Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh (1960) is a Northern Irish actor and film director, famous for his film adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays.


British postcard by NT (National Theatre), no. NT142. Photo: Manuel Harlan. Kenneth Branagh in 'Edmond' (2003) by David Mamet at the Olivier Theatre.


French collector card by Edito-Service S.A., no. D2 482 48-03. Kenneth Branagh as Henry V in Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1990).

Kem, Em and Will

Kenneth Charles Branagh was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1960. His parents were William Branagh, a plumber and carpenter, and Frances (Harper). He is the middle of three children, with an older brother and a younger sister. When he was nine, his family moved to Reading, England.

At the age of eighteen, Branagh began studying at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1980, RADA's principal Hugh Cruttwell asked Branagh to perform a soliloquy from 'Hamlet' for Queen Elizabeth II during one of her visits to the academy. Branagh's first film appearance was as an uncredited role as a Cambridge student in the sports drama Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981). After completing his studies, Branagh made his West End debut in 1982.

The following year, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his role as Judd in Julian Mitchell's 'Another Country'. At 23, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he took on starring roles in 'Henry V' and 'Romeo and Juliet'. The 1984 production of 'Henry V', directed by Adrian Noble, played to sold-out audiences at the Barbican in the City of London. He found the RSC too large and impersonal, and in 1987, he co-founded the Renaissance Theatre Company with David Parfitt. It was here that he met his first wife, Emma Thompson. In 1992, the Renaissance Theatre Company was disbanded when he moved more fully into filmmaking. Branagh found his first leading film role as James Moon, a homosexual ex-army officer, in A Month in the Country (Pat O'Connor, 1987), with Colin Firth, also in his first major role.

At 29, Branagh made his directorial debut with the Shakespeare adaptation Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989). The film boasted a dream cast, featuring Branagh and Thompson, but also Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Briers and Judi Dench. Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times liked the result: "Branagh is not yet 30, and yet already the publicity machines are groaning to make him into the 'new Olivier'. Before his Henry V, he had made only one other movie (he was the sunburned young husband in High Season), but he has triumphed on the London stage in such talismanic roles as Jimmy Porter in Osborne’s 'Look Back in Anger', and his stock could not be higher. It was a risk to make this film, and it could have been a disastrous failure, but instead it is a success. That it is not a triumph is because Branagh the director is not yet as good as Branagh the actor. He knows better how to play Henry V than how to get him on and off the screen, and his pacing could be improved. The film begins slowly, bogs down in the seemingly endless battle scenes and then drags to its conclusion through Henry’s endlessly protracted and coy courtship of Katherine.

Henry V brought Branagh international fame, and he was nominated for Oscars for Best Director and Best Actor. Emma Thompson went on to star in all of Branagh’s films until their divorce in 1995. Their second film, the Neo Noir Dead Again (Kenneth Branagh, 1991), was again a critical and commercial success. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear. Although his third film, the comedy-drama Peter’s Friends (Kenneth Branagh, 1992), was a disappointment, his second Shakespeare adaptation, Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branagh, 1993), more than made up for it. It featured an all-star cast that included Branagh and Thompson, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton and Keanu Reeves. The film premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. In 1994, a biography was released, 'Ken & Em: A Biography of Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson' by Ian Shuttleworth.


British postcard in the Royal Shakespeare Company Series 6, no. 183. Photo: Stephen Macmillan. Kenneth Branagh as Henry V in 'Henry V', Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1984.


Canadian postcard by Canadian Postcard, no. A-250. Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Robert Sean Leonard and Kenneth Branagh in Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branagh, 1993).


Canadian postcard by Canadian Postcard, no. A-369. Kenneth Branagh, John Gielgud and Derek Jacobi in Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh, 1996).

A stunning portrayal of Laurence Olivier

Kenneth Branagh’s career hit a low point when he directed and starred as Victor Frankenstein in the big-budget adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic Horror novel 'Frankenstein'. Producer Francis Ford Coppola had originally planned to direct the film as a companion piece to his Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992), but eventually stepped back to let Branagh direct. Coppola later regretted his decision after several disagreements with Branagh during filming. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh, 1994), co-starring Robert De Niro as the monster and Helena Bonham Carter as Elizabeth, received very poor reviews. His extramarital affair with Bonham Carter during the shoot ultimately precipitated his divorce from Emma Thompson in 1995.

Two years later, he made a comeback with another lavish Shakespeare adaptation, Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh, 1996). The film ran for four hours and, alongside Branagh as Hamlet, featured Kate Winslet, Derek Jacobi and Julie Christie, but also unusual suspects such as Charlton Heston and Jack Lemmon. Roger Ebert praised Branagh: "His Hamlet is long but not slow, deep but not difficult, and it vibrates with the relief of actors who have great things to say, and the right ways to say them. And in the 70-mm. version, it has a visual clarity that is breathtaking. It is the first uncut film version of Shakespeare’s most challenging tragedy, the first 70-mm. film since Far and Away in 1992, and at 238 minutes the second-longest major Hollywood production (one minute shorter than Cleopatra). Branagh’s Hamlet lacks the narcissistic intensity of Laurence Olivier’s (in the 1948 Academy Award winner), but the film as a whole is better, placing Hamlet in the larger context of royal politics, and making him less a subject for pity.

