European Film Star Postcards

Because of his brilliant puppet animations, Czech puppeteer and stop-motion film-maker Jiří Trnka (1912-1969) was called ‘the Walt Disney of Eastern Europe’. For Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (1955), he adapted the classic anti-war satire Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek.

Dobry vojak Svejk (The Good Soldier Svejk)

Czechoslovakian postcard by Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin. Photo: still from the puppet animation film Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955), based on Jaroslav Hasek's famous novel.

Brothers in Tricks

Jiří Trnka was born in the city of Pilsen, Austria-Hungary (now Plzeň, Czech Republic) in 1912. From the moment he could hold a pencil, Trnka drew pictures. At secondary school, his drawing teacher was the puppeteer and man of the theater Josef Skupa.

Trnka studied at Prague's School of Arts and Crafts, and in 1936 he began a wooden puppet theatre on Prague’s Wenceslas Square, which was disbanded after the outbreak of WWII.

During the war he designed stage sets and illustrated Špalíček veršů a pohádek, a collection of Czech rhymes and fairy tales by František Hrubín.

In the immediate wake of World War II, Trnka founded Bratři v triku (Brothers in Tricks) with fellow animators Eduard Hofman and Jiří Brdečka. This studio, dedicated to the production of traditional, hand-drawn animation, lives on today.

Their first film was Zasadil dědek řepu (Grandpa Planted a Beet), followed by the puppet film Christmassy Betlém (Bethlehem), which captures the atmosphere of a Czech folk Christmas.

In 1947, Trnka made the puppet film Špalíček (The Czech Year), which told six separate folk tales of Czech life. It was a defining moment for Trnka as he won several international awards three years running across Europe.

Puppet animation is a traditional Czech art form, of which Trnka became the undisputed master. Most of his films were intended for adults and many were adaptations of literary works. These included feature length covering working-class traditions and national heroes, such as Bajaja/Prince Bayaya (1950), and Staré povesti ceské/Old Czech Legends (1953).

They made him an internationally recognized artist and the winner of film festival awards at Venice and elsewhere. He was a puppet-maker, a sculptor, and a set and stage designer. All of these talents were abundantly well utilised in his highly distinctive film work.

Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-11. Retail price: Kcs 1,20. Sent by mail in 1973. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).

Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-3. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).

Ant-War Satire

To explore the classics of Czech literature, Jiří Trnka decided in 1955 to adapt to the screen the immensely popular novel Osudy dobreho vojaka Svejka za svetove valky (The Good Soldier Švejk) written by Jaroslav Hašek. This anti-war satire is the most translated novel of Czech literature.

At the time, there already existed film adaptations with real actors, such as Dobrý voják Švejk/The Last Bohemian (Martin Frič, 1931), starring Saša Rašilov as Švejk. Trnka however was the first to make an animated film about the bumbling soldier who earnestly attempts to follow orders.

For the construction of the puppets, Trnka was inspired by the illustrations for the original book made by Josef Lada, which in the popular imagination were closely associated with the characters of Hašek.

Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955) is divided into three episodes, which tell the grotesque adventures of Švejk during World War I. The narrator was Jan Werich. The humorous film received several awards at international festivals.

Trnka's masterpiece was Sen noci svatojánské/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Jirî Trnka, 1959), which was presented in Cannes in 1959, which made him the icon of ‘Eastern country’ animators. Cerise Howard at Senses of Cinema: “a stunningly beautiful, highly faithful adaptation of Shakespeare’s play. Several years in the making, the puppet animation is more liquid, more balletic than ever.”

Trnka's last film, Ruka/The Hand (Jirî Trnka, 1965), was an unexpected and surprising break in his work thus far. It was something completely new in content and form. The Hand is a merciless political allegory, which strictly follows story outline without developing lyrical details as usual.

In 1968, he received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustrators, recognizing his career contribution to children's literature.

Jiri Trnka died in 1969 in Prague, only 57 years old. Four months later, The Hand was banned; all copies were confiscated by the secret police, put in a safe and the film was forbidden for screening for the next twenty years.

Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-4. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).

Czechoslovakian postcard by Tisk Severogravia Decin, no. 10-521-O-5. Photo: still from Dobry vojak Svejk/The Good Soldier Svejk (Jirî Trnka, 1955).

Sources: Cerise Howard (Senses of Cinema), Edgar Datko (Animation World Magazine), Daniel Yates (IMDb), Europe of Cultures,Dangerous Minds, Wikipedia and IMDb.

German actress Barbara Frey (1941) was as a 16 year old chosen to play the lead opposite Horst Buchholz in the romantic teenage drama Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958). After her debut she took acting classes and played in more similar films.

German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. B.F. 1. Photo: Nora Filmverleih.

German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3943. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Grimm. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958).

Romantic Teenage Dramas

Barbara Frey was born Barbara Freyde in Berlin in 1941.

As a 16 year old she was chosen to play the lead in the romantic teenage drama Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (Georg Tressler, 1958) opposite teen idol Horst Buchholz.

After her debut she took acting classes and played in more similar productions like Mit 17 weint man nicht/17 Year Olds Don't Cry (Alfred Vohrer, 1960) with Matthias Fuchs, and in the German episode of Liebe mit zwanzig/L’amour à vingt ans/Love at Twenty (Marcel Ophüls, Francois Truffaut a.o., 1962).

She appeared also in several crime and adventure films, including Mann im Schatten/man in the Shadows (Arthur Maria Rabenalt, 1961) with Helmut Qualtinger and Ellen Schwiers.

German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 2826. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Grimm. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958) with Horst Buchholz.

German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 113. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Interwest / Gloria Film / Schlawe. Publicity still for Endstation Liebe/Last Stop Love (1958).

Spaghetti Westerns

During the production of the spaghetti western I Cento cavalieri/100 Horsemen (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1964), Barbara Frey met the American actor Mark Damon.

With Damon she also starred in the interesting spaghetti western Requiescant/Kill and Pray (Carlo Lizzani, 1967), also with Lou Castel and director Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Frey and Damon married in 1971, but the marriage lasted only for two years

During the 1970s, Barbara Frey did not work for the cameras but since the mid 1980s she continued her acting career on German television in films and series.

During the 1990s she appeared in Krimis like SOKO 5113 (1996), Tatort (1998) and Der Letzte Zeuge/The Last Witness (1999), but also in popular comedies like Das Traumschiff/The Dream Boat (1992) and Liebling - Kreuzberg/My Love - Kreuzberg (1997).

IMDb writes that she directed Uncle Wanja for TV in 2004, but there she is mistaken for the Swiss director Barbara Frey (1963).

German Postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.h., Minden-Westf, no. 1285. Photo: Ultrafilm / Lilo. Publicity card for Mit 17 weint man nicht! (1960).

German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. 563. Photo: Lilo / Europa.

Scenes from the Krimi Der Letzte Zeuge/The Last Witness (1999) with Birgit Doll and Barbara Frey. Source: Vivadante (YouTube).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

Danish actress Lili Beck or Lili Bech (1883-1939) was the leading lady of many early Swedish films directed by Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström.

Swedish postcard by Svenska Biografteatern. Photo: Ferd Flodin, Stockholm.

Snake Enchantress

Lili Bech was born Lili Beck in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1883.

She started as a stage actress in 1905. Her debut in the Danish cinema was in the film Morfinisten/The Morphine Takers (1911), directed by Louis Von Kohl and produced by Det Skandinavisk-Russiske Handelshus.

Already in her next film, Taifun/The Typhoon (Louis Von Kohl, 1911) she played the lead.

After that Lili would play in four more films by the same company, including Alfred Lind's circus films Den flyvende Cirkus/The Flying Circus (1912) and Bjornetaemmern/The Bear Tamer (1912), in which she played a snake enchantress.

In 1913 she moved to the Nordisk Film Kompagni where she played in three films by Robert Dinesen (all 1913) and one by August Blom (1914).

In 1913 it was rumoured Beck would go and work for American film company Vitagraph. Instead she started to work for the Swedish company Svenska Biograftheatren.

Gösta Ekman. Swedish postcard by Axel Eliassons Konstförlag, Stockholm, no. 413, mailed in 1916. Photo: Uno Falkengren, Göteborg.

Lars Hanson. Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stocholm, no. 1286. Photo: Goodwin, 1924.

Sjöström and Stiller

Lili Beck was married shortly to Erik Magnusson in 1912. She remarried Swedish film director Victor Sjöström, in whose debut Trädgardsmästeren/The Gardener (1912) she played opposite Sjöström himself and Gösta Ekman.

It was her first Swedish film and Beck would henceforth pursue her career there. Between 1912 and 1916, Lili Beck played in nine films by Sjöström.

Beck also performed in eleven films by director Mauritz Stiller, the discoverer of Greta Garbo. These films include Vampyren/The Vampire (1913) and Vingarne/The Wings (1916), based on Herman Bang's 1902 novel Mikaël.

Vingarne was a very early gay-themed film. The story is that of a conniving countess (played by Lili Beck) coming between a gay sculptor, Claude Zoret (Egil Eide), and his bisexual model and lover, Mikaël (Lars Hanson). The film is also notable for its innovative use of a framing story and telling the plot primarily through the use of flashbacks.

In 1916 she divorced Victor Sjöström.IMDb stops her filmography then, but the site of the Danish Film Institute informs us that Lili returned to Denmark. She remarried for the third time to Danish stage and film actor Hakon Ahnfelt-Ronne and a fourth time to a certain mr. Lundquist.

In 1920 she had her comeback as a film actress at the Nordisk company, where she would play in three films by Holger Madsen between 1920 and 1925, and after that in three films by August Blom.

Lili Beck died in 1939, aged 55.

In 1941, a fire in the archives of the Svenski Filmindustri destroyed the negatives and other related material of many of the Swedish films in which Lili Beck starred. Vingarne was one of the destroyed films.

With a script and frame prints on paper film historian Gösta Werner reconstructed the shape of the film and when in 1987 a copy of the central part of the film was found in Oslo, it was possible to reconstruct the film. This version was premiered at the Swedish Film Institute in 1987.

Victor Sjöström. French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 146.

Source: Det Danske Filminstitut (Danish), Richard Dyer/Julianne Pidduck (Now You See It), Wikipedia and IMDb.

French singer and composer Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) was one of the most important figures in French pop music, renowned for provocative and scandalous releases as Je t'aime... moi non plus, as well as for his artistic output, which embodied many genres. He appeared in several French and Italian films and directed four films, in which his long time lover Jane Birkin starred.

French postcard, no. A100.

Haunting Symbol

Serge Gainsbourg was born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928. He had a twin sister, Liliane. Their parents were the Russian-Jewish emigrants, Olga (née Bessman) and Joseph Ginsburg, who fled to Paris after the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Joseph was a classically trained musician who played the piano in cabarets and casinos and taught his children to play too. Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany. The identifying ‘yellow star’ Jews were mandated to wear, became a symbol which haunted Gainsbourg and which in later years he was able to transmute into creative inspiration.

During the Nazi occupation of World War II, the Jewish Ginsburg family was able to make their way from Paris to Limoges, travelling under false papers. Limoges was an unoccupied city, but under the administration of the collaborationist Vichy government and still a perilous refuge for Jews.

At war’s end, Gainsbourg obtained work teaching music and drawing in a school outside of Paris, in Mesnil-Le-Roi. The school was set up under the auspices of local rabbis for the orphaned children of murdered deportees. Here Gainsbourg heard the accounts of Nazi persecution and genocide, stories that resonated for Gainsbourg far into the future.

Before he was 30 years old, Gainsbourg was a disillusioned painter, but earned his living as a piano player in bars. He changed his first name to Serge feeling that this was representative of his Russian and chose Gainsbourg as his last name in homage to the English painter Thomas Gainsborough whom he admired.

His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of old-fashioned chanson. Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of musical styles: jazz early on, pop in the 1960s, funk, rock and reggae in the 1970s, and electronic in the 1980s.

Many of his songs contain themes with a morbid or sexual twist in them. An early success, Le Poinçonneur des Lilas, describes the day in the life of a Paris Métro ticket man whose job it is to stamp holes in passengers' tickets. Gainsbourg describes this chore as so monotonous that the man eventually thinks of putting a hole into his own head and being buried in another.

In 1951, he married Elisabeth ‘Lize’ Levitsky and divorced her in 1957. He started to appear in films, such as in Voulez-vous danser avec moi?/Come Dance with Me (Michel Boisrond, 1959) with Brigitte Bardot.

In Italy, Gainsbourg co-starred in the Peplums La Rivolta Degli Schiavi/The Revolt of the Slaves (Nunzio Malasomma, 1960) with Rhonda Fleming, and Sansone/Samson (Gianfranco Parolini, 1961) featuring Brad Harris.

By the time the Yé-yé arrived to France, Gainsbourg was 32 years old and was not feeling very comfortable. The public and critics rejected him, mocking his prominent ears and nose. During this period, Gainsbourg began working with Juliette Greco, a collaboration that lasted throughout the 'Left Bank' period culminating in the song La Javanaise (1963).

He also appeared with Dalida in the crime musical L'inconnue de Hong Kong/Stranger from Hong-Kong (Jacques Poitrenaud, 1963). Gainsbourg married a second time in 1964, to Françoise-Antoinette ‘Béatrice’ Pancrazzi, with whom he had two children: Natacha (1964) and Paul (1968). He divorced Béatrice in 1966.

French postcard by Philips. Photo: Jean d'Hugues.

French postcard, Ref. 558.

French postcard, no. INC 039.

Je t'aime... moi non plus

Success began to arrive when Serge Gainsbourg’s song Poupée de cire, poupée de son (A Lonely Singing Doll) was the Luxembourg entry in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was performed by French teen singer France Gall, and it won first prize.

His next song for Gall, Les Sucettes (Lollipops) (1966), caused a scandal in France because of the double-meanings and strong sexual innuendo. When she recorded it, Gall was apparently unaware that the song was not about a girl enjoying lollipops, but about oral sex. Although it was a big hit for Gall, the controversy threw her career off-track in France for several years.

He also wrote hit songs for other artists, such as Comment Te Dire Adieu (How to say farewell) (1968) for Françoise Hardy. In 1967, Gainsbourg had a short but ardent love affair with Brigitte Bardot to whom he dedicated the song and album Initials BB (1967).

