drouot .
Tea For Two
Marie-France Boyer played a small part in the war film Week-end à Zuydcoote/Weekend at Dunkirk (Henri Verneuil, 1964) with Jean-Paul Belmondo , Catherine Spaak and François Périer .
Then followed a part as the wife of Jean-Louis Trintignant in La bonne occase/The Real Bargain (Michel Drach, 1965).
She became a TV celebrity as one of the hosts of the pop music show À chacun son la (1965), and she even had a hit record herself with the 1967 duet Tea for Two, with Frank Alamo.
Jean-Paul Belmondo . Italian postcard in the series Artisti di sempre by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 355.
Happiness
Marie-France Boyer’s best known film is probably Le Bonheur/Happiness (1965) directed by famous French director Agnès Varda. Le Bonheur was Varda's first colour film, and would win several prizes including a Silver Bear at the Film Festival of Berlin.
The 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 (played by his real-life wife, Claire Drouot) and the new woman in his life. When the wife drowns, the mistress quietly takes her place.
According to Hal Erickson at AllMovie , this plot twist remains a subject of debate amongst Varda's admirers. Critics carped that her choice of hues was not "realistic". Varda responded that she was choosing the hues that were best suited psychologically to her story.
IMDb-reviewer Howard Schumann comments: “One of the seminal works of the French New Wave, Le Bonheur was audacious in its day and still leaves us unsettled, 37 years later.”
Jean-Claude Drouot . French postcard by Publistar, Marseille, no. 968. Photo: Philips / Alibert.
Sin With A Stranger
After this breakthrough role Marie-France Boyer was the leading actress of the TV comedy series Comment ne pas épouser un milliardaire/How not to marry a millionaire (Lazare Ilglesis, 1966), opposite Jean-Claude Pascal .
She also starred in several European film productions including the action drama L'inconnu de Shandigor/The Unknown Man of Shandigor (Jean-Louis Roy, 1967) with Ben Carruthers, Jeudi on chantera comme dimanche/Thursday We Shall Sing Like Sunday (Luc de Heusch, 1967) with Bernard Fresson, the thriller L'Etrangère/Sin With A Stranger (Serge Gobbi, 1968) with Pierre Vaneck, and the sex comedy The Man Who Had Power Over Women (John Krish, 1970) starring Australian actor Rod Taylor.
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 3093, 1968. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Unifrance Film.
Racehorses
Marie-France Boyer had been married for ten years to producer and director Remy Grumbach. In the early 1970s she married to Jean Zorbibe, CEO of Lancel. She retired from the cinema.
One of her last roles was as the heroine of the adventure TV series Quentin Durward (Gilles Grangier, 1970).
After selling the Lancel group in 1997, her husband started to breed racehorses. They have two children. Marie-France Boyer currently lives between Paris and Deauville, where the family owns a stud farm that still breeds racehorses.
Scene from Le Bonheur (1965). Source: Vinnystation (YouTube).
Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Howard Schumann (IMDb), Wikipedia (French) and .
September 19, 2013
Anita Berber
Expressionistic dancer and film actress Anita Berber (1899–1928) challenged many taboos during the Weimar period. With her drugs and alcohol addictions, her scandalous hotel orgies and her bisexual affairs, she epitomized the decadence of 1920s Berlin. Her charcoaled eyes, her black lipstick and bright red, bobbed hair were featured on a famous portrait of her by Otto Dix and in silent films by Richard Oswald and Fritz Lang.
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2406. Photo: Atelier Ebert, Berlin.
Sex Education Films
Anita Berber was born in Leipzig (some sources say Dresden), Imperial Germany in 1899. She was the daughter of Felix Berber, a classical violinist and his wife Lucie Berber, a cabaret singer. Her parents divorced two years later and Anita was raised mainly by her grandmother in Dresden. In her teens, she studied dance under founder of rhythmic gymnastics Emile Jacques-Dalcroze and ballet teacher and film actress Rita Sacchetto . By the age of 16, she made her debut as a cabaret dancer in Berlin, and began modelling for the women's magazines Die Dame and Elegante Welte.
