Angelica Domröse

On 15 May 2026, German actress Angelica Domröse (1941) passed away in Berlin. She was one of the most famous actresses of former East Germany. Domröse became a superstar through her role as the young mother Paula in the cult classic Die Legende von Paul und Paula (1973). The actress was 85.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1326 F, 1960. Photo: DEFA-Neufeld.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2091, 1964. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Klaus Fischer.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2255, 1965. Photo: Schirmer.


East German card by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, no. 2400, 1965. Photo: Balinski.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 4/F/73, 1973. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Linke.

Confusion of love

Angelica Domröse was born in Berlin in 1941. Her Mediterranean appearance is the result of her biological father being a POW (prisoner of war) from France. Her mother married a locksmith, Rudolf Otto, to legalise her daughter, but Angelica did not get along with her stepfather.

After training as a stenographer, Domröse worked in a state-run foreign trade company in the GDR. In 1958, director Slátan Dudow selected her out of 15,000 competitors to appear in his film Verwirrung der Liebe / Confusion of Love (Slátan Dudow, 1958). This was the only East German film made at the time that lacked the usual state propaganda. Therefore, it was panned by the official GDR critics.

Meanwhile, Angelica also attended the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Potsdam (Film and Television Academy at Potsdam-Babelsberg) until 1961. During her acting training, she already received the offer to play the title role of Irene Sauer in the TV film Papas neue Freundin / Dad's New Girlfriend (Georg Leopold, 1961), and she became known to a broad audience.

From 1961 to 1966, she joined the Berliner Ensemble, the company founded by Bertolt Brecht and his wife Helene Weigel. Here she performed in Brecht's 'Dreigroschenoper' (Threepenny Opera), 'Schwejk im Zweiten Weltkrieg' (Schweik in the Second World War) and 'Die Tage der Commune' (The Days of the Commune), as well as in Helmut Baierl's 'Frau Flinz' (Mrs. Flinz).

In 1966, she was chosen 'Actress of the Year'. Thereafter, she worked with the Volksbühne Berlin until 1979. She starred in plays by George Bernard Shaw, William Shakespeare and Peter Hacks.


East German postcard by Progress Starfoto, no. 1034, 1959.Photo: Neufeld / DEFA. Angelica Domröse in Verwirrung der Liebe / Confusion of Love (Slátan Dudow, 1958).


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1401, 1961. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Jadke.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1649, 1961. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Schütt / DEFA.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1650, 1961. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: W. Denger.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1724, 1962. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: W. Denger.

The legend of Paul and Paula

Angelica Domröse also worked for the Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA) in films like the war drama An französischen Kaminen / At a French Fireside (Kurt Maetzig, 1962), Chronik eines Mordes / Story of a Murder (Joachim Hasler, 1965), based on a book by Leonhard Frank, and Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt / The Adventures of Werner Holt (Joachim Kunert, 1965).

She also appeared on the Deutscher Fernsehfunk (the East German TV). In 1971, 1973 and 1975, she was nominated as the 'DDR-Fernsehkünstlerin des Jahres' (GDR television artist of the year), and in 1976 she won the 'Nationalpreis der DDR II' (National Prize of East Germany).

Very popular were her (TV) films Effi Briest (Wolfgang Luderer, 1970) based on the book by Theodor Fontane, Unterm Birnbaum / Under the Pear Tree (Ralf Kirsten, 1972) based on another book by Fontane, and especially Die Legende von Paul und Paula / The Legend of Paul and Paula (Heiner Carow, 1973), probably the most successful East German film ever. The film is a realistic and honest view of everyday life in East Berlin in the 1970s. Eva-Maria Hagen and Winfried Glatzeder also feature in the film.

GDR leader Erich Honecker finally permitted the film to be shown, and 3 million of the 17 million people of East Germany went to see the film. The romance of Paul and Paula has a simple charm that captivates audiences. Her role made Domröse a superstar in her country.

Five years later, she made another film with Carow, Bis daß der Tod euch scheidet / Until Death Do Us Part (Heiner Carow, 1978). After signing the resolution of protest against the expulsion of Wolf Biermann from the GDR in November 1976, she was increasingly hampered in her work. In 1979, she did a guest performance as Helena in a production of 'Faust' at the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg. In 1980, she and her husband, Hilmar Thate, emigrated to West Germany, where they could continue their careers with demanding roles.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1919, 1963. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Blümel / DEFA.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2229, 1965. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Schwarz.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2589, 1966. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Arno Fischer.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2781, 1967. Photo: Schirmer. Angelica Domröse and Jiří Vršťala.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2779, 1967. Photo: Schirmer.

I catch myself

Angelica Domröse worked mostly in the Schiller Theatre in Berlin, but she also made guest appearances in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Bochum and Vienna. On TV, she was seen in such productions as the ironic mini-series Kir Royal (Helmut Dietl, 1986) with Franz-Xaver Kroetz, and the Krimi series Der Alte / The Old Fox (1988-1990).