He also continued to appear regularly in films, such as the action drama L'inconnu de Shandigor/The Unknown Man of Shandigor (Jean-Louis Roy, 1967) with Marie France Boyer, and Vivre la nuit/Love in the Night (Marcel Camus, 1968) with Jacques Perrin.

In mid-1968, he starred in the French film Slogan (Pierre Grimblat, 1969), for which he wrote the title song La chanson de slogan. During the shooting of the film, he fell in love with his co-star, the younger English singer and actress Jane Birkin.

In 1969, they released the song Je t'aime... moi non plus, which featured explicit lyrics and simulated sounds of female orgasm. It appeared on the LP, Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg (1969). Originally he had recorded the song with Brigitte Bardot, but BB backed out and Birkin stepped in.

The song was censored or banned from public broadcast in numerous countries, and the Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. However, Je t'aime... moi non plus charted within the top ten in many European countries.

That year, he also appeared in William Klein's pop art satire Mister Freedom (1969), and he starred with Jane Birkin in Les Chemins de Katmandou/The Pleasure Pit (André Cayatte, 1969) with Pascale Audret.

French postcard, no. A098. Sent by mail in 1995.

French postcard, no. A097. Sent by mail in 1995.

French postcard, Réf. 557.

Cabbage-Head Man

The relationship of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin lasted for over a decade. In 1971 they had a daughter, the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg.

He acted with Birkin in such films as the French-Yugoslavian productions Devetnaest djevojaka i jedan mornar/19 girls and one sailor (Milutin Kosovac, 1971) and Romansa konjokradice/Romance of a Horsethief (Abraham Polonsky, 1971) with Yul Brynner, and the Italian Giallo La morte negli occhi del gatto/Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye (Antonio Margheriti, 1973) with Hiram Keller.

In 1975, Gainsbourg released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à tête de chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes. Cabbage-Head Man is one of Gainsbourg’s nicknames, as it refers to his ears. Musically, L'homme à tête de chou turned out to be his last LP in the English rock style he had favored since the late 1960s.

In Jamaica he recorded Aux Armes et cætera (1979), a reggae version of the French national anthem La Marseillaise, with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, and Rita Marley. It earned him death threats from right-wing veteran soldiers of the Algerian War.

Gainsbourg directed four films: Je t'aime ... moi non plus (1976) starring Jane Birkin and Joe Dallesandro, the thriller Équateur (1983), Charlotte for Ever (1986) with his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Stan the Flasher (1990).

Gainsbourg also made a brief appearance with Birkin in the film, Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung/Egon Schiele: Excess and Punishment (Herbert Vesely, 1981).

After a turbulent 13-year-long relationship, Jane Birkin left Gainsbourg in 1980 when pregnant with her third daughter, Lou, by the film director Jacques Doillon.

In the 1980s, near the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular but controversial figure on French TV. He would show up drunk and unshaven, and in these years his health deteriorated. His songs became increasingly eccentric, ranging from the anti-drug Aux Enfants de la Chance to the highly controversial duet Lemon Incest (1985) with his daughter Charlotte.

Serge Gainsbourg died in 1991 in Paris of a heart attack. His last partner was since 1981 Caroline ‘Bambou’ Paulus, grandniece of Field marshal Friedrich Paulus. In 1986 they had a son, Lucien.

Throughout his career, Gainsbourg wrote the soundtracks for more than forty films. In 1996, he received a posthumous César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Élisa, along with Zbigniew Preisner and Michel Colombier.

Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. A feature film titled Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) was released in 2010, based on the graphic novel by the writer-director of the film, Joann Sfar. Gainsbourg is portrayed by Eric Elmosnino and Kacey Mottet Klein. The film was awarded 3 César Awards, including Best Actor for Elmosnino, and was nominated for an additional 8.

French postcard, no. A068. With Vanessa Paradis.

French postcard by Humour a la Carte, Paris, no. 3395. Photo: J.L. Rancurel.

French postcard. With Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Sources: Wikipedia, and IMDb.

French actor Séverin-Mars (1873-1921) had a very short film career, but he played in two masterpieces by innovative film pioneer Abel Gance: the First World War drama J'accuse! (1919), and the epic and touching drama La Roue (1921-1923).

French postcard by Cinémagazine, no. 58.

French postcard by Cinémagazine, no. 59.

A Symphony of Pain

Séverin-Mars was born as Armand Jean de Malafayde in Bordeaux, France in 1873.

In 1910 he made his film debut in Le crime de grand-père/The Crime of a Grandfather (1910), a Gaumont production directed by Léonce Perret and scripted by Abel Gance, who would become his favourite director.

Séverin-Mars appeared in such silent shorts as Le duel du fou/The Duel of the Madman (1913), Macbeth (1915), Trois familles/Three Families (Alexandre Devarennes, 1918), and L'habit de Béranger/Béranger's Habit (Maurice Mariaud, 1918).

He had his breakthrough in a feature film: Abel Gance's melodrama La dixième symphonie/The Tenth Symphony (produced in 1917, but released in November 1918, just before the end of the war).

In this film he played a composer who is unknowing of the adventurous past of his wife (Emmy Lynn). She is blackmailed by her former lover (Jean Toulout) to consent to the marriage between her ex and her daughter. When the composer realizes what is happening, he writes a symphony of pain.

Séverin-Mars appeared next in La nuit du 11 septembre/The Night of September 11 (Dominique Bernard-Deschamps, 1919), with Russian actress Vera Karalli, and in Jacques Landouze (André Hugon, 1919), again with Jean Toulout.

French postcard for J'accuse (1919).

Romuald Joubé in J'Accuse.

From Sadism To Jealousy To Rage

Then Séverin-Mars played the lead in the classic after anti-war film J'accuse!/I Accuse (Abel Gance, 1919). In J'accuse! he is the stubborn brute François Laurin, who maltreats his wife Edith (Maryse Dauvray). She feels more for the gentle poet Jean Diaz (Romuald Joubé). The threesome seems to explode, when the war breaks out. The men meet again in the trenches, bond and share their love for Edith. Meanwhile she is raped by German soldiers and returns to the village with a child.

Mars goes from sadism to jealousy to rage to lucidity to heroism and to sacrifice, displaying intense emotions without any histrionic acting. The film was a success because it was the first production to show real footage of the carnage of the war. Abel Gance had been filming in the trenches in 1918, after having served there. In 1937, Gance would create a masterful remake of this film.

After J'accuse! Séverin-Mars played in Haceldama ou Le prix du sang/Haceldama or The Price of Blood (1919) directed and written by the debuting Julien Duvivier. Haceldama is a French western, driven by revenge and lust for money.

In 1921 Séverin-Mars was very active. With Jean Legrand he co-directed his first film, Le coeur magnifique/The Magnificent Heart. For this film he also had written the script, and he played the lead opposite France Dhélia and Léon Bernard. It was the story of a marquis who, disgusted by an immoral woman, finds love and peace with the neighbour's daughter.

With Gaby Morlay, he co-starred in L'agonie des aigles/The Death Agony of the Eagles (Julien Duvivier, Dominique Bernard-Deschamps, 1921). The film, based on a novel by Georges Desparbès, deals with a man who protects the King of Rome, Napoleon II, the son of the famous French Emperor. The gala premiere was at the Paris Opéra and coincided with the birthday of Napoleon I; it was a charity night to help war widows and orphans.

French postcard by Sadag de France, Imp., Paris, no. 109. Photo: publicity still for the film J'Accuse (Abel Gance 1919), starring Séverin-Mars. Here he is the ghost of the dead soldiers who resurrect at the end of the film, and come to the survivors, asking them whether the war was worth fighting for.

Romuald Joubé and Maryse Dauvray in J'Accuse. Romuald Joubé. French postcard by Sadag de France, Imp., Paris, no. 109.

An Epic of Eight Hours

Séverin-Mars' last role was also his most famous one: the railwayman Sisif in the anti-war epic La Roue/The Wheel (Abel Gance, 1923). Sisif falls in love with his foster-daughter Norma (Ivy Close), who he once had saved from a train wreck and raised like his daughter. Sisif's son Elie (Gabriel de Gravone) loves Norma too.

The epic film originally ran nine hours. Abel Gance later explained that his companion Ida Danis was struck by tuberculosis while he was surviving the Spanish flu during the preparation of La Roue in 1920. Her need for recovery brought the crew to constant different places, while Gance adapted the narrative to Ida's needs. La Roue, begun on the first day of her illness, was finished on the day of her death.

Abel Gance disappeared to the States for four months, angering the Pathé company. His discovery of the American fast paced editing made him change La Roue entirely. After a full year of editing, La Roue was finally shown in 1923 appalling critics and audiences.

Despite its 8 hours length it was hailed as such a masterpiece that audiences cried for more. Abel Gance later wrote: "The only thing we could think of was to show the last reel again." For the general release in 1924 the film was cut back to 130 minutes.

During the shooting of La Roue, Séverin-Mars had also become ill. Just after the production was finished, he died of a heart attack in July 1921 in Courgent, France. His favourite director heard the news in the US, and wrote in his diary: "I cried like a child."

Scenes from La Roue (1923). Source: Viddler. Sources: Kevin Brownlow (The Parade's Gone By), Janiss Garza (AllMovie) and IMDb.

On 30 November, British film star Jean Kent (1921-2013) passed away. The strawberry-blonde actress played good time girls, mean sluts and femmes fatales in the enormously popular Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s and early 1950s.

British postcard. Photo: Gainsborough.

German postcard by Paul Hebert, Berlin-Wilmersdorf, no. A 004. Photo: J. Arthur Rank Organisation.

British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 331. Photo: J. Arthur Rank Organisation.

Turning Point

Jean Kent was born as Joan Mildred Summerfield in London in 1921. She was the only child of Norman Field and Nina Norre, who both performed in music-halls. Jean was a dancer from the age of 11.

She made her debut film appearance with an uncredited bit role in The Rocks of Valpre (Henry Edwards, 1935), followed by a supporting part in the comedy Who's Your Father (Lupino Lane, 1935), in which she was credited as Joan Kent.

When times got tough in the depression she joined the chorus at theWindmill Theatre at the age of fifteen (some sources say thirteen). The Windmill was a popular quasi-burlesque establishment with an infamous reputation, where she appeared billed as Jean Carr.

Although she made some film appearances in the 1930s, it took her success in the stage revue Apple Sauce to get her noticed.

Her first real film break came in the comedy It's That Man Again (Walter Forde, 1943).

Another turning point came when she signed to Gainsborough Pictures and played a dramatic part in Fanny by Gaslight (Anthony Asquith, 1944) starring Phyllis Calvert and James Mason.

She became one of the four popular young actresses who starred in all the famous Gainsborough melodramas. The were called The Gainsborough Girls. The others were Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert and Patricia Roc.

Dutch postcard by HEMO. Photo: Eagle Lion.

British postcard by A Real Photograph, no. F.S. 52.

Dutch postcard, no. AX 162. Photo: J. Arthur Rank Org.

Sexy Femme Fatale

Jean Kent matured from a pretty bit of decoration into a sexy vamp.

David Absalom at British Pictures: "She now seems to be in more of the Gainsborough melodramas than any other actor, but at the time she was less appreciated.

Although she got fifth billing in Fanny, she moved down to eighth for both Madonna of the Seven Moons (Arthur Crabtree, 1945) and The Wicked Lady (Leslie Arliss, 1945). Gradually the studio got the message that audiences liked her and improved her billing."

Her first co-starring role came opposite Stewart Granger in the romantic adventure Caravan (Arthur Crabtree, 1946), and further prominent roles followed in the crime drama The Man Within (Bernard Knowles, 1947) opposite Michael Redgrave, another crime drama Good Time Girl (David MacDonald, 1948) with Dennis Price, and the musical Trottie True (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1949), an opportunity to return to her music-hall roots.

Roger P. Mellor at IMDb: "Apart from the lavishness and brightness of the film, the female performances are a delight, especially that of Jean Kent as 'Trottie True'. Miss Kent gives a truthful performance of a rising star who falls in love with a Balloonist, becomes a successful stage performer, and marries a Lord. The story all sounds rather far-fetched, but Jean Kent's performance makes it work."

Dutch postcard by Hemo. Photo: Eagle Lion.

German postcard by Filmpostkartenverlag Hbg, Bergedorf. Photo: J. Arthur Rank Organisation.

Italian postcard by Bromophoto, no. 263.

Premature End

Jean Kent began the 1950s with prominent appearances in two Anthony Asquith-films; the mystery The Woman in Question (1950) with a young Dirk Bogarde and the drama The Browning Version (1951), in which she played the wife of a master at an English public school (Michael Redgrave).

Though the last film was a success, and she was excellent in it, she later blamed her decision to play a woman ten years older than herself for the premature end to her film career.

But she turned to theatre and television and kept busy. Notable performances were as Queen Elizabeth in the Francis Drake series (1961-1962), and an appearance in Steptoe and Son (1970) as love interest for both Albert and Harold Steptoe.

Other television shows included Up Pompeii! (1970), Crossroads (1981) and Lovejoy (1990).

In the cinema, Kent starred alongside Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier in The Prince & The Showgirl (Laurence Olivier, 1957).

Her last film role was in the World War I action-adventure Shout at the Devil (Peter R. Hunt, 1976) starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.

Jean Kent was married to the Austrian actor Josef Ramart from 1946 until his death in 1989. They had met on the set of Caravan and they married four months later in 1946, with Stewart Granger as best man.

Later she lived in Westhorpe, Suffolk. In 2011, the then 90-year-old actress told BBC Newsthat she was still available for work: "Oh yes, I'd work like a shot, as long as I didn't have to walk. A nice sitting-down part would be fine."

Jean Kent died in Bury St Edmunds. She was 92.

Scenes of Stewart Granger and Jean Kent in Caravan (1946), beautifully set to the music of the Assassins Tango by John Powell and Tango in D by Isaac Albeniz. Video edited by Gilda Tabarez. Source: Parysia 77 (YouTube).

Jean Kent sings When I Take My Morning Promenade in Trottie True (1949). Source: Jim Beattie (YouTube).

Source: Tom Vallance (The Independent), David Absalom (British Pictures), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), BBC, BritMovie, Wikipedia and IMDb.

In the night of 30 November, British entertainer Chris Howland (1928-2013) died. He played the comic sidekick in Winnetou I, and other Karl May films. After the war, Howland became Germany’s first deejay, but he was also a popular Schlager singer, TV host, and actor in some 30 films. Howland was 85.