Between 1918 and 1925, she appeared in more than 20 silent films. She often worked for director Richard Oswald. Their films included the Aufklärungsfilm (sex education film) Die Prostitution, 1. Teil - Das gelbe Haus/Prostitution (Richard Oswald, 1919), the adventure comedy Die Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen/Around the World in Eighty Days (Richard Oswald, 1919) with rising-star Conrad Veidt as Phileas Fogg, the fantasy thriller Unheimliche Geschichten/Sinister Tales (Richard Oswald, 1919), the horror film Nachtgestalten/Figures of the Night (Richard Oswald, 1920) starring Paul Wegener , and the drama Lucrezia Borgia/Lucretia Borgia (Richard Oswald, 1922) starring Liane Haid .
Alongside Conrad Veidt , Anita Berber also appeared as Else in the ground-breaking, gay-themed film Anders als die Anderen/Different From The Others (Richard Oswald, 1919), co-written by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. Berber had a minor but significant role in Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit/Dr. Mabuse – The Gambler (Fritz Lang, 1922) featuring Rudolph Klein-Rogge as the arch-criminal. Berber also appeared in the horror film Der Graf von Cagliostro/The Count of Cagliostro ( Reinhold Schünzel , 1920), Wien, du Stadt der Lieder/Vienna, City of Song (Alfred Deutsch-German, 1923) and finally in Ein Walzer von Strauß/A Strauss Waltz (Max Neufeld, 1925).
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series. Photo: Becker & Maass. Collection: Didier Hanson.
Scandalously Androgynous
Anita Berber began dancing nude in 1919. Scandalously androgynous, she quickly made a name for herself. She wore heavy dancer's make-up, which on the black-and-white photos and films of the time came across as jet black lipstick painted across the heart-shaped part of her skinny lips, and charcoaled eyes. She had cut her auburn hair fashionably into a short bob as can be seen on Otto Dix’ iconic painting Die Tänzerin Anita Berber (The Dancer Anita Berber) (1925).
Her dance partner was the expressionist poet Sebastian Droste, who also became her second husband. He was skinny and had black hair with gelled up curls much like sideburns. During their dances, neither of them wore much more than low slung loincloths and Anita occasionally a corsage worn well below her small breasts. They performed fantasias with titles such as Suicide, Morphium, and Mad House. In 1923, they published a book of poetry, photographs, and drawings called Die Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase (Dances of Vice, Horror, and Ecstasy), based on their performance of the same name. Full of Expressionist imagery, the book offers a glimpse into the angst and cynicism shadowing their artistic and personal existences.
Ruth M. Perris at lghbtq.com : “She brought flamboyant eroticism, exotic costuming, and grotesque imagery to performances danced to the music of composers such as Debussy, Strauss, Delibes, and Saint-Säens. A pioneer of modern expressive dance, Berber was at first taken seriously as an artist, but soon became better known for her scandalous personal and professional life.”
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series. Photo: Becker & Maass. Collection: Didier Hanson.
Tabloid Reports Of Lesbianism, Drug Use, And Hotel Orgies
Anita Berber married three times. Her first husband was the wealthy young screenwriter Eberhard von Nathusius. After their divorce, she dated a string of beautiful women, including, allegedly, the young Marlene Dietrich . Stylish bar-owner Susi Wanowski became her lover, manager and secretary. Her second marriage to Sebastian Droste ended in 1923. The following year, she married American dancer Henri Chatin-Hoffman, rumoured to be gay. She toured Europe with him, continually generating tabloid reports of lesbianism, drug use, and hotel orgies.
After a tour of The Netherlands in 1926, Berber collapsed physically and sought refuge with Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. She was addicted to cocaine, opium and morphine. According to Wikipedia , “one of Berber's favourites was chloroform and ether mixed in a bowl. This would be stirred with a white rose, the petals of which she would then eat.” Aside from her addiction to narcotic drugs, she was also a heavy alcoholic. Early 1928, Anita Berber suddenly gave up alcohol completely.
