Danielle Darrieux

Danielle Darrieux , born on May 1st, 1917 with Bordeaux, is a French Actrice.

In eight decades of career, Danielle Darrieux crossed the history of the talking films and has a career among longest of the world cinema. Excellent actress, it showed herself with her ease in all the kinds, with an equal happiness, since the ingenuous young girls in musical comedies “with the Frenchwoman”, the Marie Vetsera of Mayerling (1936) and the sentimental young girl of Katia (1938) in the historical dramas of Anatole Litvak and Maurice Tourneur, the semi-sparkling comedies and the dramas of Decoin of which Breach of trust (1937), Retour at dawn (1938), Palpitation (1939), First go (1941), until the tops of its career which represent in particular Occupe of Amélie (1949) of Claude Autant-Lara (1949), the Truth on Baby Donge (1952) of Henri Decoin and especially films of max Ophuls. After the middle-class woman of the Round , Ophuls will make him play a prostitute in the Pleasure and to finally will offer him its more beautiful role in Madam of… .

The actress, many years before Brigitte Bardot, will impose the initial ones of her first name and her name DD.

Biography

Danielle Darrieux is born into 1917 within a family of music lovers. She passes her childhood to Paris where she becomes pupil with the Conservatoire of music (studies of violoncello).

Untimely death of his/her constrained father his mother to give lessons of song to remain.

Danielle withdraws from it very early a taste pronounced for the music. She is equipped with a small but just and clear voice. She also takes courses of violoncello and piano.

The spontaneous actress

It is via the husband of a pupil of his mother, Marie Serta, that it is informed of the searchs for two producers, Delac and Vandal, trying to find a heroin of treize-quatorze years for their next film. It is presented and passes from the screen tests to the studios of Epinay which appear conclusive. It begins at 14 years for a first role in the Ball (1931) from Wilhelm Thiele and immediately, alluring the producers by his energy and its spontaneousness, it obtains a 5 year old contract. Danielle Darrieux did not think of exerting the trade of actress, and forever taken course of dramatic art.

“Young first ideal” of the French cinema in the Years 1930, it was a success which was never contradicted. She turned much, evolving/moving discreetly with the years.

Its career starts with roles of gamine facetious and odd to with dimensions of the largest popular actors of the French cinema of pre-war period: Jean-Pierre Aumont, Henri Garat, Pierre Mingand and especially Albert Préjean with which it forms, in six films, the couple of charm of the French musical comedies of the years 1930 ( the crisis is finished , Dédé , Which funny of kid …) As of its first film, she sings and interprets, in good number as of her films (very often in compositions of Georges Van Parys), popular songs which make the joy of the public. the crisis is finished , a bad lot , a charade and Premier go that whole France will fredonnera during months during the occupation.

During this period, it also turned in the film Mauvaise seed (1933), carried out by an exiled Austrian scenario writer, fleeing the Nazi Germany, Billy Wilder. A film made in the streets of Paris in natural decorations, “it was a kind of film of avant-garde” will say Wilder.

It becomes in 1935, the wife of the realizer Henri Decoin, he makes him turn of the charming comedies which, today still, make the joy of the film enthusiasts: I love all the women , the green Domino , Miss my mother …

It then is called, been engaged of Paris and triumph already to the Box-office. “success, it is a mystery, I perhaps succeeded because my character was not current on the screens: I want to say by there that I was simply only one young girl, whereas the others fourteen years gamines played vamp already. ”

Always in 1935, Anatole Litvak offers a more dramatic role to him: in Mayerling , she interprets fragile and touching countess Marie Vetsera at the side of Charles Boyer, already star on the other side of the Atlantic. It is a revelation: Danielle Darrieux shows itself moving while remaining spontaneous and natural. The film is a world success which opens to him the doors of Hollywood. It is the international dedication for Danielle Darrieux who signs a 7 year old contract with the studios Universal. Accompanied by her husband, it embarks for Hollywood and makes its first American film in 1938, the Whooping-cough of Paris with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.. Nino Frank, journalist, declared: “Danielle Darrieux begins in Hollywood and it does it with an extremely moderate grace, a charm deprived of timidity, a talent which enchants because it is at ease and does not hold up it like a flag. ”

But very quickly Danielle Darrieux is bored with Hollywood and prefers to break her contract to return to France.

