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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Elegant, dark-haired Parisian Micheline Presle (billed in the U.S. as Micheline Prelle) was the daughter of a businessman whose surname was Chassagne. Taking acting classes as a teen, she was discovered by Georg Wilhelm Pabst and cast in Jeunes filles en détresse (1939) (portraying Jacqueline Presle, whose last name she chose as her own marquee name). Very early into her film career, she was awarded the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as the "most promising young actress" in French cinema.
While Micheline proceeded to make movies during the Occupation with such offerings as Four Flights to Love (1939) (dual role), La comédie du bonheur (1940), Foolish Husbands (1941), La nuit fantastique (1942), Twilight (1944), and Paris Frills (1945), she was regarded as an important young French star in the post-war years when she appeared in the classic films Angel and Sinner (1945) and, in particular, Devil in the Flesh (1947), both gaining her world-wide notice.
After a brief post-war marriage to Michel Lefort, Micheline's second marriage to US actor-turned-producer William Marshall in 1949 led her to attempt Hollywood pictures. Receiving a 20th Century-Fox contract, none of the those pictures, which included Under My Skin (1950), American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950) and Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951), the last one produced and directed by husband Marshall, captured the hearts of American audiences despite co-starring opposite Hollywood's top male superstars stars at the time -- John Garfield, Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn.
Divorced in 1954, Micheline never truly adjusted to the Hollywood way of life and returned quite willingly to Paris with her daughter, the future actress/director Tonie Marshall. She would, however, return briefly to the US in the early 1960s to appear in the Dee/Darin comedy fluff If a Man Answers (1962) and the spy drama The Prize (1963).
The supremely talented Micheline continued to reign supreme back in Europe and appeared frequently on the stage as well. Some of her post-Hollywood films (mid-1950's on) included House of Ricordi (1954), Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954) (as Madame de Pompadour), Her Bridal Night (1956), Demoniac (1957), Mistress of the World (1960), Imperial Venus (1962) (as Napoleon's Josephine), Dark Purpose (1964), The Nun (1966), King of Hearts (1966), Donkey Skin (1970), The Legend of Frenchie King (1971), A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), A Young Emmanuelle (1976), Démons de midi (1979), Thieves After Dark (1983), Good Weather, But Stormy Late This Afternoon (1986), High Finance Woman (1990), Fanfan (1993), Les Misérables (1995) and Diary of a Seducer (1996).
Into the millennium, Micheline graced a large number of French films such as Le coeur à l'ouvrage (2000), Charmant garçon (2001), Le diable dans la boîte (1977), Transfixed (2001), France Boutique (2003) (directed by daughter Tonie), Grabuge! (2005), Plein sud (2009), Just Like Brothers (2012) and her last, an unbilled part in Sex, Love & Therapy (2014).
Nominated for a supporting actress Cesar Award for her role as in the Venice Film Festival winner I Want to Go Home (1989), Micheline received an honorary César Award in 2004.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
The son of a sausage-maker, Michel Simon was conscripted into the Swiss Army at the start of World War I, but was thrown out through a combination of tuberculosis and general insubordination. He was variously a boxer, photographer, general handyman and right-wing anarchist, finally becoming a stage actor in Geneva in 1920. His reputation soon grew, and he moved to Paris in 1923, appearing in his first film in 1925 (the same year he played Boudu for the first time on stage). With the coming of sound, Simon became firmly established as one of France's outstanding character actors, doing unforgettable work for Jean Renoir (La Chienne (1931), Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932)), Jean Vigo (L'Atalante (1934)) and Marcel Carné (Port of Shadows (1938), Bizarre, Bizarre (1937)). In the 1950s he worked less frequently, partly thanks to an accident involving makeup dye that paralyzed part of his body and face. Despite this, he still managed to appear in films right up to his death in 1975.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Christian Marquand was born on 15 March 1927 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He was an actor and director, known for Apocalypse Now (1979), The Longest Day (1962) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). He was married to Tina Aumont. He died on 22 November 2000 in Ivry-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne, France.- Writer
- Art Department
- Actor
Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Zundert, Netherlands. His father, named Theodorus van Gogh, was a Protestant minister. His mother, named Anna Cornelia Carbentus, was a daughter of the "book-binder to the King" Willem Carbentus; who had bound the first Consitution of Holland. Vincent Van Gogh was given the name of his elder brother, who had died at birth a year before Van Gogh was born. He had two junior brothers and three sisters, and was strongly attached to his brother Theo.