She appeared in TV films by directors like Egon Günther (Hanna von acht bis acht / Hanna From Eight to Eight (1983) and Mamas Geburtstag / Mom's Birthday (1985)), Michael Haneke (Fraulein / Miss (1986)) and Carl Schenkel (Kalte Küsse / Cold Kisses (1997)). In 1988, she was awarded the Josef Kainz Medal.

In the early 1990s, she worked again with Heiner Carow for the cinema on Die Verfehlung / The Offence (Heiner Carow, 1992) with Gottfried John. On TV, she starred as Commissioner Vera Bilewski in the crime series Polizeiruf 110 / Police Call 110 (1994-1998), including the controversial episode Samstags, wenn Krieg ist (Saturdays, when it is war). After 1992, she has occasionally worked as a lecturer at the Universität der Künste (Art University) and the Ernst-Busch-Schule (Ernst Busch School) in Berlin. That same year, she directed at the Studio Theatre in Berlin and at the Meininger Theatre.

In 2003, her autobiography was published with the title 'Ich fang mich selbst ein – Mein leben' (I Catch Myself – My Life). Her most recent film was Tal der Ahnungslosen / Valley of the Unsuspecting (Branwen Okpako, 2003). In 2006, she needed to be treated in a hospital after a collapse. Her husband had found her lifeless in the bathroom. She returned triumphantly on stage at the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm as the aged diva Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's play 'Master Class'. She also starred opposite Hilmar Thate in the no less successful production of Peter Turrini's play 'Joseph and Mary', and played the role of Mary Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'.

In 2008, after more than three decades, the 'Traumpaar' (dream couple) of Paul and Paula were reunited on stage. Angelica Domröse and Winfried Glatzeder co-starred in Eduardo de Filippo's tragicomedy 'Filumena Marturano'. In September 2009, Domröse suddenly entered a sanatorium after a nervous breakdown, but she recovered soon. In 1976, Angelica Domröse married actor Hilmar Thate. From 1966 to 1975, she was married to actor Jiří Vršťala. The city of Berlin decided to name a path along a lake the 'Paul und Paula Ufer' with a 'Paul und Paula' bench to sit on. Domröse returned to the cinema in the melancholic comedy Bis zum Horizont, dann links / Fly Away (Bernd Böhlich, 2012) with Otto Sander. She played an old lady whose family sent her to an elderly home, where she takes part in a revolt. It was her final film role. Angelica Domröse died on 15 May 2026 after a long illness at the age of 85. She last lived in Berlin-Charlottenburg.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 3140, 1968. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Schwarz. Angelica Domröse and Jiří Vršťala.


Big East German card by Progress Starfoto, no. 176/69. Photo: Linke.


East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 179/70, 1970. Retail price: 0,20 DM. Photo: Linke.


Scene from Die Legende von Paul und Paula / The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973). Source: yDelicious (YouTube).

Sources: Stephanie D’heil (Steffi-line - German), Filmportal.de, Bild.de (German), Berliner Zeitung (German - now defunct), Wikipedia and IMDb.

Billy Mo

Billy Mo (1923-2004) was a German Schlager singer and Jazz trumpeter. He was born in Trinidad, moved to London in the 1940s and had his breakthrough in Germany in the 1950s.


Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 5561. Photo: Hafbo Film. Billy Mo in Schlagerparade 1960 (Franz Marischka, 1960).


West German postcard by Franz Josef Rüdel, Filmpostkartenverlag, Hamburg, for Decca, no. 4746. Photo: Teldec / Unfried

The youngest police officer in Trinidad

Billy Mo was born as Peter Mico Joachim in Trinidad in 1923. His father was the result of an affair between an officer stationed in Cameroon, named Peter Joachim and a local woman of colour. His parents later moved to the Caribbean Islands. According to another story, his German grandfather married his African girlfriend and moved to Trinidad with his illegitimate wife after completing his military service.

Yet another story from 1967 tells of the death of Joachim's parents when he was five years old, after which he ended up in an orphanage with his two sisters. According to the subsequent story, his mother died in childbirth, and his father died three years later in a car accident. According to music journalist Jan Feddersen, both parents died in an accident a year after his birth. In the orphanage, Joachim received music lessons and learned to play the harmonica. According to other sources, he learned to play the trumpet and horn at the age of six.

According to a later publication, he joined an orchestra at the age of seven and became a member of the local police band at the age of 14, making him the youngest police officer in Trinidad. There are also several versions of when and how Peter Mico Joachim came to Great Britain. According to a 1967 magazine, he was hired by a British naval officer in 1945 for a jazz band. Another statement by Joachim was that he stayed in London from 1945 to 1956. Other accounts claim that he received a music scholarship for the Royal Academy of Music in 1943.

When searching for sources in England, also a wife appears: Eldica Joachim (1922–2000). According to her short biography, she left Trinidad in 1946 and moved to Great Britain with her husband, Peter Joachim. There she acted in films from 1951 onwards, such as Cry, The Beloved Country (Zoltan Korda, 1951) with Sidney Poitier and Green Pastures (George Schaefer, 1957).

