Demi Moore

Demi Moore (1962) is an American actress and film producer who had her breakthrough with the Brat Pack film St. Elmo's Fire (1985). By 1995, Moore was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood thanks to such blockbusters as Ghost (1990), A Few Good Men (1992) and Indecent Proposal (1993). At the turn of the century, Moore underwent several other setbacks. She made a glorious comeback when she won a Golden Globe for The Substance (2024).


American postcard by Fotofolio, no. Z1133. Photo: Annie Leibovitz. Caption: Demi Moore, pregnant with Scout LaRue Willis, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, California, 1991.


Belgian postcard in the 'De 50 mooiste vrouwen van de eeuw' (The 50 most beautiful women of the century) series by P-Magazine, no. 7. Photo: Lance Steadler / Outline.


British postcard by Heroes Publishing Ltd, London, no. SPC 2572.


English postcard, no. C095. Caption: Demi Moore - Car.

The girl of the Brat Pack

Demi Moore was born Demetria Gene Guynes in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1962. Her father, Air Force airman Charles Harmon, left her then 18-year-old mother Victoria (née King) after a two-month marriage and before Demi was born. When Demi Moore was three months old, her mother married Dan Guynes, a newspaper salesman, who she later saw as her real father.

The family moved frequently because of her stepfather's work, more than thirty times. Her stepfather committed suicide when Demi was fifteen, two years after divorcing her mother. At age 15, Demi was raped by a friend of her mother’s, and at age 16 she dropped out of high school. Her mother, Virginia Guynes, was arrested many times, including for arson and drunk driving, and attempted suicide several times. Moore broke off contact with her in 1990 but later reconciled with her shortly before she died of cancer in 1998 at the age of 54.

In 1979, three months before her 17th birthday, Demi met the rock musician Freddy Moore, and they married in 1980. The marriage lasted four years. Moore signed with the Elite Modelling Agency and then enrolled in drama classes after being inspired by her next-door neighbour, 17-year-old German actress Nastassja Kinski. She appeared on the cover of the January 1981 issue of the French adult magazine Oui, taken from a photo session in which she had posed nude, and made her film debut with a brief role in the teen drama Choices (Silvio Narizzano, 1981).

Her career took off in 1982 when she was cast as an investigative reporter in the popular hospital soap General Hospital (1982-1983). She celebrated her first cinema success in the romantic comedy Blame It on Rio (Stanley Donen, 1983) opposite Michael Caine. Around the same time, she became addicted to cocaine. Her big break came with the film St. Elmo's Fire (Joel Schumacher, 1985). Reportedly, she was fired by Schumacher during filming because of her drug abuse, after which she went to rehab and returned a week later. Interestingly, her character in the film, Jules, was also addicted to cocaine. St. Elmo's Fire was a huge success, and Moore and her film counterparts were counted among the 'Brat Pack', a group of young actors with a promising future. She divorced Freddy Moore and began dating her St. Elmo’s Fire costar, Emilio Estevez.

Moore progressed to more serious material when she co-starred with Rob Lowe in the romantic comedy About Last Night... (Edward Zwick, 1986). It marked a positive turning point in her career. Roger Ebert in his review: "Lowe and Moore, members of Hollywood’s 'Brat Pack,' are survivors of last summer’s awful movie about yuppie singles, St. Elmo’s Fire. This is the movie St. Elmo’s Fire should have been. Last summer’s movie made them look stupid and shallow. About Last Night… gives them the best acting opportunities either one has ever had, and they make the most of them. Moore is especially impressive. There isn’t a romantic note she isn’t required to play in this movie, and she plays them all flawlessly." By then, Demi Moore had called off her engagement to Estevez and in 1987, she married actor Bruce Willis in a ceremony conducted by musician and ordained minister Little Richard.


Vintage card, no. 799, circa 1982.


Italian postcard in the collection 'Le più belle del mondo' by Teletutto, no. 9.


Spanish postcard in the Collección Estrellas de Actualidad by Cacitel, S.L., no. 151. Retail price: 100 pts.


Vintage photo. Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins in About Last Night (Edward Zwick, 1986).

A spot on the A-list

In 1990, Demi Moore co-starred with Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg in the highly successful Fantasy film Ghost (Jerry Zucker, 1990), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. The love scene between Moore and Patrick Swayze that starts in front of a potter's wheel to the sound of 'Unchained Melody' became an iconic moment in film history, and the film grossed over US$505 million at the box office.

'The highest-grossing film of that year' earned her a spot on the A-list and offered her many leading roles in films. In 1991, she received a great deal of media attention when she appeared naked on the front page of Vanity Fair, photographed by Annie Leibovitz while seven months pregnant with her second child. The photos shocked many readers not only for flaunting her pregnancy but also for suggesting that a pregnant body could be sexy. The front page was frequently imitated and parodied in the years that followed.