Meanwhile, DD already made a film of Maurice Tourneur, Katia which exploits the success and the magic of Mayerling . Henri Decoin will also confirm the dramatic talent of DD with Breach of trust and Retour at dawn , and especially, benefitting from its experience gained in the United States, it turns a masterpiece worthy of the best American comedies Palpitation , another triumph.

Danielle Darrieux declares in connection with Henri Decoin: “… I always relied absolute on him and I obeyed to him in all. Without his councils, his sense of smell and his support, I without any doubt would have remained a pretty girl singing and bêtifiant in minor productions and I would have probably left the trade rather quickly. It knew to emphasize to me and to be convinced which I could play of great dramatic roles. He even wrote for me, imposed to me thus in an employment where nobody imagined me and did not want me. He encouraged me when I lost confidence or when I wanted to give up. It is with him and him only, that I must be what I became. ”

The last three films of Decoin are successes and DD is one of the most popular high-speed motorboats of the moment.

… The public votes by plebiscite, ovationne Danielle Darrieux. The women relate to her instar of the ties, of the supple skirts, the corrugated and free hair to the shoulders… Isn't it (survey of French Cinematography) most popular of the high-speed motorboats? Isn't it copied by all the young women and young girls who would like to have her ease, her joke, her elegance never noisy, always in the wind?

DD makes a new film with Decoin, Love at first sight but the war is declared and the stopped film will remain unfinished.

Years of war

Divorced Henri Decoin in 1941, with whom it will always have friendly relations, Danielle accepts, the same year, to turn in Premier go for the Continental. “As I - following the example much of my comrades - had turned to Germany before the war, I did not have a quite precise idea of what this company represented. ” The film and it song-title are an enormous success in this time of the dark years of the war where the public needs entertainment. She remarie in 1942 with Porfirio Rubirosa, met in the South of France, ambassador of Santo Domingo, it will be suspected of espionage against the Germany at the point of being interned in Germany. Alfred Greven, director of Continental, makes to undergo pressures with Danielle Darrieux with point to require of it, if it does not want only “the person who was expensive had large troubles to him”, to make two other films Caprices and the False mistress for the company.

Once her released husband, Danielle breaks his contract with the Continental one and passes the end of the war under house arrest to Megève then, under a false name, in the Paris region.

Absolute grace

After three years of interruption, Danielle Darrieux returns to the screen decided to turn the page to the roles of scatterbrained young girls of her beginnings. After a few a little gray years, it remarie a third and last time with Georges Mitsinkidès in 1948, and begin for it one second career even more brilliant than the first.

After some minor films Jean Cocteau calls upon it to interpret the queen of Spain in Ruy Blas (1948) of Pierre Billon with Jean Marais. But it is Claude Autant-Lara which, employing it differently, gives the opportunity to him to join again with success with three films, a truculent light comedy Occupe of Amélie (1949), where she plays a woman maintained the Belle Time, in the Good god without confession (1953) where coiled and ambiguous she interprets the assumed bitchy girl and Red and the Black .

