John Payne

American film actor John Payne (1912-1989) is mainly remembered for Film Noirs and 20th Century Fox musicals. He also starred in Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and the Western TV series The Restless Gun (1957-1959).


Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit. (Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze), no. 2696. Photo: Paramount Films. John Payne in The Eagle and the Hawk / Spread Eagle (Lewis R. Foster, 1950).


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, no. 1242. Photo: Paramount.


Vintage postcard. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Betty Grable and John Payne in The Dolly Sisters (Irving Cummings, 1945).

Alexei Petroff, the savage of the steppes

John Howard Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1912. His parents were Ida Hope (née Schaeffer), a singer, and George Washington Payne, a developer in Roanoke. They lived at Fort Lewis, an antebellum mansion that became a state historic property but was destroyed by fire in the late 1940s. Payne attended prep school at Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and then went to Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City in the fall of 1930. He studied drama at Columbia and voice at the Juilliard School.

To support himself, he took on a variety of odd jobs, including wrestling as 'Alexei Petroff, the Savage of the Steppes' and boxing as 'Tiger Jack Payne'. In 1932, while visiting his family in Roanoke, Virginia, he agreed to take a small role in a community theatre production of 'The Man Who Came to Dinner', at the Academy of Music on Salem Avenue. In 1934, a talent scout for the Shubert theatres spotted Payne and gave him a job as a stock player.

He appeared in road company productions of 'Rose Marie' and 'The Student Prince'. Payne toured with several Shubert Brothers shows and frequently sang on New York City-based radio programs. On Broadway, he appeared in the revue 'At Home Abroad' (1935–1936) alongside Eleanor Powell and Beatrice Lillie. He understudied for Reginald Gardiner and took over one night. He was seen by Fred Kohlmar of Sam Goldwyn's company and was offered a film contract. In 1936, he left New York for Hollywood. He tested for a role in Goldwyn's Come and Get It but lost out to Frank Shields.

His first role in Goldwyn's Dodsworth (William Wyler, 1936) presented him as an affable, handsome character actor. He had the male lead opposite Mae Clarke in Hats Off (Boris Petroff, 1936), an independent B-film. Payne was third billed in Fair Warning (Norman Foster, 1937), a B-film at Fox. He was the lead in a low-budget film, Love on Toast (Ewald André Dupont, 1937). Payne was down the cast list for Paramount's College Swing (Raoul Walsh, 1938), starring George Burns and Gracie Allen.

He then signed a contract with Warner Bros, where he had a notable break replacing Dick Powell, who turned down the role, in Garden of the Moon (Busby Berkeley, 1938). Warners used Payne as a sort of "back-up Dick Powell". He was in Kid Nightingale (George Amy, 1939) and Wings of the Navy (Lloyd Bacon, 1939). Payne supported Ann Sheridan in Indianapolis Speedway (Lloyd Bacon, 1939) and starred in a short, The Royal Rodeo (George Amy, 1939) and in the B-films King of the Lumberjacks (William Clemens, 1940) and Tear Gas Squad (Terry O. Morse, 1940). During this time, he returned to Broadway to appear in 'Abe Lincoln in Illinois' (1938–1939). Payne was unhappy with his Warner Bros roles and asked for a release.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W 543. Photo: Universal International.


British postcard in the Film Partners Series, London, no PC 320. Photo: 20th Century Fox. John Payne and Brenda Joyce in Maryland (Henry King, 1940).


Spanish postcard by Sobe, no. 481. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Alice Faye and John Payne in Week-End in Havana (Walter Lang, 1941). Collection: Marlène Pilaete.

Romancing Alice Faye, Betty Grable, and Sonja Henie

John Payne went over to 20th Century Fox, where he appeared in Star Dust (Walter Lang, 1940) with Linda Darnell. During filming, Darryl F. Zanuck offered him a long-term contract. He supported Walter Brennan in Maryland (Henry King, 1940) and John Barrymore in The Great Profile (Walter Lang, 1940). Payne was the male lead in the enormously popular Tin Pan Alley (Walter Lang, 1940) with Alice Faye and Betty Grable. He romanced Faye again in The Great American Broadcast (Archie Mayo, 1940) and Week-End in Havana (Walter Lang, 1941) and Sonja Henie in Sun Valley Serenade (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1941).