German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 516. Retail price: 10 Pfg. Photo: Electrola / A. Grimm / Zeyss / Union.

German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 134. Retail price: 10 Pfg. Photo: Allianz Film.

German promotion card by Columbia / Electrola, no. DrW 3281 a. Photo: Neumann, Mannheim.

Novelties and Trends

John Christopher Howland was born in London in 1928, and he grew up in Southern England. He was trained to work as a beekeeper.

His father was an editor at the BBC. After WW II Chris worked for the radio station of the BFN (British Forces Network, now BFBS). In this function he went to Hamburg in 1946, and became the main presenter and head of the music department of the BFN.

In 1952 he started as a diskjockey for the German radio station NWDR, where he presented the show Rhythmus der Welt, about novelties and trends in the international music scene. With his British accent and his creaky voice he soon became a darling of the radio audiences. He gave himself the nickname Mr. Heinrich Pumpernickel.

Meanwhile he also had a successful recording career. His first hit single was Japanisches Abschiedslied (1953), the German version of Japanese Farewell by Kay Cee Jones. His biggest hits would be Fraulein/Miss (1958), Das hab ich in Paris gelernt/That’s What I Learned in Paris (1959), and Hämmerchen-Polka/Little Hammer Polka (1961), which stayed for 24 weeks in the German Top 5.

Howland also appeared in entertainment films like Ball der Nationen/Ball of the Nations (Karl Ritter, 1954) starring Zsa Zsa Gabor, Der Major und die Stiere/The Major and the Bulls (Eduard von Borsody, 1955), the Heimatfilm Verlobung am Wolfgangsee/Engagement at Wolfgangsee (Helmut Weiss, 1956) with Ingrid Andree, Witwer mit fünf Töchtern/Widower with 5 Daughters (Erich Engels, 1957), and Tausend Sterne leuchten/A Thousand Stars Aglitter (Harald Philipp, 1959) with ski champion Toni Sailer.

In 1959 he returned to Great Britain to present the talkshow People and Places. In 1961 he went again to Germany, where he became the host of the enormously successful TV shows Musik aus Studio B and Vorsicht Kamera, a Candid Camera show.

His films in the early 1960s included the Edgar Wallace Krimi Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Koffer/The Secret of the Black Suitcase (Werner Klingler, 1962) with Senta Berger, Der schwarze Panther von Ratana/The Black Panther of Ratana (Jürgen Roland, 1963) with Marianne Koch, Die weiße Spinne/The White Spider (Harald Reinl, 1963) with Joachim Fuchsberger, and another Edgar Wallace adaptation, Der Henker von London/The Mad Executioners (Edwin Zbonek, 1963) with Hansjörg Felmy.

Vintage postcard. Photo: Electrola.

German postcard, no. E 21. Photo: Constantin. Still from Winnetou I (Harald Reinl, 1963) with Chris Howland. Translation caption: "What do you do as a reporter, when you get no Indian in front of your camera? You put on some make up and make a self portrait, here, unfortunately, it failed."

Der Schut, Dieter Borsche, Chris Howland

German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 43. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Publicity still for Der Schut/The Shoot (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "'Well, Archibald, was nun?' fragt Sir Lindsay seinen Butler, als sie der Schut unversehends in einer Felsenhöhle, die sich unter seinem Palast befindet, gefangensetzt." ('Archibald now what?', Sir Lindsay (Dieter Borsche) asks his butler (Chris Howland), when The Shoot enexpectedly captures them in a cave, which is located beneath his palace."

Lord Tuff-Tuff

Another hightlight in the career of Chris Howland was his appearance in five film adaptations of the Karl May novels. His part as Lord Tuff-Tuff in Winnetou I/Apache Gold (Harald Reinl, 1963) was just a comic intermezzo, but for his performance as the butler Archie in his second Karl May film, Der Schut/The Shoot (Robert Siodmak, 1964), he received the second highest salary (after Lex Barker) of the cast.

He played this role again in Durchs wilde Kurdistan/Wild Kurdistan (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1965) and in the sequel Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen/Attack of the Kurds (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1965). That same year he appeared for a last time in a Karl May film, Das Vermächtnis des Inka/Legacy of the Incas (Georg Marischka, 1965), as the Indian Don Parmesan.

In 1970 Howard left Germany again, now to run his hotel Villa Columbus on Mallorca, where he also helped to found the first German language radio station.

In 1975 he returned again to Germany to present radio and TV shows. His autobiography Happy Days? was released in 1997.

In 2002 Chris Howland was awarded the Scharlih, the oldest Karl May prize, to honour his appearances in the Winnetou films. He married four times and has three children.

The last years, he lived with his wife Monica Howland-Vervloet in Rösrath near Köln (Cologne) and appeared incidentally on TV to be a guest in talk shows or to perform one of his evergreens.

Twice a month he presented his radio show Spielereien mit Schallplatten (Dalliances With Records) on WDR 4.

In 2007 Chris Howland returned for a last time on the screen in the Edgar Wallace parody Neues vom Wixxer/News from the Wixxer (Cyrill Boss, Philipp Stennert, 2007). Typically he played the butler.

German promotion card by Ingrid Orgel, Frankfurt/M.

German postcard by Westdeutschen Rundfunk (WDR), Köln. Photo: Harald Kratzer / WDR.

Sources: Stephanie D'heil (Steffi-line.de)(German), t-online.de (German), Wikipedia (German), Chris Howland.de, and IMDb.

It's 5 December, Saint Nicholas' eve! Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas is a Dutch character comparable to Santa Claus in English-speaking countries. Sinterklaas is his usual name. He is celebrated annually on 5 December or, in Belgium, on the morning of 6 December. The feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas (280-342), patron saint of Amsterdam, children and sailors. He is the basis of the mythical holiday figure of Santa Claus in the United States.

Sinterklaas appeared - and appears - in many Dutch films. The comic horror film Sint (2010) presented him as a ghost who murders large numbers of people when his annual celebration night coincides with a full moon.

French postcard by Fauvette, no. 1283. Reprint by Advertising Post, Amsterdam, no. 58.

Mischievous Helpers With Black Faces

Sinterklaas or in English Saint Nicholas is a traditional Winter holiday figure in the Netherlands, Belgium, Aruba, Suriname and Netherlands Antilles. He is also celebrated in the traditionally Germanic parts of France (Nord-Pas de Calais, Alsace, Lorraine), as well as in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and in the town of Trieste and in Eastern Friuli in Italy. Additionally, many Roman Catholics of Alsatian and Lotharingian descent in Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrate 'Saint Nicholas Day' on the morning of 6 December.

In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas' Eve (5 December) is the chief occasion for gift-giving during the Christmas season. The evening is called sinterklaasavond or pakjesavond (presents evening). In the Netherlands, most children receive their presents on this evening. For Belgian and some Dutch children it is customary to put their shoe in front of the fireplace on the evening of 5 December, then go to bed, and find the presents around the shoes on the morning of the 6th.

Saint Nicholas was a bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey. In the 11th century, the saint's bones were taken and moved to southern Italy, an area then ruled by Spain, and relics and his fame spread throughout Europe. The Western Christian Church made his name day a Church holiday. In the north of France, he became the patron saint of school children, then mostly in church schools.

The folk feast arose during the Middle Ages. Sinterklaas is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful Moorish dresses, dating back two centuries. These helpers are called Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes). During the Middle-ages Zwarte Piet was a name for the devil. Having triumphed over evil, it was said that on Saint Nicholas eve the devil was shackled and made his slave. Although the character of Black Pete later came to acquire racial connotations, his origins were in the devil figure.

In medieval times, the feast was both an occasion to help the poor, by putting money in their shoes (which evolved into putting presents in children's shoes) and a wild feast, similar to Carnival, that often led to costumes, a 'topsy-turvy' overturning of daily roles, and mass public drunkenness.

In the nineteenth century, the saint became more secularized. Author Jan Schenkman then introduced the images of Sinterklaas' delivering presents by the chimney, riding over the roofs of houses on a gray horse, and arriving from Spain by steamboat, then an exciting modern invention. His ideas were incorporated by many across the Netherlands in their personal and communal celebrations. In late 20th and 21st century celebrations, numerous people dress as Zwarte Pieten in various cities across the Netherlands. There's a debate going on about the racist undertones of Zwarte Piet.

(And if you're interested in our opinion: we like a good party - but a party for all, so we think Zwarte Piet deserves a complete make-over so he will be really ready for the modern kids of the 21th Century.)

Austrian postcard by Verlag G. Rüger & Co., Wien, 1901, no. 612. Sent by mail in 1902. Reprint by Sint Nicolaas Museum (1998). This card was a gift from Jan.

Poster of Sint (2010). Design by BLT & Associates with Michael v Randeraat/Locust Entertainment. Source: jpekker.nl.

Sinterklaas made a surprise visit at the Canal Parade during the Gay Pride of 2008.

A Murdering Ghost

Sinterklaas appeared with his Zwarte Pieten in many Dutch films. His first film appearance was probably in Makkers staakt uw wil geraas/That Joyous Eve (Fons Rademakers, 1960) starring Ellen Vogel and Yoka Beretty. This is a tragi-comedy about the preparations for the Saint Nicholas celebration in three torn apart families in Amsterdam.

One family has always celebrated the evening, but now their rebellious 17-year-old son wants his own life. In the second family, a husband is more concerned about his secret love life than about his wife and son. The third family has already split, as both have made the decision to live apart. Still there are doubts about their relationship. The film was awarded a Silver Bear at 1961 Berlin Film Festival and is now seen as a classic in the Netherlands.

After this prestigious debut Sinterklaas had a long hiatus in his film career, although he could be seen yearly on the children news on TV. He returned on the screen in the children films Sinterklaas en het gevaar in de vallei/Saint Nicholas and the Danger in the Valley (Martijn van Nellestijn, 2003) with Nico Eickhoff as Sinterklaas, and Sinterklaas en het geheim van de Robijn/Saint Nicholas and the Secret of the Ruby (Martijn van Nellestijn, 2004), in which Sinterklaas was played by Robert-Jan Wik.

A surprise hit was Het paard van Sinterklaas/Winky's Horse (Mischa Kamp, 2005). This excellent children’s film received a Golden Filmfor 100,000 visitors. The story is about a six year old girl, Winky (Ebbie Tam), who is passionate about a horse (Saartje) who dies of an illness. Then subsequently it is shown how the little girl believes in Sinterklaas (Jan Decleir) and Zwarte Piet and learns that they give presents to all the children. So she decides to ask for a horse of her own.

Two years later followed the sequel Waar is het Paard van Sinterklaas?/Where Is Winky's Horse? (Mischa Kamp, 2007). This film also received the Golden Film after it had sold 100,000 cinema tickets.

Of course many other Sinterklaas films were produced. The romantic comedy Alles is liefde/Love is All (Joram Lürsen, 2007) starring Carice van Houten and Daan Schuurmans starts with the arrival of Sinterklaas and ends on Saint Nicholas' eve. It was another smash hit.

Sinterklaas en het Uur van de Waarheid/Saint Nicholas and the Hour of Truth (2007, Martijn van Nellestijn) had some well-known Dutch actors as Nelly Frijda and Frederik de Groot in the cast. It was followed by such sequels as Sinterklaas en het Pakjes Mysterie/Saint Nicholas and the Presents Mystery (Martijn van Nellestijn, 2010) with popular Dutch singers as Frans Bauer and Gerard Joling in the cast.

Completely different is Sint/Saint (Dick Maas, 2010) which portrays Sinterklaas (Huub Stapel) as a ghost who murders large numbers of people when his annual celebration night coincides with a full moon. While children are not permitted to see the film, parental concern arose over the film's poster, seen in the streets and in cinema lobbies. It shows Sinterklaas with a mutilated face and a malevolent look.

Some people, including film director Johan Nijenhuis, were concerned that this could be confusing and frightening for little children that still believe in Sinterklaas. A legal complaint was filed in October 2010, requesting the removal of all posters. In the subsequent court case, director Dick Maas argued that if parents could make their children believe that Sinterklaas existed they could also inform their children that the man on the poster was not the real Sinterklaas. The court ruled in favour of Maas, noting that the mutilated face was not visible enough on the poster, and rejected the complaint.

A year later, Johan Nijenhuis directed a Sinterklaas film himself: Bennie Stout/Bennie Brat (2011), featuring Koen Dobbelaer. It centres on the legend that Saint Nicolas takes the naughty children on his ship to Spain. Bennie Stout wants to be a naughty kid on purpose so he can visit his dad (Koert-Jan de Bruijn) in Spain.

This year there was two new children films featuring the holy man, Sinterklaas en de Pepernoten Chaos (Martijn van Nellestijn, 2013) with Wim Rijken as Sinterklaas, and De Club van Sinterklaas & De Pietenschool (Melcher Hillmann, 2013) with Wilbert Gieske as Sinterklaas. The latter was the sequel to De Club van Sinterklaas & Het Geheim van de Speelgoeddokter (Pieter Walther de Boer, 2012).

The film career of Sint Nicholas will be continued...

Trailer of Waar is het paard van Sinterklaas/Where is Winky's Horse (2007). Source: nff (YouTube).

Trailer of Alles is liefde/Love is All (2007). Source: HowlingWilderness11 (YouTube).

Trailer of Sint/Saint (2010). Source: Hollywoodstreams (YouTube).

English trailer for Bennie Stout/Bennie Brat (2011). Source: Danielle Raaphorst (YouTube).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

Today, it's Postcard Friendship Friday on the net. A weekly event in which postcard blogs present themselves. Start at Beth's blog with the great title The Best Hearts Are Crunchy, and enjoy some rare vintage postcards that are preserved on the net by bloggers like me.

For this Postcard Friendship Friday, I have chosen postcards of the first Italian film diva:Lyda Borelli(1887-1959). La Borelli was already an acclaimed stage actress before she became a star of the Italian silent cinema. The fascinating diva caused a craze among female fans, which was called 'Borellismo'.

Italian postcard by Neg. Trevisani, Bologna, no. 459.

German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 9439.

Italian postcard by N. Riccardi, Milano, Serie 7458 - F. Lyda Borelli written as Lidia Borelli. Ca. 1910.