Again, Henri Decoin requests it and imposes it in a very black role the Truth on Baby Donge (1952) with Jean Gabin. It is sublime in this role, one of its best, of a wife magnetizes and ridiculed who becomes a statufiée loophole. It will make two other films with Decoin, a whodunnit Bonnes to kill and a historical film, the Business of the poisons where it incarnates Madam de Montespan. She turns with the largest actors of the time Jean Gabin, Jean Marais, Jeanne Moreau, Bourvil, Fernandel, Louis de Funès, Alain Delon, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michele Morgan, Michel Piccoli… She gives also the counterpart to Gerard Philippe in two adaptations the traditional ones of the literature, of in love éplorée in the Red and the Black (1954) with Claude Autant-Lara according to Stendhal and as a businesswoman interfering authority and seduction in Pot-Face (1957) Julien Duvivier according to Zola, two enormous successes;

Become its preferred actress, Duvivier finds it and surrounds it by a pleiad of actor like Paul Meurisse, Lino Ventura, Serge Reggiani, Bernard Blier… in a door - field dramatic Marie-October (1959) of Julien Duvivier. She will still turn with Marcel the Herbarium, Sacha Guitry, Christian-Jaque, Marc Allégret, Henri Verneuil…

In the years 1950, it finds Hollywood for some films. She sings and dances in a musical comedy with dimensions of Jane Powell in Riche, young and pretty . She is chosen by Joseph Mankiewicz to incarnate the countess Anna Slaviska in the Business Cicéron with James Mason, she also plays the mother of Richard Burton (however his 7 year old junior only) in Alexandre Large the (1956) of Robert Rossen.

Danielle Darrieux is at the top of her beauty and over its talent, she triumphs as well with the screen as with the scene. A large director of actresses will exploit his admirable talent of tragic actress and income of his American exile, max Ophuls makes of Darrieux, with the beginning of the year 1950, his egery. Danielle Darrieux forever be also beautiful only in films of this “magician” as will name it DD. She turns in three masterpieces: the Round (1951) where it incarnates an inaccurate wife that neither her husband nor his lover manage to satisfy; the Pleasure (1952) transfigures it, under the sun of Normandy, as a respectful whore touched by the grace; and especially Madam of… Absolute masterpiece which starts like a light and dark comedy in the drama. Danielle Darrieux made there a creation worthy of Dietrich and Garbo. Madam of… : “… a woman taken with the trap of passions, bird which believed itself unsteady and finds captive suddenly, mask society man which conceals an anxious heart, body of pageantry where the heart will exert its terrible devastations. ”

Karl Guerin will write on this collaboration:

… of the Round with the Pleasure , of the Pleasure to Madam of… , the characters interpreted by Danielle Darrieux discover the reality of the social mask of which they end up being the victims. Wandering in the middle of all possible happinesses and ever carried out, that which was most famous ingenuous French cinema seems of film film to discover with naivety and astonishment the universe of the feelings and passions. To manage to animate of a quivering this face and this body so usually elegant, to manage to attract in the light of the day a little the woman dissimulated behind the frivolous image and reassuring expensive with the actress: here is the index of a certain pleasure ophulsien whose Danielle Darrieux was more than very other the agreeing victim.

Admirors

From now on, in the years 1960, time is with the meetings with scenario writers who are, above all, its admirors. The new wave makes it turn, Claude Chabrol in Landru (1962) and Jacques Demy in the Young ladies of Rochefort (1967). It remains in this musical comedy, the only actress not doubled with the song.

In parallel, the theater catches up with it. After having made its beginnings in 1937 in a part of Henri Decoin Dangerous Plays and some parts during the two following decades ( Serenade to three of Noel Coward, Let us make a dream Sacha Guitry…), Francoise Sagan, scenario writer of the Landru of Chabrol, offer to him a role out of gold in 1963, the mauve Dress of Valentine who is an immense success.

Dominique Delouche young scenario writer, requests it for two films, Twenty-four Hours of the life of a woman (1967), a film that max Ophuls already dreamed to turn with Danielle Darrieux and Divine (1975), a musical comedy.