The next year, she starred in the blockbuster A Few Good Men (Rob Reiner, 1992), opposite Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. The following year, she scored another big film hit with the controversial Indecent Proposal (Adrian Lyne, 1993). In this film, a rich businessman (Robert Redford) presents a couple with financial problems (Moore and Woody Harrelson) with a dilemma: he gives the couple a million dollars if he can sleep with the woman.

Another blockbuster was the thriller Disclosure (Barry Levinson, 1994) with Michael Douglas. Moore produced and starred alongside Sissy Spacek and Cher in a controversial miniseries for HBO called If These Walls Could Talk (1996), a three-part anthology about abortion. The series' screenwriter, Nancy Savoca, directed two segments. In one segment, Moore played a widowed nurse in the early 1950s seeking a back-alley abortion.

 If These Walls Could Talk became HBO's highest-rated original film to date, drawing 6.9 million viewers. For the film, Moore received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Television Movie. At the time, Moore was one of the highest-paid film actresses of all time, and she was the first actress to receive more than $10 million for a film role - $12.5 million for Striptease (Andrew Bergman, 1996).


Belgian postcard by MultiChoice Kaleidoscope. Photo: Isopress / Outline / Steven Klein.


Turkish postcard by Laden, no. 98/191.


British postcard.


American freecard by Max Racks. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore as Rock Icons on the cover of Spy Magazine, December 1996.

A golden raspberry

Demi Moore did not manage to keep up the success. Striptease (Andrew Bergman, 1996) opened to overwhelmingly negative reviews, with Moore's performance being criticised. The film 'won' six Golden Raspberry Awards, including for Worst Film, Worst Actress and Worst Director. Striptease was a respectable financial success, grossing $113 million worldwide. However, Moore received intense backlash in the media, often being portrayed as greedy and being called "Gimme Moore." Moore also starred in The Juror (Brian Gibson, 1996). The thriller was a box office bomb and was heavily panned by critics.

Her two successes at the time were as the voice of the gipsy woman Esmeralda in Disney's animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, 1996) and the voice of Dallas Grimes in the animated comedy Beavis and Butt-head Do America (Mike Judge, 1996), alongside her husband Bruce Willis. Then followed her long-cherished project, G.I. Jane (Ridley Scott, 1997), for which the actress even shaved her head. Her performance was largely praised by critics, and budgeted at $50 million, the film was a moderate commercial success, grossing $98.4 million worldwide. Demi Moore took a break in her acting career.

As a producer, she did have a few successes with the three Austin Powers films, including Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Jay Roach, 1997). Moore and Bruce Willis separated in 1998 and divorced in 2000. Together they have three children: Rumer Glen Willis (born 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (1991) and Tallulah Belle Willis (1994). In 2003, she began a much-discussed relationship with the 15-year-younger actor Ashton Kutcher, whom she married in 2005. That same year, she returned to the big screen by playing the villain in the sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (McG, 2005), starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu.

Since 2006, Moore has been the face and muse of cosmetics brand Helena Rubinstein. On-screen, she appeared in the ensemble cast of the acclaimed dramas Bobby (Emilio Estevez, 2006) and Margin Call (J. C. Chandor, 2011) with Kevin Spacey. Moore was expecting a child when she had a late miscarriage. She began drinking again and also abused painkillers. Moore and Kutcher split in 2011, and their divorce was finalised in 2013. After suffering a drug-related seizure in 2012, Moore entered rehab. Incidentally, she appeared in films such as the black comedy Rough Night / Girls' Night Out (Lucia Aniello, 2017) starring Scarlett Johansson. In 2019, Moore released her book 'Inside Out' about her life, which reached the top spot on the New York Times Bestseller list. Since early 2022, Moore has been in a relationship with Swiss celebrity chef Daniel Humm.

In 2024, Demi Moore played socialite Ann Woodward in the TV miniseries Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. Later that year, she made a glorious comeback in the cinema in the British-French Horror film The Substance (Coralie Fargeat, 2024). She played an ageing actress who discovers a medical treatment that will make her appear younger, though at a great cost. The film pokes fun at the American film industry, the ideal of eternal youth, and the cosmetics industry. The actress received widespread acclaim for her performance. Monica Castillo at Roger.Ebert.com: "The Substance works as well as it does because of Moore’s unbridled performance as a woman struggling with self-hatred, society’s treatment of her, and a newfound dependency on a miracle drug. In one particularly heartbreaking scene, Elizabeth stands in front of a mirror, fussing over the final details of her makeup and outfit. Although she looks glamorous as anyone could hope to look, her face betrays a dissatisfied stare as she sees more flaws than beauty before her." Moore was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy.