Italian postcard, Ufficio Censura Torino, 9-10-1915, no. 6184. Photo: Lyda Borelli in the Italian silent film Marcia nuziale (Carmine Gallone, 1915), one of the few lost films of her career.

D'Annunzio

Lyda Borelli was the daughter of the stage actor Napoleone Borelli, and the sister of actress Alda Borelli.

Lyda made her stage debut in 1902 with the Pasta-Reiter company. She switched to the company of Virgina Talli, and at the age of 18 she already played leads, as in Gabriele d'Annunzio's La figlia di Jorio (1904).

In 1909 she started her own company with Ruggero Ruggeri, performing both in light comedies and in such serious dramas as Salome by Oscar Wilde, which would be her major stage play.

In 1909 Ruggeri and Borelli did a tour through Latin-America visiting a.o. Argentine, Uruguay, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico. In 1914 she would return to Latin America for another tour.

Italian postcard. Photo: Varischi & Artico, Milano.

Spanish chocolate card by Imperial. Photo: publicity still of Lyda Borelli in Il dramma di una note/The Drama of a Night (Mario Caserini, 1918).

Italian postcard by Uff. Rev. St. Terni, no. 3276. Photo: Film Cines. Lyda Borelli in the silent film Madame Tallien (Mario Caserini, Enrico Guazzoni, 1916) based on the play by Victorien Sardou. The caption goes: "Desfieux, Tallien's Head of Police, runs to Therese's house, discovers the hideout of Jean Guery and has all arrested".

Lyda Borelli and Amleto Novelli in Malombra

Italian postcard. Photo: Lyda Borelli and Amleto Novelli in the silent film Malombra (Carmine Gallone, 1917).

Spanish postcard. Photo: dressed as Salome, Alba d'Oltrevita (Lyda Borelli) repents the suicide of Sergio because of her in Rapsodia satanica (Nino Oxilia, 1915-1917).

Italian postcard by A.G.F. Photo: Cine.

Worldwide Success

In 1913 the film Ma l'amor mio non muore/Love Everlasting (Mario Caserini, 1913) was designed to launch Lydia Borelli in the cinema.

The film tells the story of a singer who falls tragically in love with a prince, played by Mario Bonnard. Lyda was like a decadent version of the Pre-Raphaelite beauty - thin, with wavy blond hair and strange but picturesque poses.

The worldwide success of the film resulted in thirteen more films. She portrayed characters who were doomed and otherworldly, often bordering on the supernatural.

A compelling film is her Rapsodia Satanica (Nino Oxilia, 1915) that tells the tale of an old woman who makes a pact with the Devil for eternal youth.

To her best films belong also Fior di male/Flower of Evil (1915), and Malombra (1917), both directed by Carmine Gallone.

Italian postcard, no. 477. Photo: Attilio Badodi. Signed: Lyda Borelli. Attilio Badodi (1880-1967), born in Reggio Emilia, became a famous Milanese portrait photographer of the Belle Epoque. In 1922 he participated in the First International Exhibition on Photography in Turin and he was a reporter for Illustrazione Italiana, but he is best remembered for his portraits.

Italian postcard, no. 319. Photo: Attilio Badodi, Milano (Milan).

Italian postcard, no. 256. Photo: Attilio Badodi, Milano (Milan).

Italian postcard, no. 418. Photo: Attilio Badodi, Milano (Milan).

Ecstatic and Aristocratic Performance

Lyda Borelli was the first diva of the Italian cinema and one of the first European film stars, together with Asta Nielsen.

Her ecstatic and aristocratic performance, mixing grand gesture with delicate small details, her elegant attire and her long blond hair caused a craze. In the 1910's girls dyed their hair, went on diets and strove to imitate her twisted postures. This phenomenon was described in Italy as Borellismo.

In 1918 Lyda Borelli's stage and film career ended suddenly, when she married the Venetian count and businessman Vittorio Cini.

Their son Giorgio Cini Jr. would die in a plane crash while going to meet his fiancee, the actress Merle Oberon.

More recently Lyda Borelli was one of the divas featured in the compilation film Diva Dolorosa (Peter Delpeut, 1999). An extended sequence from Fior de Male appears in Peter Delpeut's earlier film Lyrisch Nitraat/Lyrical Nitrate (Peter Delpeut, 1991).

Italian postcard by R. Rota & Co., Milano. Photo: cav. G. Artico, Milano.

Italian postcard, no. 623. Photo Sciutto. Could have been for the stage play La figlia di Jorio by Gabriele D'Annunzio.

Italian postcard. Photo: Varischi & Artico, Milano.

Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 323. Photo: Fontana.

Italian postcard, no. 118. Photo Bettini, Roma

Italian postcard, no. 894, Uff. Rev. Stampa, 25-5-1917. Lyda Borelli painted by Tito Corbella.

Italian postcard. Lyda Borelli, caricature by C. Calderara. Looking at the outfit and the headgear, the drawing seems to refer to Borelli's first film Ma l'amor mio non muore/ Love Everlasting (1913).

Statue of Lyda Borelli in the Casa di Riposo 'Lyda Borelli', Bologna, Italy. Photo: Jan.

Casa di Riposo 'Lyda Borelli', Bologna, Italy. Photo: Jan.

Sources: Biblioteca e Raccolta Teatrale del Burcardo, Greta De Groat (Unsung Divas), and IMDb.

The French silent film serial L'empereur des pauvres/The Emperor of the poor (René Leprince, 1921) was produced by Pathé Frères Consortium. It was an adaptation of the epic novel by Felicien Champsaur.

Gina Relly in L'empereur des pauvres (1921). French postcard by M. Le Deley, Paris. Photo: Pathé Consortium Cinéma.

Vagabond

In L'empereur des pauvres, director René Leprince tells the epic story of a rich young man, Marc Anavan (Léon Mathot).

Marc leads a profligate life but when he understands his fortune is about to evaporate he decides to change his life.

He becomes a vagabond and wants to do good around him.

The task is not easy but his faith in his mission and the love of the pure Silvette (Gina Relly) help Marc to overcome all the hardships on his way.

Gina Relly in L'empereur des pauvres (1921). French postcard by M. Le Deley, Paris. Photo: Pathé Consortium Cinéma.

Gina Relly and Léon Mathot in L'empereur des pauvres (1921). French postcard by M. Le Deley, Paris. Photo: Pathé Consortium Cinéma.

Epic Novel

L'empereur des pauvres was written by French novelist and journalist Félicien Champsaur in 1920.

Director René LePrince created a silent film epic in six episodes: 1. Le Pauvre (The Poor); 2. Les Millions (The Millions); 3. Les Flambeaux (The Torches); 4. Les Crassiers (The Slag); 5. L'orage (The Storm) and 6. Floreal.

On demand of exhibitors, these six episodes were re-edited into twelve parts of 900 metres each, which were shown over six weeks in France. In The Netherlands the 12 parts were shown in three or two weeks.

Besides Léon Mathot and Gina Relly in the lead roles, the cast of L'empereur des pauvres includes several well-known actors of the French silent cinema.

Henry Krauss played Jean Sarrias, the uncle of Silvette, Gilbert Dalleu was Cyprien Cadal, the mayor of Saint Saturnin du Var, Andrée Pascal appeared as Clémence Sarrias and Lily Damita was Riquette, credited as Lily Deslys.

In supporting parts well known faces as Charles Lamy, André Luguet, Charles de Rochefort and Maurice Schutz were cast.

The elaborate camera work was done by Julien Ringel and Paul Gaillard. Director René Leprince was a well-known film maker of the silent era, who had worked several times with comedian Max Linder and went on to make Fanfan La Tulipe (1925) with Aimé Simon-Girard. In 1929, Leprince died at the age of 53, at the end of the silent era.

French postcard by M. Le Deley, Paris. Photo: Pathé Consortium Cinéma. Publicity still for L'empereur des pauvres/The Emperor of the poor (René Leprince, 1921). Standing in the middle, actor Léon Mathot.

French postcard by M. Le Deley, Paris. Photo: Pathé Consortium Cinéma. Publicity still for L'empereur des pauvres/The Emperor of the poor (René Leprince, 1921). In the middle, Gina Relly as Sylvette, and right, Henry Krauss, as her uncle Jean Sarrias, revolting against society. Left could be Andrée Pascal as Clémence Sarrias.

French postcard by M. Le Deley, Paris. Photo: Pathé Consortium Cinéma. Publicity still for L'empereur des pauvres/The Emperor of the poor (René Leprince, 1921). The vagabond could be Léon Mathot.

French postcard by M. Le Deley, Paris. Photo: Pathé Consortium Cinéma. Publicity still for L'empereur des pauvres/The Emperor of the poor (René Leprince, 1921). Standing front, Léon Mathot.

Sources: Guy Bellinger (IMDb), Ciné Ressources, Wikipedia and IMDb.

Italian pop singer and entertainer Gianni Morandi (1944) reportedly sold more than 30 million recordings and appeared in 18 films. In 1970, he represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest with Occhi di ragazza. His career went into a decline in the late 1970s but underwent a revival in the 1980s. He won the San Remo Festival in 1987, placed second in 1995 and third in 2000. Having enjoyed four decades of unmatched success, Gianni Morandi is among Italy's greatest performers of all time.

Italian postcard by Edizione Diese, Monticielli.

Italian postcard. Photo: RCA

The Italian Paul Anka

Gian Luigi Morandi was born in the village of Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines in 1944. His father, Renato Morandi, was active within the Italian Communist Party and Gianni used to help him sell the party newspapers.

To make ends meet Gianni worked at an early age as a shoe-shiner, a cobbler and as a soda and candy vendor in the village's only cinema.

He made his performance debut at age 12, singing in the public square on New Year's Day of 1956. His vocal abilities led him to a number of small gigs, some of which were during the Communist Party’s activities. His parents moved him from traditional schooling to a school in Bologna, where he studied song and performance with master vocalist Alda Scaglioni.

Morandi made his official debut in 1958 in Alfonsine, Ravenna. His film debut followed in the comedy Totò ciak/Totò Clapper Loader (Daniele D'Anza, 1960) starring the popular comedian Totò.

Morandi formed a band, and was soon referred to as 'the Italian Paul Anka'. In 1962, Morandi won a small talent competition where he met and impressed boxing and entertainment promoter Paul Lionetti, who arranged an audience with executives of RCA Victor. He was signed by RCA Italia and his premier 45 record was Andavo a Cento All'ora (I Went to 100 per Hour).

Yugoslavian collectors card.

Yugoslavian postcard.

Italy’s Darling

Gianni Morandi achieved national stardom with his third 45, Fatti mandare dalla mamma (Let Your Mother Send You).

Some of his songs took momentum through soundtracks of such films as I maniaci/The Maniacs (Lucio Fulci, 1964) starring Walter Chiari, and 008: Operation pace/008: Operation Peace (Tullio Piacentini, 1965).

Morandi also starred in several musicarelli, typical Italian musicals with a flimsy plot, shot and edited in no time after a song had become a hit. During the production of the first of these films, In ginocchio da te/On My Knees For You (Ettore Maria Fizzarotti, 1964), Morandi met Laura Efrikian.

Efrikian was the daughter of a famous conductor of Armenian origin and was already an established actress. They married secretly in 1966 and when Laura became pregnant Morandi’s military service was temporarily postponed.

Later, on leave from military service, Gianni worked on the film Per amore… per magia/For Love…For Magic (Duccio Tessari, 1967), an ambitious cross between a musical and the story of Aladdin. The film was a flop at the box office.

Throughout the 1960s Gianni remained Italy’s darling. His songs Non son degno di te (I Am Not Worthy of You) and Scende la pioggia (The Rain Comes Down) were certified as having each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.

He won a number of Italian popular song festivals, including the Canzonissima festival in 1965 with Non son degno di te, in 1968 with Scende la pioggia and in 1969 with Ma chi se ne importa (But Who Cares?).

Spanish postcard by Postal Oscar Color S.A., Hospitalet (Barcelona), no. 302. Photo: RCA Victor.

Italian postcard by Silvercart, Milano, no. 532/2.

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1970, Gianni Morandi represented Italy in Amsterdam at the Eurovision Song Contest with Occhi di Ragazza (Eyes of a Girl). He finished eighth out of eleven.

During the late 1970s, he experienced a period of slight decline, but he regained popularity during the 1980s. He won the San Remo Festivalin 1987 with Si può dare di più (One Can Give More) together with Enrico Ruggeri and Umberto Tozzi.

With Barbara Cola he became 2nd in 1995 with In amore (In Love) and he became 3rd in 2000 with Innamorato (Being In Love), written by Eros Ramazotti.

At a performance for War Childin 1999 he sang Maria, Marí together with Luciano Pavarotti. It is estimated that Morandi has sold 30 million recordings.

He has written a number of autobiographical books and appeared in 18 films. His later feature films included Il provincial/The Provincial (Luciano Salce, 1971), La cosa buffa/The Funny Thing (Aldo Lado, 1972), the comedy F.F.S.S. cioè che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?/The National railways, Or Why Did You Bring Me All the Way to Posillipo if You Don’t Love Me Anymore? (Renzo Arbore, 1983) and Panni sporchi/Dirty Linen (Mario Monicelli, 1999) with Mariangela Melato and Ornella Muti.

Morandi also was the host in popular Italian television shows and was an actor in several TV series, a.o. as Claude Jade's husband Davide in Voglia di volare/Wanting to Fly (Pier Giuseppe Murgia, 1984).

Gianni Morandi has three children: Marco Morandi and Marianna Morandi from his first wife, Laura Efrikian (they divorced in 1979), and Pietro from his second wife, Anna Dan, whom he married in 2005.

Gianni sings Ritornero In ginocchio da te in the film In ginocchio da te (1964). Source: divergoulart (YouTube).

Gianni Morandi sings Dammi la mano per ricominciàr (Give Me Your Hands to Start Again) in Per amore… per magia/For Love…For Magic (1967). Source: Natalie Cernega (YouTube).

Gianni Morandi sings Questa vita cambierà in Per amore… per magia/For Love…For Magic (1967). Source: Natalie Cernega (YouTube).

Gianni Morandi sings Stringimi le mani in 2007. Source: Castellina (YouTube).

Sources: Evan C. Gutierrez (AllMusic), Wikipedia (Italian) and IMDb.