Jacques Demy takes again the project of an abandoned film earlier seven years, a room downtown . Learning that, Danielle Darrieux contacts the realizer, step which she had never undertaken for any film, while hoping to interpret the Baroness Margot Langlois planned before for Simone Signoret. Demy, which had been always promised to find the actress, did not dare to request it to incarnate the role of an alcoholic. Danielle carries out a masterly return for this film, an entirely sung social drama (only Danielle Darrieux and Fabienne Guyon sing with their own voice), which was encensé by criticism but known a public failure. In Jacques Demy, in 1982, it specified: “I am an instrument, it is necessary to know to play of me, then, one can play about it or one does not know. ” Demy will rétorquera “an instrument, yes, but a Stradivarius. ”

In its turn, Paul Vecchiali, which admires the actress since her childhood and wishes to direct it for a long time, also manages to concretize its dream thanks to In top of the steps (1983). She incarnates there the first role of a teacher, very near to the proper mother of the scenario writer, who returns to Toulon fifteen years after the war and faces the memories related to dead of her husband, shown collaboration and assassinated with the Release. She sings three songs there. Danielle Darrieux had already made an appearance in its first film the Small dramas and will find it later in a telefilm of 1988 with Annie Girardot, the Face in the clouds .

Andre Techine, after a project fallen through the Words to say it , manages to join together Catherine Deneuve and Danielle Darrieux in the Place of the crime (1986).

Thereafter Benoît Jacquot gives him the role of old an eccentric which wants to avenge death for his/her friend in Corps and goods , Claude Sautet hoists it as a director of a store chain, mother of Daniel Auteuil in A few days with me , it finds two friends accessory to always, Micheline Presle and Paulette Dubost, in truculent the the Day of the kings .

Danielle redoubles activity in the years 2000, in addition to success with the theater with Oscar and the pink lady , François Ozon makes him turn her 99e film, which marks its seventy years of career, and makes of them one of suspect of 8 Women . Mother of Catherine Deneuve for the third time, it sings there the poem of Aragon put in music by Georges Brassens, “ It does not have there happy love ”. In 2006, Danielle Darrieux plays a first part in Nouvelle chance of Anne Fontaine at the sides of Arielle Dombasle and at 90 years it is the victim of the film the Hour zero adaptation of a novel of Agatha Christie.

It made also a song recital in 1967. As from the years 1970, Danielle Darrieux equitably shares her career between theater, television and cinema. One of its prides theatrical is to have played and sung in English with Broadway in 1970, in the musical comedy Coco interpreting the role of Coco Chanel which had was played before by its god Katharine Hepburn.

“… I took again the role of Coco Chanel, that Katharine Hepburn, my idol, had held during seven months… It is the only person from whom I requested an autograph. I adored it. As of my arrival in New York, it was adorable. It took me along to dine at it and offered two chanel suits to me. “I never get dressed like that”, it explained me. “Me either! ”, I answered him. One was perfect for this role both! ”

It is knight of the Légion of honor and officer of Arts and the Letters. It received in 1955, 1957, 1958 the Victoire of the best actress of the French cinema.

She is also prize winner of a César of honor received in 1985, of a Molière of honor decreed in 1997 and 2003 of Molière of the Meilleure actress in Oscar and the pink lady as well as a Seven of gold in 1995 like Meilleure actress for Jalna .

Quotations

  • Danielle Darrieux: “… max Ophuls adored walnut tree the dialogs, to choke the ends of sentence, to make hear only one word out of three. “As in the life”, he said. Thus the noise of a hackney carriage, a fashionable conversation or a music always covers the family name of Madam of… ”

  • “Which sublime actress, said max Ophuls, look at this tender movement of the shoulder… and this smile which does not smile but which cries. Or which makes cry. I adore it. ”

  • Catherine Deneuve: “Danielle is a woman whom I adore. I always repeat that it is the only one which prevents me from being too afraid to age. It is not an old woman. I find it desirable with his voice charming lady, his step of young woman, this unequalled grace. I have a memory dazzled of film of Téchiné the Place of the crime . I played his daughter, as in the Young ladies of Rochefort . I still dream to find it. ”

  • “… Its play never separates certain detachment, a very modern kind of underplaying which undervalues all the affects, moderates the sadness of serenity and the joy of melancholy. ”