European postcard by Moviegoers, no. 0529051999. Demi Moore in The Butcher's Wife (Terry Hughes, 1991).


British postcard, no. C034. Caption: Demi Moore, Swimming Pool.


Canadian postcard by Canadian Postcard, no. A-284.


Italian postcard by CIAK. Photo: Dave Stewart / Colorific / G. Neri.

Sources: Roger Ebert (RogerEbert.com), Monica Castillo (RogerEbert.com), Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia (Dutch, English and German), and IMDb.

Written by Victorien Sardou

Victorien Sardou (1831-1908) was an immensely popular French playwright of 70 plays. He is best remembered today for developing, with Eugène Scribe, the well-made play. His plays, such as 'Madame Tallien', 'Madame Sans-Gêne', 'Tosca' and 'Théodora', have been performed by famous actresses. He owed his initial successes to the actress Virginie Déjazet, for whom he wrote several plays. Others, he wrote especially for Sarah Bernhardt and Gabrielle Réjane. Sardou's plays have been adapted to some popular 19th-century operas and to countless films.


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 98. Photo: Paul Nadar. Victorien Sardou.


French postcard by A & S (Saint-Just), Paris, no. 903/8. Tosca has just killed Baron Scarpia. From a series of staging moments in the play by Sardou and the opera by Puccini.


Italian postcard by Ed. Vettori, Bologna. Francesca Bertini as Tosca and Alfredo De Antoni as Baron Scarpia in Tosca (Alfredo De Antoni, 1918).


Costume and jewellery worn by Sarah Bernhardt in her performance of the play 'Cléopâtre' by Sardou and Moreau, staged at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris in 1890. Photo taken at the exhibition 'Sarah Bernhardt' at the Petit Palais in Paris in 2023.


French postcard, no. 458. Victorien Sardou.


French postcard by Ed. Le Deley, Paris. French stage and later also screen actress (Gabrielle) Réjane in the stage play 'Madame Sans-Gêne' by Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau, performed at the Paris-based Théâtre Moncey. Réjane played the outspoken laundress Catherine Hübscher, who later became the Duchess of Danzig. Sardou and Moreau wrote the play for Réjane, and it was first performed on 27th October 1893 at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, owned by her husband, Paul Porel. So our cards are for a later version, again with Réjane - even if Gallica does not indicate any staging of the play at this theatre with Réjane in the lead. Perhaps the play was supposed to take place at the Moncey and was then moved to another theatre. After the first performances in 1893, Réjane would repeat the play several times at her own Théâtre Réjane (opened in 1906).


French postcard by Raphael Tuck & Fils, Editeurs, Paris, Série 200. Photo: Gabrielle Réjane, Victorien Sardou and Paul Porel sign the contract for the stage play 'Madame Sans-Gêne'. Paul Porel was the managing director of the Théâtre de Vaudeville in Paris and then the husband of Réjane. It was here that the first performance of 'Madame Sans-Gêne' took place in 1893.


Italian postcard, no. 138. Photo: Films Paramount, Roma. Gloria Swanson in the lost film Madame Sans-Gêne (Léonce Perret, 1925), entirely produced and filmed in France, and based on the play by Sardou and Moreau.


German postcard by AL, no. B 145. Victorien Sardou. Sent by mail in 1913.

The master of dialogue

Victorien Léandre Sardou was born in Paris in 1831. He came from a Provençal family that owned an olive grove in Le Cannet, near Nice. After a winter with severe night frosts, all the olive trees died, and the family was ruined. Antoine Léandre Sardou, his father, moved to Paris, where he worked successively as a bookkeeper, bookkeeping teacher, school principal, and private tutor. He also wrote grammar manuals, dictionaries, and various treatises. Despite all these activities, the Sardous barely managed to make ends meet. After Father Sardou had moved back to the south, Victorien remained behind in Paris and began studying medicine. However, due to a lack of funds, he had to interrupt his studies. Sardou became a French teacher for foreign students, taught Latin, history, and mathematics, and wrote articles for popular encyclopedias. While teaching, Sardou attempted to work his way up in the literary world. He was encouraged in this by Madame de Bawr, a woman who had published several novels during the Restoration period.

Sardou wrote the drama 'La Reine Ulfra', based on an old Swedish chronicle, for Mademoiselle Rachel, one of the most famous actresses of the period, and sent it to her. However, Sardou received a negative reply from the actress. His theatrical debut took place under difficult circumstances. The play 'La Taverne des étudiants', which premiered in 1854 at the Théâtre de l'Odéon, received a stormy reception because rumours circulated that Sardou had been hired by the authorities to provoke the students. After five performances, the play was withdrawn. A subsequent play, 'Bernard Palissy', had been accepted by the Odéon, but due to a change in management, the agreement was called off at the last minute. A play with a Canadian subject, 'Fleur de Liane', was to be performed at the Théâtre de l'Ambigüe-Comique, but was also cancelled due to the death of the theatre director. His subsequent plays, 'Le Bossu' and 'Paris à l'envers', were also not performed. The latter play was rejected on the advice of author Eugène Scribe, who was disgusted by the love scene that Sardou would later reuse with great success in the play 'Nos Intimes' (1861).