Fox gave him the chance to do drama in Remember the Day (Henry King, 1941), romancing Claudette Colbert. He was meant to be in Song of the Islands (Walter Lang, 1942) with Grable, but when George Raft couldn't get released from Warner Bros to play a Marine in To the Shores of Tripoli (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1942), Payne stepped in. The film, co-starring Maureen O'Hara and Randolph Scott, was hugely popular.

So too was Footlight Serenade (Gregory Ratoff, 1942) with Betty Grable and Victor Mature, Springtime in the Rockies (Irving Cummings, 1942) with Grable, Iceland (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1943) with Sonja Henie, and especially Hello, Frisco, Hello (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1943) with Alice Faye. During World War II, Payne served as a flight instructor in the United States Army Air Corps. He got his honourable discharge in September 1944.

He returned to work at Fox, who put him in The Dolly Sisters (Irving Cummings, 1945) with Grable and June Haver, playing Harry Fox. It was one of Payne's most successful films. Less popular was Wake Up and Dream (Lloyd Bacon, 1946) with Haver. Payne was teamed with Maureen O'Hara in Sentimental Journey (Walter Lang, 1946), a big hit. He was third-billed in The Razor's Edge (Edmund Goulding, 1946) underneath Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, Fox's most prestigious film of 1946.

Payne's most familiar role may be his final film for Fox, that of attorney Fred Gailey in the classic holiday favourite Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton, 1947) with Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara, and Edmund Gwenn. It was another box office success. He was meant to make another with O'Hara, Sitting Pretty (Walter Lang, 1948). However, in October 1947, he got his release from the studio, despite the contract having another four years to run, which would have brought him $670,000. Payne claimed he was dissatisfied with the roles being offered to him. Payne later said he had asked for his release every week for eight months before he got it. Film historian Jeanine Basinger later wrote that "Fox thought of him [Payne] as a secondary Tyrone Power. They didn't know how to use him."


Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit. (Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze), no. 2638. Photo: Paramount Films. John Payne in The Eagle and the Hawk / Spread Eagle (Lewis R. Foster, 1950).


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 691. Photo: Republic Pictures. John Payne in Santa Fe Passage (William Witney, 1955).

Tough-guy roles in Film Noirs and Westerns

After leaving Fox, John Payne attempted to change his image and began playing tough-guy roles in Film Noirs. He did two Film Noirs at Universal, Larceny (George Sherman, 1948), where he played the lead role and The Saxon Charm (Claude Binyon, 1948) with Robert Montgomery and Susan Hayward. He had the lead in The Crooked Way (Robert Florey, 1949) for United Artists.

Payne received an offer to star in a Western for Pine-Thomas Productions, a unit that operated out of Paramount Studios. El Paso (Lewis R. Foster, 1949) was a box office success, and Payne went on to make other films for the company, including Captain China (Lewis R. Foster, 1950), an adventure film; Tripoli (Will Price, 1950), set during the Barbary War; and The Eagle and the Hawk (Lewis R. Foster, 1950), a Western.

He signed a contract to make three more films for Pine Thomas. He did Passage West (Lewis R. Foster, 1951), another Western; Crosswinds (Lewis R. Foster, 1951), an adventure film; Caribbean (Edward Ludwig, 1952), a pirate film; The Blazing Forest (Edward Ludwig, 1952), an adventure story; The Vanquished (Edward Ludwig, 1952), a Western. Payne shrewdly insisted that the films he appeared in be filmed in colour and that the rights to the films revert to him after several years, making him wealthy when he rented them to television.

In 1952, he said he got four times the fan mail he did at Fox. "I make fewer pictures now, but I make the kind I want to make." For Edward Small, he starred in the Film Noir Kansas City Confidential (Phil Karlson, 1952) with Coleen Gray. Payne owned 25% of the film. He later worked again with Small on the Pirate film Raiders of the Seven Seas (Sidney Salkow, 1953), and the Film Noir 99 River Street (Phil Karlson, 1953).

Payne did a series of Westerns: Silver Lode (Allan Dwan, 1954), for Benedict Bogeaus; Rails Into Laramie (Jesse Hibbs, 1955), for Universal; Santa Fe Passage (William Witney, 1955) and The Road to Denver (Joseph Kane, 1955) at Republic, and Tennessee's Partner (Allan Dwan, 1955) for Bogeaus. He returned to Pine Thomas for a Film Noir, Hell's Island (Phil Karlson, 1956), then did Slightly Scarlet (Allan Dwan, 1956) for Bogeaus. He made Hold Back the Night (Allan Dwan, 1956) for Allied Artists and The Boss (Byron Haskin, 1956) for United Artists, co-producing the latter.