  • Anne Fontaine (director of New chance ): “It was astonished that a director of my generation can think of it for such a character. Strange coincidence, it had already crossed besides this role several times. I was completely charmed by his personality, his energy, the mixture of joy, cheerfulness and completely overcome melancholy. Danielle is entirely turned towards the future, it has a single report/ratio at time. ”

Selective catalog of films

Television

  • 1960 : the ball of the vagrants unknown Realizer - Participation provided

  • 1969: the mauve Dress of Valentine of Robert Sifts - Valentine
  • 1972: gardens of the king of Jean Kerchbron - Helene
  • 1973: soft Madness " With the theater this soir" of Pierre Sabbagh - Francoise
  • 1976: Thursdays of Adrienne of Guy Jorré - Antoinette
  • 1976: odd Happiness and passes of Roger Vadim - the countess Deverine
  • 1977: Miss serial in 6 episodes of 52mn realized by Roger Pigaut - Role of " Miss" in all the episodes : " Miss has peur" , " Miss and life in rose" , " Miss and it Master-chanteur" , " Miss makes a cure" , " Miss and the young man fragile" , " Miss and the watch of Mozart".
  • 1978 : But thus does not walk very naked of Jeannette Hubert
  • 1978: an actor reads a documentary author - D.Darrieux reads Gyp
  • 1978: the weasel of Georges Ferraro
  • 1980: Traffic of Jean-Louis Muller
  • 1980: a chip in the fur of Jean-Pierre Prévost - the landlady
  • 1980: death in saltire of Pierre Tasted - Evangeline saint-Leger
  • 1981: One purges baby Jeannette Hubert - Julie Follavoine
  • 1981: Marie, Marie serial in 6 episodes of 52mn of François Chatel and Catherine Bourdet - Marie Bonnaventure
  • 1983: the lady with the 1001 lives of Pierre Tasted
  • 1985: the little girl models Jean-Jacques Lagrange - Mamie
  • 1985: Gigi of Sleeve-board Hubert
  • 1986: the old woman and African of Alain Dhouailly
  • 1986: Hello main serial in 12 episodes of 52mn of Denys of Patellière - Clarisse Cambèze
  • 1987: old vermeil serial in 4 episodes of 52mn of Roger Kahane - Adrienne in the 6 episodes - " The maison" , " The super marché" , " Urbain" , " The mariage".
  • 1987 : Adorable Julia of Yves-Andre Hubert
  • 1988: You do not believe so well to say Giovanni Fago - Martine Lemaire
  • 1989: the Face in the clouds of Paul Vecchiali - Marguerite
  • 1989: the infernal trap " The misery of the riches" of Richard Martin - Agnes Mercier
  • 1992: the truth opposite Etienne Périer - Madeleine Depage
  • 1992: Georges and Margaret of Yves-Abndré Hubert and Rene Clermont - Alice Smith
  • 1993: do not cut my trees of Michel Roux and Michel Tréguer
  • 1994: Jalna serial in 8 episodes of 90mn of Philippe Monnier - Adeline Whiteoack - " The youth of Reny" , " Return of guerre" , " Large the national" , " The season of the amours" , " Déchirures" , " Hunting for the trésor" , " The death of a champion" , " Been engaged of the pianiste".
  • 1997 : Beautiful like crésus of Jean-François Villemer - Suzanne
  • 1997: Crisis of confidence episode of " One and one make six" of Franck Apprédis - Aunt Lolie
  • 1997: Ca passes or that breaks episode of " One and one make six" of Franck Apprédis - Aunt Lolie
  • 2000: Which does it remain? of Etienne Périer - Edith Lorimer
  • 2002: dangerous Connections of Josée Dayan - Madam de Rosemonde
  • 2003: Louis de Funès: The human comedy documentary of Philippe Azoulay - Testimony
  • 2007: Danielle Darrieux, a documentary life of cinema of Anne Wiazemsky - Testimony

Theatrography

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