Towards the end of the 20th century, several films with Branagh either attracted poor box-office takings or were not well received by critics. The only commercial hit was the action comedy Wild Wild West (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1999) in which Branagh took on the role of the villain opposite the ‘good guys’ Will Smith and Kevin Kline. However, according to some critics, Branagh was the only good thing about the film. For the BBC, he provided the narration for the nature documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs (Tim Haines, Jasper James, 1999) and its sequel, Walking with Beasts (Jasper James, Nigel Paterson, 2001). In 2001, Branagh won an Emmy for his leading role as SS leader Reinhard Heydrich in the television film Conspiracy (Frank Pierson, 2001) about the Wannsee Conference. The following year, he appeared in the Australian drama Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, 2002). He played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus, 2002).

Later that decade, he played Major General Henning von Tresckow in Valkyrie (Bryan Singer, 2008), starring Tom Cruise, and he parodied government officer Tony Benn in the comedy The Boat That Rocked (Richard Curtis, 2009) about pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. In 2009, Branagh was nominated for an Emmy Award for the title role in Wallander (2008-2015), based on the Swedish detective novels by Henning Mankell. He gave a stunning portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (Simon Curtis, 2011). His great performance was nominated for an Academy Award. Branagh directed and starred as the Belgian master detective Hercule Poirot in three popular Agatha Christie adaptations, Murder on the Orient Express (Kenneth Branagh, 2017), Death on the Nile (Kenneth Branagh, 2022), and A Haunting in Venice (Kenneth Branagh, 2023).

He frequently works with director Christopher Nolan and played supporting roles in Nolan's blockbusters Dunkirk (2017), Tenet (2020) and Oppenheimer (2023). In 2018, he finally portrayed William Shakespeare himself in the film All Is True, which he also directed. For his semi-autobiographical film Belfast (2021), he was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, and won Best Original Screenplay. Kenneth Branagh has been nominated for an Oscar eight times – twice for Best Director and once each for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Producer, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Short Film. In 2012, he was made a Knight of the British Empire, a title that carries the honour of ‘Sir’. Branagh was married to Emma Thompson from 1989 to 1995. He then entered into a relationship with Helena Bonham Carter, which lasted several years. In 2003, he married art director Lindsay Brunnock. He has no children from either of his marriages.


Dutch poster postcard. Poster for Peter's Friends (Kenneth Branagh, 1992) with Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Imelda Staunton.


Vintage poster postcard by Memory Card, no. 107. Design: Castle Rock / Turner. Spanish poster for Kenneth Branagh, Laurence Fisbburne and Irene Jacob in Othello (Oliver Parker, 1995).


French poster postcard by Carte à Pub. Poster: UGC / Castle Rock / Turner. Kenneth Branagh in Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh, 1996).

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

Warren William

American actor Warren William (1894-1948) was the 'King of pre-Production Code talkies'. Possessing a rich, deep speaking voice, he was a natural for the sound film. William was superb as the unequalled villain who lusts after every young lady he comes across. However, he is best remembered as the stuffy, wealthy lawyer who, against his better judgment, falls for Joan Blondell in Gold Diggers of 1933. He also played criminal lawyer Perry Mason and amateur sleuth The Lone Wolf in a series of 'second feature' programmers of the 1930s.


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 985. Photo: Paramount. Warren William as Julius Caesar in Cleopatra (Cecil B. DeMille, 1934).


British Real Photograph postcard, no. 90. Photo: Warner Bros & Vitaphone Pictures.


British postcard in the Film Weekly Series, London.

Hard-nosed, sometimes amoral businessmen, lawyers and outright charlatans

Warren William Krech was born in 1894 (some sources say 1895) in Aitken, Minnesota. The son of a publisher, he initially wanted to become a journalist. He abandoned this plan and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts to become an actor. As his senior year at AADA was coming to an end, the United States had entered the First World War, and William served as a soldier. He was assigned from base to base, in charge of training new men at various locations.

In 1918 was assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey, near New York City. During this period, he met his future wife, Helen Barbara Nelson, who was 17 years his elder. After the war ended, William appeared in his first Broadway play in 1920. He soon made a name for himself in New York. Between 1920 and 1931, he appeared in more than 20 plays on Broadway, including the H.G. Wells play 'The Wonderful Visit' (1924).

In New York, he also acted in two silent films, The Town That Forgot God (Harry F. Millarde, 1922) and the serial Plunder (George B. Seitz, 1923) starring Pearl White in her last serial. In 1931, William moved from New York City to Hollywood. He made the transition to sound film with Honour of the Family (Lloyd Bacon, 1931), an adaptation of Honoré de Balzac's novel 'Cousin Pons' with Bebe Daniels.

In the midst of the Great Depression, he began as a contract player at Warner Bros. and quickly became a major Hollywood star. His breakthrough role was a district attorney who quits for the other side of the law, defending mobsters before a last-reel conversion in The Mouthpiece (James Flood, Elliott Nugent, 1932).

During the ‘Pre-Code era’ (1930-1934), American feature films often tackled controversial themes such as sexuality, violence and addiction. In these films, Warren William typically portrayed hard-nosed, sometimes amoral businessmen, lawyers and outright charlatans. Looking back at his career in 2011, The Village Voice christened him 'The King of Pre-Code', as it was during this era that he played his most significant film roles.


Dutch flyer, part 2. Photo: Warner Bros / First National Pictures. Loretta Young, Warren William and Alice White in Employees' Entrance (Roy Del Ruth, 1933).


Dutch flyer, part 3. Photo: Warner Bros / First National Pictures. Loretta Young and Warren William in Employees' Entrance (Roy Del Ruth, 1933).