Sardou found himself plunged into abject poverty and suffered a nearly fatal attack of typhoid fever in 1857. He faded away, surrounded by his rejected manuscripts, in a small apartment in Paris. His neighbour Laurentine de Brécourt took pity on him. She nursed him, cured him, and, when he was well again, introduced him to her friend, the famous actress Virginie Déjazet. The old actress saw potential in Sardou and in 1859 bought a small theatre on Boulevard du Temple for him, which was renamed Théâtre Déjazet. To cover the operating costs, the actress went back on tour through Europe. 'Candide', his first play written for Virginie Déjazet, was banned by the censors, but the next three plays — 'Les premières armes de Figaro' (1859, in collaboration with the prolific Louis-Émile Vanderburch, nearing the end of his career), 'Monsieur Garat' (1860), and 'Les Prés Saint-Servais' (1862) — became a great success. The latter two plays were also translated into English and performed at the Criterion Theatre in London. His play, 'Les Pattes de mouche' (A Scrap of Paper, 1860), also became a success at the Gymnase. Sardou relied heavily on theatrical devices to create an illusion of life, and this largely accounts for his rapid decline in popularity. He quickly rose to the same level as the two most important playwrights of the time, Émile Augier and Alexandre Dumas fils.

Sardou was the master of dialogue, featuring a succession of witty retorts. He applied the structure of the well-made play developed by Eugène Scribe and combined the three classic comic genres (character comedy, comedy of manners, and intrigue) with bourgeois drama. His plays were strongly focused on social satire. In 'Nos Intimes' (1961), Sardou mocked the selfish and vulgar bourgeoisie; in 'Les Vieux Garçons' (1865), old bachelors; and in 'Nos Bons Villageois' (1866), peasants. In 'Les Ganaches' (1862), he mocked old political habits and principles; in 'Séraphine' (1868), modern Tartuffes. In 'Le roi Carotte' (1872), he mocked the revolutionary spirit and those who profit from it, and in 'Divorçons!' (1880) and 'Daniel Rochat' (1880), divorce. In 1882, Sardou wrote 'Fédora' for Sarah Bernhardt. The play was adapted and reworked by Umberto Giordano into the opera 'Fédora'. The piece dealt with the nihilism from the novel 'Fathers and Sons' by Ivan Turgenev. Later, Sardou wrote several more plays for Bernhardt.

Victorien Sardou reinvented himself by introducing a historical element into his plays. He derived 'Théodora' (adapted into an opera by Xavier Leroux in 1907) from Byzantine chronicles and 'La Haine' (1874) from Italian chronicles, while 'La Duchesse d'Athènes' was set in medieval Greece. The play 'Patrie' (adapted into an opera by Émile Paladilhe in 1886) highlighted the revolt of the Dutch 'Geuzen' at the end of the 16th century, while 'La sorcière' (1903) was set in 16th-century Spain. The French Revolution served as the backdrop for several plays: 'Les Merveilleuses' (1873), 'Paméla, marchande de fiscalités' (1898), 'Thermidor' (1891), and 'Robespierre' (1899), which was written for Henry Irving, who performed it in London. The French Empire era was revived in 'La Tosca' (1887, reworked into the opera 'Tosca' by Giacomo Puccini) and 'Madame Sans Gêne' (1893), written for Gabrielle Réjane. The latter play was also performed in London by Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. He also wrote 'Dante' (1903), the Vaudeville 'La Piste' (1906), and 'L'Affaire des Poisons' (The Affair of the Poisons, 1908), which was still being performed at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin and was very successful at the time of his death in 1908. The play is set during the reign of Louis XIV and the downfall of his mistress, Madame de Montespan.


French postcard by Neurdein Frères, Photo-Edit., no. 25. Photo: Nadar. Sarah Bernhardt as Empress Theodora in Victorien Sardou’s play 'Theodora' (1884).


French postcard. Photo: Paul Boyer. Sarah Bernhardt and Pierre Magnier in Théodora (Victorien Sardou, 1884), performed in 1902 at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt.


French postcard by PMM. Photo: Boyer, Paris. Pierre Laugier of the Comédie-Française in 'Thermidor' (1891) by Victorien Sardou.


