French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 126. John Barrymore in Sherlock Holmes (Albert Parker, 1922).

John Barrymore (1882-1942) was an American stage and screen actor whose rise to superstardom and subsequent decline is one of the legendary tragedies of Hollywood. A member of the most famous generation of the most famous theatrical family in America, he was also its most acclaimed star. He excelled in high drama, in productions of 'Justice' (1916), 'Richard III' (1920) and 'Hamlet' (1922). After a success as Hamlet in London in 1925, Barrymore left the stage for 14 years and instead focused entirely on films.

John Barrymore was born John Sidney Blyth in 1882 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was Maurice Blyth (or Blythe; family spellings vary), a stage success under the name Maurice Barrymore. His mother, Georgie Drew, was the daughter of actor John Drew. Although well known in the theatre, Maurice and Georgie were eclipsed by their three children, John, Lionel Barrymore, and Ethel Barrymore, each of whom became legendary stars. John was handsome and roguish. He made his stage debut at age 18 in one of his father's productions but was much more interested in becoming an artist. Briefly educated at King's College, Wimbledon, and at New York's Art Students League, Barrymore worked as a freelance artist and for a while sketched for the New York Evening Journal. Gradually, though, the draw of his family's profession ensnared him, and by 1905, he had given up professional drawing and was touring the country in plays. He survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and in 1909, became a major Broadway star in 'The Fortune Hunter'. In 1922, Barrymore became his generation's most acclaimed 'Hamlet', in New York and London. But by this time, he had become a frequent player in films. His screen debut supposedly came in An American Citizen (J. Searle Dawley, 1914), though records of several lost films indicate he may have made appearances as far back as 1912. During the silent film era, he was well received in such pictures as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (John S. Robertson, 1920), Sherlock Holmes (Albert Parker, 1922) with Roland Young as Dr. John Watson, and The Sea Beast (Millard Webb, 1926), the first adaptation of the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Barrymore became every bit the star of films that he was on stage, eclipsing his siblings in both arenas.

Though his striking matinee-idol looks had garnered him the nickname "The Great Profile", John Barrymore often buried them under makeup or distortion in order to create memorable characters of degradation or horror. He was a romantic leading man into the early days of talkies. His stage-trained voice proved an asset when sound films was introduced. The three Barrymore siblings appeared in only one film together: Rasputin and the Empress (Richard Boleslawski, 1932). Lionel and John appeared without Ethel in Grand Hotel (Edmund Goulding, 1932), Arsène Lupin (Jack Conway, 1932), Night Flight (Clarence Brown, 1933), and Dinner at Eight (George Cukor, 1933). His other big successes were the screwball comedies Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, 1934) with Carole Lombard, and Midnight (Mitchell Leisen, 1939) with Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche. John's heavy drinking since boyhood began to take a toll, and he degenerated quickly into a man old before his time. He made a number of memorable appearances in character roles, but these became over time more memorable for the humiliation of a once-great star than for his gifts. His last few films were broad and distasteful caricatures of himself, though, in even the worst, such as Playmates (David Butler, 1941) with Kay Kyser and Lupe Velez, he could rouse himself to a moving soliloquy from 'Hamlet'. John Barrymore died in 1942 in Los Angeles, mourned as much for the loss of his life as for the loss of grace, wit, and brilliance which had characterised his career at its height. Barrymore married and divorced four times. His wives were Katherine Corri Harris (1910-1917), Blanche Oelrichs (1920-1928), Dolores Costello (1928-1935), and Elaine Barrie (1936-1940). He was the father of John Drew Barrymore and Diana Barrymore, and the grandfather of Drew Barrymore.

Sources: Jim Beaver (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

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

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French postcard in the Collection Théâtrale du P. P. P. Firmin Gémier in the play 'Sherlock Holmes' at the Théâtre Antoine, Paris. Caption: 4th Act - Moriarty - At no cost, I do not want this lamp! .... The play 'Sherlock Holmes' (1899) by William Gillette and based on the famous stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, was first performed in a French version by Pierre Decourcelle, at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris in 1907.

Firmin Gémier (1869-1933) was actor, director and theatre manager at the French stage, promotor of the Théâtre Populaire and founder of the first Théâtre National Populaire in Paris in 1920. He also acted in the French silent and sound cinema of the 1910s to the 1930s.