Dutch postcard promoting a visit to the American epic Cleopatra (Cecil B. DeMille, 1934), starring Claudette Colbert (Cleopatra), Henry Wilcoxon (Marc Anthony) and Warren William (Julius Caesar). However, the guy on the right on this card is not Wilcoxon but Cleopatra's rival Pothinos (Leonard Mudie).

An investigating detective or a shady suspect

A striking example of Warren William's typical roles is the sadistic managing director in Employees’ Entrance (Roy Del Ruth, 1933), who steers his company through the economic crisis using heavy-handed methods. However, despite their detachment, his characters could also become likeable figures, such as the friendly gangster ‘Dave the Duke’ in Capra’s comedy Lady for a Day (Frank Capra, 1933), or the cynical but ultimately good-natured millionaire in the musical classic The Gold Diggers of 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933).


He played Julius Caesar in Cecil B. DeMille’s historical film Cleopatra (1934) alongside Claudette Colbert, with whom he also starred in the original version of the melodrama Imitation of Life (John M. Stahl, 1934). Between 1934 and 1936, he portrayed defence lawyer Perry Mason in four films. William also appeared in several whodunit films, either as an investigating detective or as a shady suspect.

When the Hays Code was introduced in Hollywood in 1934, there was an increasing demand for family-friendly entertainment. Warren William’s star began to fade rapidly. In the second half of the 1930s, he was cast in leading roles almost exclusively in B-grade crime films. He played a Raffles-like reformed jewel thief, The Lone Wolf, in nine films, beginning with The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (Peter Godfrey, 1939), and appeared as Detective Philo Vance in two of the series films, The Dragon Murder Case (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1934) and the comedic The Gracie Allen Murder Case (Alfred E. Green, 1939).

He also starred as Sam Spade (renamed Ted Shane) opposite Bette Davis in Satan Met a Lady (William Dieterle, 1936), the second screen version of 'The Maltese Falcon'. Among his more notable roles from this later period were a jealous district attorney in the James Whale film, Wives Under Suspicion (James Whale, 1938), the swashbuckling musketeer Charles d’Artagnan in Whale's The Man in the Iron Mask (James Whale, 1939), and the role of a scientist in the classic Werewolf film The Wolf Man (George Waggner, 1941), starring Claude Rains. B-movie director Edgar G. Ulmer cast him as a cunning, highly dangerous murderer in the stylish Film Noir Strange Illusion (1945).

In 1947, William made the last of his 65 films. He played Laroche-Mathieu in The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (Albert Lewin, 1947), starring George Sanders. Due to his deteriorating health, he was unable to work for most of 1947. In 1948, Warren William died of cancer in Encino, California, at just 53. In 1923, the actor had married Helen Barbara Nelson, and remained married to her until his death. His wife Helen was to die only a few months later. William’s ashes were scattered into Long Island Sound. Unlike his unscrupulous screen characters, William was frequently described as friendly and shy. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1559 Vine Street is dedicated in his honour.


British postcard by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Warren William as Julius Caesar and Claudette Colbert as Cleopatra in Cleopatra (Cecil B. DeMille, 1934).


British postcard in the Film-Kurier Series, London, no. 24. Photo: First National Pictures.


Vintage postcard.


British postcard by Film Weekly.

Sources: Jon C. Hepwood (IMDb), Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.

Lola Flores

Lola Flores (1923-1995) was a Spanish singer, flamenco dancer and actress. She was also known as 'La Faraona' (the Pharaoh’s Wife). Flores performed in more than 35 films, often as a gypsy in Andalusian folklore.


Spanish postcard by Suevia Films / Cesáreo González. Photo: Gómez Sanz.


Spanish postcard, no. 2472.


Spanish postcard. Photo: Juan Gyenes.

The largest contract for a performing artist in Spanish history

Lola Flores was born María Dolores Flores Ruiz in 1923 in the ‘Gypsy quarter’ of San Miguel in Jerez de la Frontera in the province of Cádiz. As a girl, she danced and sang in the tavern run by her father, Pedro Flores, 'El Comino'. Her mother, María del Rosario Ruiz Rodríguez, was a dressmaker. Lola was one quarter gypsy through her maternal grandfather. She learned to dance with María Pantoja and to understand flamenco with Sebastián Nuñez.

By the age of twelve, she was already known as a dancer in local artistic circles. Later, she sang songs by her great idols, Concha Piquer and Estrellita Castro. In 1939, at the age of 16, Flores made her official debut after the end of the Civil War at the Teatro Villamarta de Jerez in the production ‘Luces de España’. Alongside the dance duo Rafael Ortega and Custodia Marchena, and the guitarist Melchor de Marchena, she sang ‘Bautizá con manzanilla’.

The graceful dancer enjoyed her greatest successes with the flamenco singer Manolo Caracol, who possessed a rough Gitano voice and with whom she worked as an artistic duo until their separation in 1951. Together, in 1943, they staged the show 'Zambra', which was so successful that further productions under the same title followed until 1949. In 1958, she married the gypsy singer, guitarist and composer Antonio González Batista, who became a leading figure in Catalan rumba under his stage name El Pescaílla. The couple had three children, all of whom became singers: Dolores Lolita, Antonio (1961–1995) and Rosario.

