22 May 2012

Anny Nelsen

Beautiful blonde Anny Nelsen (1942) was best known in France as Miss Angora. She also appeared in a dozen French film, including the Nouvelle Vague classic Jules et Jim (1962).

 Anny Nelsen
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 1041, offered by Les Carbones Korès 'Carboplane'. Photo: Studio Vallois.

Forgotten Comic
Anny or Annie Nelsen was born in 1942. She made her first film appearance with an uncredited bit part in the German-French romantic comedy Ein Engel auf Erden/An Angel on Wheels (1959, Géza von Radványi) starring Romy Schneider. She also appeared in the action thriller Ça va être ta fête/It's Your Birthday (1960, Pierre Montazel) starring hard boiled Eddie Constantine, and in the short film Rupture (1962, Jean-Claude Carrière, Pierre Étaix) starring the 'forgotten' French comic Pierre Étaix. This little film of only 11 minutes won an award at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival, and the First Prize at the International Short Film Festival, Oberhausen. Her next film would turn out to be her most successful one. She played the supporting part of Lucie in the classic love triangle Jules et Jim/Jules and Jim (1962, François Truffaut) with Jeanne Moreau and Oskar Werner. James Travers at Films de France: “Jules et Jim, François Truffaut’s undisputed masterpiece, was one of the high points of the French New Wave, a film which, with its uninhibited portrayal of free love and male friendship, instantly caught the Zeitgeist and became a worldwide success.” However, Nelsen was better known as a glamour model and sexy dancer than as an actress. Her main claim to fame was her election as Miss Angora, which was mentioned on the backside of the postcard pictures here above. After Jules et Jim, Nelsen did not appear in films for five years. In 1967 she returned to the screen with a small part in the comedy Le grand bidule/The large contraption (1967, Raoul André). The following year she appeared in three films, Les jeunes loups/Young Wolves (1968, Marcel Carné) with Yves Beneyton, the historical drama Mayerling (1968, Terence Young) starring Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve, and the thriller La main noire/The Black Hand (1968, Max Pécas). Five years later she made her final film, Lo Païs (1973, Gérard Guérin), the first feature film in Breton. We could not find more information about Anny Nelsen. If you know more about her, please share.

Sources: James Travers (Films de France), Mario Gauci (IMDb), and IMDb.

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