Gérard Philipe

Gérard Philipe (1922–1959) is still a legendary idol of French cinema. He was adored for his good looks, but Philipe was also a very talented actor. He was sought out by France's preeminent directors for his versatility and professionalism and played roles as diverse as Faust and Modigliani.


French Postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 371. Photo: Sam Lévin.


French postcard in the Collection Image Noire by Editions Hazan, no. 6030, 1988. Photo: Raymond Voinquel. Caption: Gérard Philipe, 1946.


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 57. Photo: Discina.


French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris. Photo: Studio Harcourt.


German postcard by Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (UFA), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. 1041. Photo: UFA.

Rave reviews

Gérard Philipe (sometimes written as Philippe) was born Gérard Philip in Cannes, France in 1922. In 1940, Gérard left school and his parents wanted him to become a lawyer. His mother noticed that he was only interested in acting, but his father was against the idea.

Gérard's father, a successful businessman, was a right-wing extremist and collaborated with the Nazis. After the war, he was forced to exile to Spain to escape a death sentence. Gérard himself was his whole life a staunch social liberal politically wise.

Actor Claude Dauphin introduced the young Philipe in 1942 to the stage. One of his first parts was as the angel in the play 'Sodome et Gomorrhe' by Jean Giraudoux in 1943. Director Marc Allégret decided that he showed some promise and gave him a small part in his film Les petites du quai aux fleurs/The Girls From the Quai aux Fleurs (Marc Allégret, 1944) starring Odette Joyeux.

With the support of his admirer Jean Cocteau, he entered the Paris Conservatory where under the tutelage of Georges Le Roy he discovered his passion for live theatre. In 1945 he received rave reviews for his performance in the stage production of Albert Camus’ 'Caligula'.

This success further opened the doors to the cinema. His first leading part in Le pays sans étoiles/Land Without Stars (Georges Lacombe, 1946) opposite Jany Holt got so many favourable reviews that he became a star.


French postcard by Editions du Globe, no. 22. Photo: Studio Harcourt.


French postcard by Editions du Globe (E.D.U.G.), Paris, no. 31. Photo: Studio Harcourt.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. D 468. Photo: Sam Lévin.


Serbian postcard by Sedm Sil.


French postcard by Editions du Globe, no. 51. Photo: Teddy Piaz, Paris.


French postcard by Editions la Malibran, Saint Dié, no. CF 44.


French postcard by Editions La Malibran, Paris, no. CF 23, 1990. Gérard Philipe and Micheline Presle in Le Diable au corps/Devil in the Flesh (Claude Autant-Lara, 1947).


Italian postcard by Vetta Traldi, Milano, no. 70. Gérard Philipe in La chartreuse de Parme/The Charterhouse of Parma (Christian-Jaque, 1948).

Tongue-in-cheek titular swashbuckler

In 1947, Gérard Philipe exploded upon the European film scene in Le diable au corps/Devil in the Flesh (Claude Autant-Lara, 1947), playing Francois Jaubert, a callow youth in love with much older and very married Micheline Presle.

Superstardom followed almost immediately: female filmgoers doted upon Philippe's sensitive, handsome features and strapping physique, while men identified with his soulfulness and introspection. Next, he would take on prominent roles in such classic films as Une si jolie petite plage/Such a Pretty Little Beach (Yves Allégret, 1949), and La beauté du diable/Beauty and the Devil (René Clair, 1950) as Faust.

He was an international success as the tongue-in-cheek titular swashbuckler Fanfan la Tulipe/Fan-Fan the Tulip (Christian-Jaque, 1952), one of the most popular historical-adventure films made in France. At French Films, James Travers reviews: "Not only is the film impeccably made, with lavish production values, stunning cinematography and impressively choreographed fight scenes, but it has a timeless quality which will no doubt ensure it will remain a popular classic for years to come. Philipe excels in this film in what is regarded by many as his finest film role, the indefatigable womaniser and agile swordsman Fanfan la Tulipe. Philipe is simply brilliant in the role, tackling the numerous swordfights and Henri Jeanson’s sparkling dialogue with equal relish."

He appeared with such great stars of the European cinema as Italian beauty Gina Lollobrigida in Les belles de nuit/Beauties of the Night (René Clair, 1952), with Michèle Morgan in both Les orgueilleux/The Proud Ones (Yves Allégret, 1953) and Les grandes manœuvres/The Grand Maneuver (René Clair, 1955).