German actress Hannelore Schroth (1922-1987) made her film debut at the age of nine and a long and successful career in both theatre and cinema followed. She starred in Unter den Brücken (1945), one of the most beautiful love-stories of the German cinema – without any trace of propaganda.

German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 155, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.

German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3455/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.

German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 104, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.

Wonderfully Natural

Hanne Lore Emilie Käte Grete Schroth was born in Berlin in 1922 as the daughter of actor Heinrich Schroth and actress Käthe Haack. Her half-brother Carl-Heinz Schroth would also become a well-known actor.

Hannelore already made her film debut at the age of nine in the short comedy Dann schon lieber Lebertran/I'd Rather Have Cod Liver Oil (Max Ophüls, 1931) opposite her mother, Käthe Haack.
At sixteen, she attended a drama school in Lausanne.

To her early successes belong the love story Spiel im Sommerwind/Play in the Summer Breezes (Roger von Norman, 1938) with Rolf Möbius, and Kitty und die Weltkonferenz/Kitty and the World Conference (Helmut Käutner, 1939).

During the wartime, she continued her career with leading parts in Friedrich Schiller (Herbert Maisch, 1940) about the 18th-century German playwright and blank-verse poet, the romantic comedy Sophienlund (Heinz Rühmann, 1944) and Unter den Brücken/Under the Bridge (Helmut Käutner, 1945), a classic love triangle with Carl Raddatz and Gustav Knuth.

IMDb reviewer Christian Wasser calls the latter "one of the most beautiful love-stories of the German cinema. The acting of Hannelore Schroth is wonderfully natural even today".

Unter den Brücken was one of the last films to be made in Nazi Germany - it passed the censorship in March 1945, but didn't make it to the cinemas as the street battles were about to commence in Berlin in a few weeks. In 1950, the film was finally shown in the cinemas.

German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3776/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Foto Haenchen / Bavaria Filmkunst.

German Postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3359/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Haenchen / Tobis.

German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3606/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Haenchen / Bavaria Filmkunst.

Emiiiil

After the war Hannelore Schroth gained a foothold at the theater and also continued her film career with such hits as Taxi-Kitty (Kurt Hoffmann, 1950) and Kommen Sie am Ersten/Come at the First (Erich Engel, 1951).

Later well-known films are the classic comedy Der Hauptmann von Köpenick/The Captain from Köpenick (Helmut Käutner, 1956), the romantic drama Wie einst Lili Marleen/Like Once Lili Marleen (Paul Verhoeven, 1956) with the wartime song hit Lili Marlene woven into its plotline, and the comedy Der Mann, der nicht nein sagen konnte/The Man Who Could Not say No (Kurt Früh, 1958) with Heinz Rühmann.

She also became a popular voice actor and dubbed such Hollywood stars as Shirley MacLaine and Elizabeth Taylor.

From the 1950s on, regular engagements for TV followed. She became well-known for a younger audience when she impersonated the role of Mrs. Petrell in the successful Swedish film- and TV-series Emil (Olle Hellbom, 1971-1976). The three feature films and the TV series were based on the novels by Astrid Lindgren about the 5 year-old prankster Emil, who lives with his family on a farm in the district of Lönneberga in Sweden, at the start of the 20th century.

To Hannelore Schroth's last films belong the comedy Bomber & Paganini (Nicos Perakis, 1976) starring Mario Adorf, and Zwischengleis/Yesterday's Tomorrow (Wolfgang Staudte, 1978) with Pola Kinski.

In 1980, Schroth was awarded the Filmband in Gold for her achievements in the German cinema.

Hannelore Schroth died in 1987 in München (Munich). She had been married with the actor Carl Raddatz, her co-star of Unter den Brücken, and from 1945 till 1950 with the Austrian deep sea diver Hans Hass. Her son from that marriage, Hans Hass Jr., was an actor and singer. From her third marriage with a lawyer and film producer also comes a son, Christopher Köster.

German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3845/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.

German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2857/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Haenchen / Tobis.

German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 231, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Bavaria.

With Carl Raddatz. German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. 3954/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.

German postcard. Photo: Baumann / Terra.

German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3492. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Arthur Grimm / Arca-NF-Film.

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Filmportal.de, Wikipedia (German), and IMDb.

Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) was one of the first prominent European jazz musicians. His fret hand was severely burned and disfigured and caused his unique style of playing. He performed with such greats as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. He also had his own band, the Quintette du Hot Club de France, which he had cofounded with violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Django has been portrayed in several films, even as a cartoon character, and his music graces the soundtracks of many films, especially those of Woody Allen.

French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 63. Photo: Ch. Vandamme / Les Mirages.

I Awake

Jean Baptiste Reinhardt was born into a troupe of gypsies in Liberchies, Belgium, in 1910. He was the son of a travelling entertainer and the brother of guitarist Joseph Reinhardt. From the age of 8, he lived with his mother in Romani (Gypsy) settlements close to Paris.

Reinhardt's nickname ‘Django’ is Romani for ‘I awake.’ He started playing the violin and eventually moved on to a banjo-guitar that a neighbour had given him.

From the age of 12, he played professionally at Bal-musette halls in Paris. His first known recordings (in 1928) were of him playing the banjo with accordionist Jean Vaissade for the Ideal Company.

That year, the 18 year old Reinhardt was injured in a fire that ravaged the caravan he shared with Florine ‘Bella’ Mayer, his first wife. The caravan was filled with celluloid flowers his wife had made to sell at the market on the following day. At one o'clock in the morning Django returned from a performance at the club La Java. Upon hearing a mouse among the flowers, he bent down with a candle to look. The wick from the candle fell into the highly flammable celluloid flowers and the caravan was transformed into a raging inferno.

Somehow he and his wife made it across the blazing room to safety outside, but his right leg was paralyzed and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were badly burned. A doctor intended to amputate his leg, but Reinhardt refused to have the surgery and was bedridden for eighteen months.

His brother Joseph bought Django a new guitar. With rehabilitation and practice he relearned his craft in a completely new way. He created a whole new fingering system built around the two fingers on his left hand that had full mobility.

His fourth and fifth digits of the left hand were permanently curled towards the palm due to the tendons shrinking from the heat of the fire. He could use them on the first two strings of the guitar for chords and octaves but complete extension of these fingers was impossible.

In 1931 the painter Emile Savitry let him hear the records of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and Django decided to look out for French jazz musicians.

Louise Carletti. French postcard by Editions E.C., Paris, no. 92. Photo: Discina.

Hot Club de France

In 1934, Django Reinhardt and Parisian violinist Stéphane Grappelli formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Reinhardt's brother Joseph and Roger Chaput on guitar, and Louis Vola on bass. The small Ultraphone company recorded their first sides Dinah, Tiger Rag, Oh Lady be Good, and I Saw Stars. These first records caused a sensation.

The group went on to record hundreds of sides and had a following on both sides of the ocean. The quintet was one of the few well-known jazz ensembles composed only of string instruments. At the time, the great majority of recordings featured a wide variety of horns, often in multiples, piano, etc.

In the years before World War II the group gained considerable renown, and Reinhardt became an international celebrity. He appeared throughout Europe and recorded with many important American jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, and did a jam-session and radio performance with Louis Armstrong.

Reinhardt could neither read nor write music, and was barely literate, but Stéphane took the band's downtime to teach him. When World War II broke out, the original quintet was on tour in the United Kingdom. Reinhardt returned to Paris at once, leaving his estranged wife Florine behind. In 1929, she had given birth to their son named Henri ‘Lousson’ Reinhardt. Grappelli remained in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war.

Reinhardt reformed the quintet, with Hubert Rostaing on clarinet replacing Grappelli's violin. In 1943, Django married Sophie Ziegler in Salbris, with whom he had a son, Babik Reinhardt, who became a respected guitarist in his own right.

Reinhardt survived the war unscathed, unlike the many Romanis who perished in the Porajmos, the Nazi regime's systematic murder of several hundred thousand European Romanis. He apparently enjoyed the protection of the Luftwaffe officer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, nicknamed ‘Doktor Jazz’, who deeply admired his music.

Philippe Lemaire. French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 140. Photo: Sam Lévin.

Unrivalled Beauty and Pathos

After the war, Django Reinhardt rejoined Stéphane Grappelli in the UK, and then, in the fall of 1946, he went on tour in the United States as a special guest soloist with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, playing two nights at Carnegie Hall.

He also became interested in composition and, with Andre Hodeir, arranged the music for the film Le Village de la Colère/The Village of Wrath (Raoul André, 1947) with Louise Carletti.

After returning to France, Reinhardt spent the remainder of his days re-immersed in Romani life, having found it difficult to adjust to the modern world. He would sometimes show up for concerts without a guitar or amp, or wander off to the park or beach, and on a few occasions he refused even to get out of bed.

Reinhardt was known by his band, fans, and managers to be extremely unpredictable. He would often skip sold-out concerts to simply "walk to the beach" or "smell the dew". However, he did continue to compose and is still regarded as one of the most advanced jazz guitarists to ever play the instrument.

Although his experience in the US left him influenced greatly by American jazz, making him a different player from the man Grappelli had known, on this recording Reinhardt switched back to his old roots, once again playing the acoustic Selmer-Maccaferri.

In 1951, he retired to Samois-sur-Seine, near Fontainebleau, where he lived until his death. He continued to play in Paris jazz clubs and finally came to terms with the electric guitar. His final recordings made in the last few months of his life show him moving in a new musical direction and are perhaps the most profound he or any other jazz guitarist ever made.

He had assimilated the vocabulary of bebop and fused it with his own melodic genius. His last recording of Nuages from these sessions is his greatest and from the same session in Manoir de mes Reves’ he distills in a couple of minutes an unrivaled beauty and pathos.

In 1953, he was also seen in the cinemas in the film Saluti e baci/The Road to Happiness (Maurice Labro, Giorgio Simonelli, 1953) with Philippe Lemaire.

That year Django Reinhardt suddenly collapsed outside his house from a brain hemorrhage. It took a full day for a doctor to arrive and Reinhardt was declared dead on arrival at the hospital in Fontainebleau. He was only 43.

After his death, the documentary Django Reinhardt (Paul Paviot, 1957) was made which includes an introduction by Jean Cocteau and features music performed by Grappelli, Rostaing, and Joseph Reinhardt.

Since then Django has been portrayed in several films. His legacy dominates Sweet and Lowdown (Woody Allen, 1999). This spoof biopic focuses on fictional American guitarist Emmet Ray's (Sean Penn) obsession with Reinhardt.

Django returned as a cartoon in the opening sequence of the animation film Les Triplettes de Belleville/The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet, 2003). The third and fourth fingers of the cartoon Reinhardt are considerably smaller than the fingers used to play the guitar.

Reinhardt's music has been used in the soundtrack of many films, including Lacombe Lucien (Louis Malle, 1974), Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1993), The Matrix (Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski, 1999) and The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004).

Django Reinhardt's film debut was the comedy Clair de Lune/Moonlight (Henri Diamant-Berger, 1932) with Claude Dauphin. The music is Django's but he can also be seen playing the guitar. Source: Jerome Diamant (YouTube).

The Dutch Polygoon Journal filmed a performance of the Quintette du Hot Club de France in Den Haag (The Hague) in 1937. Source: Jan Klompstra (YouTube).

Film clip from the film Le Route de Bonheur (1945). Django plays Nuits de Saint Germain de Près on his guitar in a train. Source: Teddy Dupont (YouTube).

Sources: Joseph Dinkins (Red Hot Jazz), Kevin Whitehead (Jazz), Find A Grave, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

Today is the birthday of Jean-Louis Trintignant (1930), one of the most talented and recognisable French actors of the post-war era. He showed a special talent for troubled characters like murderers or jealous husbands, and won several awards for it. Trintignant starred in more than 100 films and enjoyed international acclaim with films like Et Dieu... créa la femme/And God Created Woman (1956), Un homme et une femme/A Man And A Woman (1966), Z (1969), Il Conformista/The Conformist (1970) and of course with Michael Haneke’s Amour/Love (2012). This year, Amour won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and Jean-Louis Trintignant himself was awarded with the César 2013 for Best Actor. Happy 83, mr. Trintignant!

East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 17/71, 1971. Retail price: 0,20 M.

East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 73/78, 1978. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Progress.

Rumors of an Affair with BB

Jean-Louis Trintignant was born in Piolenc in the southeast of France in 1930. He was born into a wealthy family. His parents were Claire (née Tourtin) and Raoul Trintignant, an industrialist.

His uncle was race car driver, Louis Trintignant, who was killed in 1933 while practicing on the Péronne racetrack in Picardie. Another uncle, Maurice Trintignant, was a Formula One driver who twice won the Monaco Grand Prix as well as the Le Mans.

Jean-Louis studied law in Aix-en-Provence, but at the age of 19, he found a sudden passion for acting, having seen Charles Dullin's stage production of Molière's L'Avare. The following year, he moved to Paris to study drama at L'IDHEC (Institut des hautes études cinématographiques, now La Fémis). He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and toured in the early 1950s in several theatre productions.

His first film appearance was in La Loi des rues/Law of the Streets (Ralph Habib, 1956) and he was given his first bigger part in Si tous les gars du monde/If All the Guys in the World... (Christian Jaque, 1956), an hymn to brotherhood, solidarity and responsibility.

At the time Trintignant was not regarded as very talented, but everything changed when Roger Vadim discovered him. He gave him the leading man role opposite Brigitte Bardot in Et Dieu... créa la femme/And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956).

Et Dieu... créa la femme gained him instant stardom. When the press stalked him because of a brief affair with Bardot, he fled into the army. His acting was interrupted for several years by mandatory military service. He served in the Algerian War and was profoundly affected by what he experienced during the conflict. After three years of military life, he returned to Paris.

Trintignant had made up his mind to give up acting, but an offer to star as Hamlet in Paris changed his mind. Critical acclaim lead to another important film role for Vadim in an updated version of Les liaisons dangereuses/Dangerous Liaisons (Roger Vadim, 1959) starring Jeanne Moreau. However, it took some time for another big success in the cinema.

French postcard by Editions du Globe (E.D.U.G.), Paris, no. 608. Photo: Sam Lévin.

Spanish postcard by Oscarcolor, no. 293.

Art-house Classic

Raised in and around automobile racing, Jean-Louis Trintignant was the natural choice of film director Claude Lelouch for the starring role of race car driver in his film Un homme et une femme/A Man and A Woman (Claude Lelouch, 1966). And indeed he was perfectly cast as the widowed driver who learns to love again.

