French postcard, no. 69. Photo: Film Pathé-Natan.

Gaby Morlay (1893-1964) was a French actress with a long standing career, playing in over 100 films. She compensated her small size (1.53 m.) with passion and enthusiasm.

Morlay, originally Blanche Pauline Fumoleau, was born in Biskra, Algeria. By chance, she was enrolled in playing on stage. In 1913 she started in cinema, first in comic shorts with Max Linder and afterwards she had her own comedies with her character Gaby. In the Roaring Twenties, she became the symbol of the liberated woman, being the first woman to obtain a licence for flying a zeppelin. During the Occupation she was the mistress of Max Bonnafous, Secretary of State in the Petain government. When in 1961 his wife died, she married him.

Among Gaby Morlay's features are L'Agonie des aigles (Julien Duvivier 1922), Jim la houlette, roi des voleurs (Colombier & Lion 1926), Les nouveaux messieurs (Jacques Feyder 1929), her first sound film Accusée, levez-vous (Maurice Tourneur 1930), Après l'amour (Léonce Perret 1931), Nous ne sommes plus des enfants (Augusto Genina 1934) , Jeanne (Georges/Marret/Viktor Tourjansky 1934) - Morlay was coproducer for the latter two - La peur (Viktor Tourjansky 1936), Quadrille (Sacha Guitry 1938), etc. While Morlay already had an active career in the 1920s, she really peaked in the sound film era. If she was not involved in big productions she did five films a year in the 1930s. She was often paired with Victor Francen and played historical figures like Queen Victoria (Entente Cordiale, Marcel L'Herbier 1939), Giuseppina Strepponi (Giuseppe Verdi, Carmine Gallone 1939), and Napoleon's Désirée (Le Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary, Sacha Guitry 1941). Having often played on stage in Henry Bernstein's plays, she also played in several film adaptations: Mélo (Paul Czinner 1932), Le bonheur (L'Herbier 1935), Samson (Tourneur 1936), and Le messager (Raymond Rouleau 1937). During the war, Morlay excelled in the popular tearjerker Le Voile bleu (Jean Stelli 1942), while in the postwar era Louis Jouvet treated her cruelly in Le revenant (Christian-Jacque 1946) and she played Michel Simon's clochard friend in Les amants du pont Saint-Jean (Henri Decoin 1947), her preferred film. In the 1950s Morlay played in some Italian films: she was Aldo Fabrizi's wife in the comedy Prima Communione (Alessandro Blasetti 1950) and in the melodrama Anna (Alberto Lattuada 1951) she was the Mother Superior opposite Silvana Mangano in the title role. In 1951 Morlay was also part of the Cannes Jury. In Le Plaisir (1951) by Max Ophüls, she was the wife of the masked man in the first episode of the film, and in Guitry's Si Versailles m'était conté (1954) she was the Countess de la Motte. Until her death in 1964, Gaby Morlay continued to play in films.

Gaby Morlay also had an active stage career from the 1910s to the 1960s, in plays by Sacha Guitry, Marcel Achard, André Brulé and others. Just as at the cinema, she continued to play on stage until her death; for instance, in 1959-1960 she played for two years in O'Neill's Long Voyage to the End of the Night. In 1964 Gaby Morlay died of cancer, at age 71.

Sources: French and German Wikipedia fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaby_Morlay, cinememorial.com/Acteur_detail.php?id=320

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French postcard, no. 1048. Photo: Pathé Natan Film.

French singer and actor Roger Tréville (1902-2005) was a popular star of the early 1930s. Between 1908 and 1980, he appeared in more than fifty films and TV series in France but also in Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and the US.

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French postcard by A.N. Paris, no. 934. Photo Pathé Natan. Charles Vanel as Javert in Les Misérables (Raymond Bernard, 1934).

Charles Vanel (1892-1989) was a French actor and director. For 78 years he had a career in film and played in over 200 silent and sound films, in France and abroad. He is best remembered for his roles as the silent driver in Le salaire de la peur (Clouzot, 1953), the retired chief commissioner in Les diaboliques (Clouzot, 1955), and the ex-resistance fighter in To Catch a Thief (Hitchcock, 1955), but he also played memorable parts in Italian films like those of Francesco Rosi (Cadaveri eccellenti (1976), Tre fratelli (1981)).