In 1939, Lola Flores was discovered by film director Fernando Mignoni, and she moved to Madrid to pursue a professional career in music and film. Her film debut was the lead role in Martingala (Fernando Mignoni, 1940). One of her most remarkable films is Embrujo / Spell (Carlos Serrano de Osma, 1947), a musical drama starring Manolo Caracol, who was her boyfriend at the time.

In 1951, she signed a contract with Suevia Films for 6 million pesetas. It was the largest contract for a performing artist in Spanish history. The contract included cinema, TV, theatre and also a tour throughout America. For Suevia Films, she starred in major productions like La Niña de la Venta / The Girl at the Inn (Ramón Torrado, 1951), ¡Ay, Pena, Penita, Pena! / Oh Pain, Little Pain, Pain (Miguel Morayta, 1953) and La Danza de los Deseos / The Dance of Desires (Florián Rey, 1954).


Spanish card by Omega.


Spanish collector card in the series D Snevia, no. 42.

A Spanish pop culture icon

Lola Flores also starred in another classic, Morena Clara (Luis Lucia, 1954) with Fernando Fernán Gómez. It is a remake of the popular 1934 film. She appeared with Gustavo Rojo in María de la O (Ramón Torrado, 1958). In Mexico, she appeared in the dramas La Faraona (René Cardona, 1956) and Sueños de oro (Miguel Zacarías, 1958). Her film El Balcón de la Luna / The Balcony of the Moon (Luis Saslavsky, 1962) with Carmen Sevilla and Paquita Rico spawned the signature songs 'A tu Vera' and '¡Ay, Pena, Penita, Pena!'.

Its critical and commercial failure illustrated the declining popularity of the Andalusian musical, which had been one of the most popular Spanish genres of the 1950s. However, till 1987, Flores demonstrated her fiery temperament and stage presence in various films, in which she usually played a ‘gypsy’. An exception was the comedy Juana la Loca... de vez en cuando (José Ramón Larraz, 1983) in which she played Joanna of Castile, Queen of Spain.

From the 1950s onwards, Lola Flores became acquainted with many prominent figures. In her public appearances, she spoke freely about topics considered taboo, such as violence against women, extramarital affairs and prostitution. She was a supporter and personal acquaintance of the dictator Francisco Franco, who liked to present himself as having a taste for folk music. She still held this view as late as December 1970, when she remarked on Spanish radio that ‘[Franco has] a very noble and kind heart’.

In 1990, she was honoured at a tribute concert in Miami, attended by her friends Celia Cruz and Rocío Jurado, and the singer Julio Iglesias. Flores died of breast cancer in 1995 in La Moraleja, a district of Alcobendas in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, at the age of 72. Following a ceremonial lying-in-state at the Centro Cultural de la Villa in Madrid, she was buried at the Cementerio de la Almudena in Madrid. Around 300,000 people attended her funeral, including numerous prominent figures from all walks of life. Fourteen days after her death, her son Antonio passed away at the age of 33. He was laid to rest alongside his mother.

In 2007, the biopic Lola, la película (Miguel Hermoso, 2007) was made, which describes her early life from 1931 until 1958. In 2023, the Centro cultural Lola Flores was opened in her hometown of Jerez de la Frontera to mark her 100th birthday. The museum displays her awards, dresses (including her wedding dress) and jewellery. Her daughters, grandchildren and her sister Carmen Flores were present at the opening. Wikipedia: "Her strong personality, recognisable image, remarkable professional trajectory and sometimes controversial personal life have turned Flores into a Spanish pop culture icon."


Spanish postcard.


Spanish postcard.

Sources: Wikipedia (German, Spanish and English) and IMDb.

Ralph Graves

American actor, screenwriter and film director Ralph Graves (1900–1977) appeared in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1949. After having acted in late 1910s and early 1920s films by e.g. Maurice Tourneur, D.W. Griffith, and Raoul Walsh, he had his ill-fated directorial debut with the Howard Hughes-produced comedy Swell Hogan (1926). He became one of Frank Capra's favourite actors in the late silent and early sound era, often paired with Jack Holt. His films include Rich Men's Sons (1927), Submarine (1928), Flight (1929), and Ticket to a Crime (1934).


British postcard in the Pictures Portrait Gallery, no. 11-216.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 441

His striking looks resonated with audiences

Ralph Graves was born Ralph Taylor Horsburgh in 1900 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the son of John Taylor Horsburgh, the manager of a forging company, and his wife Lillian Graves. Ralph's parents eventually divorced, and as a young man he entered a contest sponsored by Universal Pictures. That proved to be his entry into the movies. In 1918, Ralph began working for Essanay in Chicago when he was only 17 years old. He used his mother's surname.

One of his first films was the drama Sporting Life (Maurice Tourneur, 1918), co-starring the sisters Faire Binney and Constance Binney, from the Broadway stage. Tourneur also directed him in The White Heather (Maurice Tourneur, 1919), starring Holmes Herbert and Ben Alexander. His striking looks resonated with audiences. He also appeared in Marshall Neilan's drama Her Kingdom of Dreams (Marshall Neilan, 1919) starring Anita Stewart.

D. W. Griffith directed him three times: in the Western Scarlet Days (1919) starring Richard Barthelmess, the drama The Greatest Question (1919) starring Lillian Gish and Bobby Harron, and the drama Dream Street (1921) with Carol Dempster. Graves also worked with Raoul Walsh on the drama Kindred of the Dust (1921), co-starring with Walsh's wife, Miriam Cooper. During filming, Cooper accidentally gazed into a stage light, causing her permanent eye damage that lasted until the end of her life. The film was one of Cooper's last films as she retired in 1923.

