Charles Boyer, International Frenchman
Aug 28, 2019 10:43:24 GMT
nutsberryfarm 🏜, mattgarth, and 4 more like this
Post by teleadm on Aug 28, 2019 10:43:24 GMT
Charles Boyer (that was his real name) was born 120 years ago in Figeac, Lot, France. A theatre star in France in the 1920s, it wasn't until sound when his voice could be heard that he also became a movie star in France, he had appered in silent movies. He travelled to Hollywood in the early 1930s to play French versions of Hollywood movies, he decided to stay awhile to learn English properly, but it was a French movie that made him an International star.
During the thirties he became a leading man in both romantic movies as well as comedies. He could swoon most women, though his intentions was not always pure.
As he aged he movied over to character parts, and unusal for many actors, he usually played characters in his own age.
His voice was part of his trademark, his fractured English, though in fact he could speak English without an accent, something that surpriced many interviewers in his later years.
Boyer was the son of a merchant, and this was the Boyer shop in Figeac, and maybe it's his parents on the balcony.
He was a shy, small town boy who discovered the movies and theatre at the age of eleven.
Boyer performed comic sketches for soldiers while working as a hospital orderly during World War I. He began studies briefly at the Sorbonne, and was waiting for a chance to study acting at the Paris Conservatory.
He went to the capital city to finish his education, but spent most of his time pursuing a theatrical career. In 1920, his quick memory won him a chance to replace the leading man in a stage production, Aux jardins de Murcie. He was successful. Then he appeared in a play La Bataille and Boyer became a theatre star overnight.
Boyer was first bought to Hollywood by MGM who wanted him to play the Chester Morris part in a French version of The Big House 1930.
Boyer became an international star with Mayerling 1936, co-starring Danielle Darrieux and directed by Anatole Litvak. Boyer played Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria.
He became a US citizen in 1942.
In 1943, he was awarded an Honorary Oscar Certificate for "progressive cultural achievement" in establishing the French Research Foundation in Los Angeles as a source of reference (certificate).
Boyer moved into television as one of the pioneering producers and stars of the anthology show Four Star Playhouse 1952–1956. It was made by Four Star Productions which would make Boyer and partners David Niven and Dick Powell very rich.
In addition to French and English, Boyer spoke Italian, German, and Spanish.
Boyer was the husband of British actress Pat Paterson, whom he met at a dinner party in 1934. The two became engaged after two weeks of courtship and were married three months later. The marriage lasted 44 years until her death.
Boyer's only child, Michael Charles Boyer committed suicide at age 21. He was playing Russian roulette after separating from his girlfriend.
On 26 August 1978, two days after his wife's death from cancer, and two days before his own 79th birthday, Boyer committed suicide.
Some reminders from Boyer's career:
L'Homme du large (Man of the Sea) 1920, was Boyer's movie debut, directed by Marcel L'Herbier and based on a short story by Honoré de Balzac.
A DVD of a restored version was issued by Gaumont in 2009.
The Big House 1930, while playing one of the leads in the French-speaking version, he was also an extra in the English-speaking version. Something that wasn't unusual in the early sound era.
Liliom 1934 with Madeleine Ozeray. A French fantasy film directed by Fritz Lang based on the Hungarian stage play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár.
The same story would later become the musical Carousel! by Rodgers and Hammerstein II.
Mayerling 1936, with Danielle Darrieux. A French historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak.
The movie was an International success, and made Charles Boyer a star.
The Garden of Allah 1936, with Marlene Dietrich. Directed by Richard Boleslawski and produced by David O. Selznick.
It was photographed in Three-strip Technicolor.
History Is Made at Night 1937, with Jean Arthur. Drama and comedy produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Frank Borzage.
Conquest 1937 as Napoleon, with Greta Garbo. This was Boyer's first out of four Oscar nominations, he never won an acting Oscar.
Algiers 1938, a remake of the French Pépé le Moko.
Boyer's depiction of the main character, Pepe Le Moko, inspired the Warner Bros. animated character, Pepé Le Pew.
This was Boyer's second Oscar nomination.
Love Affair 1939, with Irene Dunne. A romantic movie directed by Leo McCarey.
All This, and Heaven Too 1940, with Bette Davis and directed by Anatole Litvak.