Eldica Joachim had to stop her career as an actress because of polio, but she continued as a costume designer for several national and international film studios. She had three children: Greta, Ruby and Sheila. Her granddaughters, Jayne James and Sandra Reed, are singers, and her grandson, Martin James, is a drummer.


West German autograph card by Decca Schallplatten. Photo: Teldec / Constantin-Film.

Struggling to make ends meet

It is evident that Peter Mico Joachim subsequently played in London with the Trinidad All Stars, led by Al Jennings, with whom he performed on BBC radio in November 1945. This band played for American and British soldiers and performed in nightclubs. The group disbanded during a tour of France due to declining public interest, leaving him unemployed and returning to England. In addition to his work as a musician and his part-time jobs in restaurants, he struggled to make ends meet. He also worked as a nurse in a Scottish psychiatric institution for three years.

From 1950 onwards, Joachim collaborated with the arranger Rupert Nurse from Trinidad, with whom he performed at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the show 'Pardon my French' (1953-1954), together with the Caribbean pianist Winifred Atwell. In the early 1950s, Joachim founded his own orchestra, performing at the River Club, the Stork Club and the Café de Paris, but without making a breakthrough as a musician.

According to music writer Friedel Keim, Joachim went to the Benson Institute of Music in the United States in 1949 and obtained a doctorate there. He also obtained a PhD at the age of 30 after completing a psychology degree in Edinburgh and was appointed professor of musicology at the University of Oxford, according to Keim. His gravestone bears the title Prof. Dr.

In April 1956, Peter Mico Joachim travelled penniless via Paris to Hamburg and was hired as a trumpet player by the house band at the St. Pauli pub Blauer Peter. He also played Dixieland and rock 'n' roll in other clubs and began singing.

In 1957, he was discovered by Viktor Reschke, the leader of the NDR television orchestra. Under the pseudonym Billy Mo, he released the swing numbers 'Buona Sera' and 'Oh Marie', both by Louis Prima. In the same year, he played a trumpet solo for Bert Kaempfert's orchestra in Franz Grothe's 'Mitternachtblues'. With the songs 'Darling, du weißt ja', 'Oh Jennilie' and 'Swing Methusalem', he established his name in the German music world as Billy Mo.


West German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 826. Photo: Teldec / Schade.

A Tyrolean as his trademark

With the song 'Das Fräulein Gerda' from 1938, Billy Mo made his transition to Schlager and folk music in 1960. With the hits 'Wenn die Elisabeth nicht so schöne Beine hätt' (1961, 17th place), 'Am Sonntag will der Billy mit mir segeln geh'n' (1961) and 'Was kann der Sigismund dafür' (1961), he brought back old songs from the 1920s and 1930s. His big commercial breakthrough came in 1962 with the song 'Ich kauf mir lieber einen Tirolerhut', which spent 17 weeks in the German charts at number 3, with sales of four million DM.

The Tyrolean hat then became Billy Mo's trademark. His later singles were unable to match this success, despite the songs 'Bierdeckel-Polka' (1963, 21st place), 'Humba Täterä' (1964, 15th place) and 'Der Salon-Tiroler' (1964, 15th place). In 1970, Mo's last single was released. His musical style could no longer keep up with the musical developments of recent years, which affected his record sales.

Nevertheless, he sang his songs in entertainment programmes and in live shows on the road. His musical ability was highly regarded by critics. In 1959, Billy Mo appeared in a German feature film for the first time. Together with Paul Dahlke, Günter Pfitzmann and Ingrid van Bergen, he played a gangster quartet disguised as ship's musicians in Heinz Erhardt's comedy Drillinge an Bord / Triplets on Board (Hans Müller, 1958).

His contribution to German Schlager films and TV shows was limited to playing small roles, such as in the television series Frei nach Mark Twain (Franz Marischka, 1971) as a footman and in the children's film Kleiner Mann, was tun? (Uschi Madeisky, Klaus Werner, 1981) as a civil servant. Between 1963 and 1965, he had his own ARD entertainment show, Cafe Mo, at Hagenbeck Zoo, which required spontaneity and improvisational skills.

In 1956, he met his first German wife, Margot Miranda, in Hamburg. They had two children, Susanna (1960) and Jeffrey-Gordon. In 1966, Mo obtained German nationality after a lengthy application process. Billy was an incorrigible womaniser. During his marriage, he met his future manager and, from 1990, his wife Sylvia Hartjenstein, the bass player of the group Silverstars, in 1967. Their daughter Micole was born from this marriage. From 1970, Mo lived in Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, where he became involved in the local music scene. Until the age of 79, he performed in jazz clubs, especially at the Jazz Club Hannover. After a performance in December 2001, he suffered a heart attack and was kept in an induced coma. In 2002, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon by Lower Saxony's Minister-President Sigmar Gabriel for his commitment to musical youth work. Mo died of heart failure in 2004 at the age of 81. As a member of the Zum Schwarzen Bär Masonic Lodge in Hanover, he was given a ritual funeral. The Big Band Die Auetaler, which he co-founded, played at his grave, and Deborah Sasson sang the song 'Ave Maria'. His gravestone in Wunstorf-Luthe features a trumpet and a Tyrolean hat.