Young Van Gogh was brought up in a religious and strict atmosphere. He was severely punished by his grandmother at one time. He had a very uncontrollable temper, was highly emotional, and lacked self-confidence. From the age of 7 to 11 he was taught at home by a governess. Then from the age of 11 to 15 he was sent to boarding schools in the Netherlands. His first art teacher was Constantijn Huysmans, a professional artist, who taught the young Van Gogh basic drawing and composition. From 1869-1873 Van Gogh worked for an established art dealer, Goupil & Cie, in the Hague. Then he worked in London and Paris until 1876, when he was fired for showing resentment to the customers. Van Gogh went to England as a minister's assistant. Then he studied theology at the University of Amsterdam for one year, but gave up. He tried to follow his father's profession and become a preacher in Belgium, but was dismissed after a year for "underminig the dignity of the priesthood."
He studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Brussels for six months in 1880 and 1881. In the summer of 1881 Van Gogh fell in love with his widowed cousin, Kee Vos, but was cruelly rejected by her. He became upset and resentful. This led to a violent quarrel with his father on Christmas, and he moved in with an alcoholic prostitute for a year. In 1884 Van Gogh had a romance with a neighbor's daughter, who shared his interest in art, but their marriage was opposed by both families. This and the death of his father in March of 1885 caused depression. At that time Van Gogh made his first major work, "The Potato Eaters". In September of 1885 he was accused of making one of his sitters, a young peasant girl, pregnant and was ostracized by the local Church. He moved to Antwerp, where he studied color theory and painting at the Antwerpen School of Arts, and matriculated in January of 1886. While he was away, his mother and sister moved. They left behind almost all of his paintings, of which 70 were bought by a junk dealer and some were burned.
From March 1886 to February 1888, Van Gogh lived in Paris. There he met the Impressionists: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley, Paul Signac, Georges Seurat, and brothers Lucien and Camille Pissarro. The Impressionist's use of light and color inspired Van Gogh on updating his own palette. During the Paris years, his color scheme became brighter and lighter. His use of complementary colors in proximity produced remarkable decorative effects. He wrote: "I want to use colours that complement each other, that cause each other to shine brilliantly, that complete each other like a man and a woman." Van Gogh also adopted some ideas of pointillism, but developed his own technique with stronger brush-strokes, sharp composition, and his own color scheme using complementary colors. He created about 200 oil paintings during his two years in Paris.
In February of 1888 Van Gogh moved to Arles with a plan to found an art colony. His friend Paul Gauguin joined in October. Van Gogh presented him several paintings of sunflowers, but their cooperation lasted only for two months. Their arguments about art and life were exacerbated by drinking and rivalry for prostitutes. Van Gogh's mental state was alternating between fits of depression and lucidity. At times, his madness led to aggressive actions. In December of 1888 he attacked Paul Gauguin with an open razor, was stopped, but eventually cut part of his ear off and gave it to a prostitute. Paul Gauguin sent a note to his brother Theo and left forever. Theo immediately came to help. Van Gogh was sent to the state mental hospital of St. Paul in Saint Remy de Provence. There he lived for a year and made some of his best works: "Starry Night", "Vincent's Bedroom", and several paintings of Irises.
Van Gogh was released in May of 1890 and moved to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under supervision of Dr. Gachet. His health improved enough to give him energy for the most intensive work marathon. In just two months there he painted ninety excellent works. This included portraits of Dr. Gachet, landscapes, still-lives, and "Wheat Field with Crows". In a state of depression he went out into the wheat field and shot himself in the chest on July 27, 1890. Fatally wounded, Van Gogh died two days later in the arms of his brother Theo. He was laid to rest at the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise.
Van Gogh's disobedience drove his creativity towards new horizons. Although categorized as a Post-impressionist, Van Gogh pioneered the style of Expressionism and had a very important influence on 20th century art. He influenced many artists and art movements, such as Henri Matisse and the French Fauves, Ernest Ludwig Kirchner and German Expressionists, as well as Francis Bacon and other artists. Van Gogh was been the topic of several biographical films. He was played most memorably by Kirk Douglas in Lust for Life (1956) and by Tim Roth in Vincent & Theo (1990). The highly popular song "Vincent" by Don McLean was a tribute to Van Gogh.- Claude Brosset was born on 24 December 1943 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne, France. He was an actor, known for A Little Romance (1979), The Count of Monte Cristo (1979) and Les rois maudits (1972). He died on 25 June 2007 in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France.
- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Although his name nowadays means very little except to animation buffs (and even they have to be pretty well informed), Wladyslaw Starewicz ranks alongside Walt Disney, as one of the great animation pioneers, and his career started nearly a decade before Disney's. He became an animator by accident - fascinated by insects, he bought a camera and attempted to film them, but they kept dying under the hot lights. Stop-motion animation provided an instant (if slow) solution, and Starewicz discovered that he had a natural talent for it. He subsequently made dozens of short films, mostly featuring his trademark stop-motion puppets, but also live action films (some blending live action and animation), moving to France after the Russian Revolution to continue his career. His longest and most ambitious film was the feature-length 'Tale of the Fox', which took ten years to plan and eighteen months to shoot. Starewicz' films were virtually one-man shows (writer/director/cameraman/designer/animator), though other important contributions (in front of and behind the camera) were made by his daughters.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Marcel Hanoun was born on 26 October 1929 in Tunis, Tunisia. He was a director and writer, known for L'été (1968), L'hiver (1969) and Une simple histoire (1959). He died on 29 September 2012 in Créteil, Val-de-Marne, France.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Charles Trenet was born on 18 May 1913 in Narbonne, Aude, France. He was a composer and actor, known for Skyfall (2012), Automata (2014) and Sea of Love (1989). He died on 19 February 2001 in Créteil, Val-de-Marne, France.- Actress
- Writer
Isabelle Ho was born on 12 November 1951 in Paris, France. She was an actress and writer, known for Martin et Léa (1979), Deadly Circuit (1983) and Cap Canaille (1983). She was married to Xavier Saint-Macary and Franck Demules. She died on 21 June 1991 in Villejuif, Val-de-Marne, France.- Edith Wharton (née Jones) was an American novelist and short story writer from New York City. She had insider knowledge of New York's upper class, which she realistically portrayed in her works. In 1921, Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She won the award for her historical novel "The Age of Innocence" (1920), where she portrayed the rigid worldview of the 1870s aristocrats of New York. She spend the last few decades of her life as an expatriate in France.
In 1862, Wharton was born in New York City. Her parents were George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander. The Joneses were a wealthy and well-connected family in New York, having earned their wealth through real estate business. Through her mother, Wharton was a great-granddaughter of Lieutenant Colonel Ebenezer Stevens (1751 -1823), an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Through her father, Wharton was a first cousin, once removed, of the famed socialite Caroline Schermerhorn Astor (1830 - 1908). Astor was the de facto leader of the "Four Hundred", an informal grouping of New York's wealthy socialites who were seen as "champions of old money and tradition".
From 1866 to 1872, Wharton and her family made extensive travels across Europe. During her stay in Europe, Wharton became a fluent speaker in French, German, and Italian. She was educated by tutors and governesses. She also loved to read the books in her father's library, though her mother forbade her to read novels.
In 1871, Wharton faced the first crisis of her life. During an extended visit in the Black Forest of Germany, Wharton suffered from typhoid fever. The disease almost killed her. In 1872, the Joneses returned to the United States. They divided their time between New York City (in the winter) and Newport, Rhode Island (in the summer).
From an early age, Wharton started writing her own fictional works. By 1873, she had written an incomplete novel. In 1877, Wharton publisher her first work. It was an English translation of the German poem "Was die Steine Erzählen" ("What the Stones Tell") by Heinrich Karl Brugsch (1827 -1894). She was paid 50 dollars for her work, the first money she earned as a writer.
She had to use a pseudonym for her first published work, at the insistence of her parents. A writing career was out-of-the-question for proper "society women" of this era. Also in 1877, Wharton completed the novella "Fast and Loose". In 1878, she had a collection of her poems and translations privately published by her father. In 1879, one of her pseudonymous poems was published in the "New York World". In 1880, five of her poems were published in the literary magazine "Atlantic Monthly". Her family and her social circle discouraged her from continuing her promising literary career. Wharton did not write anything of note between 1880 and 1889, when one of her poems was published in "Scribner's Magazine".
In 1879, Wharton came out as a debutante at the age of 17. She soon was courted by Henry Leyden Stevens, son of the prosperous hotel owner Paran Stevens. Her family disapproved her new relationship. In 1881, Wharton and her family returned to Europe. George Jones' health had started failing, and he hoped that a stay in Europe would help him recover. In 1882, he died in Cannes, France due to a stroke.