In the societal drama Prodigal Daughters (Sam Wood, 1923), Graves was the leading man of Gloria Swanson. In 1923, he began a three-year contract with Mack Sennett, appearing opposite Mabel Normand in The Extra Girl (F. Richard Jones, 1924). Between 1924 and 1926, he starred in his own series of 22 two-reel comedies for Sennett.

Graves wrote, directed, and starred in Swell Hogan (1926). That film was produced by Howard Hughes, whose father had once supported the young actor in the early stages of his career by placing him on the payroll of the Hughes Tool Company between screen assignments, even though Graves never actually worked there. Graves and the younger Hughes met on the Wilshire Country Club golf course, and over lunch the actor pitched the film about a Bowery bum who adopts a baby. The plot intrigued Hughes, who had a strong interest in Hollywood, and he invested $40,000 in the project. During filming, he sat on the sidelines to familiarise himself with the technical aspects of production. The budget eventually doubled, and after seeing the completed film numerous times, Hughes hired Dorothy Arzner to help him re-edit it, but there was little they could do to salvage it. Reportedly, the film was so bad that Hughes burned it. According to Wikipedia, Graves later claimed he and Hughes had engaged in a sexual relationship while collaborating on Swell Hogan.


Italian postcard, no. 132. Renée Adorée and Ralph Graves. They co-starred in Blarney (Marcel De Sano, 1926). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


Vintage collector card. Photo: Columbia. Jack Holt, Lila Lee and Ralph Graves in War Correspondent (Paul Sloane, 1932).

Working with Frank Capra and Jack Holt

Despite this temporary setback, Ralph Graves directed four more films in 1927 and contributed the story or wrote the screenplay for 12 additional films, but most of his career was spent acting. While working for Mack Sennett, Graves had met Frank Capra. The young director cast him opposite Viola Dana in the comedy That Certain Thing (Frank Capra, 1928). It was Capra's first film for Harry Cohn's Columbia Pictures.

Capra later cast Graves in several films, including Columbia's second sound feature Submarine (Frank Capra, 1928) with Jack Holt, and Flight (Frank Capra, 1929), with Holt and Lila Lee, and based on a story by Graves. He worked steadily through the 1930s, in such films as Ladies of Leisure (Frank Capra, 1930), Dirigible (Frank Capra, 1931), the sports drama Huddle (Sam Wood, 1932) with Ramon Novarro, and the mystery Ticket to a Crime (Lewis D. Collins, 1934)

Graves co-starred with many of the era's leading ladies, including Anita Page, Barbara Stanwyck and Fay Wray. From the mid-1930s, he acted primarily at lesser studios, and more sporadically so through the 1940s. His last job in the industry was in Joe Palooka and the Counterpunch (Reginald LeBorg, 1949) for Monogram featuring Leon Errol. After this, he retired from the business and dabbled in real estate.

His first wife, actress Marjorie Seaman, died very young in 1923. He married his second wife, Virginia Goodwin, in 1928. They had a child, but divorced in 1932. His third wife was actress Betty Flournoy. They married in 1934, had two children and remained together till his death. In 1938, their infant daughter was asphyxiated in the mosquito netting on her carriage. Ralph Graves died in 1977 in Santa Barbara, California, USA. He was 76.

In his book 'Silent Topics: Undocumented Areas of Silent Film', Anthony Slide writes about Graves' bisexuality: "A drunken Ralph Graves once revealed to me [Slide] that he had bedded a number of male personalities in the 'teens and 1920s: "I was a young male; I'd been in bed a couple of times with a number of fairies. Noel Coward came to my house, loved it, and said he didn't like Hollywood faggots. He knew I was one thing. And Somerset Maugham."


British postcard in the Film Partners series, London, no. PC 18. Ralph Graves and Joan Marsh.


Belgian postcard by Ed. Weekblad 'Cinema', Antwerp.

Sources: Trav S.D. (Travalanche), Harold Aherne a.o. (Nitrateville), Leo James (Find A Grave), Wikipedia and IMDb.

William Bendix

Jut-jawed, broken-nosed and burly, William Bendix (1906–1964) was a versatile American character actor, known for his portrayals of rough, blue-collar characters, both genial lugs and vicious thugs. In ten films, he was the co-star of Alan Ladd. He gained significant recognition for his role in Wake Island (1942), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Bendix also portrayed baseball legend Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story (1948), but his best dramatic role was Gus, the wounded and dying shipwreck survivor in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944).


Dutch postcard, no. 19. Photo: Universal / J. Arthur Rank Organisation. William Bendix in White Tie and Tails (Charles Barton, 1946).


Spanish postcard by JOCABA, no. 3572. Photo: Universal.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W 574. Photo: Warner.

Film debut at Vitagraph at age 5

William Bendix was not a son of Brooklyn, New York, although because of his stereotypical 'Brooklyn accent', many people thought that he was. Bendix was actually born in 1906 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. He was the son of musician Oscar Bendix and his wife, Hilda Carnell. His uncle was composer, conductor, and violinist Max Bendix.

At the age of five, William made his film debut when his father got him a small role in a Lillian Walker film being made in 1911 at Vitagraph Studios, where the elder Bendix was working as a handyman. Bendix did not appear again before the cameras for 31 years.

After dropping out of high school, he worked as a bat boy for the New York Giants and Yankees. He became interested in the theatre and joined the Henry Street Players, a settlement house company. He also worked as a singing waiter.