West German autograph card by Decca.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch and German) and IMDb.

A rare find: an album with Pathé cards from 1911 (Part 3)

At the 2018 Autumn Collector's Fair in Utrecht, we found an album with over 100 vintage cards by Pathé Cinema with stills of films from 1911. The album contains 60 double pages with 120 collector cards, a bit bigger and thinner than the ordinary postcards issued by Pathé. All films date from the year 1911 and almost all are traceable on the website of the Fondation Jerome Seydoux Pathé. In 2018, we selected 14 cards from this rare album for a post. Last month, we presented another 21 Pathé cards. Here are again 21 cards from 1911, which we have never published at European Film Star Postcards before.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Scene from Le bateau de Léontine (N.N., 1911). It is unclear who played the lead in the typical nasty lady series of Léontine ('Titine'), a girl always into terrible mischief.

Titine has received for her party a superb three-master. She has promised her parents to be very good in their absence, but she cannot resist the temptation to sail her boat. She turns the kitchen faucets wide-open, so the room serves as a pool to her exploits. Soon, the ship is sailing in the 'open sea', but Titine is still dissatisfied. However, the water, crossing the floor, flows in large streams onto the lower floors, drowning the tenants and transforming the stairs into impassable torrents. Titine, unsuspecting of the dramas that take place below her, quietly floats in a barrel amidst the disaster.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAG / Pathé Frères. Andrée Marly in Deux vieux garçons (Michel Carré, 1911). Carré also scripted the film. Marly is playing the piano. Her lover (not visible) is played by Charles Maudru. The two old men, courting young Katje in vain and finally giving in, are Louis Baron fils and Georges Coquet. The old woman playing the maid is Marie Ernestine Desclauzas, who was a renowned stage actress in the late 19th century. In real life, Marly was married to Coquet. The setting and costumes in this film refer to the popular Dutch village of Volendam.

Van Peterbon and Van Hoosplott, who had grown old as bachelors, took in their orphaned niece, the pretty Katje. The presence of little Katje, charming beneath her bonnet with golden antennae, troubled the hearts and sleep of the two old bachelors. Meanwhile, Katje, unaware of their feelings, dreams of the young Kobe, who is courting her. The two young people, with the help of the maid, write a marriage proposal to each of the two uncles. Upon receiving this letter, Van Peterbon and Van Hoosplott explode with rage. Then indignation gives way to concern. Could Katje have found out something? When questioned, the maid reassures them, and the two uncles agree to bury the marriage proposals deep in their pockets. However, this move prompts them to each apply for her hand in marriage. But Katje's laughter puts an end to their declarations, and the young girl takes advantage of their confusion to introduce them to Kobe, whom she loves. Faced with the youthfulness of their rival, the two old bachelors become conscious of their wrinkles and white hair. So, gruff but benevolent, they give in to the pleas of the two lovers.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Young Maurice Mathieu or Renée Pré (sources differ) as the son André in Le dévouement d'un gosse (Alfred Machin, 1911).

In a fairground hut where a curious crowd gathers in front of the menagerie, a drama suddenly unfolds between the brave tamer and one of his wild animals. Seriously injured by the furious beast, the man soon dies, leaving his wife and two children in need. Without its tamer, the menagerie is soon abandoned by the public, and poverty descends on the poor caravan. However, little André makes a big decision. Accustomed since early childhood to entering the cage with his father, he will replace the deceased tamer. The public then returned in droves to applaud the world's youngest tamer, while prosperity, thanks to the child's courage, returned to the humble caravan.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Young Maurice Mathieu or Renée Pré (sources differ) as the son André in Le dévouement d'un gosse (Alfred Machin, 1911).


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Young Maurice Mathieu or Renée Pré (sources differ) as the son André in Le dévouement d'un gosse (Alfred Machin, 1911).


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Scene from the French silent film L'Homme de peine (Michel Carré, 1911). Carré also scripted the film.

A group of Parisians goes on a trip to Corsica, where they enjoy a carefree life. One of them, André Cartier (Dominique-Bernard Deschamps), discovers a pretty girl named Lina (Mme California), the daughter of a woodcutter, in the maquis. He falls in love with her and decides to take her back to Paris with him. Sciavola, the woodcutter (Jean Kemm), discovers his daughter's departure and lets his anger and despair explode. Months pass, bringing weariness on the part of the seducer and soon the end of his whim. Lina, abandoned, gives herself over to a dance from her country in the night restaurant where the break-up has just taken place. This dance wins her the affection of Prince Daniloff (Georges Tréville), who agrees to take her back to Ajaccio to see her country again. However, old Sciavola, aged, worn out and bent over with grief, has had to give up his job. He has become a labourer, working in the very hotel where Lina and her companion are staying. Finding himself in the presence of his guilty daughter, the old man is seized with terrible anger. He brandishes the log he was about to throw into the fire at the unfortunate girl. But just as he is about to strike her, Daniloff intervenes, and Sciavola, overcome with emotion, faints. The great lord, moved by his grief and genuinely enamoured with the young woman, will rehabilitate her by giving her his name.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Scene from the French silent film L'Homme de peine (Michel Carré, 1911).