According to Mel Gordon, in The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Debauchery , she was diagnosed with severe tuberculosis while performing in nightclubs in Greece and the Middle East. After collapsing during a performance in Damascus, she returned to Germany and died in a Kreuzberg hospital in November 1928, just 29. She was said to be surrounded by empty morphine syringes, and was buried in a pauper's grave in St. Thomas Cemetery in Neukölln. Although her gravestone vanished, Anita Berber has not been forgotten. Rosa von Praunheim’s wonderful film Anita - Tänze des Lasters/Anita - Dances of Vice (1987) centres around the life of Anita Berber. In 1991, the Deutsche Post used the Otto Dix painting of Anita on one of its stamps.
Postcard and stamp of ‘Die Tänzerin Anita Berber' by Otto Dix. Collection: Sidolix@Flickr.
Sources: Mel Gordon (The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Debauchery), Ruth M. Pettis (glbtq.com), James Conway (Strange Flowers), Cabaret Berlin, Wikipedia and .
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2406. Photo: Atelier Ebert, Berlin.
Sex Education Films
Anita Berber was born in Leipzig (some sources say Dresden), Imperial Germany in 1899. She was the daughter of Felix Berber, a classical violinist and his wife Lucie Berber, a cabaret singer. Her parents divorced two years later and Anita was raised mainly by her grandmother in Dresden. In her teens, she studied dance under founder of rhythmic gymnastics Emile Jacques-Dalcroze and ballet teacher and film actress Rita Sacchetto . By the age of 16, she made her debut as a cabaret dancer in Berlin, and began modelling for the women's magazines Die Dame and Elegante Welte.
Between 1918 and 1925, she appeared in more than 20 silent films. She often worked for director Richard Oswald. Their films included the Aufklärungsfilm (sex education film) Die Prostitution, 1. Teil - Das gelbe Haus/Prostitution (Richard Oswald, 1919), the adventure comedy Die Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen/Around the World in Eighty Days (Richard Oswald, 1919) with rising-star Conrad Veidt as Phileas Fogg, the fantasy thriller Unheimliche Geschichten/Sinister Tales (Richard Oswald, 1919), the horror film Nachtgestalten/Figures of the Night (Richard Oswald, 1920) starring Paul Wegener , and the drama Lucrezia Borgia/Lucretia Borgia (Richard Oswald, 1922) starring Liane Haid .
Alongside Conrad Veidt , Anita Berber also appeared as Else in the ground-breaking, gay-themed film Anders als die Anderen/Different From The Others (Richard Oswald, 1919), co-written by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. Berber had a minor but significant role in Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit/Dr. Mabuse – The Gambler (Fritz Lang, 1922) featuring Rudolph Klein-Rogge as the arch-criminal. Berber also appeared in the horror film Der Graf von Cagliostro/The Count of Cagliostro ( Reinhold Schünzel , 1920), Wien, du Stadt der Lieder/Vienna, City of Song (Alfred Deutsch-German, 1923) and finally in Ein Walzer von Strauß/A Strauss Waltz (Max Neufeld, 1925).
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series. Photo: Becker & Maass. Collection: Didier Hanson.
Scandalously Androgynous
Anita Berber began dancing nude in 1919. Scandalously androgynous, she quickly made a name for herself. She wore heavy dancer's make-up, which on the black-and-white photos and films of the time came across as jet black lipstick painted across the heart-shaped part of her skinny lips, and charcoaled eyes. She had cut her auburn hair fashionably into a short bob as can be seen on Otto Dix’ iconic painting Die Tänzerin Anita Berber (The Dancer Anita Berber) (1925).
Her dance partner was the expressionist poet Sebastian Droste, who also became her second husband. He was skinny and had black hair with gelled up curls much like sideburns. During their dances, neither of them wore much more than low slung loincloths and Anita occasionally a corsage worn well below her small breasts. They performed fantasias with titles such as Suicide, Morphium, and Mad House. In 1923, they published a book of poetry, photographs, and drawings called Die Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase (Dances of Vice, Horror, and Ecstasy), based on their performance of the same name. Full of Expressionist imagery, the book offers a glimpse into the angst and cynicism shadowing their artistic and personal existences.