In 1927, he married, and his father-in-law got him a job managing a grocery in New Jersey. After the ravages of the Great Depression killed his grocery business, he performed in nightclubs and portrayed taxicab drivers in a series of Broadway flops.

His work for the Federal Theatre Project led to work with the Theatre Guild. He attracted the attention of producer Cheryl Walker and appeared in six of her productions at the Theatre Guild. In 1939, he had his first notable performance on Broadway as the cop Krupp in Walker's production of William Saroyan's 'The Time of Your Life'. He was spotted in the play by Hal Roach, who signed him to a film contract.


French poster postcard in the Collection Télérama by Editions Zreik, Paris. Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd and William Bendix in The Blue Dahlia (George Marshall, 1946).


Dutch postcard by J.S.A. Photo: Universal M.P.E.. Deanna Durbin, William Bendix, Tom Drake and Adolphe Menjou in I'll Be Yours (William A. Seiter, 1947).

A star with a burly physique and Brooklyn accent

William Bendix's Hollywood debut was a starring role in Hal Roach's Brooklyn Orchid (Kurt Neumann, 1942). Within a year, he had been nominated for an Academy Award for Wake Island (John Farrow, 1942) starring Brian Donlevy. More often than not, Bendix received less than top billing in films. Because of his looks, he was often called upon to supply comedic support.

In A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Tay Garnett, 1949), he played Sir Sagramore of King Arthur's Round Table in a full suit of armour and pageboy wig. That same craggy appearance brought him roles such as the thug Jeff in the Film Noir The Glass Key (Stuart Heisler, 1942). Jeff repeatedly and gleefully uses his fists to beat star Alan Ladd's face to a pulp and then sadistically challenges Ladd, once he is healed, to come back and receive further 'treatment'.

Bendix's finest and most memorable dramatic performance came in Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock, 1944). He touchingly interprets the role of Gus, the shipwreck survivor whose gangrenous limb has to be removed despite the absence of anaesthesia. He was cast in the classic Film Noir The Blue Dahlia (George Marshall, 1946), appearing for the second time alongside Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. The film was based on Raymond Chandler's first original screenplay.

Bendix also portrayed his childhood hero, baseball legend Babe Ruth, in The Babe Ruth Story (Roy Del Ruth, 1948). He played Nick the bartender in the film version of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life (H.C. Potter, 1948) starring James Cagney. Bendix had appeared in the stage version, but in the role of Officer Krupp, played in the film by Broderick Crawford.

Bendix's burly physique and Brooklyn accent were fondly remembered for his light-comedy portrayals of factory worker Chester A. Riley in the radio show 'The Life of Riley' (1944), which ran for nine years and then became a television show, The Life of Riley (1953), which also became a huge success and ran another five seasons. Bendix also starred in the big-screen version The Life of Riley (Irving Brecher, 1949).

Bendix worked in films, television and radio up until the end of his life, but always claimed the stage was his first love. Following a stomach ailment, Bendix died at 58 from malnutrition and subsequent pneumonia. His wife of 37 years, Theresa Stefanotti, and their two daughters survived him. He was interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W 134. Photo: Paramount.


French postcard, offered by Les Carbones Korès 'Carboplane'.


Vintage postcard. Advertisement by the American Meat Institute. Illustration of William Bendix in the radio show 'The Life of Riley'. Caption: Meet "Hollywood's magnificent Mug". He makes you laugh. William Bendix in 'The Life of Riley' on the air for MEAT Blue Network every Sunday night.

Sources: Jim Beaver (IMDb), Bill Takacs (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

Published by S.I.P.

S.I.P. was an abbreviation for Société Industrielle de Photographie. This French industrial society published countless postcards in the early 20th Century. Before early 1906, the logo changed from the straight letters S.I.P. to the roundel with the big S between cards 1347 and 1372. S.I.P. published many portraits of the grand stage stars of the Belle Époque, and the design of the cards reflected the current styles of the era. We also love the collection of black-and-white cards of famous artists, which S.I.P. published for Vin Désiles. By 1914, the marque had been taken over by J. Courcier (marque JC).


French postcard by S.I.P. (Société Industrielle de Photographie). Photo: Waléry, Paris. Collection: Marlène Pilaete.

Dutch-born exotic dancer and executed spy Mata Hari (1876-1917) was an international society figure between 1905 and the First World War. She never appeared in a film, but her life was filmed several times.


French postcard by S.I.P., series 34, no. 9. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris.

Gabrielle Réjane (1856-1920) was a successful French stage actress and early silent film actress. She is most famous for her role of Catherine in Victorien Sardou's play 'Madame Sans-Gene' (1893), which she filmed twice.


French postcard by S.I.P, series 52, no. 12. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris. Sent by mail in 1902.

Around 1900, Italian soprano Lina Cavalieri (1874-1944) was considered the most beautiful woman on earth. She was famous for her hourglass-like corsets, visible in photographs and portraits by Cesare Tallone and Giovanni Boldini. Between 1914 and 1919, she starred in several American and Italian silent films.


French postcard by S.I.P., no. 342. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris. Sarah Bernhardt in 'La princesse lointaine' by Edmond Rostand, which she played for the first time in 1895, at the Renaissance Theatre in Paris. The 'Lilies' diadem for 'La Princesse lointaine' (c. 1895) was designed by Alphonse Mucha and created by René Lalique.