Firmin Gémier was born as Firmin Tonnerre in Aubervilliers, France, in 1869. His father was a tanner, his mother came from a family of carpenters. Living in the Parisian worker's quartier of Belleville, he was able to go to the upper primary school Turgot thanks to a scholarship. Twice refused to study at the Conservatory, he studied acting in neighbourhood theatres, including the Théâtre de Belleville and that of Bouffes du Nord. In 1892 (some sources say 1891), he entered the famous Théâtre Libre of André Antoine, where he worked as an actor and as a stage manager. While working for Antoine, Firmin Gémier discovered his desire to offer quality theatre at a cheap price. His debut role was that Ubu in the first performance of 'Ubu Roi' by Alfred Jarry, at the Nouveau-Théâtre. He then left Antoine with some other members of the troupe and played at the Théâtre du Gymnase for one season. Then he directed the Théâtre de la Renaissance, where he tried out popular theatre for the first time with the staging of 'Quatorze Juillet' by Romain Rolland in 1902. Many plays at the Renaissance followed that year. In order to pay for the contractual debts at the Renaissance, he became an actor in 1903. He associated with Camille de Sainte-Croix in order to create a popular Parisian theatre, which was backed by the committee of the Chambre des Députés (House of Commons) in 1906, but refused by the Paris City Council. At the Odéon, he also staged La Rabouilleuse after Honoré de Balzac, in which he played Philippe Bridau.

Between 1906 and 1919, Firmin Gémier was the head of the Théâtre Antoine. He alternated popular hits with new authors to balance the revenues. Influenced by Romain Rolland and his ‘théâtre pour le peuple’ (theatre for the people) and by the Théâtre du Peuple at Bussang, Gémier created the Théâtre National Ambulant (1911-1912), with the help of Joseph Paul-Boncour. This was a removable auditorium with seating for 1650 persons. With several trucks for the transport of the auditorium, he travelled across France to present the pieces he had staged with the Théâtre Antoine in Paris, such as 'Anna Karenina', 'La Rabouilleuse' and 'Les Gaîtés de l'escadron'. Despite its big popular success, the revenues of the Théâtre National Ambulant were insufficient, and the experience was quickly abandoned. In 1917 Gémier founded the Société Shakespeare and created 'The Merchant of Venice'. Like Antoine, Gémier sought to renew the mise-en-scène: he made the auditorium part of the stage, used the effects of crowds, continued Antoine’s work on light by removing the ramp, and worked with Émile Jaques-Dalcroze to integrate music in the representation. Gémier founded the Théâtre National Populaire in 1920 in Paris at the Palais de Chaillot. According to critic Régis Messac, Firmin Gémier found ‘the exact formula of the Popular Theatre. [...] Gémier has thought of offering the people sights that are beautiful, emotional, artistic - and aristocratic. He presents old and new masterpieces of our drama, with the best actors. [...] Excellent orchestras play Beethoven or Mozart. [...] The people press to these magnificent performances. People with taste expressed to be enchanted and delighted." Gémier also simultaneously ran one of France's national theatres, the Théâtre de l'Odéon (1921-1929, some sources say 1922-1930). In 1924, he organised the ceremonial transfer of the remains of French Socialist leader Jean Jaures to the Panthéon, the secular mausoleum in Paris containing the remains of distinguished French citizens.