In 1882, Wharton and her widowed mother returned to the United States. Wharton was briefly engaged to her persistent suitor Henry Leyden Stevens, but the engagement was canceled without any known explanation. In 1883, Wharton started living separately from her mother Lucretia. Lucretia had decided to settle permanently in France, where she lived until her death in 1901.
In 1885, Wharton married the sportsman Edward Robbins "Teddy" Wharton, who was 12 years older than her. The two of them shared a love of travel. Between 1886 and 1897, the couple spent several months each year in Europe. Their favorite destination was Italy; Wharton retained a love of this country for decades.
In the late 1880s, Teddy suffered from acute depression. As the years passed and his mental state declined, the couple ceased their extensive travels. They spent most of their time at "The Mount", their country house in Lenox, Massachusetts. Wharton herself reportedly struggled with asthma and bouts of depression in the late 19th century.
From 1908 to 1909, Wharton had a mid-life extramarital affair with the journalist William Morton Fullerton (1865 -1952). In 1913, Wharton divorced Teddy. Their marriage had lasted for 28 years, but caring for a chronically depressed man had taken its toll on her.
In 1911, as her marriage deteriorated, Wharton decided to move permanently to Paris, France. During World War I (1914-1918), Wharton supported the French war effort. In 1914, Wharton opened a workroom for unemployed women. In 1914, she helped set up the American Hostels for Refugees, to care for Belgian war refugees in France. In 1915. she helped found the Children of Flanders Rescue Committee, which sheltered about 900 Belgian refugees.
In 1915, Wharton wrote articles about France's front-lines. She regularly visited the trenches of the Western Front to get a first-hand view of the war, and was within earshot of artillery fire. Her articles were collected in the non-fiction book "Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort" (1915).
In 1916, President Raymond Poincaré appointed Wharton a chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour, the country's highest award, in recognition of her dedication to the war effort. During the war, she helped in the founding of tuberculosis hospitals. In 1919, following the war's end, Wharton decided to leave Paris and to settle in the French countryside. She purchased Pavillon Colombe, an 18th-century house located in Saint-Brice-sous-Foret. It remained her main residence until her death.
In 1921, Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction though her win was controversial. The three fiction judges employed for the contest voted that the award should be given to Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951). Columbia University's advisory board overturned their decision and decided that the winner was Wharton. Wharton was also nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1927, 1928, and 1930), without ever winning.
In 1934, Wharton published her autobiography under the title "A Backward Glance". The work is noted for omitting some of the more difficult aspects of her life, which became known after Wharton's death. Among these omitted aspects were Wharton's rather poor relationship with her mother Lucretia, the personal problems which she faced while married with Teddy, and her extramarital affair with Fullerton.
In June 1937, Wharton was working on a revised edition of an older work, when she suffered a heart attack. She recovered, but suffered a stroke in August of the same year. She died due to the stroke, at the age of 75. She was buried in the American Protestant section of the Cimetière des Gonards in Versailles. She was given war hero honors at her funeral.
Wharton remains one of the most celebrated American writers of the 20th century, in large part due to her astute criticism of the 19th-century upper class, and her vivid depictions of a world that was long gone even when she wrote her novels. Her prose works remain in print, while her poetry is largely forgotten. - Actor
- Additional Crew
Georges Poujouly was born on 20 January 1940 in Garches, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was an actor, known for Elevator to the Gallows (1958), Diabolique (1955) and Forbidden Games (1952). He died on 28 October 2000 in Villejuif, Val-de-Marne, France.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Was a cafe concert entertainer before Charles Pathe noticed him during the Universal Exhibition, where Zecca had been assigned to Pathe's stand. After a few daysPathe asked Zecca if he would like to work in cinematography. Zecca immediately accepted the offer and rapidly became Pathe's right hand man and head of production.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jean Rougerie was born on 9 March 1929 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was an actor and writer, known for A View to a Kill (1985), Les enquêtes Caméléon (1987) and The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak (1984). He died on 25 January 1998 in Ivry-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne, France.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
André Bazin was born on 8 April 1918 in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France. He was an actor and writer, known for The Kreutzer Sonata (1956), Portrait d'Henri Goetz (1947) and Le film de Bazin (2017). He was married to Janine Bazin. He died on 11 November 1958 in Nogent-sur-Marne, Seine [now Val-de-Marne], France.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Antonin Artaud was born on 4 September 1896 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He was an actor and writer, known for The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Lucrezia Borgia (1935) and Napoleon (1927). He died on 4 March 1948 in Ivry-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne, France.- Arnaud Giovaninetti was born on 3 July 1967 in Amiens, Somme, France. He was an actor, known for The Lover (1992), Tango (2010) and Low Profile (1993). He died on 24 January 2018 in Taverny, Val-d'Oise, France.