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAGL / Pathé Frères. Lucie Pacitti as the daughter and Théodore Thalès as the clown in La fille du clown (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Maurice Kéroul.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAGL / Pathé Frères. Lucie Pacitti as the daughter in La fille du clown (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Maurice Kéroul.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Still for the film Le foyer perdu (N.N., 1911), scripted by Gustave Grillet (director unknown).

Robert Desroches (Jean Kemm) lives apart from his wife (Eva Raynal) and son Lucien (Maria Fromet). On the occasion of Lucien's birthday, he begs the boy's mother to send him the child. Lucien, having received a beautiful pony from his father as a gift, gives him a present, and Robert Desroches is deeply moved when he sees that it is a portrait of his wife. A visit from a friend distracts him, and while Lucien rides his little horse, the two friends practise shooting with pistols. Suddenly, little Lucien, tired of his mount, grabs one of the guns and, before anyone has time to intervene, fires, seriously wounding his father. Mrs Desroches, seeing her husband's suffering, forgets all her grievances and comes to care for him. And when her rival (Gabrielle Robinne) has left, perhaps she will return.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Still for the film Le foyer perdu (N.N., 1911), scripted by Gustave Grillet.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Still for the film Le foyer perdu (N.N., 1911), scripted by Gustave Grillet.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères / Pathé Comica. Sarah Duhamel as Rosalie in Rosalie a trouvé du travail (N.N., 1911).

Rosalie is hired as a worker at a fashion shop, but has to promise to be at work always at 7 sharp. The next morning, she awakens at 10 to 7, shoots out of bed, dresses in haste, jumps down the stairs, and crosses the obstacles like a tornado. After a dishevelled run full of wild episodes, Rosalie arrives, red-headed and muddy, scarred with snags, at the fashion shop, only to read the sign on the closed front door, 'closed on Sundays and holidays'.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères / Pathé Comica. Sarah Duhamel as Rosalie in Rosalie veut en finir avec la vie (N.N., 1911).

Rosalie is fired, so she wants to commit suicide. She shoots herself with a revolver, but only destroys the mirror. She throws herself on the tramway rails, but, alas, this one takes another track. She throws herself from a parapet but in vain. Desperate, she goes into a gun shop, throws a bomb and mounts to heaven, but it only causes her to descend again, this time in the arms of a well-moustached police officer, so she gets lust for life again.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Max Linder and Olga Demidoff as the mother-in-law in Max et sa belle-mère / Max and His Mother-In-Law (Max Linder, Pathé 1911). The man in the back is Jacques Vandenne. The young woman to the right of Linder may be Paulette Lorsy, playing his wife.

French comedian Max Linder (1883-1925), with his trademark silk hat, stick and moustache, was an influential pioneer of silent film. He was largely responsible for the creation of the classic style of silent slapstick comedy, and he was the highest-paid entertainer of his day.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères / S.C.A.G.L. Charles Prince in Rigadin veut se faire arrêter (Georges Monca, 1911). Scripted by Gabriel Timmory.

Charles Prince (1872-1933), aka ‘Prince’, was a French film actor, director and writer. He was famous for his countless comical shorts with his alter ego Rigadin. Rigadin veut se faire arrêter (1911) was strongly based on an earlier film with a similar plot: La purée veut se faire arrêter (1908). A bum eats without paying, thus hoping to get food and lodging at the police station. Yet, he manages to get away with it. When he suddenly gets money and orders a huge meal, the restaurant owner warns the police and our poor bum is arrested after all.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères / S.C.A.G.L. Georges Dorival (the father), Darmody (the mother), Marie Fromet (Pierrot) and little Carina (the little sweep) in the sentimental drama Oiseau de printemps, hirondelle d'hiver (Georges Denola, 1911). Scripted by E. M. Laumann.

Both boy roles were played by girls. The poor little sweep, maltreated by his boss, saves the life of little Jean and is afterwards adopted by the family of Jean. Georges Édouard Lemarchand, known as Dorival or Georges Dorival (1871-1939), was a French stage and screen actor of Norman origin, a painter and an important art collector.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Georges Vinter as the detective Nick Winter in Le Pickpocket mystifié (N.N., 1911).

Nick Winter, the astonishing detective, is in Le Pickpocket mystifié (N.N., 1911) hot on the trail of a clever crook. Winter catches him in a bank where he is robbing a bank clerk's wallet with unparalleled skill and audacity, using a cleverly rigged cane. In an instinctive move, the detective reaches into the thief's pocket, but this gesture makes him look like a thief himself in the eyes of the bank clerk, who calls the police. Nick, handcuffed, is taken to the police station, followed by his thief, who has now become the complainant. But there, the roles are reversed, and the clever policeman has no trouble exposing his adversary.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. The title of the film is crossed, but it might have been the comedy Le chapeau de Jobard /Jobard's hat (Emile Cohl, 1911). Lucien Cazalis, aka Jobard, made 13 short comedies in 1911, directed by Emile Cohl.