French postcard. Sarah Bernhardt in the play 'Cléopâtre' by Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau, first performed in 1890 by Sarah Bernhardt at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin.


French postcard by Raphael Tuck & Fils, Editeurs, Paris, Série 200. Photo: Gabrielle Réjane in the stage play 'Madame Sans-Gêne' (1893) by Victorien Sardou, which she also filmed twice.


French promotional postcard for Vin Désiles by G.P., Paris. Photo: probably by Paul Nadar. Abel Deval, Directeur de l'Athénée, as Zaccaria in 'Gismonda' by Victorien Sardou, performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in 1894, and starring Sarah Bernhardt.


British postcard by J.B. & Co, no. 190C. Photo: Window & Grove. Ellen Terry as Madame Sans Gêne in a British 1897 production of the stage play 'Madame Sans-Gêne'.


French postcard. Photo: L'H, Paris. Paul Mounet as Le Duc d'Albe in Patrie! (1901) by Victorien Sardou and presented by the Comédie-Française.


French postcard. Photo: Paul Boyer. Pierre Magnier as Andréas in 'Théodora' (1884) by Victorien Sardou, performed in 1902 at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt.


French postcard, no. 1/11. Photo: Paul Boyer, Paris. Marguerite Moreno in the play 'La Sorcière' at the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt in Paris. Moreno performed in this play by Victorien Sardou in 1903.


British postcard in the Rotary Photographic Series, no. 4458 I. Photo: Foulsham & Banfield. Denise Orme in the musical play 'The Lady Dandies' or 'The Merveilleuses', based on Victorien Sardou's original play 'Les Merveilleuses'. It was adapted by Basil Hood, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, and music by Hugo Felix. The main plot is a love story, concerning Dorlis, an emigré aristocrat who has just returned from enforced military service in Italy, and Illyrine, his ex-wife. It opened at Daly's Theatre, London, under the management of George Edwardes, on 27 October 1906, with a cast that included Evie Greene, Denise Orme and Robert Evett in the leading roles, and ran for 196 performances. The Play Pictorial noted that the name of the show had created some difficulty: "'The Women Dandies' scarcely expresses it, and so it was decided eventually to let the French name stand."


Spanish postcard (but with Italian text on the front). Italia Vitaliani in the play 'Tosca' by Victorien Sardou. 'Tosca' was one of Vitaliani's stage successes, which she performed, e.g. on 30 June 1896 at the Victoria Theatre in Buenos Aires, on 8 May 1904 in Budapest, and on 20 October 1906 at the Politeama Ariosto in Reggio Emilia.


French postcard. Ed. Le Deley, Paris. Georges Dorival in 'L'Affaire des poisons' by Victorien Sardou, performed in 1907.

Conflict as the key to drama

Victorien Sardou is remembered for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. One of his first goals when writing was to devise a central conflict followed by a powerful climax. From there, he would work backwards to establish the action leading up to it. He believed conflict was the key to drama. He wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-century operas, such as 'La Tosca' (1887), on which Giacomo Puccini's opera 'Tosca' (1900) is based, and 'Fédora' (1882) and 'Madame Sans-Gêne' (1893), which provided the subjects for the lyrical dramas 'Fedora' (1898) and 'Madame Sans-Gêne' (1915) by Umberto Giordano. His play 'Gismonda', from 1894, was also adapted into an opera of the same name by Henry Février, as was 'Patrie!' by Émile Paladilhe. Camille Erlanger based his four-act opera 'La Sorcière'(1912) on Sardou's play of the same name.

In the 1880s, Victorien Sardou became the chief playwright for Sarah Bernhardt. With 'La Divine' in mind, he wrote 'Fédora' (1882). The premiere was headline news in Paris. Le Figaro devoted its whole front page to it. The Paris correspondent of The Era called Bernhardt's performance as Princess Fédora Romazoff "magnificent throughout … the most brilliant of her remarkable career". The play opened at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris on 11 December 1882, and ran for 135 performances. Bernhardt wore a soft felt hat on stage, which was soon a popular fashion for women, known as a fedora. In one scene, Fédora weeps over the body of her murdered lover. The deceased needed only to lie still, and Parisian men of fashion took to spending one evening each as the distinguished corpse. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, took a turn, delighting the city. In July 1883, Bernhardt led her company in 'Fédora' as the final production in a series of French plays given at the Gaiety Theatre, London. The play was filmed many times. First in the US as Princess Romanoff (Frank Powell, 1915), starring Nance O'Neil. Immediately followed by adaptations in Italy, Fedora (Gustavo Serena, 1916), starring Francesca Bertini, and Hungary (Austrian Hungarian Empire), Fehér éjszakák / White Nights (Alexander Korda, 1916), starring Lili Berky. It was Korda’s first film for the Corvin Studio in Cluj (now in Romania). Other stars who stepped in Bernhardt's footsteps were Pauline Frederick (1918), Lee Parry (1926), Pola Negri (1928), Marie Bell (1934) and Luisa Ferida (1942).