Incidentally, Firmin Gémier was also a film actor and director. His cinema debut was for Pathé Frères in L'Homme qui assassina/The man who murdered (Henri Andréani, 1913). Earlier he had directed a short film for Pathé, Le père Milon/Father Milon (Firmin Gémier, Henry Houry, 1909), an adaptation of a story by Guy de Maupassant about the Franco-Prussian War. In 1917 he played Emile Berliac, one of the leads in Abel Gance’s Mater Dolorosa/Sorrowful Mother/The Torture of Silence, opposite Emmy Lynn as Manon Berliac and Armand Tallier as François Rolland. In the 1920s he acted in La Branche morte/The dead branch (Giuseppe Guarino, 1926) with Dolly Davis, and played Dr. Porhoet in Rex Ingram’s The Magician (1926), an MGM production shot in Paris and Nice and based on a novel by Somerset Maugham. The Magician starred Alice Terry as a female sculptor who has an affair with a surgeon (Iván Petrovich) who saves her. However, another doctor and hypnotist (Paul Wegener) is doing experiments for which he needs female blood… In the 1930s, Gémier acted in a few sound films. First, he was Heinrich Martin in Un homme sans nom/A man without a name (Roger Le Bon, Gustav Ucicky, 1932), based on Balzac’s Le Colonel Chabert. Gémier had the lead as a German industrial who 15 years after the war returns to Germany but cannot cope with his identity as he is officially declared dead. He changes his name, leaves his wife to his assistant who also has taken over the direction of the firm, and starts a new life. A simultaneously made German version of the film, Mensch ohne Nahmen, had Werner Krauss in the lead. Gémier also had the lead in the only film he directed himself, Le Simoun (Firmin Gémier, 1933). Originally Rex Ingram would have filmed Le Simoun, with exteriors in North Africa and interiors in his studio in Nice. After the flop of Ingram's film Baroud, his loss of control at the Nice studio, and his old crew leaving him alone, Rex Ingram quitted the project and film making at all. Le Simoun was released four weeks after Gémier’s death. It was not a financial success. Then Gémier had his last film part as in La Fusée/Grandeur and Decadence (Jacques Natanson, 1933). Gémier played Etienne Girbal, a factory owner who loses his wife (Marcelle Géniat) and is ruined because of the crisis, so he has to start all over again. In 2004, Nathalie Coutelet stated in the French film historical journal 1895: "Gémier exemplifies the transition made by most theatre artists to the cinema at the beginning of the 20th century. He participated in silent films, then talkies… taking up certain of his former roles with success. An emblematic figure in adapting theatre acting to the cinema, he turned to his usual creative techniques: sincerity, emotion, interiority, naturalness. The close relationship between the cinema and theatre was evident for Gémier. Yet, he conceived of cinematographic interpretation as a potential means for modernising acting and actor training, as well as a means for artistic polyvalence and international collaboration." Firmin Gémier died of heart failure in 1933 in Paris. An ardent admirer of Shakespeare, at the time of his death he was in the process of adapting The Merchant of Venice to the cinema. As an homage, the Théâtre Firmin Gémier was founded in 1967 in Ville d'Antony in the region Île-de-France.

Sources: Nathalie Coutelet (1895 - French), Leonhard Gmür (Rex Ingram: Hollywood's Rebel of the Silver Screen), Wikipedia (French), and IMDb.

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

Tags:   Firmin Gémier Firmin Gémier French Stage Theatre Theater Actor Acteur Schauspieler Darsteller European Film Star Film Cinema Cine Kino Picture Screen Movie Movies Filmster Star Vintage Postcard Postkarte Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkaart Briefkarte Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Imprimerie Darjeanne Darjeanne Paul Berger Paul Berger Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes 1907 Théâtre Antoine

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French postcard by Imprimerie Darjeanne. Photo: Paul Berger, Paris. Firmin Gémier in the play 'Sherlock Holmes' at the Théâtre Antoine, Paris. Caption: The biggest success of the year. The play 'Sherlock Holmes' (1899) by William Gillette and based on the famous stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, was first performed in a French version by Pierre Decourcelle, at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris in 1907.

Firmin Gémier (1869-1933) was actor, director and theatre manager at the French stage, promotor of the Théâtre Populaire and founder of the first Théâtre National Populaire in Paris in 1920. He also acted in the French silent and sound cinema of the 1910s to the 1930s.

Firmin Gémier was born as Firmin Tonnerre in Aubervilliers, France, in 1869. His father was a tanner, his mother came from a family of carpenters. Living in the Parisian worker's quartier of Belleville, he was able to go to the upper primary school Turgot thanks to a scholarship. Twice refused to study at the Conservatory, he studied acting in neighbourhood theatres, including the Théâtre de Belleville and that of Bouffes du Nord. In 1892 (some sources say 1891), he entered the famous Théâtre Libre of André Antoine, where he worked as an actor and as a stage manager. While working for Antoine, Firmin Gémier discovered his desire to offer quality theatre at a cheap price. His debut role was that Ubu in the first performance of 'Ubu Roi' by Alfred Jarry, at the Nouveau-Théâtre. He then left Antoine with some other members of the troupe and played at the Théâtre du Gymnase for one season. Then he directed the Théâtre de la Renaissance, where he tried out popular theatre for the first time with the staging of 'Quatorze Juillet' by Romain Rolland in 1902. Many plays at the Renaissance followed that year. In order to pay for the contractual debts at the Renaissance, he became an actor in 1903. He associated with Camille de Sainte-Croix in order to create a popular Parisian theatre, which was backed by the committee of the Chambre des Députés (House of Commons) in 1906, but refused by the Paris City Council. At the Odéon, he also staged La Rabouilleuse after Honoré de Balzac, in which he played Philippe Bridau.