Ruth M. Perris at lghbtq.com : “She brought flamboyant eroticism, exotic costuming, and grotesque imagery to performances danced to the music of composers such as Debussy, Strauss, Delibes, and Saint-Säens. A pioneer of modern expressive dance, Berber was at first taken seriously as an artist, but soon became better known for her scandalous personal and professional life.”
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series. Photo: Becker & Maass. Collection: Didier Hanson.
Tabloid Reports Of Lesbianism, Drug Use, And Hotel Orgies
Anita Berber married three times. Her first husband was the wealthy young screenwriter Eberhard von Nathusius. After their divorce, she dated a string of beautiful women, including, allegedly, the young Marlene Dietrich . Stylish bar-owner Susi Wanowski became her lover, manager and secretary. Her second marriage to Sebastian Droste ended in 1923. The following year, she married American dancer Henri Chatin-Hoffman, rumoured to be gay. She toured Europe with him, continually generating tabloid reports of lesbianism, drug use, and hotel orgies.
After a tour of The Netherlands in 1926, Berber collapsed physically and sought refuge with Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. She was addicted to cocaine, opium and morphine. According to Wikipedia , “one of Berber's favourites was chloroform and ether mixed in a bowl. This would be stirred with a white rose, the petals of which she would then eat.” Aside from her addiction to narcotic drugs, she was also a heavy alcoholic. Early 1928, Anita Berber suddenly gave up alcohol completely.
According to Mel Gordon, in The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Debauchery , she was diagnosed with severe tuberculosis while performing in nightclubs in Greece and the Middle East. After collapsing during a performance in Damascus, she returned to Germany and died in a Kreuzberg hospital in November 1928, just 29. She was said to be surrounded by empty morphine syringes, and was buried in a pauper's grave in St. Thomas Cemetery in Neukölln. Although her gravestone vanished, Anita Berber has not been forgotten. Rosa von Praunheim’s wonderful film Anita - Tänze des Lasters/Anita - Dances of Vice (1987) centres around the life of Anita Berber. In 1991, the Deutsche Post used the Otto Dix painting of Anita on one of its stamps.
Postcard and stamp of ‘Die Tänzerin Anita Berber' by Otto Dix. Collection: Sidolix@Flickr.
Sources: Mel Gordon (The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Debauchery), Ruth M. Pettis (glbtq.com), James Conway (Strange Flowers), Cabaret Berlin, Wikipedia and .
September 18, 2013
Gitte Hænning
Danish singer and film actress Gitte Hænning (1946) rose to fame as a child star in the 1950s. As Gitte she became one of the most famous Schlager (hit music) singers of the German and Danish languages.
German postcard by ISV, no. K 23. Photo: E. Schneider.
Teenager Star
Gitte was born as Gitte Hænning-Johansson in 1946 in Århus, Denmark. At the age of eight, she made her debut on Danish television together with her father, singer-composer Otto F. Hænning. She sang the song Giftes med farmand (I Marry Daddy).
In 1956 she made her film debut in the Danish family film Den kloge mand/The Wise Man (Jon Iversen, 1956).
She moved to Sweden in 1958. Her first hit in Swedish was Tror du jag ljuger (Do You Think I Lie to You?) from 1961.
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no AX 4632. Photo: Hafbo-Film. Publicity still for Schlagerparade 1960/Teenager Parade (Franz Marischka, 1960).
Schlager Films
As a teenager, Gitte sang popular hits in German, English, Italian and Danish, going on to top the Danish and Swedish charts in the 1960s, and eventually in Germany with the huge hit single, Ich will 'nen Cowboy als Mann (I Want a Cowboy for My Husband). The recording sold 1.05 million copies by mid 1965, earning Gitte a gold disc.
Because her name was relatively unique, she was known primarily without her surname Gitte in Europe. She sang her songs in several Schlager films such as the German Schlagerparade (Franz Marischka, 1960) and the Austrian Liebesgrüße aus Tirol/Love Greetings From Tyrol (Franz Antel, 1964) with Peter Weck .
She also starred in the Danish films Ullabella (Ole Walbom, 1961), Prinsesse for en dag/Princess for a Day (Finn Henriksen, 1962) and Han, Hun, Dirch og Dario/He, She, Dirch and Dario (Annelise Reenberg, 1962).