Paris is so unsafe and the pickpockets so bold that Jobard, ever cautious, puts a large sum of money he has just received in banknotes into his top hat. Unfortunately, his bad luck means that during a visit to a client, a distracted maid exchanges Jobard's top hat for her boss's. When he realises what has happened, Jobard, in a panic, rushes to every hat he sees, but unfortunately fails to find the one hiding his treasure, and ends up being rebuffed time and time again. Mistaken for a madman, poor Jobard is taken to the hospital and showered without mercy. Fortunately, the doctor on duty happens to be Jobard's customer, and Jobard finally regains his hat, his treasure and his freedom.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from the comedy Le cache-poussière / The Dust-cover (N.B., 1911). The film was shot in the South of France.

Robert, allowed to go to lunch with his fiancée at the Réserve de Beaulieu, borrows his uncle's car, dust cover and... money. While the two lovers stroll along the enchanting shores of the Côte d'Azur, Robert's aunt encounters them, recognises her husband's car and dust cover, and, believing herself betrayed, hails a taxi and sets off in pursuit. After a turbulent chase, she catches up with them at the hotel, where the imbroglio is resolved to everyone's satisfaction.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Pathé Frères/ Modern Pictures, Scene from La ruse du petit ramoneur / The Little Sweep's Stratagem (Camille de Morlhon, 1911).

Jean, the little Savoyard boy (and a little sweep), having come into some money, enters a bakery to treat himself to the unusual luxury of a croissant. The baker, a kind woman, gives him a free cake, which Jean enjoys with delight. A few steps away, the little chimney sweep, struck by the suspicious behaviour of two individuals, follows them, spies on them and discovers their plot: to rob the bakery. As soon as they climb through the window, little Jean quickly secures the shutters with strong ropes, enters the shop and locks the door to the room where the two thieves are operating. The burglars, trapped, take refuge, one in the chimney, the other in the kneading trough. And it is black as coal and white as a baker's boy that they are caught by the police and taken to the station, thanks to the little chimney sweep, who has paid his debt of gratitude with interest.

Sources: Fondation-Jerome Seydoux - Pathe and IMDb.

Casablanca (1942)

Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942), starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, is one of the greatest films in history. The romantic drama is based on the play 'Everybody Comes to Rick's' (1940), written by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison, from whom Warner Brothers purchased the rights. Although the production was an A-list film with well-known stars and first-rate writers, no one involved expected the film to be a big success. Warner rushed the film into release to take advantage of the publicity from the Allied invasion of North Africa a few weeks earlier. Casablanca became a surprise success and went on to win the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Now, Casablanca is a classic and the lead characters, several quotes, and the theme song 'As Time Goes By' have all become iconic.


French postcard in the Collection Magie Noire by Éditions Hazan, Paris, 1990, no. 6224. Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942).


German postcard by Pwc-Verlag, München (Munich) from the Prestel-book 'Fashion in Film. Claude Rains, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Henreid and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942). Caption: Costumes by Orri-Kelly.


Vintage postcard. Sydney Greenstreet and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942).

The beginning of a beautiful friendship

Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) was based on an unproduced stage play, 'Everybody Comes to Rick's', written by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Burnett, an American Jew, inherited a considerable sum of money from an uncle in 1938 and decided to use it to visit his wife's family in Europe. In the summer of that year, the couple travelled to Antwerp. Once there, the young American was asked to go to Vienna to help his family. After the Anschluss, Viennese Jews were forbidden to take valuable possessions with them if they wanted to leave the country. At the American consulate, he was strongly advised against this since he himself was also Jewish. Burnett was given a pin with the Stars and Stripes and urged not to set foot on the streets of Austria without wearing that symbol visibly. In Vienna, he was horrified to see how the Nazis were discriminating against and humiliating Jews. The Burnetts managed to smuggle a large quantity of valuables out of the country by carrying them on their bodies. Frances, Murray's wife, wore a fur coat in the middle of summer, and Murray wore expensive rings on every finger.

Later, he visited a nightclub in the south of France, where he encountered not only an African-American pianist, but also visitors of various nationalities. He incorporated his experiences into the play. The character Ilsa was then still called Lois Meredith. Lois meets Laszlo after her affair with Rick in Paris. At this point, Rick is not yet a nightclub owner but a lawyer. The script circulated among various studios, and opinions about its quality varied. Film analyst Stephen Karnot of Warner Bros. called it ‘intellectual pretentiousness’. Samuel Marx of MGM offered the writers $5,000, but was overruled by his boss, Louis B. Mayer. Despite Karnot's negative opinion, Warner Bros. bought the rights anyway. Jack Warner was persuaded by Irene Lee of the screenplay department to buy the rights for $20,000 in January 1942. That was the highest amount paid for the rights to a play that had not yet been produced.