Between 1906 and 1919, Firmin Gémier was the head of the Théâtre Antoine. He alternated popular hits with new authors to balance the revenues. Influenced by Romain Rolland and his ‘théâtre pour le peuple’ (theatre for the people) and by the Théâtre du Peuple at Bussang, Gémier created the Théâtre National Ambulant (1911-1912), with the help of Joseph Paul-Boncour. This was a removable auditorium with seating for 1650 persons. With several trucks for the transport of the auditorium, he travelled across France to present the pieces he had staged with the Théâtre Antoine in Paris, such as 'Anna Karenina', 'La Rabouilleuse' and 'Les Gaîtés de l'escadron'. Despite its big popular success, the revenues of the Théâtre National Ambulant were insufficient, and the experience was quickly abandoned. In 1917 Gémier founded the Société Shakespeare and created 'The Merchant of Venice'. Like Antoine, Gémier sought to renew the mise-en-scène: he made the auditorium part of the stage, used the effects of crowds, continued Antoine’s work on light by removing the ramp, and worked with Émile Jaques-Dalcroze to integrate music in the representation. Gémier founded the Théâtre National Populaire in 1920 in Paris at the Palais de Chaillot. According to critic Régis Messac, Firmin Gémier found ‘the exact formula of the Popular Theatre. [...] Gémier has thought of offering the people sights that are beautiful, emotional, artistic - and aristocratic. He presents old and new masterpieces of our drama, with the best actors. [...] Excellent orchestras play Beethoven or Mozart. [...] The people press to these magnificent performances. People with taste expressed to be enchanted and delighted." Gémier also simultaneously ran one of France's national theatres, the Théâtre de l'Odéon (1921-1929, some sources say 1922-1930). In 1924, he organised the ceremonial transfer of the remains of French Socialist leader Jean Jaures to the Panthéon, the secular mausoleum in Paris containing the remains of distinguished French citizens.

Incidentally, Firmin Gémier was also a film actor and director. His cinema debut was for Pathé Frères in L'Homme qui assassina/The man who murdered (Henri Andréani, 1913). Earlier he had directed a short film for Pathé, Le père Milon/Father Milon (Firmin Gémier, Henry Houry, 1909), an adaptation of a story by Guy de Maupassant about the Franco-Prussian War. In 1917 he played Emile Berliac, one of the leads in Abel Gance’s Mater Dolorosa/Sorrowful Mother/The Torture of Silence, opposite Emmy Lynn as Manon Berliac and Armand Tallier as François Rolland. In the 1920s he acted in La Branche morte/The dead branch (Giuseppe Guarino, 1926) with Dolly Davis, and played Dr. Porhoet in Rex Ingram’s The Magician (1926), an MGM production shot in Paris and Nice and based on a novel by Somerset Maugham. The Magician starred Alice Terry as a female sculptor who has an affair with a surgeon (Iván Petrovich) who saves her. However, another doctor and hypnotist (Paul Wegener) is doing experiments for which he needs female blood… In the 1930s, Gémier acted in a few sound films. First, he was Heinrich Martin in Un homme sans nom/A man without a name (Roger Le Bon, Gustav Ucicky, 1932), based on Balzac’s Le Colonel Chabert. Gémier had the lead as a German industrial who 15 years after the war returns to Germany but cannot cope with his identity as he is officially declared dead. He changes his name, leaves his wife to his assistant who also has taken over the direction of the firm, and starts a new life. A simultaneously made German version of the film, Mensch ohne Nahmen, had Werner Krauss in the lead. Gémier also had the lead in the only film he directed himself, Le Simoun (Firmin Gémier, 1933). Originally Rex Ingram would have filmed Le Simoun, with exteriors in North Africa and interiors in his studio in Nice. After the flop of Ingram's film Baroud, his loss of control at the Nice studio, and his old crew leaving him alone, Rex Ingram quitted the project and film making at all. Le Simoun was released four weeks after Gémier’s death. It was not a financial success. Then Gémier had his last film part as in La Fusée/Grandeur and Decadence (Jacques Natanson, 1933). Gémier played Etienne Girbal, a factory owner who loses his wife (Marcelle Géniat) and is ruined because of the crisis, so he has to start all over again. In 2004, Nathalie Coutelet stated in the French film historical journal 1895: "Gémier exemplifies the transition made by most theatre artists to the cinema at the beginning of the 20th century. He participated in silent films, then talkies… taking up certain of his former roles with success. An emblematic figure in adapting theatre acting to the cinema, he turned to his usual creative techniques: sincerity, emotion, interiority, naturalness. The close relationship between the cinema and theatre was evident for Gémier. Yet, he conceived of cinematographic interpretation as a potential means for modernising acting and actor training, as well as a means for artistic polyvalence and international collaboration." Firmin Gémier died of heart failure in 1933 in Paris. An ardent admirer of Shakespeare, at the time of his death he was in the process of adapting The Merchant of Venice to the cinema. As an homage, the Théâtre Firmin Gémier was founded in 1967 in Ville d'Antony in the region Île-de-France.