French vedette Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) has been referred to as 'the most famous actress in the history of the world'. She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning her the nickname 'The Divine Sarah'. Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s and was soon in high demand in both the Americas. And she was one of the first film stars. What a woman!


French postcard by S.I.P., no. 1537. Photo: Stebbing, Paris. Sent by mail in 1906.

French dancer and actress Gaby Deslys (1881-1920) (aka Gaby Delys) was an internationally celebrated - and notorious - star of the early 20th Century. She was famous for her extravagant clothes, jewels, and millinery. She had many admirers, most notably King Manuel II of Portugal, and during World War I, she reportedly worked as a spy for the French government. Before her tragic early death, she also made a series of silent films.


French postcard by S.I.P., no. 1975. Photo: Paul Boyer, Paris.

Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. In 1888, Guilbert debuted at the Varieté Theatre. In 1890, she sang at the popular Eldorado club, then at the Jardin de Paris before headlining in Montmartre at the Moulin Rouge. She stayed there for a long time and later succeeded at the Folies-Bergère for nine years. Her ingenious delivery of songs charged with risqué meaning made her famous. She also appeared in some classic silent films, including the successful serial Les deux gosses / The two kids (1924) and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's classic Faust (1926).


French postcard by S.I.P., no. 2500. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris. Sent by mail in 1909.

Miss Campton, aka Emily Campton or Aimée Campton (1882-1930), was a British-born French stage and screen actress between 1900 and 1930. Miss Campton was a fashion icon in ladies’ magazines of the Belle Epoque and was photographed as a vaudeville star by Valery, Sazerac, Cautin & Berger, Reutlinger, and Stebbing.

Popular stage performers, as well as other prominent social figures

The Société Industrielle de Photographie (S.I.P.) was a major French company engaged in the photographic and paper industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company issued countless high-quality portrait postcards of stage and musical personalities. Its main office and factory were located in Rueil in the Seine-et-Oise section of Paris and had a store in Paris at 37, Rue des Mathurins. The company published various artists' collections under the trademark S.I.P. and sold equipment, including stereoscopic systems.

The Société Industrielle de Photographie was founded in December 1898. The company published stereographs of the Exposition Universelle Paris 1900 and cards in the undivided era. The Société is first listed as a postcard publisher in the 1900 issue of the Didot-Bottin Annuaire-Almanach du Commerce de l'Industrie. The 1903 issue of the same directory pairs the registered trademark, 'S.I.P.', with the company.

Much of the Société's postcard production during the first years of the 20th century reproduced the photos of the Reutlinger studio in Paris. Reutlinger was one of the premier portrait studios of the Belle Époque, known for capturing glamorous and artistic images of actors, actresses, dancers, and opera stars. At the time of the postcards' production, the studio was run by Léopold-Émile Reutlinger, a French photographer born to a German-Jewish family of successful photographers. His uncle, Charles Reutlinger, had founded the studio in Paris circa 1850. Charles passed the studio to his brother, Émile Reutlinger, Léopold's father, in 1880. Around 1890, Léopold assumed the studio. Léopold's son, Jean, started work in the studio at an early age, around 1910; however, he died in battle during WWI in 1914. Léopold continued to run the studio until he died in 1937.

Another photographer who often worked for S.I.P. was Edouard Stebbing, who was active in Paris between 1890 and 1910. Stebbing taught at a University in Paris and invented the Stebbing camera, and was known for his work with emulsions. Stebbing was a prolific photographer in Paris during the Belle Epoque. Stebbing photographed many theatrical stars. It is reported that he was friends with Auguste Monet, the famous French painter and the founder of Impressionism. He appears to have been an expatriate from England. He published many articles in British Photographic journals. Edouard Stebbing died in 1914.

Before early 1906, the S.I.P. logo changed from the straight letters to the roundel between cards 1347 and 1372. S.I.P. was dissolved in 1913. By 1914, the trademark had been taken over by J. Courcier (trademark JC) in Nanterre. Ross Postcards has catalogued hundreds of series of S.I.P. postcards with popular stage performers as well as other prominent social figures photographed by Reutlinger. The catalogue entries are presented by series number, where the series was predominantly comprised of Reutlinger's photos. Not all S.I.P. series featured photos by Reutlinger, and those that did not are not reproduced in the Ross catalogue. However, the highest series number of the impressive Ross Postcards catalogue is 2150!


French postcard in the Collection Artistique du Vin Désiles by S.I.P. Photo: G.P., Paris. Caption: If only he had known that marvellous tonic known as Vin Désiles, what wonders might my master Cyrano not have achieved?

French actor Benoît-Constant Coquelin (1841-1909), known as Coquelin aîné (Coquelin the Elder), was known as one of the greatest theatrical figures of his age. He entered the Comédie-Française in 1860. Coquelin had a triumph in 1897 with Edmond Rostand's 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and would play it many times. In 1900, when he was almost sixty, Coquelin toured in America with Sarah Bernhardt and appeared on Broadway in 'Cyrano de Bergerac' with Bernhardt as Roxane.


French postcard in the Collection Artistique du Vin Désiles by S.I.P. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris. Caption: Olé! Olé! Viva el vino Desilés, C. Otero.

Carolina 'La Belle' Otéro (1868–1965) was a Spanish-born dancer, actress and courtesan. She had a reputation for great beauty and was famous for her numerous lovers. In 1898, she became 'the first star in the history of cinema'. Countless postcards with her circulated.