Sardou wrote more plays for Sarah Bernhardt: 'Théodora' (1884), 'La Tosca' (1887), and 'Cléopâtre' (1890). Sardou himself directed these productions in which Bernhardt starred. Sardou taught her a broad, flamboyant style of acting, relying on lavish decor, exotic costumes, and pantomimic action for effect. Their third play together, 'La Tosca', premiered on 24 November 1887. Bernhardt was in her mid-40s by then and France's leading actress. In 1883, she had also taken over the lease on the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, where 'La Tosca' was to premiere. Its melodramatic plot centres on Floria Tosca, a celebrated opera singer; her lover, Mario Cavaradossi, an artist and Napoleon sympathiser; and Baron Scarpia, Rome's ruthless Regent of Police. By the end of the play, all three are dead. Despite negative reviews from the Paris critics on the opening night, it became one of Sardou's most successful plays. 'La Tosca' had an opening run of 200 performances and was toured by Bernhardt throughout the world in the years following its premiere. Its operatic adaptation, Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, has achieved enduring popularity. There were at least four silent film adaptations. A hand-coloured version starring Sarah Bernhardt was made in 1908 by Le Film d'Art, a French film company run by André Calmettes and Charles le Bargy. There was also a 1918 version by Paramount Pictures with Pauline Frederick as Tosca. Only fragments remain of the Italian film made the same year, starring Francesca Bertini. It was one of Bertini's most popular films, which makes it even sadder that so little remains of this picture. Later films tended to be adaptations of Puccini's opera rather than Sardou's play, with the notable exception of the Italian film Tosca / The Story of Tosca (Carl Koch, 1941) starring Imperio Argentina as Tosca and Rossano Brazzi as Cavaradossi. Jean Renoir originally worked with Koch on the adaptation, but had to leave Italy at the outbreak of World War II.

'Madame Sans-Gêne' (1893) was written specifically for Gabrielle Réjane. 'Madame Sans-Gêne' is a historical comedy-drama concerning incidents in the life of Catherine Hübscher, an outspoken 18th-century laundress who became the Duchess of Danzig. The play premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville, Paris, on 27 October 1893. The original cast included Réjane as Catherine, a role she continued to play throughout her career. Réjane led a company to London in 1894, giving the play in the original French at the Gaiety Theatre from 24 June 1894. It was translated into English and starred Henry Irving and Ellen Terry at the Lyceum Theatre in 1897. The first Broadway production was given on 14 January 1895. The play was revived many times in France, and later performers of the title role included Marguerite Pierry, Mistinguett, Lise Delamare and Madeleine Renaud. It was also adapted as an opera in 1915. The first silent film adaptation was the short Madame Sans-Gêne (Clément Maurice, 1900) starring Réjane. She also starred in a remake, Madame Sans-Gêne (André Calmettes, 1911). The last silent film version was Madame Sans-Gêne (Léonce Perret, 1925), starring Gloria Swanson. Sound versions were made in 1941 by Roger Richebé, starring Arletty, and in 1945 in Argentina by Luis César Amadori, featuring José Maurer. A Franco-Italian film version directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Sophia Loren was released in 1961.

Victorien Sardou's final play, 'L'affaire des poisons' (1907), portrays the events of the real-life Affair of the Poisons during the reign of Louis XIV and the downfall of his mistress Madame de Montespan. In 1955, it was made into a French-Italian film of the same title directed by Henri Decoin and starring Danielle Darrieux, Viviane Romance and Paul Meurisse.


American postcard, monogram K Ltd. Francesca Bertini in Odette (Giuseppe De Liguoro, 1916), based on Victorien Sardou's play 'Odette'.


Italian postcard by IPA CT Duplex, no. 3275. Photo: Films Cines, Lyda Borelli as Terese de Fontenay / Madame Tallien, and Amleto Novelli as Tallien in the Italian silent film Madame Tallien (Enrico Guazzoni, 1916), based on the homonymous play by Victorien Sardou. Caption: Thérèse Cabarus obtains from the enamoured Tallien a passport for Guery.


Spanish collector card by Chocolate Salas-Sabadell, no. 6 of 6 cards. Leda Gys in the silent Italian film Fernanda (Gustavo Serena, 1917), based on Victorien Sardou's play.


Spanish cromo (collector card) by Chocolate Salas-Sabadell, Barcelona, no. 5 of 6 cards. Photo: Caesar Film. Francesca Bertini, Camillo De Riso and Alfredo De Antoni in Andreina (Gustavo Serena, 1917), based on the play 'Andréa' (1873) by Victorien Sardou, adapted by Giuseppe Paolo Pacchierotti.