Æneas MacKenzie and Wally Kline wrote the first version of the script. After six weeks, they disappeared, and the twins Julius and Philip Epstein took over. They were responsible for fleshing out the character of Renault and Rick's background. To make it plausible that Rick had retreated to Casablanca and had not reported for duty in the American army, they set the events before the attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941. They also changed Rick's background. He was no longer a lawyer, but a nightclub owner with a vague past. The reason why Rick cannot return to the US is not made clear in the film. The Epsteins admitted that they could not come up with a reason either, so in the end, they deliberately kept the reason vague. The brothers were also responsible for adding more comical elements. After a while, Howard Koch was brought in as an additional writer. He also wrote the screenplay, but separately from the Epsteins. He added more political and melodramatic elements. Casey Robinson and Lenore J. Coffee were hired for a few weeks to rewrite the different versions. Robinson also assisted in writing a number of scenes between Ilsa and Rick in the nightclub. Robinson and Coffee are not credited in the film, however. One of the things that the screenwriters copied wholesale from the play is the Vichy France transit papers, which play such an important role. In reality, these papers did not exist at all.

Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) is set in December 1941 in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, which is controlled by the Vichy government of France. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) runs a famous nightclub with a casino here: 'Rick's Café Américain'. The nightclub attracts a varied clientele, including Vichy French and German officials, refugees desperate to reach the still-neutral United States, and those who prey on them. Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, he ran guns to Ethiopia in 1935 and fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. One day, a petty crook, Ugarte (Peter Lorre), enters Rick's with travel documents that allow the bearer to travel freely around German-occupied Europe and to neutral Portugal. He gives the papers, obtained by murdering two German couriers, to Rick for safekeeping. Ugarte is then arrested by police commander Louis Renault (Claude Rains) and dies in his cell. No one now knows that Rick has the valuable documents. Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) then appear in the café. Ilsa sees Rick's friend and house pianist Sam (Dooley Wilson) and asks him to play ‘As Time Goes By’. Rick storms over to him, furious that Sam has ignored his order never to play that song again, and is then stunned to see Ilsa again. Ilsa is Rick's former lover from Paris, and Victor is a Czechoslovak resistance leader on the run. They desperately need these papers to flee to neutral Portugal and then to the United States.

German Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt) knows about the plan and comes to the café to prevent the transfer, making clear arrangements with police chief Louis Renault. The latter then closes the popular nightclub for two weeks due to illegal gambling. Rick now finds himself in conflict: he can give Victor and Ilsa the papers so that they can flee, he can seduce Ilsa and persuade her to leave for America with him, or he can sell the papers for a lot of money. Rick must choose between love and duty. When the café is empty, Ilsa demands the papers at gunpoint. Rick denies having them, and Ilsa does not dare to shoot. She then confesses that she is still in love with him. She explains that when they met and fell in love in Paris, she believed her husband had been killed while attempting to escape from a concentration camp. When she learned that Laszlo was alive and in hiding, she left Rick without explanation to nurse her sick husband. Rick sells his nightclub to Signor Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet), an underworld figure and Rick's friendly business rival, and withdraws his plan. Victor is then arrested by police commander Renault. However, Rick manages to persuade Renault to release Victor for the time being, so that he can be arrested later for possession of the travel documents. When Victor has the papers, and Renault wants to arrest him again, Rick manages to prevent this by threatening him with a gun. The four of them drive to the airport. When Major Heinrich Strasser appears at the airport, Rick shoots him dead. As Ilsa and Victor's plane departs, Louis shows another side of himself. He suggests to Rick that they leave for Brazzaville together to join the French resistance there. As they walk away into the fog, Rick says, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."


French postcard in the Collection Cinema by Editions Art & Scene, Paris, 1994, no. CA 86. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942).


Chinese postcard. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 136-32. Photo: The Ludlow Collection. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942).


American postcard by Ludlow Sales, New York, NY, no. FC-91. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.

Here's looking at you, kid

Woody Allen paid tribute to Casablanca in Play It Again, Sam (Herbert Ross, 1972) which he also wrote, based on his own 1969 Broadway play of the same name. Allen played a recently divorced film critic, Allan Felix, who identifies with the film Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) and the character Rick Blaine. ’Play it again, Sam' became the most famous quote from the film. However, these words are never said in the film. Ilsa says to pianist Sam: "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake". Rick later says, "You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!" But nowhere does anyone say, "Play it again, Sam". Six quotes from the film were added to the American Film Institute's top 100 film quotes. This is the highest number of quotes from a single film. The quotes are: "Here's looking at you, kid", "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship", "I stick my neck out for nobody", "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine", "Round up the usual suspects" and "We'll always have Paris". The line "Here's looking at you, kid", said four times in the film, comes from Bogart himself. He had used it before in films. Rumour has it that he often said the phrase to Ingrid Bergman as she played poker with her English coach and hairdresser between takes. The music was written by Max Steiner, but the song 'As Time Goes By' by Herman Hupfeld had been part of the story from the original play. The song enjoyed a resurgence after the release of Casablanca, spending 21 weeks on the hit parade.