French postcard in the Collection Artistique du Vin Désiles by S.I.P. Photo: Bonfort. Caption: Whenever I drink Vin Désiles, my voice is flexible and easy.

Félix Mayol (1872-1941) was a popular French singer of the Belle Époque. In 1905, he performed at Gaumont in 14 phonoscènes under the direction of Alice Guy, such as La Paimpolaise. These were short sound films using a sound-on-disc system. Several still exist. Mayol later acted in five more films.


French postcard in the Collection Artistique du Vin Désiles by S.I.P. Photo: P. Berger. Caption: During my long tours across France, it is your wonderful Vin Désiles that supports me and gives me strength.

French comedian Polin (1863-1927) was one of the greatest stars of the café-concerts of Paris. His interpretations were sober and had nuance and finesse, which were rare in the café-concerts. From 1910 on, he also appeared in film and theatre, including Sacha Guitry's play 'Le Grand Duc/The Grand Duke' (1921) with Lucien and Sacha Guitry and Yvonne Printemps.


French postcard by S.I.P. no. 185/2. Photo: Reutlinger. Sent by mail in 1905.

Gabrielle Robinne (1886-1980) was a French stage and film actress who had the peak of her film career in the 1910s.


French postcard by Ed. S.I.P., Paris, no. 918/5. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris.

Suzanne Miéris (?-?) was a French stage actress who peaked in the early 1900s at the Théâtre Antoine and the Théâtre de la Gaité, but her breakthrough part was that of Eunice in the 1901 staging of 'Quo vadis?' at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin.


French postcard by S.I.P., no. 941. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris. Sent by mail in 1904. The S.I.P. company produced this series of photomontages showing actresses adorning a fan. In Anna Held's case, they even went so far as to choose a portrait of her holding a fan herself, a kind of 'mise en abyme', we could say. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


French postcard by S.I.P., Paris, no. 1074. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris.

French singer and actress Polaire (1874-1939) had a career in the entertainment industry which stretched from the early 1890s to the mid-1930s, and encompassed the range from music-hall singer to stage and film actress. Her most successful period professionally was from the mid-1890s to the beginning of the First World War.


French postcard by S.I.P. no. 1239. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris.

Jeanne Delvair (1877-1943) was an acclaimed French stage actress of the Comédie-Française. She also had a rich career in French silent cinema, mainly at Pathé Frères. She is the sister of actress Germaine Dermoz (1888-1966) and of animal painter Henri Deluermoz (1876-1943).


French postcard by Ed. S.I.P., no. 1461. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris. Sent by mail in 1908.

Around 1900, Italian soprano Lina Cavalieri (1874-1944) was considered the most beautiful woman on earth. As a young girl, she ran from the orphanage with a theatre group and made a career as a Vaudeville singer first in Paris and soon all around Europe. In 1900, she debuted as an opera singer, soon conquering the opera houses of Monte-Carlo, Paris and New York.


French postcard by Ed. S.I.P., no. 1591. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris.

We could not find any information about Beauregard, but we suspect she was an opera or operetta singer.

Gabrielle Robinne (1886-1980) was a French stage and film actress who had the peak of her film career in the 1910s.


French postcard by Ed. S.I.P., no. 1442. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris.

Natalia/ Natasha Trouhanova (1885-1956) was a Franco-Russian dancer and silent film actress. From 1904, she lived in France, where she soon became a great master of dance. She worked with Sergei Diaghilev, Fyodor Chaliapin, Richard Strauss, and Isadora Duncan. Trouhanova appeared in several French silent films between 1909 and 1916.


French postcard by S.I.P. Photo: scene of the French stage play 'Les deux gosses', at the Théâtre de l'Ambigu in Paris. Tableau 4. Caption: Maison la Limage. Zéphirine & C.ie. (The Slug's house, Zephirine & company).

'Les deux gosses' was a melodramatic tale, published first as a novel in 1880 by French author Pierre Decourcelle. In 1896, the first stage adaptation of the novel premiered at the Théâtre de l’Ambigu in Paris. The characters of the two boys were performed by two young female actresses, with Fanfan played by Mlle. Mélo and Claudinet by Mlle. Reyé. This postcard may depict this production. The novel and play were extremely popular and led to various film adaptations by Louis Feuillade (1906), Adrien Caillard (1912), Albert Capellani (1914), Louis Mercanton (1924), and Fernand Rivers (1936).


French postcard by S.I.P. Photo: scene of the French stage play 'Les deux gosses', at the Théâtre de l'Ambigu in Paris. Tableau 7. Caption: L'écluse du Pont d'Austerlitz (The Lock of the Pont Austerlitz). Fanfan opens the lock, causing the drowning of The Slug. Originally, the highlight of the play was the drowning of The Slug at the lock, but creating water on stage was considered too difficult for some theatres.


French postcard by Ed. S.I.P., no. 361. Painting 'Héliogabale et ses convives' by Henri(-Paul) Motte, exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1909.


French postcard by S.I.P. Photo: Reutlinger, Paris. Caption: Otéro, A. Held (Anna Held), C. de Mérode (Cléo de Mérode). This picture was cited in the Gaumont film L'Orgie romaine / The Roman Orgy (Louis Feuillade,1911).


French postcard by Ed. S.I.P. Photo: Paul Boyer, Paris. Caption: Martha.

Sources: RTH Cards, The Cabinet Card Gallery, Turkish Postcards, Wikimedia and Ross Postcards.