Dutch promotion card by NV Bovema, Heemstede. Photo: His Master's Voice. Gitte is sitting here at the Singel in Amsterdam. In the background the Munt tower is visible.
Eurovision
In 1962 Gitte Hænning attempted to compete for Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest with Jeg Snakker med mig Selv (I Talk To Myself) but was disqualified because the composer Sejr Volmer-Sørensen had whistled the song in the canteen of the Danish broadcasting company DR.
Her success continued after famous duets with Rex Gildo as 'Gitte & Rex', including the Number 1 hit Vom Stadtpark die Laternen (The Lanterns of the Park).
Together they also appeared in such popular films as Jetzt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1964) and the TV-film Mit dreißig Schlagern um die Welt/With 30 Hits Around the World (Charles Kerremans, 1967).
Dutch postcard, sent by mail in 1964. Photo: His Master's Voice.
Publicity Stunt
Gitte and Rex were even rumoured to be engaged to be married for a while. Later Gitte recalled that it was just a publicity stunt by the record company, and she was so sore about it that she broke off the collaboration with Gildo.
In 1973 she competed for Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Junger Tag (Younger Day).
Gitte made an attempt to represent Luxembourg in 1978 with the song Rien qu'une femme (Nothing But a Woman) but she lost out to the group Baccara.
German postcard by Friedrich-W. Sander-Verlag, Minden/Westf. in the Kolibri series. Photo: Wiener Stadthalle / Constantin. Publicity still for Jezt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (1964).
Dutch postcard by SYBA, no. 36.
Icon of Emancipation
Since the late 1950s, Gitte Hænning has appeared in more than 300 TV shows (incl. some personality shows) in several European countries (most in Germany and Denmark). She was among the most popular Schlager singers of the post-war era, and continued to be popular in Germany and Denmark even as American music increasingly dominated the airwaves in the 1970s.
Surprisingly at the time, she recorded a jazz album with The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band in 1968.
Through the ensuing decades her singles still reached the German charts, but never with the same success she had enjoyed in the 1960s. In the early 1980´s, she changed her image and sang more serious songs such as Freu dich bloß nicht zu früh, the German version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Take that look of your Face, or Ich will alles (I want everything), making her an icon of emancipation in Germany.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 199.
Her True Passion
Gitte's last film appearance was in Baltic Storm (Reuben Leder, 2003), a British-German thriller starring Greta Scacchi and Donald Sutherland. Since 2004, she has been on tour Gitte Wencke Siw together with Norwegian singer Wencke Myhre and Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist .
Gitte Hænning has been married once: to Jo Geistler from 1972 till their divorce in 1974. After living together with director Pit Weyrich in the 1980s, she has been the longtime companion of musical producer Friedrich Kurz.
Although Gitte Hænning is a successful singer of popular music, her true passion has always been singing jazz. A number of compilation albums of Gitte have been recently released in Germany, among them a biographical DVD, all to commemorate one of the most famous singers of the German and Danish languages.
Video about the disqualification of the Danish entry Jeg Snakker med mig Selv in 1962. Source: Luxemburgo221 (YouTube).
Gitte sings Junger Tag at the Eurovision Song Contest 1973. Source: Euroencyclopedic (YouTube).
Sources: GitteHaenning.info, Wikipedia and .
German postcard by ISV, no. K 23. Photo: E. Schneider.
Teenager Star
Gitte was born as Gitte Hænning-Johansson in 1946 in Århus, Denmark. At the age of eight, she made her debut on Danish television together with her father, singer-composer Otto F. Hænning. She sang the song Giftes med farmand (I Marry Daddy).
In 1956 she made her film debut in the Danish family film Den kloge mand/The Wise Man (Jon Iversen, 1956).
She moved to Sweden in 1958. Her first hit in Swedish was Tror du jag ljuger (Do You Think I Lie to You?) from 1961.
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no AX 4632. Photo: Hafbo-Film. Publicity still for Schlagerparade 1960/Teenager Parade (Franz Marischka, 1960).