Humphrey Bogart was producer Hal B. Wallis' logical choice for the role of Rick. Earlier, Jack Warner had offered the role to George Raft, but he had declined. When Wallis chose Bogart, Raft became interested in the role after all and tried to persuade Jack Warner to choose him. However, Warner stood by his producer, and the role went to Bogart. There were no other candidates. Joan Alison, one of the writers of 'Everybody Comes to Rick's', disagreed with the choice of Bogart, whom she considered a drunkard. She would have preferred Clark Gable. Ingrid Bergman was also the first choice for the role of Ilsa from the outset. Unlike Bogart, she did have competition. Actresses Edwige Feuillère, Michèle Morgan and Tamara Toumanova were also in the running for the role. Bergman was under contract with producer David O. Selznick, who was preparing her for the lead role in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943), which was to be released in 1943. Hal B. Wallis sent the Epstein brothers to Selznick to persuade him to loan Bergman. Selznick agreed when he was given an explanation of the script. What probably helped was that Warner Bros. loaned Olivia de Havilland to Selznick.

Many of the extras and actors who played Germans in the film were German Jews who had fled Germany or Germans who opposed the Nazi regime. Conrad Veidt, who played Major Heinrich Strasser, was also anti-Nazi. He had to flee Germany in the 1930s because the SS wanted to kill him. For his role in the film, he was paid £25,000 for five weeks of filming. This made him the highest-paid actor in Casablanca. Ferrari and Ugarte were played by Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, a duo who would later become known as ‘Little Pete-Big Syd’. Lorre had previously worked with Bogart and Greenstreet, and Koch had great confidence in his acting skills. He regretted that Lorre's role was so small. The role of pianist Sam was played by drummer Dooley Wilson. Wilson could not play the piano, so he imitated the hand movements of pianist Elliot Carpenter. Since the music was recorded at the same time as the film was shot, Carpenter was hidden behind a curtain, but in such a way that Wilson could see him. Incidentally, it was a close call whether the role of Sam would have been played by a woman. Producer Wallis considered hiring Hazel Scott, Lena Horne or Ella Fitzgerald.

Almost all of the scenes were shot at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, where Rick's café was recreated. The set designers based the décor on the real Hotel El Minzah in Tangier. This was the only set that was built especially for the film. All other sets, such as the streets of Casablanca and Paris, were existing sets for the film The Desert Song (Robert Florey, 1943) that were adapted. For the train station in Paris, a set from the film Now, Voyager (Irving Rapper, 1942) was used. The reason for the reuse was a construction freeze imposed by the government in connection with the war. Some stock footage was used for the scenes set in Paris. The final scene of the film, where Rick, Ilsa and Laszlo board the plane, is famous for the fog, which gives the scene the right atmosphere. However, the fog was a trick to conceal the fact that the plane, a Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior, was actually a smaller cardboard replica. Lilliputians were used to give the illusion that the plane was larger than it actually was. The only scene shot outside the studio was Major Strasser's arrival at the airport. This was done at what was then called Metropolitan Airport, now known as Van Nuys Airport, near Los Angeles. When filming had ended and post-production was underway, American troops landed in North Africa. On 8 November 1942, Casablanca was captured. The film itself would not premiere until the spring of 1943. There was a brief attempt to mention the invasion in the film, but the studio bosses did not think this was a good idea. A preview screening showed that the film was so well put together that no changes were necessary.

Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) received good reviews and was a substantial, but not spectacular, box-office success. In the decades since its release, the film has grown in reputation. Casablanca has remained popular ever since and ranks high in IMDb's top 250. Film critics praise the charismatic acting of Bogart and Bergman, who work exceptionally well together, the deep characterisation, the skilful direction, the witty dialogue and the emotional impact of the work as a whole. The film was nominated for eight Oscars in 1943, winning three: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay based on a novel. The film poster was created by American graphic designer Bill Gold in 1942, when he was still working for Warner Bros. in New York. The poster was initially rejected because it was not provocative enough, so he depicted the main character with a gun in his hand. In 1989, the United States Library of Congress selected the film as one of the first for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Roger Ebert: "Seeing the film over and over again, year after year, I find it never grows over-familiar. It plays like a favorite musical album; the more I know it, the more I like it. The black-and-white cinematography has not aged as color would. The dialogue is so spare and cynical that it has not grown old-fashioned. Much of the emotional effect of Casablanca is achieved by indirection; as we leave the theater, we are absolutely convinced that the only thing keeping the world from going crazy is that the problems of three little people do after all amount to more than a hill of beans."


American postcard by Ludlow Sales, New York, NY, no. FC-128-50. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942).


French postcard by Sonis, no. B. 15. Photo: Warner Bros Pictures. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942).


American A poster by Warner Bros for Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942). Design: Bill Gold.


Dutch poster postcard by Eye Filmmuseum for the Dutch re-release of Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942). French poster by Warner Bros.

Sources: Roger Ebert (RogerEbert.com), Wikipedia (English and Dutch) and IMDb.