Spanish collector card by Amattler Marca Luna, series 5, no. 11. Photo: Caesar Film. Francesca Bertini as Floria Tosca in the Italian silent film Tosca (Alfredo De Antoni, 1918). Caption: A vengeful Tosca at Scarpia's.


Italian postcard by Unione Cinematografica Italiana, series Teodora no. 9. Photo: Ambrosio Film. Rita Jolivet and René Maupré in Teodora (Leopoldo Carlucci, 1921). The back of the card reads: "When Teodora (Rita Jolivet) meets the Greek Andrea (René Maupré), she becomes his lover, pretending she is a widow with the name of Mirta." NB: most sources, including the original intertitles in the existing print, state that René Maupré played Andrea/Andres, and looking at photos of Maupré, this seems right. Yet, Vittorio Martinelli claims Maupré played the emperor Justinian and Ferruccio Biancini played Andrea.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Medusa Film / UCI. Elena (Helena) Makowska in the silent Italian film Rabagas (Gaston Ravel, 1922). The man on the right is probably actor Guido Trento (1892-1957). Rabagas was based on a play by Victorien Sardou about an American billionaire (Makowska), who befriends the Prince of Monaco (Trento) and who succeeds in preventing the overthrow of the regime by the adventurous lawyer Rabagas (Totò Majorana). In the end, she marries the Prince.


Italian postcard, no. 139. Photo: Films Paramount Roma. Gloria Swanson and Émile Drain in Madame Sans-Gêne (Léonce Perret, 1924). Collection: Didier Hanson.


Italian postcard by Italian distributor S.A. Stefano Pittaluga, no. 338. Francesa Bertini and Angelo Ferrari in Mein Leben für das Deine (Luitz-Morat, 1928), based on Victorien Sardou's play 'Odette', and released in Italy under the same title. In 1916, Bertini had already played in an Italian version of 'Odette' and would do it again in the sound era in a French version, Odette (Jacques Houssin, Giorgio Zambon, 1935).


French postcard by Edit. Chantal, Rueil, no. 90. Photo: Roger Richebé. Arletty in Madame Sans-Gêne (Roger Richebé, 1941).


French postcard in the Collection artistique du Vin Désiles. Photo: Boyer.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

Peter Cushing

Gentle and gentlemanly British actor Peter Cushing (1913-1994) became a legend with his roles in Hammer's remakes of the 1930s Universal horror classics. He played Dr. Frankenstein in Frankenstein (1957), Dr. Van Helsing in Dracula (1958), and Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). But maybe he is even better known as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). His career spanned over six decades and included roles in more than 100 films.


Vintage card by Gerimp Corp. Int.-Collection, no. FN 199. Peter Cushing in Twins of Evil (John Hough, 1971).


British postcard by R.C. Maule, 1984. Photo: Hammer Film Productions. Peter Cushing as the famous detective Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (Terence Fisher, 1959).


German postcard by Filmwelt Berlin, Bad Münder, no SW 4.081. Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd. Peter Cushing in Star Wars - Episode IV - A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977).

A one-way ticket to Hollywood

Peter Wilton Cushing was born in 1913 in Kenley (now in Croydon, London), Surrey, England, to Nellie Maria (King) and George Edward Cushing, a quantity surveyor. He and his older brother David were raised first in Dulwich Village, a south London suburb, and then later back in Surrey. His mother had so hoped for a daughter that for the first few years of his life, she dressed Peter in girls' frocks, let his hair grow in long curls and tied them in bows of pink ribbon, so others often mistook him for a girl.

At an early age, Cushing was drawn to acting, inspired by his favourite aunt, a stage actress. As a child, having a strong cockney accent, he felt ashamed of the way he spoke in general and took to having elocution lessons. While at school, Cushing pursued his interests in acting and drawing, a talent he later put to good use in his first job as a government surveyor's assistant in Surrey. At this time, he also dabbled in local amateur theatre until moving to London to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on scholarship. He then performed in repertory theatre in Worthing.

In 1939, his father bought him a one-way ticket to Hollywood, where he moved with only £50 to his name. Cushing met a Columbia Pictures employee named Larry Goodkind, who wrote him a letter of recommendation and directed him to acquaintances Goodkind knew at Edward Small Productions. There he made his film debut in The Man in the Iron Mask (James Whale, 1939), starring Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett. It was an adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas tale based on the French legend of a prisoner during the reign of Louis XIV of France. He also had small roles in such Hollywood films as A Chump at Oxford (Alfred J. Goulding, 1939) with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Vigil in the Night (George Stevens, 1940) with Carole Lombard, and They Dare Not Love (James Whale, 1941).