Charles-Marie Vanel was born in Rennes, France, in 1892. His family moved to Paris in 1904, where his parents became shopkeepers. His adolescence was not very happy, being expelled from all the schools which he frequented. He tried to enlist in the Navy, but his poor sight put an end to this ambition. Possessing a very fine voice, he decided to become an actor and in 1908, he made his stage debut in Hamlet at the age of 16. In 1912 followed his first film appearance in the short Western Jim Crow (Robert Péguy, 1912) opposite Joë Hamman. He participated in numerous theatre tours, in particular with Lucien Guitry during the war. Then he worked with Firmin Gémier at the Theatre Antoine before dedicating himself exclusively to the cinema. His films of the 1910s included La p'tite du sixième/The Little Girl of the 6th (Louis Mercanton, René Hervil, 1917) and Miarka, la fille à l'ourse/Gypsy Passion (Louis Mercanton, 1920) with Réjane. He acted with the legendary Russian actor Ivan Mozzhukhin in L'Enfant du carnaval/The Child of the Carnival (Ivan Mozzhukhin, 1921), Tempêtes/Tempests (Robert Boudrioz, 1922), and La Maison du mystère/The House of Mystery (Alexandre Volkoff, 1923). Vanel had his first success in Robert Boudrioz's drama about the grim life of French peasants, L'Atre/Tillers of the Soil (1922). This marked the beginning of a prolific silent film career. He appeared in many films by Jacques de Baroncelli, particularly in the Pierre Loti story Pêcheur d'Islande/Island Fishermen (1927), filmed in his native Brittany. He played in Germaine Dulac's melodrama Ame d'artiste/Heart of an Actress (1924) and René Clair's comedy-drama Proie du vent/Prey of the Wind (1927) with Sandra Milowanoff. Vanel worked for German and Italian directors and played Napoleon in Karl Grüne's Waterloo (1929). Vanel directed Sandra Milowanoff in the feature film Dans la Nuit/In the Night (1929), in which he also played the leading role. This silent film was overlooked at the time because of the coming of sound, and it would stay the only feature film directed by Vanel. In 2002, at the request of filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, Louis Sclavis composed and recorded a soundtrack for the film, and the Cinématheque Française restored Dans la Nuit. At Film Reference, Liam O’Leary writes: “which allows us to see a very talented director indeed. This story of rural love and jealousy set among quarry workers has a documentary realism”.

With the arrival of sound, Charles Vanel spent two years in Germany on French versions of German films. On his return to France, he became a familiar figure on the cinema screen. He played the nasty, relentless Inspector Javert opposite Harry Baur in the two-part screen version of Les Misérables (Raymond Bernard, 1934) and also appeared in Bernard’s prostitution and drugs drama Faubourg Montmarte (Raymond Bernard, 1931) and the powerful anti-war film Les Croix de bois/Wooden Crosses (Raymond Bernard, 1932). He was in the Foreign Legion melodrama Le Grand Jeu/The Full Deck (Jacques Feyder, 1934), he played Jean Gabin’s buddy in the smash hit La Belle Equipe/The Good Crew (Julien Duvivier, 1936), and he appeared in Marcel Carné's first film as director, Jenny (1936), featuring Françoise Rosay. He also starred in Feyder’s La Loi du nord/Law of the North (Jacques Feyder, 1939) with Michèle Morgan. His popularity diminished during the war years, but he was able to stage a comeback as a member of director Henri-Georges Clouzot's stock company. He played his most famous role as the eldest of four men assigned to drive two truckloads of nitroglycerine across dangerous terrain in Clouzot's agonisingly suspenseful Le Salaire de la peur/The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953). His increasingly frail character suffers humiliation at the hands of Yves Montand and endures remarkable physical torment during the dangers of the journey. For this role, he received the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. He reunited with Clouzot for Les Diaboliques/Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955), and the courtroom drama La verité/The Truth (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1958) starring Brigitte Bardot. At AllMovie, Jason Ankeny calls Les Diaboliques ‘The greatest film that Alfred Hitchcock never made: “A dark, dank thriller with a much-imitated ‘shock’ ending, Diabolique is a masterpiece of Grand Guignol suspense. The simple murder plot goes haywire, and Michel's corpse disappears, prompting strange rumors of his reappearance which grow more and more substantial as the film careens wildly towards its breathless conclusion.” That same year Alfred Hitchcock cast Vanel as a policeman on the trail of cat burglar Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock, 1955). It would be Vanel’s only Hollywood production. The following years he worked for other famous directors like Luis Buñuel in Le Mort en ce jardin/Death in the Garden (1956), Alberto Lattuada in La Steppa/The Steppe (1962), and Jean Pierre Melville in L'Ainé des Ferchaux/An Honorable Young Man (1962).

Charles Vanel was increasingly active on TV in the 1960s and 1970s, although he continued to appear in interesting films like the thriller Un homme de trop/Shock Troops (Costa Gravas, 1967). At his site, author Jean Bernard-Luc analyses Vanel’s style: “Sobriety and the correct tone characterize Vanel’s acting. His monolithic appearance, his impassiveness are denied by his eyes, which concentrates the intense life of his character. Most times, he played the dutiful man, whether he is a state employee, a serviceman, an adventurer, or a gangster. He was almost never a seducer.” In real life, Vanel was married to Arlette Mauricette Bailly, and they lived in the south of France for the last 20 years of his life. As late as 1976 he played the leading role of the grandfather in the docudrama Es Herrscht Ruhe im Land/The Country Is Calm (Peter Lilienthal, 1976). That year he also appeared in the psychological drama Alice ou la Derniere Fugue/Alice or the Last Escapade (Claude Chabrol, 1976) starring Sylvia Kristel. He played memorable parts in the Italian films Cadaveri eccellenti/The Excellent Corpses (Francesco Rosi, 1976) and Tre fratelli/Three Brothers (Francesco Rosi, 1981), an adaptation of a work by Andrei Platonov. The latter earned a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination. In 1978 Vanel was honoured with a special César award. He retired in 1982, only to make a wholly unexpected comeback at the age of 95 as an old prophet in Si le Soleil Ne Revenait Pas/If The Sun Never Returns (Claude Goretta, 1987). In Les Saisons Du Plaisir/The Seasons of Pleasure (Jean-Pierre Mocky, 1988) he played a 100-year-old perfume magnate who decides to marry. This would be his last film. Charles Vanel died in 1989, in Cannes, France, at the age of 96. He had the longest career of any French film actor. However, in Germany, actor Curt Bois even had an 80-year film career. In an interview with a Swiss newspaper in 1986, Vanel said: "You know, in our profession, there is no end. As long as one has the strength to do it, you can act."