Schlager Films
As a teenager, Gitte sang popular hits in German, English, Italian and Danish, going on to top the Danish and Swedish charts in the 1960s, and eventually in Germany with the huge hit single, Ich will 'nen Cowboy als Mann (I Want a Cowboy for My Husband). The recording sold 1.05 million copies by mid 1965, earning Gitte a gold disc.
Because her name was relatively unique, she was known primarily without her surname Gitte in Europe. She sang her songs in several Schlager films such as the German Schlagerparade (Franz Marischka, 1960) and the Austrian Liebesgrüße aus Tirol/Love Greetings From Tyrol (Franz Antel, 1964) with Peter Weck .
She also starred in the Danish films Ullabella (Ole Walbom, 1961), Prinsesse for en dag/Princess for a Day (Finn Henriksen, 1962) and Han, Hun, Dirch og Dario/He, She, Dirch and Dario (Annelise Reenberg, 1962).
Dutch promotion card by NV Bovema, Heemstede. Photo: His Master's Voice. Gitte is sitting here at the Singel in Amsterdam. In the background the Munt tower is visible.
Eurovision
In 1962 Gitte Hænning attempted to compete for Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest with Jeg Snakker med mig Selv (I Talk To Myself) but was disqualified because the composer Sejr Volmer-Sørensen had whistled the song in the canteen of the Danish broadcasting company DR.
Her success continued after famous duets with Rex Gildo as 'Gitte & Rex', including the Number 1 hit Vom Stadtpark die Laternen (The Lanterns of the Park).
Together they also appeared in such popular films as Jetzt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1964) and the TV-film Mit dreißig Schlagern um die Welt/With 30 Hits Around the World (Charles Kerremans, 1967).
Dutch postcard, sent by mail in 1964. Photo: His Master's Voice.
Publicity Stunt
Gitte and Rex were even rumoured to be engaged to be married for a while. Later Gitte recalled that it was just a publicity stunt by the record company, and she was so sore about it that she broke off the collaboration with Gildo.
In 1973 she competed for Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Junger Tag (Younger Day).
Gitte made an attempt to represent Luxembourg in 1978 with the song Rien qu'une femme (Nothing But a Woman) but she lost out to the group Baccara.
German postcard by Friedrich-W. Sander-Verlag, Minden/Westf. in the Kolibri series. Photo: Wiener Stadthalle / Constantin. Publicity still for Jezt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (1964).
Dutch postcard by SYBA, no. 36.
Icon of Emancipation
Since the late 1950s, Gitte Hænning has appeared in more than 300 TV shows (incl. some personality shows) in several European countries (most in Germany and Denmark). She was among the most popular Schlager singers of the post-war era, and continued to be popular in Germany and Denmark even as American music increasingly dominated the airwaves in the 1970s.
Surprisingly at the time, she recorded a jazz album with The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band in 1968.
Through the ensuing decades her singles still reached the German charts, but never with the same success she had enjoyed in the 1960s. In the early 1980´s, she changed her image and sang more serious songs such as Freu dich bloß nicht zu früh, the German version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Take that look of your Face, or Ich will alles (I want everything), making her an icon of emancipation in Germany.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 199.
Her True Passion
Gitte's last film appearance was in Baltic Storm (Reuben Leder, 2003), a British-German thriller starring Greta Scacchi and Donald Sutherland. Since 2004, she has been on tour Gitte Wencke Siw together with Norwegian singer Wencke Myhre and Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist .
Gitte Hænning has been married once: to Jo Geistler from 1972 till their divorce in 1974. After living together with director Pit Weyrich in the 1980s, she has been the longtime companion of musical producer Friedrich Kurz.
Although Gitte Hænning is a successful singer of popular music, her true passion has always been singing jazz. A number of compilation albums of Gitte have been recently released in Germany, among them a biographical DVD, all to commemorate one of the most famous singers of the German and Danish languages.
Video about the disqualification of the Danish entry Jeg Snakker med mig Selv in 1962. Source: Luxemburgo221 (YouTube).
Gitte sings Junger Tag at the Eurovision Song Contest 1973. Source: Euroencyclopedic (YouTube).
Sources: GitteHaenning.info, Wikipedia and .