After this short stay, he returned to England by way of New York (making brief appearances on Broadway) and Canada. Back in his homeland, he contributed to the war effort during World War II by joining the Entertainment National Services Association. After the war, Peter Cushing performed in the West End. He had his big break appearing with Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, 1948), in which Cushing's future partner-in-Horror, Christopher Lee, had a bit part. Both actors also appeared in Moulin Rouge (John Huston, 1952), but did not meet until their later Horror films.

His career was revitalised once he started to work in live television plays, and he soon became one of the most recognisable faces in British television. During the 1950s, Cushing appeared in numerous teleplays, such as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) and Beau Brummell (1954). In the two years following Nineteen Eighty-Four, Cushing appeared in thirty-one television plays and two serials and won Best Television Actor of the Year from the Evening Chronicle. He also won the Best Actor awards from the Guild of Television Producers in 1955 and from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1956. Among the plays he appeared in during this time were Terence Rattigan's 'The Browning Version' and Gordon Daviot's 'Richard of Bordeaux'.


Poster postcard by Clasicos Cinema, no. 274. Image: Hammer / Universal. French poster for The Evil of Frankenstein (Freddie Francis, 1964) with Peter Cushing and Peter Woodthorpe. The French title was L'empreinte de Frankenstein.


British poster postcard in the Hammer 40 Years series by London Postcard Company, no HA 1516. Poster: Hammer Film Productions / British Film Institute. Poster for Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (Terence Fisher, 1969) with Peter Cushing.


British Poster postcard in the Hammer 40 Years series by London Postcard Company, no HA 5121. Poster: Hammer Film Productions / British Film Institute. Poster for Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (Terence Fisher, 1974) with Peter Cushing.

A low-budget production company called Hammer

During a brief quiet period following his television work, Peter Cushing read in trade publications about Hammer, a low-budget production company seeking to adapt Mary Shelley's Horror novel, 'Frankenstein', into a new film. Cushing, who enjoyed the tale as a child, had his agent John Redway inform the company of Cushing's interest in playing the protagonist, Baron Victor Frankenstein. The studio executives were anxious to have Cushing play Dr. Frankenstein in Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957) opposite Hazel Court and Christopher Lee as the Monster.

Wikipedia: "Unlike Frankenstein (1931) produced by Universal, the Hammer films revolved mainly around Victor Frankenstein, rather than his monster. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster wrote the protagonist as an ambitious, egotistical and coldly intellectual scientist who despised his contemporaries. Unlike the character from the novel and past film versions, Cushing's Baron Frankenstein commits vicious crimes to attain his goals, including the murder of a colleague to obtain a brain for his creature." Frankenstein was an overnight success and brought Cushing worldwide fame.

Over the next 20 years, Peter Cushing starred in 22 Horror films from the Hammer studio. His next roles included Dr. Van Helsing in Dracula (Terence Fisher, 1958) opposite Lee as the count, and Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (Terence Fisher, 1959). He played Baron Frankenstein in six of their seven Frankenstein films, and Doctor Van Helsing in five Dracula films. Cushing often appeared alongside Christopher Lee, who became one of his closest friends, and occasionally with the American Horror star Vincent Price.

He also appeared in films for the other major Horror producer of the time, Amicus Productions, including Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965), Dr. Who and the Daleks (Gordon Flemyng, 1965), Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (Gordon Flemyng, 1966), and I, Monster (Stephen Weeks, 1971). By the mid-1970s, these companies had stopped production, but Cushing, firmly established as a Horror star, continued in the genre for some time thereafter.

Perhaps his best-known appearance outside of Horror films was as Grand Moff Tarkin in George Lucas' phenomenally successful Science Fiction film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). He had been married to Violet Helene Beck from 1943 till her death in 1971. Following the passing of his wife, Cushing didn't make any public appearances from 1971 to 1982. During this period, his workload increased considerably, appearing in about 32 films, numerous TV appearances and recording audiobooks for blind people. Biggles (John Hough, 1986) was Cushing's last film before his retirement, during which he made a few television appearances, wrote two autobiographies and pursued his hobbies of birdwatching and painting. In 1989, he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to drama. In 1994, Peter Cushing died at age 81 of prostate cancer.


English poster postcard by Moviedrome, no. M28. Design: Hammer. Poster for The Abominable Snowman / The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas (Val Guest, 1957) with Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing. Caption: 'We dare you see it alone! Each chilling moment a shock-test for your scare-endurance.' This was Peter Cushing's first of 23 Hammer films. However, the second Hammer film that he made, The Curse of Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957), was released first.


Vintage card by Gerimp Corp. Int.-Collection, no. FN 163.


Vintage card.

Sources: Lyn Hammond (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.