Sources: Liam O'Leary (Film Reference), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), Jean Bernard-Luc (French), New York Times, TCM, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

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French postcard by Rasiogravure A. Breger Frères, Paris for Victor-Hugo Théâtre Pathé Natan. Photo: Raimu in Charlemagne (Pierre Colombier, 1933).

Beloved, down-to-earth character actor Raimu (1883-1946) was one of the major stars of the French cinema in the 1930s. He started his career as a comedian at the Folies Bergère and other major Paris venues, and in 1929 he had his breakthrough as a serious actor with his part as César in the Marseille trilogy Marius-Fanny-César by Marcel Pagnol.

Raimu was born as Jules Auguste Cesar Muraire in the harbour town of Toulon, France in 1883. His father was an upholsterer. At the age of 16, he made his stage debut by imitating his comic idols, Félix Mayol and Polin. He went on to perform in dance halls, cafe concerts, and bars in the Provence. His stage name was Rallum, but later he changed it into Raimu. He was sometimes credited as Jules Raimu. He came to the attention of the singer and music hall director Félix Mayol who was also from Toulon. In 1908 Mayol gave him a chance to work as a secondary act in the Paris theaters. Raimu made his film debut in Le fumiste/The Humbug (Gérard Bourgeois, 1912). The following years he appeared in more short silent films but nothing much came of them. After this disappointment, Raimu would not appear on screen for more than a decade. Primarily a comedian, in 1916 writer/director Sacha Guitry gave him significant parts in productions at the Folies Bergère and other major venues. He starred in the premiere of Messager's operetta Coups de roulis in 1928. In 1929, he gained wide acclaim for his serious role as César Olivier in Marcel Pagnol’s play Marius. César is the father of the young sailor Marius. Marius works in his father’s waterfront bar in Marseille, but longs to travel to exotic places with the ship crews that part from the docks. Only his love for the vendor Fanny keeps him on shore. César, with his generous, comic spirit, tries to guide his son. The play was an astonishing success and was soon followed by the plays Fanny and César.

Although he was reluctant about the cinema, Raimu agreed to act in the early sound film Le Blanc et le Noir/Black and White (Marc Allégret, Robert Florey, 1930) written by Sacha Guitry. It was a success. A year later he reprised his role as the grubby, iron-willed César in the film adaptation of Marius (Alexander Korda, 1931), featuring Pierre Fresnay as Marius and co-produced by author Marcel Pagnol. Gary Brumburgh writes at IMDb: “Raimu transferred the role of Cesar brilliantly to film in 1931 and the rest is history. So Marius was soon followed by the sequels Fanny (Marc Allégret, 1932) featuring Orane Demazis, and César (Marcel Pagnol, 1936). According to Brumburgh the three films have been ‘arguably celebrated as the greatest series ever put together’. By his late forties, Raimu had become one of France’s most noted actors, both on stage and in the cinema. His best films include Un carnet de bal/Dance Program (Julien Duvivier, 1937) with Marie Bell, the comedy Gribouille/Heart of Paris (Marc Allégret, 1937) with Michèle Morgan in her first major film role, La Femme du boulanger/The Baker's Wife (Marcel Pagnol, 1938), and L’Arlesienne (Marc Allégret, 1942) with a young Louis Jourdan. In these films, he swayed effectively from humor to great pathos. In 1943, Raimu took a three-year sabbatical from filmmaking when he was invited to join La Comédie Francaise, where he excelled in the plays of Molière. Shortly after making the Fyodor Dostoyevsky adaptation L'homme au chapeau rond/The Eternal Road (Pierre Billon, 1946), Raimu died of a heart attack in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He was interred in the cemetery of his birthplace Toulon-sur-Mer where there is also the Cinéma Raimu Toulon named in his honor. In 1961, the French government honored him with a postage stamp. Raimy was married to Esther Metayer and they had a daughter, Paulette. His grand-daughter Isabelle Nohain created a small museum, le Musée-Espace Raimu in Cogolin, France.

Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Films de France, Musée Raimu (French), Wikipedia (French and English), and IMDb.

For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

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French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 970. Photo: Pathé Natan.

Max Dearly (1874-1943) was a French actor, famous for his parts in 1930s French sound film but also for his previous career in Parisian vaudeville.

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