Trintignant was – and still is - good friends with actress Anouk Aimée. He recommended her to Lelouch for the female lead in the film. Un homme et une femme won the Palme d’Or and became a huge global success. At the time Un homme et une femme was the most successful French film ever screened in the foreign market, and the film made Trintignant an international star.

In Italy, where he was always dubbed into Italian, he collaborated with renowned Italian directors. In Dino Risi's cult comedy Il sorpasso/The Easy Life (1962), he played a shy law student taken for a for a drive through the Roman and Tuscany countries by capricious, exuberant Vittorio Gassman in the summer of 1962.

Other major Italian directors he worked with were Valerio Zurlini in Estate violent/Violent Summer (1959) with Eleonora Rossi-Drago, and Il deserto dei tartari/The Desert of the Tartars (1974), Bernardo Bertolucci in Il conformista/The Conformist (1970), and Ettore Scola in La terrazzo/The Terrace (1980) and Passione d'amore/Passion For Love (1981).

In 1968, he won the Silver Bear Best Actor award at the Berlin International Film Festival for L'homme qui ment/The Man Who Lies (Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1968).

Other interesting French films of the 1960s were the sexually charged Les Biches/Bad Girls (Claude Chabrol, 1968) with Stéphane Audran, the political thriller Z (Costa-Gravas, 1969) as an idealistic young lawyer opposite Yves Montand, and the Oscar nominated morality tale Ma nuit chez Maud/My Night at Maud’s (Eric Rohmer, 1969) with Francoise Fabian.

French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 577. Photo: Studio Harcourt.

French postcard by Edition P.I., Paris, no. 1129. Photo: J.L. Castelli.

Manslaughter

Jean-Louis Trintignant became particularly associated with the (political) thriller, an increasingly popular genre in France and the kind of film that seemed to fit the actor's cool but sensitive persona perfectly. Teaming up again with Lelouch, Trintignant portrayed a nihilistic but debonair professional thief in Le Voyou/The Crook (Claude Lelouch, 1970), then crossed over to the other side of the law to play a detective in Sans mobile apparent/Without Apparent Motive (Claude Lelouch, 1971).

Next, he was a French fugitive in Canada who gets involved in a kidnap plot in La course du lièvre à travers les champs/…and Hope to Die (René Clément, 1972), and a French assassin in Los Angeles in Un homme est mort/A Man is Dead (Jacques Deray, 1972).

He appeared in sixteen films in just three years between 1975 and 1977, including in Flic Story/Cop Story (Jacques Deray, 1975) as a cold blooded murderer opposite Alain Delon. In 1978, he won acclaim as a bank employee standing up against corruption in the César-winning L’Argent des autres/Dirty Money (Christian de Chalonge, 1978) with Catherine Deneuve.

After several undistinguished features, he made his first English language feature film, Under Fire (Roger Spottiswoode, 1983) starring Nick Nolte. Following this, he starred in François Truffaut's final film, Vivement dimanche!/Confidentially Yours (1983) opposite Fanny Ardant.

In 1994, he appeared in Krzysztof Kieślowski's last film, Trois couleurs: Rouge/Three Colors: Red opposite Irène Jacob. He played a disillusioned retired judge who spies on his neighbours while grappling with his own inner moral dilemmas. He lent his voice to the widely acclaimed La cité des enfants perdus/City of Lost Children (Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995). This was followed by his role as the older version of Mathieu Kassovitz’s character in the acclaimed Un Héros très discreet/A Self-Made Hero (Jacques Audiard, 1996).

Trintignant has won several awards, including a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for Best Actor for L'Homme qui ment (1968), the Cannes Award for Best Actor for Z (1969) and a special David di Donatello in Italy in 1972. He was nominated for the César five times: in 1987, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2013.

Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.

Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Louis Trintignant

Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 43 072. Photo: publicity still for Le bon plaisir (Francis Girod, 1984) with Catherine Deneuve.

Swiss postcard by Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne / News Productions, Baulmes. Photo: Laurence Sudre.

Amour

Jean-Louis Trintignant has been married twice. His first wife was actress Stéphane Audran. The marriage was short-lived and the actress left him to marry director Claude Chabrol. His second wife, Nadine Trintignant-Marquand, was also an actress as well as a screenwriter and director. They had three children: Vincent Trintignant, Pauline (who died of crib death in 1969) and Marie Trintignant. The couple later divorced and Trintignant subsequently married the famous racing driver Marianne Hoepfner in 1984.

At the age of 17, his daughter Marie performed in La terrazza alongside her father and later became a successful actress in her own right. In 2003, she was killed by her boyfriend, Bertrand Cantat, the lead rock singer and guitarist of the group Noir Désir, in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania. She was 41.

Apparently the jealous Cantat became outraged when Trintignant received a telephone call from her husband, director/actor Samuel Benchetrit. She suffered a cerebral edema as a result of her skull fractures and died four days after the incident. In 2004, Cantat was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter, which was initially appealed by Marie's family, who wished for a heavier sentence. They later cancelled their appeal and the judgment was final.

Since 1996, Jean-Louis Trintignant essentially focused on his stage work. After a 14 year gap, he returned to the cinema in grand style. In Amour/Love (Michael Haneke, 2012), he played the male lead opposite Emmanuelle RivaandIsabelle Huppert.

Trintignant had already worked with director Michael Haneke, when he provided the voice of the Narrator (The School Teacher as an Old Man) in the French edition of Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (Michael Haneke, 2009).

Haneke had sent Trintignant the script, which had been written specifically for him. Trintignant said that he chooses which films he works in on the basis of the director, and said of Haneke that "he has the most complete mastery of the cinematic discipline, from technical aspects like sound and photography to the way he handles actors". For this role he was awarded with the César 2013 and the European Film Award for Best Actor.

James Travers at French Film Guide: "A quiet and unassuming man by nature, Trintignant remains modest about his achievements and has not actively sought stardom. Few French actors are as universally well-regarded as he is and he is unquestionably one of the most charming and talented actors of his generation."

American trailer for Et Dieu... créa la femme/And God Created Woman (1956). Source: TheCultBox (YouTube).

Beautiful love scene from Estate violent/Violent Summer (1959) with Eleonora Rossi-Drago. Source: Tarlait (YouTube). Italian with French subtitles.

Trailer for Trois couleurs: Rouge/Three Colors: Red (1994). Source: Danios12345 (YouTube).

Trailer for Amour/Love (2012). Source: Otávio Aph (YouTube).

Sources: James Travers (French Film Guide), Tom Zoerner (IMDb), New Wave Film.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.

On 9 December Dutch actor and film director Kees Brusse (1925–2013) has passed away. Brusse appeared in over 50 films and TV films since 1936. He starred in the film Dokter Pulder zaait papavers/Doctor Pulder Sows Poppies (Bert Haanstra, 1975), which was entered into the 26th Berlin International Film Festival, and several other major Dutch films. He was 88.

Dutch postcard van Rotterdamse Comedie, no. 153. Photo: Kees Molkenboer, Rotterdam. Publicity still for the 1952 stage play Fientje Beulemans/The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans by Jean François Fonson and Lucien Wicheler with Elly van Stekelenburg.

A Subdued, Natural Way of Acting

Kees Brusse was born as Cornelius Brusse in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1925. He was a son of well-known author and journalist Marie Joseph Brusse and opera singer Antje Ebes. Kees had six brothers and half brothers, filmmaker Ytzen Brusse, journalist Jan Brusse, journalist / filmmaker Peter Brusse, sculptor Mark Brusse, the prematurely deceased Marie Joseph Jr. and architect Henk Brusse.

At the age of eleven, he made his film debut as Merijntje’s brother Arjaan in the Dutch drama Merijntje Gijzen's Jeugd/Merijntje Gijzen's Youth (Kurt Gerron, 1936), based on the popular novel written by A.M. De Jong.

Brusse attended high school, but for the theatre school, he was rejected. As an actor and as a director he was self-taught. At the age of 16, he made his stage debut as Pietje Puck in Boefje/Rascal (1941) at the Gemeentelijk Theaterbedrijf Amsterdam (Municipal Theatre Company Amsterdam).

A year later, he played in De mooiste ogen van de wereld (The most beautiful eyes in the world) (1942). In 1943 he played at the Central Theatre led by Cees Laseur. With Laseur and Wim Ibo he also did cabaret.

After the liberation of the Netherlands, Brusse worked in Cabaret Wim Sonneveld, from 1945 on. With the international cabaret company of Rudolf Nelson, he made a tour in Switzerland. In the period 1948-1949, Brusse travelled with his theatre group C6 through Indonesia.

He developed a characteristic acting style. No exaggerated gestures or carried voice, but a subdued, natural way of acting.

In 1948 he had married his first wife, Pamela Ingenegeren (Pam Henning). Four more marriages would follow: in 1954 he married the actress Mieke Verstraete, in 1975 Marlou Peters, and in 1986 Sonja Boerrigter, and finally the Australian Joan St. Clair.

Ellen van Hemert. Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3192. Photo: N.V. Standaardfilms. Publicity still for Jenny (1958).

The Third Best Visited Film of the Dutch Cinema Ever

In 1950, Kees Brusse’s film career really took off with the lead in De dijk is dicht/The dyke is closed (Anton Koolhaas, 1950), the first major Dutch film production after WW II. Frank Veenstra (a.k.a. Boba_Fett1138) at IMDb calls it a ‘A surprising good humble little film’: “Beside the directing, also the acting really surprised in this movie. While some of the actors are obvious non-actors and probably just locals, the main parts are being played by some fine actors who give away a great performance.”

Brusse appeared in two acclaimed documentaries by his brother Ytzen, Hij, zij, en een wereldhaven/He, she,andaworld port(Ytzen Brusse, 1952) and Het meest getapt/The mosttapped(Ytzen Brusse, 1953).

From 1952 to 1954 Kees Brusse gave artistic leadership to the stage company Rotterdamse Comédie, where he worked with dramaturge Anna Blaman and his future wife Mieke Verstraete.

In 1955 he had a huge success with his role in Ciske de Rat/CisketheRat (1955), directed by German film maker Wolfgang Staudte and based on the popular novels by Piet Bakker. With 2,433,000 viewers it is the third best visited film of the Dutch cinema ever. The film was also shown at the Venice Film Festival, where it won a Silver Lion of San Marco.

Staudte also made a German version Ciske: Ein Kind Braucht Liebe/Ciske: A Child Needs Love (1955). The cast was different although Kees Brusse returned as Ciske’s teacher Bruis.

Two years later he starred in the comedy Kleren maken de man/Clothes make the man (Georg Jacoby, 1957) with Annet Nieuwenhuizen and Andrea Domburg, and then in the first Dutch colour feature, the romantic drama Jenny (Willy van Hemert, 1958), featuring Ellen van Hemert. Jenny was an updated adaptation of the oft-filmed romantic drama Eight Girls in a Boat.

Rob de Vries. East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2010, 1964. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: publicity still for De Overval/The Silent Raid (Paul Rotha, 1962).

People of Tomorrow

During the 1950s, Kees Brusse enjoyed huge successes on the Dutch radio with radio plays and improvisation shows. The most successful was the biweekly series De Familie Doorsnee/The family Rate, written by Annie M.G. Schmidt and aired from 1952 till 1958.

Brusse also became known through the new medium television. He appeared in the popular situation comedy Pension Hommeles/Guesthouse Much a-do (Erik de Vries, 1957-1959), again written by Annie M.G. Schmidt.

He played inspector Maigret in the Dutch-Belgian crime series Maigret (1964-1965), based on the novels by Georges Simenon. Other popular TV series were Tussen wal en schip/Between two stools (Eimert Kruidhof, 1977), and Mensen zoals jij en ik/Everyday people like you and me (Rob Herzet, 1981-1985).

He was also a panellist in the game show Wie van de drie/Who of the three. Till the early 1960s, Brusse combined his TV work in the daytime with stage acting in the evening. He worked for such theatre companies as Toneelgroep Theater, the Haagse Comedie, the Amsterdams Toneel and the Nederlandse Comedie.

Already during the 1950s, Brusse showed interest in the young generation who were living in a turbulent time. He directed short films like De paraplu/The Umbrella (1956) and Het gerucht/The Rumour (1960), which advocated for sex education for young people.

Brusse garnered respect as a director with his documentary Mensen van morgen/People of tomorrow in which he interviewed young people. Later he made several more documentaries.

In the early 1960s he appeared in a few films of the ailing Dutch film industry. Both De zaak M.P./The Manneken Pis Case (Bert Haanstra, 1960) and his own feature Kermis in de Regen/Fair in the Rain (Kees Brusse, 1962) were disappointments, commercially and artistically. A success was the war thriller De overval/The silent Raid (Paul Rotha, 1963) with Rob de Vriesand Yoka Beretty.

Sylvia Kristel. Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.

Blue Movie

After eight years of TV work, Kees Brusse returned to the cinema in the soft sex film Blue Movie (Wim Verstappen, 1971), an international box-office hit and notable as the first film produced in Holland with full frontal nudity for both sexes.

Brusse also appeared in Verstappen’s dark satire VD (Wim Verstappen, 1973) opposite Andrea Domburg, and Dakota (Wim Verstappen, 1974) with Monique van de Ven and Willeke van Ammelrooy.

More interesting are Dokter Pulder zaait papavers/Doctor Pulder Sows Poppies (Bert Haanstra, 1975) with Dora van der Groen and Rooie Sien/Red Sien (Frans Weisz, 1975) starring Willeke Alberti. Other films were Mysteries/Evil Mysteries (Paul de Lussanet, 1977) starring Rutger Hauer andSylvia Kristel, and Een pak slag/Mr. Slotter's Jubilee (Bert Haanstra, Rimko Haanstra, 1979).

In 1982, he received a prestigious Dutch TV award, the Gouden Televizierring (Golden Televizier Ring), for his TV series Mensen zoals jij en ik/Everyday people like you and me. In 1987, he was appointed to Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau).

He continued to appear in TV films and series, including De wandelaar/The walker (Eimert Kruidhof, 1989), the popular hospital series Medisch Centrum West/MCW (1991), and the thriller Tasten in het duister/The Right to Know (Stephan Brenninkmeijer, 1996). His final screen appearance was in the TV series De erfenis/The heritage (Johan Nijenhuis a.o., 2004) with Manouk van der Meulen.