Sources: Nathalie Coutelet (1895 - French), Leonhard Gmür (Rex Ingram: Hollywood's Rebel of the Silver Screen), Wikipedia (French), and IMDb.

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

Tags:   Firmin Gémier Firmin Gémier French Stage Theatre Theater Actor Acteur Schauspieler Darsteller European Film Star Film Cinema Cine Kino Picture Screen Movie Movies Filmster Star Vintage Postcard Postkarte Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkaart Briefkarte Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Imprimerie Darjeanne Darjeanne Paul Berger Paul Berger Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes 1907 Théâtre Antoine

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French postcard. Imprimerie Darjeanne. Firmin Gémier in the play Sherlock Holmes, at the Théâtre Antoine, Paris. Photo Paul Gerber, Paris. The play (1899) by William Gillette and based on the famous stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, was first performed in a French version by Pierre Decourcelle, at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris in 1907.

Firmin Gémier (1869-1933) was actor, director and theatre manager at the French stage, promotor of the Théâtre Populaire and founder of the first Théâtre National Populaire (Paris 1920). He also acted in the French silent and sound cinema of the 1910s to the 1930s.

Tags:   Firmin Gémier Vintage Vedette Postcard Postkarte POstale Postkaart Postal Picture Cinema Carte Cartolina Cine Carte Postale Card Celebrity Costume Film French France Français Française Ansichtkaart Ansichtskarte Actor Acteur Attore Tarjet Theatre Theater Stage Star Screen Silent Schauspieler Stummfilm Darsteller 1910s 1920s 1900s Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle Adaptation Novel detective play Théâtre Antoine ANtoine Imprimerie Darjeanne

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French postcard by Imprimerie Darjeanne. Photo: Paul Berger, Paris. Firmin Gemier in the play 'Sherlock Holmes', at the Théâtre Antoine, Paris. The play (1899) by William Gillette and based on the famous stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, was first performed in a French version by Pierre Decourcelle, at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris in 1907.

Firmin Gémier (1869-1933) was actor, director and theatre manager at the French stage, promotor of the Théâtre Populaire and founder of the first Théâtre National Populaire (Paris 1920). He also acted in the French silent and sound cinema of the 1910s to the 1930s.

Tags:   Firmin Gémier Vintage Vedette Postcard Postkarte POstale Postkaart Postal Picture Cinema Carte Cartolina Cine Carte Postale Card Celebrity Costume Film French France Français Française Ansichtkaart Ansichtskarte Actor Acteur Attore Tarjet Theatre Theater Stage Star Screen Silent Schauspieler Stummfilm Darsteller 1910s 1920s 1900s Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle Adaptation Novel detective play Théâtre Antoine ANtoine Imprimerie Darjeanne

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