Rachel Field's novel is based on the true story of Field's great-aunt, Henriette Deluzy Desportes, a French governess who fell in love with the Duc de Praslin, her employer. When Praslin's wife, the Duchesse, was murdered, Henriette was implicated. It was a real-life scandal that contributed to the political turmoil before the French Revolution of 1848 which deposed France's Louis Philippe I.
Hold Back the Dawn 1941 publicity pic with Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard, and directed by Mitchell Leisen, with a script by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder.
A Romanian gigolo marries an American woman in Mexico in order to gain entry to the United States, but winds up falling in love with her.
Tales of Manhattan 1942, with Rita Hayworth. An anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. The stories follow a black formal tailcoat cursed by a cutter as it goes from owner to owner, in five otherwise unconnected stories.
Gaslight 1944, with Ingrid Bergman and directed by George Cukor. A mystery-thriller set in London's gaslight era.
This was Boyer's third Oscar nominations, with Boyer not playing one of his nicer guys.
Madame de… aka The Earrings of Madame de… 1953, publicity pic with Danielle Darrieux and Vittorio de Sica, and directed by Max Ophüls.
The film is considered a masterpiece of the 1950s French cinema.
Nana 1954 with Martine Carol. French-Italian film by Christian-Jaque, an adaptation of Émile Zola's famous novel.
La fortuna di essere donna aka Lucky to Be a Woman 1956, locations pic with Sophia Loren. An Italian comedy film directed by Alessandro Blasetti.
Fanny 1961, with Leslie Caron. This was Boyer's fourth and last Oscar nomination. Directed by Joshua Logan and based on the writings of Marcel Pagnol and a 1954 musical, but delated all the songs.
How to Steel a Million 1966, with Eli Wallach. A romantic comedy directed by William Wyler and starred Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole.
Barefoot in the Park 1967, with Mildred Natwick. Based on Neil Simon's 1963 comedy play of the same name, directed by Gene Saks and starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.
Stavisky 1974, with Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Alain Resnais. French film drama based on the life of the financier and embezzler Alexandre Stavisky and the circumstances leading to his mysterious death in 1934. Boyer won a special prize at The Cannes Film Festival for his supporting role.
This was Boyer's next to last movie, his last was A Matter of Time 1976.
...and many, many more movies.
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Thanks for watching!
Thoughts, ideas, oppinions, lists, favorits, gossip and/or anything Charles Boyer is very welcome!
During the thirties he became a leading man in both romantic movies as well as comedies. He could swoon most women, though his intentions was not always pure.
As he aged he movied over to character parts, and unusal for many actors, he usually played characters in his own age.
His voice was part of his trademark, his fractured English, though in fact he could speak English without an accent, something that surpriced many interviewers in his later years.
Boyer was the son of a merchant, and this was the Boyer shop in Figeac, and maybe it's his parents on the balcony.
He was a shy, small town boy who discovered the movies and theatre at the age of eleven.
Boyer performed comic sketches for soldiers while working as a hospital orderly during World War I. He began studies briefly at the Sorbonne, and was waiting for a chance to study acting at the Paris Conservatory.
He went to the capital city to finish his education, but spent most of his time pursuing a theatrical career. In 1920, his quick memory won him a chance to replace the leading man in a stage production, Aux jardins de Murcie. He was successful. Then he appeared in a play La Bataille and Boyer became a theatre star overnight.
Boyer was first bought to Hollywood by MGM who wanted him to play the Chester Morris part in a French version of The Big House 1930.
Boyer became an international star with Mayerling 1936, co-starring Danielle Darrieux and directed by Anatole Litvak. Boyer played Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria.
He became a US citizen in 1942.
In 1943, he was awarded an Honorary Oscar Certificate for "progressive cultural achievement" in establishing the French Research Foundation in Los Angeles as a source of reference (certificate).
Boyer moved into television as one of the pioneering producers and stars of the anthology show Four Star Playhouse 1952–1956. It was made by Four Star Productions which would make Boyer and partners David Niven and Dick Powell very rich.
In addition to French and English, Boyer spoke Italian, German, and Spanish.
Boyer was the husband of British actress Pat Paterson, whom he met at a dinner party in 1934. The two became engaged after two weeks of courtship and were married three months later. The marriage lasted 44 years until her death.