Brusse was socially active. In addition to his work, he was an ambassador for the organization Greenwisheen, a platform for people who commit their expertise, creativity and talents to initiatives in the field of nature, environment and sustainability. He created the Kees Brusse Foundation for the empowerment of older persons.

In 1988, he moved with his fourth wife, Sonja Boerrigte, to successively Bonaire, France and Australia. After her death in 2000 Brusse returned temporarily to the Netherlands.

Until January 2013, he lived in anonymity in Perth, Australia. In March 2011, he visited the Netherlands to present his biography Herinneringen: Ovatie aan het leven (Memories: ovation to life).

In early 2013 Kees Brusse returned to the Netherlands for good. He stayed at the Rosa Spier House in Laren, where he died on 9 December 2013.

Scene from De overval/The silent Raid (1963). Source: Duckeeeeeeeee (YouTube).

Scenes from Dokter Pulder zaait papavers/Doctor Pulder Sows Poppies (1975). Source: Carminum (YouTube).

Sources: Hans Nauta (Trouw) (Dutch), Annemieke Hendriks (De pioniers) (Dutch), AllMovie, Wikipedia (English and Dutch), and IMDb.

Today, it's Postcard Friendship Friday on the net. A weekly event in which postcard blogs present themselves. Start at Beth's blog with the great title The Best Hearts Are Crunchy, and enjoy some rare vintage postcards that are preserved on the net by bloggers like me.

For this Postcard Friendship Friday, I have chosen postcards of handsome and athletic Daniel Olbrychski (1945), a Polish actor best known for his leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda films. He also worked with Volker Schlöndorff, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Claude Lelouch and recently he played Russian defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov opposite Angelina Jolie in the Hollywood blockbuster Salt (2011).

East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin, no. 117/73, 1973. Retail price: 0,20 M.

Andrzej Wajda

Daniel Marcel Olbrychski was born in Łowicz, Poland in 1945 as the son of Franciszka Olbrychski and Klementyny Sołonowicz-Olbrychski. He attended the Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego in Warsaw.

In the years 1963 and 1964 he performed at the Teatrem Młodzieżowym TVP (Youth Theatre) under the direction of Andrzeja Konica. He started to attend the Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna (Academy of Dramatic Arts in Warsaw), but never finished his studies.

In 1964 his film career started at the age of 18 with the war film Ranny w lesie/Wounded in the Forest (Janusz Nasfeter, 1964).

A year later, he worked for the first time with director Andrzej Wajda at the Western-style war epic Popioły/The Ashes (Andrzej Wajda, 1965) which was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. He also appeared in Wajda’s Wszystko na sprzedaż/Everything for Sale (Andrzej Wajda, 1969) with Beata Tyszkiewicz, and the comedy Polowanie na muchy/Hunting Flies (Andrzej Wajda, 1969).

He then had the lead in the drama Życie rodzinne/Family Life (Krzysztof Zanussi, 1971).

He starred in the drama Krajobraz po bitwie/Landscape After the Battle (Andrzej Wajda, 1970), the story of a Nazi German concentration camp survivor soon after liberation, residing in a DP camp somewhere in Germany. The film is based on the writings of Holocaust survivor and Polish author Tadeusz Borowski.

Olbrychski also starred in the drama Brzezina/The Birch Wood (Andrzej Wajda, 1970) based on a novel by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. It was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival where Andrzej Wajda won the Golden Prize for Direction and Daniel Olbrychski won the award for Best Actor.

They also worked together on the German drama Pilatus und andere - Ein Film für Karfreitag/Pilate and Others (Andrzej Wajda, 1972), based on the 1967 novel The Master and Margarita by the Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov.

Then followed Wesele/The Wedding (Andrzej Wajda, 1972), an adaptation of a play by Stanisław Wyspiański which Wajda also directed for the theatre. Wesele describes the perils of the national drive toward self-determination after the Polish uprisings of November 1830 and January 1863, the result of the Partitions of Poland.

Ziemia Obiecana/The Promised Land (Andrzej Wajda, 1975) is a drama based on a novel by Władysław Reymont. Set in the industrial city of Łódź, The Promised Land tells the story of a Pole, a German, and a Jew struggling to build a factory in the raw world of 19th century capitalism.

Very popular was the Polish-Soviet historical drama Potop/The Deluge (Jerzy Hoffman, 1974), based on the 1886 novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 47th Academy Awards, but lost to Amarcord (Federico Fellini, 1973). The film is the third most popular in the history of Polish cinema, with some 28 million tickets sold in Poland and 30.5 million in the Soviet Union.

Olbrychski also starred in Panny z Wilka/The Maids of Wilko (Andrzej Wajda, 1979), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Daniel Olbruchski then played one of the leads in Volker Schlöndorff's masterpiece Die Blechtrommel/The Tin Drum (1979) based on Günter Grass' novel. The Tin Drum was one of the most financially successful German films of the 1970s. It won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was jointly awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, along with Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979).

East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin, no. 3191, 1968. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Balinski.

Hot-Tempered Patriot

IMDb describes Daniel Olbrychski as a ‘hot-tempered patriot’, who would enjoy horseback riding on town centre squares. Another amusing anecdote is that once a picture of Olbrychski as an SS-man was displayed in a contemporary art exhibition. As soon as he knew this, he went armed with a saber and with a TV news crew to the exhibition room, where he cut down his portrait, ending its existence.

In the 1980s, he gradually switched from leads to supporting roles. He appeared in the popular French musical epic Les Uns et les Autres/Bolero: Dance of Life (Claude Lelouch, 1981).

Other West-European films include La Truite/The Trout (Joseph Losey, 1982), starring Isabelle Huppert, Eine Liebe in Deutschland/A Love in Germany (Andrzej Wajda, 1983) with Hanna Schygulla, and Die Geduld der Rosa Luxemburg/Rosa Luxemburg (Margarethe von Trotta, 1986) featuring Barbara Sukowa.

Rosa Luxemburg received the German Film Award (Bundesfilmpreis) as best feature film. In 1986 Olbrychski received the French L'Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor).

In Italy, he made the drama Mosca addio/Farewell Moscow (Mauro Bolognini, 1987) based on the life of Russian Jew Ida Nudel. For this film Liv Ullmann was awarded with a David di Donatello for Best Actress.

He then had his American debut in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Philip Kaufman, 1988), the successful film adaptation of the novel by Milan Kundera starring Daniel Day Lewis.

He also appeared in the third of the ten episodes in Krzysztof Kieślowski's classic Polish TV series Dekalog/The Decalogue (1988).

His films during the 1990s were less prominent. He had a part in the Polish historical drama Ogniem i Mieczem/With Fire and Sword (Jerzy Hoffman, 1999) based on a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz and starring ‘Bond girl’ Izabella Scorupco. At the time of its filming it was the most expensive Polish film ever made.

Olbrychski and Wajda reunited for Pan Tadeusz/Pan Tadeusz: The Last Foray in Lithuania (Andrzej Wajda, 1999), based on the epic poem by Polish poet, writer and philosopher Adam Mickiewicz, and for the comedy Zemsta/The Revenge (Andrzej Wajda, 2002), an adaptation of a popular stage farce of Aleksander Fredro with director Roman Polanski in the lead role.

In 2007 Olbrychski received the Stanislavsky Award at the 29th Moscow International Film Festival for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school. Remarkable was his part as the sinister Russian defector who accuses Angelina Jolie to be a Russian spy in the American action thriller Salt (Philip Noyce, 2010).

Since then he appeared in the German film Wintertochter (Johannes Schmid, 2011), the Polish historical film Bitwa warszawska 1920/Battle of Warsaw 1920 (Jerzy Hoffman, 2011) and in the Russian production Legenda No. 17/ Legend No. 17 (Nikolay Lebedev, 2013), a biopic of Russian ice hockey legend Valeri Kharlamov (played by Danila Kozlovsky).

Daniel Olbrychski married three times. His first wife was Monika Dzienisiewicz-Olbrychska (1967-1977), with whom he has a son, actor Rafał Olbrychski (1971). His second wife was Zuzanna Lapicka (1978-1988) with whom he has a daughter Weronika (1982). Since 2003 he is married to Krystyna Demska. He is also the father of Viktor Sukowa, from a relationship with German actress Barbara Sukowa. In the mid-1970s he had a 3-year relationship with singer Maryla Rodowicz.

Trailer Krajobraz po bitwie/Landscape After the Battle (1970). Source: Movie Trailers (YouTube).

Trailer Salt (2010). Source: eLearnable123 (YouTube).

Sources: Sandra Brennan (AllMovie), Film Polski (Polish), Wikipedia (English and Polish) and IMDb.

An early version of the Peplum, the Italian sword and sandal epic, was the silent Ambrosio production Attila (1918) by Febo Mari. The director himself starred as the ruthless Attila the Hun.

Italian postcard for Attila (1918). Translation caption: 'The torture of a girl by orders of Attila'.

The Scourge of God

On IMDb, there are two lemmas for Attila (1918) and Attila, il flagello di Dio/Attila, the Scourge of God (1918), but both refer to the same film. Flagellum Dei (Latin for Scourge of God) was the byname of the barbarian conqueror.

Italian silent film star Febo Mari not only starred in and directed the Peplum for Società Anonima Ambrosio, but he also wrote the script.

Producer Arturo Ambrosio ordered impressive sets, which were designed by Pietro Canonica, Ettore Ridoni and Carlo Stratta.

Among Febo Mari's co-stars were the diva Ileana Leonidoff as Ildico, Nietta Mordeglia as Creca and Maria Roasio as Onoria.

Roasio made her film debut here as Onoria, the Roman woman who is given to Attila because he spared the destruction of Rome. But she kills him in their wedding night.

The film came out in Italy in February 1918, during the First World War. Pier da Castello in the Italian magazine La vita cinematografica drew a comparison between Attila the Hun and Emperor Wilhelm II, who was considered as the culprit of the First World War and its massive slaughter.

Da Castello indicated that Mari’s film appealed to the call of the government to make patriotic films. These must show audiences why the blood-shedding was necessary. He forgave Mari’s ‘playing’ with history.

Febo Mari. Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica, no. 1. Photo: Ambrosio-Film.

Italian postcard for the Ambrosio film Attila (1918). Translation caption: "The Huns advance while killing and burning all over the Venetian plains".

Attila the Hun

Who was the historic Attila? He was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. Attila was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea.

During his reign he was one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople.

He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum (Orléans) before being defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.

Subsequently he invaded Italy, devastating the northern provinces, but was unable to take Rome. He planned for further campaigns against the Romans but died in 453.

In legend he appears under the name Etzel in the Nibelungenlied and under the name Atli in Icelandic sagas.

Like Pier da Castello, the British magazine Bioscope showed the same permissiveness in their 1918 review of Attila, justifying Febo Mari’s spectacle but also its ideological warning against ‘barbarians’ then and now.

Bioscope also praised the beauty of the two leading actresses, newcomer Roasio and Ileana Leonidoff as the sensual Bulgarian dancer Ildico – who according to Bioscope had been the real assassin of Attila.

Italian postcard for the Ambrosio film Attila (1918). Translation caption: "Saint Genevieve announces that Attila is retreating".

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia and IMDb.

In the 1960s, the legendary matador El Cordobés (1936) brought a flamboyant, daring style to the bullring. With $3 million dollar per year in his heyday, he was the most highly paid torero in history. Thanks to his good looks, he also starred in some films.

Spanish postcard by A.G.N. Fábregos, no. 70. Photo: Carretero.

French postcard by Edition Cely / Marcel Pendaries, Saint-Alban, no. 1873. Photo: Aubert Kodaks, Bayonne.

A Classical Tale Of Rags To Riches

The life of Spanish matador El Cordobés (The Man from Cordoba) is a classical tale of rags to riches. As Manuel ‘Manolo’ Benítez Pérez he was born in the slums in Palma del Rio near the city of Cordoba, Andalucía in 1936. At 9, Manolo was an orphan and was reared in an orphanage, where he dreamed of being the greatest bullfighter of Spain. But he was caught by the Guardia Civil stealing chickens and oranges at nearby farms, and was sent to jail for three months.

At 23, he worked as a bricklayer in Madrid and practiced bullfighting on untrained bulls at night. Once he vaulted over the fence at a prestigious bullfight and with an improvised cape began taking a bull through its paces. Officials quickly dragged him away, but it was the start of his bullfighting career.

Promoter Rafael Sánchez, known as ‘El Pipo,’ bought him cows for practice, dreamed up his stage name, helped fashion his gimmicks - and later protected his growing popularity by bribing journalists to overlook his stylistic faults and the invalid bulls he was fighting. During the 1960 season, while he was still a Novillero (novice bullfighter), El Cordobés attracted attention throughout Andalusia. He did not attain full rank as a matador until 1963, when he had already become famous.

El Cordobés’s antics and daredevil stunts - such as kissing the bull between the horns - attracted extraordinary crowds. He made his film debut in the bullfighting drama Aprendiendo a morir/Learning to Die (Pedro Lazaga, 1962). A year later he appeared in the crime drama Chantaje a un torero/The Blackmailers (Rafael Gil, 1963).

One of the original and dangerous ring techniques practiced by El Cordobés was first shown to the world at Anjucar. In stark departure from formality, he waved his Banderillero (Columpio) away, broke his Banderillas down to 'pencil length', and standing with his back to the bull as it charged, moved his right leg out moments before the bull was upon him, causing the bull to swerve and allowing El Cordobés a moment to slam in the Banderillas from just behind the left horn. This maneuver was repeated in bullfights across Spain, sometimes with even more dangerous variations, such as standing with his back to the barerra and driving in the banderillas after the horns passed either side of him.

A significant moment in his career came in 1964, when he made his first appearance at Las Ventas, the bullring of Madrid. Watched on television by many Spaniards, the bullfight ended with the near-fatal goring of El Cordobés on the horns of the bull Impulsivo. Yet twenty-two days later El Cordobés fought again.

The press dubbed him ‘the Beatle of the Bullring’. The crudity of his technique was offset by his exceptional reflexes, courage, and crowd appeal. In 1965 he fought in 111 corridas, breaking the single-season record of 109 established by Juan Belmonte in 1919. At up to $50,000 per bullfight, the poor boy from the slums had become a millionaire.