- Director
- Animation Department
- Producer
Émile Reynaud was a French inventor born in Montreuil, Paris to Brutus Reynaud, an engineer who moved to Paris from Le Puy-en-Velay in 1842, and Marie-Caroline Bellanger, a former schoolteacher who educated Émile at home and taught him drawing and painting techniques. By 1862 he started his own career as a photographer in Paris. When his father died, him and mother both left Paris for Le Puy-en-Velay. He was taught Latin, Greek, physics, chemistry, mechanics, and natural sciences by his uncle, a doctor in the area. After reading a series of 1876 articles about optical illusion devices, he created the praxinoscope (an animation device) out of a cookie box and patented it in 1877. He started production on the device in Paris and was a financial success. He perfected the praxinoscope and invented Théâtre Optique (Optical Theatre), an animated moving picture system, which is also notable for the first known use of film perforations, and patented it in 1888. Its first regular public screenings started on 28 October 1892 with his series of animated films called Pantomimes Lumineuses. In 1895 he created the photo-scénographe, a version of the théâtre optique that could take photographs, but it was overshadowed by the cinematograph of Auguste Lumière and Louis Lumière. Later, due to the success of other filmmakers the popularity of Reynaud's showings was reduced and they ended on 1 March 1900. He destroyed the théâtre optique during a fit of despair and years later he threw most of his films into the Siene. On 16 October 1902 he patented the stéréo-cinéma, a stereo camera that could take 3D film. He made several films with the camera, but was unable to find financial backing. During World War I he lived in hospitals and nursing homes before dying on 9 January 1918.- Roland Blanche was born on 31 December 1943 in Choisy-le-Roi, Val-de-Marne, France. He was an actor, known for La Femme Nikita (1990), Jeniec Europy (1989) and Too Beautiful for You (1989). He died on 13 September 1999 in Thiais, Val-de-Marne, France.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hervé Bromberger was born on 10 November 1918 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He was a director and writer, known for Mort, où est ta victoire? (1964), Wild Fruit (1954) and Paris Vice Squad (1951). He died on 23 November 1993 in Villejuif, Val-de-Marne, France.- Writer
- Director
Michel Zévaco was born on 1 February 1860 in Ajaccio, Corsica, France. He was a writer and director, known for Déchéance (1918), Clash of Steel (1962) and Captain Blood (1960). He died on 8 August 1918 in Eaubonne, Val-d'Oise, France.- Bleuette Bernon was born on 6 June 1878 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for The Kingdom of the Fairies (1903), Bluebeard (1901) and Cinderella (1899). She died on 15 June 1937 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Alexandre Rignault was born on 14 February 1901 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for Eyes Without a Face (1960), Liliom (1934) and A Man's Head (1933). He was married to Eugénie Gayet. He died on 31 March 1985 in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
The great neglected independent film-maker Jean Dreville had no formal education - he was educated privately at home. He showed an early interest in photography and art and his first jobs were as photographer, poster designer and draftsman. His break into films came in 1928 when he made his first short films. In the 1930's, when films about Russia were popular with supporters of the Popular Front, he got on the bandwagon with 'Troika on the White Piste' (1938) and 'Sleepless Nights of St Petersburg' (1938). After the Second World War he had a big success with 'Heavy Water Battle' (1948), a spy thriller made in documentary style set in Nazi-occupied Norway, about Allied attempts to obliterate the factory producing heavy water to power V2 rockets. In 1960 he co-directed the fine French-Soviet aviation spectacular, Normandie-Niemen. In his later career he turned increasingly to comedy.- Lucien Frégis was born on 5 July 1904 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953), La princesse du rail (1967) and Donkey Skin (1970). He died on 25 August 1979 in Argenteuil, Val-d'Oise, France.
- Guy Delorme was born on 23 May 1929 in Mary-sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne, France. He was an actor, known for The Three Musketeers: Part I - The Queen's Diamonds (1961), Les corsaires (1966) and Vengeance of the Three Musketeers (1961). He died on 26 December 2005 in Bry-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, France.