Boyer's only child, Michael Charles Boyer committed suicide at age 21. He was playing Russian roulette after separating from his girlfriend.
On 26 August 1978, two days after his wife's death from cancer, and two days before his own 79th birthday, Boyer committed suicide.
Some reminders from Boyer's career:
L'Homme du large (Man of the Sea) 1920, was Boyer's movie debut, directed by Marcel L'Herbier and based on a short story by Honoré de Balzac.
A DVD of a restored version was issued by Gaumont in 2009.
The Big House 1930, while playing one of the leads in the French-speaking version, he was also an extra in the English-speaking version. Something that wasn't unusual in the early sound era.
Liliom 1934 with Madeleine Ozeray. A French fantasy film directed by Fritz Lang based on the Hungarian stage play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár.
The same story would later become the musical Carousel! by Rodgers and Hammerstein II.
Mayerling 1936, with Danielle Darrieux. A French historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak.
The movie was an International success, and made Charles Boyer a star.
The Garden of Allah 1936, with Marlene Dietrich. Directed by Richard Boleslawski and produced by David O. Selznick.
It was photographed in Three-strip Technicolor.
History Is Made at Night 1937, with Jean Arthur. Drama and comedy produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Frank Borzage.
Conquest 1937 as Napoleon, with Greta Garbo. This was Boyer's first out of four Oscar nominations, he never won an acting Oscar.
Algiers 1938, a remake of the French Pépé le Moko.
Boyer's depiction of the main character, Pepe Le Moko, inspired the Warner Bros. animated character, Pepé Le Pew.
This was Boyer's second Oscar nomination.
Love Affair 1939, with Irene Dunne. A romantic movie directed by Leo McCarey.
All This, and Heaven Too 1940, with Bette Davis and directed by Anatole Litvak.
Rachel Field's novel is based on the true story of Field's great-aunt, Henriette Deluzy Desportes, a French governess who fell in love with the Duc de Praslin, her employer. When Praslin's wife, the Duchesse, was murdered, Henriette was implicated. It was a real-life scandal that contributed to the political turmoil before the French Revolution of 1848 which deposed France's Louis Philippe I.
Hold Back the Dawn 1941 publicity pic with Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard, and directed by Mitchell Leisen, with a script by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder.
A Romanian gigolo marries an American woman in Mexico in order to gain entry to the United States, but winds up falling in love with her.
Tales of Manhattan 1942, with Rita Hayworth. An anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. The stories follow a black formal tailcoat cursed by a cutter as it goes from owner to owner, in five otherwise unconnected stories.
Gaslight 1944, with Ingrid Bergman and directed by George Cukor. A mystery-thriller set in London's gaslight era.
This was Boyer's third Oscar nominations, with Boyer not playing one of his nicer guys.
Madame de… aka The Earrings of Madame de… 1953, publicity pic with Danielle Darrieux and Vittorio de Sica, and directed by Max Ophüls.
The film is considered a masterpiece of the 1950s French cinema.
Nana 1954 with Martine Carol. French-Italian film by Christian-Jaque, an adaptation of Émile Zola's famous novel.
La fortuna di essere donna aka Lucky to Be a Woman 1956, locations pic with Sophia Loren. An Italian comedy film directed by Alessandro Blasetti.
Fanny 1961, with Leslie Caron. This was Boyer's fourth and last Oscar nomination. Directed by Joshua Logan and based on the writings of Marcel Pagnol and a 1954 musical, but delated all the songs.
How to Steel a Million 1966, with Eli Wallach. A romantic comedy directed by William Wyler and starred Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole.
Barefoot in the Park 1967, with Mildred Natwick. Based on Neil Simon's 1963 comedy play of the same name, directed by Gene Saks and starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.
Stavisky 1974, with Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Alain Resnais. French film drama based on the life of the financier and embezzler Alexandre Stavisky and the circumstances leading to his mysterious death in 1934. Boyer won a special prize at The Cannes Film Festival for his supporting role.
This was Boyer's next to last movie, his last was A Matter of Time 1976.
...and many, many more movies.
Thanks for watching!
Thoughts, ideas, oppinions, lists, favorits, gossip and/or anything Charles Boyer is very welcome!