Spanish postcard by A.G.N. Fábregos, no. 60. Photo: Carretero.

Spanish postcard by Chavir, no. 1.221. Photo: C. Rivas, Barcelona.

Spanish postcard by A.G.N. Fábregos, no. 70. Photo: Carretero.

Spanish postcard by CYP Postales Color, Barcelona, no. 5227. Photo: Campana-Puig-Ferran.

Spanish postcard by Ed. Beascoa, no.517. Photo: Carretero.

Tired Of Raising Pigs

El Cordobés had a cameo in the French film La vie, l'amour, la mort/Life, Love, Death (Claude Lelouch, 1969) and made his fourth film in the Philippines: the comedy Europe Here We Come! (Ben Feleo, 1971). In the meanwhile he squired the world's most beautiful women, owned a Rolls-Royce, flew his own airplane, drove his fans into ecstatic fevers—but in 1972, he suddenly bowed out.

Reportedly battered by the liquor and pills that were fueling his overloaded 100-fight seasons, He married his French girlfriend Martine who had given birth to two of his children - and retired with a vast accumulated fortune in livestock and real estate. He sometimes appeared on TV and was himself in the film Rafael en Raphael (Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi, 1975) about the singer Raphael.

In 1979, after eight years of retirement, the 41-year-old matador returned to bullfighting, ‘tired of raising pigs’. The Spanish critics gave him top marks for his come-back fight. However, most of El Cordobés' engagements were in second-rate rings, where the audiences and the bulls are less demanding.

Following an incident in 1983, when a bull that he was about to fight killed an Espontáneo (‘spontaneous’, a person who illegally jumps into the ring to fight the bull), El Cordobés was much maligned by the press for allowing it to happen. He continued to make occasional appearances as a matador until 2002.

Then after four decades, he retired for good with a bullfight the Las Ventas bullring in Madrid, the sport's most prestigious venue. There he cut off his matador's pigtail, known as a Coleta, ritually ending his bullfighting days.

An early biography, Or I'll Dress You in Mourning by journalists Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, was published in 1968 by Simon and Schuster. El Cordobés' story was also the basis for the musical Matador (1987) by Mike Leander and Eddie Seago.

According to legend, Benitez fathered many illegitimate children. For years he refused to acknowledge one son in particular, Manuel Diaz, 34, who also entered the bullfighting scene. A decade ago they reconciled their differences. Today, El Cordobés lives in seclusion near Córdoba.

Spanish postcard by A.G.N. Fábregos, no. 92. Sent by mail in 1996. Photo: Carretero.

Spanish postcard by A.G.N. Fábregos, no. 87. Photo: Carretero.

Sources: Isambard Wilkinson (The Telegraph), William B. Lyon (People), Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ottawa Citizen, Wikipedia and IMDb.

British actor Peter O'Toole died on Saturday 14 December. The golden-haired, blue-eyed film actor became an international superstar with his unforgettable turn as the British expatriate T.E. Lawrence in David Lean's epic masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia (1962). After surviving cancer and alcoholism, O’Toole made a triumphant come-back with Oscar nominated appearances in The Stunt Man (1980) and My Favorite Year (1982). He was 81.

Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.

Intensity and Zeal

Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole was born in 1932. According to IMDb, he was born in Connemara, Ireland. Others sources indicate Leeds, England, where he also grew up, as his birthplace. In his autobiography Loitering with Intent: the Child (1992), O’Toole writes that he is not certain of his birthplace, while he has birth certificates from two countries.

However, he was the son of Constance Jane (née Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph O'Toole, an Irish metal platter, football player and racecourse bookmaker. As a boy, Peter decided to become a journalist, beginning as a newspaper copy boy.

Although he succeeded in becoming a reporter, he discovered the theatre and made his stage debut at 17. He served as a radioman in the Royal Navy for two years.

From 1952 to 1954 he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art as a scholarship student. His classmates included Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Richard Harris. While at RADA he was active in protesting the British involvement in the Korean War. Later in the 1960’s he would be an active opponent of the Vietnam War.

O'Toole began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company, before making an inconspicuous film debut in the Walt Disney production Kidnapped (Robert Stevenson, 1960), a faithful adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic.

Two years later, O'Toole was chosen by director David Lean to play Thomas E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962). The part of the conflicted British liaison officer caught at the centre of an Arab revolt made O'Toole an international superstar.

Brian McFarlane observes in the encyclopaedia of British Film: “It was a remarkable study in obsession, catching the right balance between mystic and man of action, bringing to the role kinds of intensity and zeal that few other British actors could have done”.

O' Toole continued successfully in artistically rich films as well as less artistic but commercially rewarding projects. He was nominated as Best Actor for King Henry II in Becket (Peter Glenville, 1964) starring Richard Burton. Two years later he was nominated again for portraying Henry II, this time in The Lion in Winter (Anthony Harvey, 1968) alongside Katharine Hepburn.

Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano (Milan), no. 278.

Spanish postcard by Postal Oscarcolor, no. 279. Photo: Publicity shot for Becket (Peter Glenville, 1964) with Richard Burton.

One of Hollywood's Most Infamous Party Animals

Peter O‘Toole is one of the greatest actors of his generation. During his career, he received eight Academy Award nominations but never won the Oscar. (He has more nominations without winning than any other actor.)

TCM suggests that his flamboyant personal life was maybe to blame: “Known as one of Hollywood's most infamous party animals in his prime, O'Toole earned a reputation as a prodigious drinker alongside his contemporaries and fellow countrymen Richard Harris, Richard Burton, and Oliver Reed.

O'Toole's booze-fueled hijinks eventually took their toll, however, on both his career and his health. While the actor did manage to pick up his fifth Oscar nomination for the wickedly funny The Ruling Class (Peter Medak, 1972), the seventies were a low-point in the actor's personal life and career.”

Once considered one of the most beautiful men ever to grace the silver screen only a decade earlier, O'Toole's alcoholism had cost him his looks. In 1979, his 20-year marriage to Irish actress Siân Phillips ended in divorce, when she left him for a younger man.

Medical problems threatened to destroy his life. Originally he thought the problems were the result of his drinking but it turned out to be stomach cancer. He survived by giving up alcohol and by serious medical treatment.

He returned to the cinema with two triumphant performances: a sadistic, tyrannical director in the behind-the-scenes comedy The Stunt Man (Richard Rush, 1980), and an ageing swashbuckling film star strongly resembling Errol Flynn in My Favorite Year (Richard Benjamin, 1982). For both films he received an Oscar nomination.

On stage, he received good reviews as John Tanner in Man and Superman and as Henry Higgins in Pygmalion (1984), and he won a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (1989).

However, O'Toole found meaningful film roles increasingly difficult to come by. He appeared in such duds as Supergirl (Jeannot Swarc, 1984), Creator (Ivan Passer, 1985) and Club Paradise (Harold Ramis, 1986), but fortunately he also appeared in the much-garlanded grand epic The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1987). The film about the final Emperor of China (John Lone) won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, nr. 384.

Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 593.

Still in the Game

After another series of lesser films, Peter O'Toole made again a come-back in the new decennium. In 1999 he won an Emmy Award for his role in the mini-series Joan of Arc (Christian Duguay, 1999).

In 2003, he received a Special Oscar for lifetime achievement, an honour O'Toole only reluctantly accepted. He wrote the Academy a letter stating that he was “still in the game” and proved to be so in the following years.

In the blockbuster Troy (Wolfgang Petersen, 2004) he played the dying King Priam opposite Brad Pitt. In the BBC drama serial Casanova (2005), he appeared as the older version of legendary 18th century Italian adventurer.

He was once again nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Maurice in the May-December romantic comedy Venus (Roger Michell, 2006), scripted by Hanif Kureishi. It was his eighth nomination.

O'Toole co-starred as the voice of food critic Anton Ego in the Pixar box office hit Ratatouille (Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, 2007), an animated film about a rat with dreams of becoming the greatest chef in Paris.

O'Toole appeared in the second season of Showtime's hit drama series The Tudors (2008), portraying Pope Paul III, who excommunicates King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) from the church. This act leads to a showdown between the two men in seven of the ten episodes.

O'Toole narrated the horror comedy Eldorado (Richard Driscoll, 2011), but last year O'Toole released a statement that he was retiring from acting.

Following a long illness, Peter O'Toole died peacefully in a London hospital on Saturday 14 December 2013, his agent Steve Kenis announced today.

He had two daughters, actresses Patricia O'Toole and Kate O'Toole (1960), from his marriage to Siân Phillips. He also has a son, actor Lorcan O'Toole (1983), by American model Karen Brown. For his body of work he has won four Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and an Emmy.

Trailer Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Source: Ageless Trailers (YouTube).

Trailer of The Last Emperor (1987). Source: Starscream83inc (YouTube).

Trailer of Venus (2006). Source: Fevercity (YouTube).

Sources: Brian McFarlane (Encyclopaedia of British Film), Nathan Southern (AllMovie), Jim Beaver (IMDb), TCM, Robert Pardi (Filmreference.com), Wikipedia and IMDb.

Tall and lean Winfried Glatzeder (1945) was one of the most popular film stars of former East Germany. He played the charming, gawky Paul in the GDR cult-film Die Legende von Paul und Paula/The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973).

East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin, no. 74/71, 1971. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Linke.

Bold Boxer’s Nose, Bright Eyes and Black Hair

Winfried Glatzeder was born in Zoppot, Germany (now Sopot, Poland) in 1945. His father was a doctor, who died in a Soviet camp for prisoners of war, his mother was a social welfare worker.

During his training as a mechanical engineer, Winfried launched a cabaret group. He worked as a mechanical engineer before he went to study at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Potsdam-Babelsberg (School of Television and Film in Potsdam) in 1965. In 1969, he graduated with a thesis on the figure of the clown.

He had started his cinema career as an extra in Ein Lord am Alexanderplatz/Lord of Alexander Square (Günter Reisch, 1967). The stars of this DEFA comedy were Erwin Geschonneck, Angelica Domröse and Armin Mueller-Stahl.

Several more bit roles followed, but in 1970 he had his first leading part as an oil worker in the romantic drama Zeit der Störche/Time of the Storks (Siegfried Kühn, 1971) opposite Heidemarie Wenzel.

Female critics liked his bold boxer’s nose, bright eyes and black hair. He then had supporting parts in the comedy Der Mann, der nach der Oma kam/The man who came to the grandmother (Roland Oehme, 1972) as a surrogate grandmother, and in the comedy-drama Das zweite Leben des Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Platow/The Second Life of F.W.G. Platow (Siegfried Kühn, 1973) featuring Fritz Marquardt.

With his role as Paul opposite Angelica Domröse as Paula in Die Legende von Paul und Paula/The Legend of Paul and Paula (Heiner Carow, 1973), he gained enormous popularity in East Germany. The film gives a realistic view of everyday life in East Berlin during the 1970s. It's mainly about the bitter-sweet romance of Paul, a privileged but unhappy secret service agent, and Paula, an underprivileged and single girl with children.

The film was extremely popular on release and had drawn 3,294,985 viewers. However, due to the film's political overtones it was almost not released; East German leader Erich Honecker personally decided to allow it to be shown. Die Legende von Paul und Paula is still so popular that the city of Berlin decided to name a path along the lake Rummelsburger See ‘the Paul und Paula Ufer’ (Paul And Paula Shore) with a Paul and Paula bench to sit on.

Glatzeder then starred in the historic comedy Till Eulenspiegel (Rainer Simon, 1975) with Cox Habbema, Nelken in Aspik (Günter Reisch, 1976) with Armin Mueller-Stahl, and the crime film Für Mord kein Beweis/No evidence for murder (Konrad Petzold, 1979).

Big East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin, no. 163/73, 1971. Retail price: 0,50 M. Photo: Linke.

From East To West

Although he was one of East Germany's most popular actors, Winfried Glatzeder and his family left the country and emigrated to West Germany in 1982. There he was engaged at the Schillertheater and worked for television.

In the cinema he was seen in the slapstick comedy Didi - Der Doppelgänger/Non-Stop Trouble with My Double (Reinhard Schwabenitzky, 1984) starring comedian Dieter Hallervorden, and the action adventure Danger - Keine Zeit zum Sterben/No Time to Die (Helmut Ashley, 1984) with John Philip Law.

Then he played Antonio Salieri in Vergeßt Mozart/Forget Mozart (Miloslav Luther, 1985) with Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film was nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

He had a supporting part in Rosa Luxemburg (Margaretha von Trotta, 1986) featuring Barbara Sukowa. In 1991 he worked again for the DEFA on Tanz auf der Kippe/Dancing at the Dump (Jürgen Brauer, 1991). He also played a closeted gay man falling in love with a young boy in Gossenkind/Street Kid (Peter Kern, 1992).

Interesting was the DEFA production Das Land hinter dem Regenbogen/The Land Beyond the Rainbow (Herwig Kipping, 1992), a harsh yet poetic critique of Stalinism in East Germany. He became well known on TV as Hauptkommissar (chief commissioner) Ernst Roiter in the Krimi series Tatort (1996–1998).

Later films include Die kaukasische Nacht/The Caucasian Night (Gordian Maugg, 1998) and the box office hit Sonnenallee/Sun Alley (Leander Haußmann, 1999), a comedy about life in East Berlin in the late 1970s. Glatzeder makes a brief cameo appearance, reprising his role as Paul from Die Legende von Paul und Paula (1973).

In the meanwhile he also appeared on stage. In 2006 he played the villain Santer at the Karl-May-Festspielen in Bad Segeberg. A year later, he reunited with Angelica Domröse for the play Filumena at the Hans Otto Theater in Potsdam. His most recent film is Die Lebenden/The Dead and the Living (Barbara Albert, 2012).

Since 1970, Winfried Glatzeder is married to Marion Glatzeder and they have two children, Philip (1975) and actor Robert Glatzeder (1971 or 1972) who had made his film debut as Paul’s son in Die Legende von Paul und Paula (1973). Winfried Glatzeder lives in Berlin.

Angelica Domröse. East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 4/F/73, 1973. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Linke.

Trailer Die Legende von Paul und Paula/The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973). Source: Defastift (YouTube).

Sources: Ines Walk (Filmzeit.de), Filmportal.de, Prisma (German), Wikipedia (German and English), and IMDb.

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