September 17, 2013
Lilian Hall-Davis
Lilian Hall-Davis (1897-1933) was one of the brightest stars of the British silent cinema. For a while she was Hitchcock's Favourite Actress. Failing to make the transition to the talkies, she committed suicide.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1370/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Atelier Balázs, Berlin.
Sexual Health Manual
Lilian (sometimes written as Lillian) Hall-Davis was born in London, England, in 1897. She was the daughter of an East End taxi driver. For publicity purposes, she reported her birthplace as the more fashionable Hampstead, London.
She started to work in film in 1917, first in the French film La p'tite du sixième (René Hervil, Louis Mercanton, 1917), opposite Charles Vanel whom she would meet more often on film sets. Soon films followed like the comedy The Admirable Crichton (G.B. Samuelson, 1918), based on J.M. Barrie, and the war comedy The Better 'ole (George Pearson, 1919).
Hall-Davis became one of the leading actresses of the British silent cinema in the 1920s, playing in one film after another. She featured in Maisie's Marriage/Married Love (Alexander Butler, 1923), a controversial adaptation of Marie Stopes' sexual health manual Married Love. It was a key title in the establishment of British censorship.
British postcard by Rotary Postcards E.C.
Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag no. 5448. Photo: Lux Film Verleih.
Hitchcock Favourite Actress
Lilian Hall-Davis also played in a part-colour version of I Pagliacci (G.B. Samuelson, S.W. Smith, 1923) opposite Adelqui Migliar ; Blighty (Adrian Brunel 1927) about the impact of the First World War on a rich family; Roses of Picardy (Maurice Elvey, 1927) with John Stuart ; and Tommy Atkins (Norman Walker, 1928) about a love triangle, partly set in Egypt.
In the late 1920s, she was Alfred Hitchcock's favourite actress for a while. In The Ring (1927) she gave a fine performance as a simple fairground girl corrupted by a taste of the high life when her boyfriend ( Carl Brisson ) has success in the boxing ring. In The Farmer's Wife (1928) she is convincing as the housekeeper quietly waiting for her widowed master (Jameson Thomas) whom she has set her eyes on.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 1370/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Atelier Balàsz, Berlin.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 1479/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Ufa.
Warmth and Natural Presence
Lilian Hall-Davis' warmth and natural presence were also felt in her roles in foreign films. In Italy she played in the Italo-German super-production Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924) as the virtuous Lygia opposite the perverse Nero ( Emil Jannings ).
In Germany, she starred in the comedies Liebe macht blind/Love Makes Blind (Lothar Mendes, 1925) with Lil Dagover , Der Farmer aus Texas/The Texas Farmer (Joe May, 1925) with Mady Christians , and Blitzzug der Liebe/Love Express (Johannes Guter, 1925) with Ossi Oswalda and Willi Fritsch , but she appeared also in such dramas as Die drei Kuckucksuhren/Adventure Mad (Lothar Mendes, 1926) with Nils Asther , and Wolga Wolga/Volga Volga (Viktor Tourjansky, 1928).
In France, Hall-Davis played in Nitchevo (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1925) and La proie du vent/The Prey of the Wind (René Clair, 1925), both with Charles Vanel .
Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no.651. Lilian Hall-Davis as Licia/Lygia in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924), a production of UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 699/3,1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924), with Alphons Fryland .
Depressions and Nervous Breakdowns
In 1927 Lilian Hall-Davis played in a sound experiment, the short comedy As We Lie, shot by Miles Mander in the DeForest Phonofilm system. Hall-Davis, however, failed to make it into the talkies.
Her last role was a minor part in the sound film Her Reputation (Sidney Morgan, 1931). By 1933 her career was over. She suffered from depressions and nervous breakdowns.
She killed herself in her home in Golders Green by turning on the gas and cutting her throat. Her 14-year old son Grosvenor found her suicide note, summoned for help, but it was too late. Lilian Hall-Davis died at the age of 34. She was married to the British stage actor Walter Pemberton and according to IMDb she played in a total of 44 films.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1120/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Ufa.
British hand-coloured postcard, no. 1120/2. Photo: Ufa.