In 1956, Philipe starred in and directed a film adaptation of the old folk tale 'Till Eulenspiegel', Les aventures de Till L'Espiègle/Bold Adventure (Gérard Philipe, Joris Ivens, 1956). The French-East-German coproduction was not a success. He simultaneously pursued his stage career, with a keen involvement in the Théatre National de Paris, which would endure up until his death. Whilst working at the TNP, Philipe, a strong believer in egalitarianism, would draw exactly the same salary as junior actors. He would also become president of the French actors union, actively promoting the rights of actors.


French postcard by Editions La Malibran, Paris, no. CF 24. Photo: N. Hayer. Gérard Philipe and Renée Faure in La chartreuse de Parme (Christian-Jaque, 1948).


French postcard in the Collection Magie Noire by Editions Hazan, Paris, no. 6192, 1989. Photo: Sam Lévin. Gérard Philipe and the shadow of Michel Simon in La Beauté du diable (René Clair, 1950).


French postcard in the Collection Magie Noire by Editions Hazan, Paris, no. 6195, 1989. Photo: Sam Lévin. Gérard Philipe and Michel Simon in La Beauté du diable (René Clair, 1950).


West German postcard by Rüdel Verlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 467. Photo: Allianz- Film. Gérard Philipe in Fanfan la Tulipe/Fan-Fan the Tulip (Christian-Jaque, 1952).


Russian collectors card. Photo: Gérard Philipe and Genevieve Page in Fanfan la Tulipe (Christian-Jaque, 1952).


East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 73. Photo: Franco-London-Film S.A. Publicity still for Le rouge et le noir/The Red and the Black (Claude Autant-Lara, 1954).


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 159, 1956. Photo: Gerhard Puhlmann. Gérard Philipe and Jean Carmet on the set of Les aventures de Till L'Espiègle/Bold Adventure (Gérard Philipe, Joris Ivens, 1956).


East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, no. 1290, 1960. Photo: publicity still for Pot-Bouille/Lovers of Paris (Julien Duvivier, 1957).

Legendary status

Gérard Philipe continued his string of film successes throughout the 1950s. Among these films were the Fyodor Dostoevsky adaptation Le joueur/The Gambler (Claude Autant-Lara, 1958) with Liselotte Pulver, and Les liaisons dangereuses/Dangerous Liaisons (Roger Vadim, 1959) opposite Jeanne Moreau.

In 1959 doctors told Philippe that he had liver cancer. On 25 November that year, while working on Luis Buñuel's Le Fievre Monte a El Pao/Fever Mounts at El Pao (Luis Buñuel, 1959), he died at the peak of his popularity. He was just 36 years old.

The news provoked an immediate and intense outpouring of grief. His early death elevated him to a near-legendary status in France. Since 1951, Philipe was married to actress and writer Nicole Fourcade, with whom he had two children, writer and actor Anne-Marie Philipe (1954) and Olivier Philipe (1957).

Nicole adopted the pseudonym Anne Philipe, and wrote two books about her husband, 'Souvenirs' (1960) and 'Le Temps d'un soupir' (1963, No Longer Than a Sigh). In 1961, Gérard's portrait appeared on a French commemorative postage stamp. There is a film festival named in his honour as well as a number of theatres, schools and colleges in various parts of France. He was also very popular in Germany, and a Berlin theatre has been named after him.


East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, no. 1294, 1960. Photo: publicity still for Pot-Bouille/Lovers of Paris (Julien Duvivier, 1957) with Dany Carrel and Danielle Darrieux.


East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, no. 2699. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: publicity still for Le joueur/The Gambler (Claude Autant-Lara, 1958) with Liselotte Pulver.


French postcard by Sofraneme, Levallois Perret no. CP 210. Photo: publicity still for Les amants de Montparnasse/The Lovers of Montparnasse (Jacques Becker, 1958) with Gérard Philipe as painter Amedeo Modigliani.


East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin no. 1272, 1960. Photo: publicity still for Les amants de Montparnasse/The Lovers of Montparnasse (Jacques Becker, 1958) with Anouk Aimée.


French postcard by Edition Delta-Productions, Saint Jean-De-Vedas, no CP-24.


French postcard by Editions F. Nugeron, no. Star 139. Photo: Air France / Distribution VU. Caption: Gerard Philippe, 5 January 1958.


German postcard by Rúdel-Verlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no.953. Photo: Paul Goetz / Allianz-Film.


Trailer for La Beauté du diable/Beauty and the Devil (René Clair, 1950). Source: entertainmentone (YouTube).


Compilation of scenes from Les grandes manœuvres/The Grand Maneuver (1955). Source: Slava Batareykin (YouTube).


French trailer for Les amants de Montparnasse/The Lovers of Montparnasse (Jacques Becker, 1958). Source: Gaumont (YouTube).

Sources: James Travers (French Films), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.