Sources: Simon McCallum (BFI Screen Online), The Times, (IMDb), Wikipedia and .
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1370/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Atelier Balázs, Berlin.
Sexual Health Manual
Lilian (sometimes written as Lillian) Hall-Davis was born in London, England, in 1897. She was the daughter of an East End taxi driver. For publicity purposes, she reported her birthplace as the more fashionable Hampstead, London.
She started to work in film in 1917, first in the French film La p'tite du sixième (René Hervil, Louis Mercanton, 1917), opposite Charles Vanel whom she would meet more often on film sets. Soon films followed like the comedy The Admirable Crichton (G.B. Samuelson, 1918), based on J.M. Barrie, and the war comedy The Better 'ole (George Pearson, 1919).
Hall-Davis became one of the leading actresses of the British silent cinema in the 1920s, playing in one film after another. She featured in Maisie's Marriage/Married Love (Alexander Butler, 1923), a controversial adaptation of Marie Stopes' sexual health manual Married Love. It was a key title in the establishment of British censorship.
British postcard by Rotary Postcards E.C.
Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag no. 5448. Photo: Lux Film Verleih.
Hitchcock Favourite Actress
Lilian Hall-Davis also played in a part-colour version of I Pagliacci (G.B. Samuelson, S.W. Smith, 1923) opposite Adelqui Migliar ; Blighty (Adrian Brunel 1927) about the impact of the First World War on a rich family; Roses of Picardy (Maurice Elvey, 1927) with John Stuart ; and Tommy Atkins (Norman Walker, 1928) about a love triangle, partly set in Egypt.
In the late 1920s, she was Alfred Hitchcock's favourite actress for a while. In The Ring (1927) she gave a fine performance as a simple fairground girl corrupted by a taste of the high life when her boyfriend ( Carl Brisson ) has success in the boxing ring. In The Farmer's Wife (1928) she is convincing as the housekeeper quietly waiting for her widowed master (Jameson Thomas) whom she has set her eyes on.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 1370/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Atelier Balàsz, Berlin.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 1479/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Ufa.
Warmth and Natural Presence
Lilian Hall-Davis' warmth and natural presence were also felt in her roles in foreign films. In Italy she played in the Italo-German super-production Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924) as the virtuous Lygia opposite the perverse Nero ( Emil Jannings ).
In Germany, she starred in the comedies Liebe macht blind/Love Makes Blind (Lothar Mendes, 1925) with Lil Dagover , Der Farmer aus Texas/The Texas Farmer (Joe May, 1925) with Mady Christians , and Blitzzug der Liebe/Love Express (Johannes Guter, 1925) with Ossi Oswalda and Willi Fritsch , but she appeared also in such dramas as Die drei Kuckucksuhren/Adventure Mad (Lothar Mendes, 1926) with Nils Asther , and Wolga Wolga/Volga Volga (Viktor Tourjansky, 1928).
In France, Hall-Davis played in Nitchevo (Jacques de Baroncelli, 1925) and La proie du vent/The Prey of the Wind (René Clair, 1925), both with Charles Vanel .
Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no.651. Lilian Hall-Davis as Licia/Lygia in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924), a production of UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 699/3,1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924), with Alphons Fryland .
Depressions and Nervous Breakdowns
In 1927 Lilian Hall-Davis played in a sound experiment, the short comedy As We Lie, shot by Miles Mander in the DeForest Phonofilm system. Hall-Davis, however, failed to make it into the talkies.
Her last role was a minor part in the sound film Her Reputation (Sidney Morgan, 1931). By 1933 her career was over. She suffered from depressions and nervous breakdowns.
She killed herself in her home in Golders Green by turning on the gas and cutting her throat. Her 14-year old son Grosvenor found her suicide note, summoned for help, but it was too late. Lilian Hall-Davis died at the age of 34. She was married to the British stage actor Walter Pemberton and according to IMDb she played in a total of 44 films.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1120/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Ufa.
British hand-coloured postcard, no. 1120/2. Photo: Ufa.
Sources: Simon McCallum (BFI Screen Online), The Times, (IMDb), Wikipedia and .
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