British Real Photograph postcard. Photo: Republic. Caption: Greetings from... John Payne, star of Republic Pictures.


French postcard by Editions P.I., offered by Les Carbones Korès 'Carboplane', no. 47a. Photo: Paramount, 1953.

An educated, commonsense gunfighter

John Payne then did Rebel in Town (Alfred L. Werker, 1956) and Hidden Fear (André De Toth, 1957) for United Artists. He made one more Pine Thomas, Bailout at 43,000 (Francis D. Lyon, 1957). In 1957, he optioned the rights for 'For the Life of Me, the memoir of a newspaper editor', but it was not made. Payne also starred as Vint Bonner, an educated, commonsense gunfighter, in The Restless Gun, which aired on NBC from 1957 to 1959, before Dale Robertson's Western series Tales of Wells Fargo. Dan Blocker, James Coburn, and Don Grady made their first substantive acting forays with Payne on The Restless Gun.

In March 1961, John Payne suffered extensive, life-threatening injuries when struck by a car in New York City. His recovery took two years. In his later roles, facial scars from the accident can be detected in close-ups; he chose not to have them removed.

Payne directed one of his last films, They Ran for Their Lives (John Payne, 1968), and again teamed up with Alice Faye in a 1974 revival of the musical 'Good News'. He also starred in the Gunsmoke episode of Gentry's Law (Vincent McEveety, 1970). His final role was on TV in the Columbo episode Forgotten Lady (Harvey Hart, 1975), co-starring with Peter Falk and Janet Leigh.

Later in life, Payne, like former Daniel Boone-Davy Crockett series star Fess Parker, became wealthy through real estate investments in southern California. Payne was married to actress Anne Shirley from 1937 to 1942; they had a daughter, Julie Anne Payne. After their divorce, Payne married actress Gloria DeHaven in 1944; the union produced two children, Kathleen Hope Payne (1945) and Thomas John Payne, before ending in divorce in 1950. During the filming of Kansas City Confidential (1952), he had a romance with recently divorced co-star Coleen Gray that continued well past filming. Payne then married Alexandra Beryl 'Sandy' Crowell Curtis in 1953 and remained with her until his death.


American autograph card.

John Payne was the father-in-law of writer-director Robert Towne, who was married to his oldest daughter Julie until their divorce in 1982. John Payne died in Malibu, California, of congestive heart failure in 1989, aged 77. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in motion pictures and television.


Vintage postcard. Photo: 20th Century Fox.


Trailer for Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Source: Movieclips Classic Trailers (YouTube).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

A rare find: an album with Pathé cards from 1911 (Part 4)

We continue the monthly post on a rare album with vintage cards by Pathé Cinema with stills of films from 1911. Sometimes, the names of the scenarists are indicated on the cards, not the directors. 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. In April and May this year, we presented each time another 21 Pathé cards. Here are another 21 cards from 1911.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from L'Exode des fées (Gaston Velle, 1911). Gaston Velle also scripted the film.

The fairies, having enchanted the childhoods of past generations, have turned their backs on today’s youth, positive and sceptical. Paul, who doesn’t believe in fairy tales, tries to destroy the enthusiastic faith of his little sister Jeanne, who loves to read them. The fairies, scorned, leave the earth. They will no longer send children their beautiful dreams of yesteryear, and Paul, plagued by terrible nightmares, recalls those he had spoken ill of. Melusine, Morgane, Urgèle, Viviane, the White Lady, witches, sylphs, and wood spirits return to fill the peaceful nights and joyful evenings of little children with happy dreams.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from the comedy Un tableau de valeur (N.N., 1911).

Tired of waiting for his overdue rent, the landlord Crougnasse threatens to evict his tenant, the painter Brossecroûte. Fortunately for Brossecroûte, one of his friends has a clever idea and shows up, while the painter is away, under the pretext of viewing the studio that has been put up for rent. He pretends to be a wealthy foreign art lover, raves about the artist’s paintings, and offers to buy them for 10,000 francs. The landlord, delighted with the windfall, buys his tenant’s paintings for 2,000 francs. The wealthy buyer takes his leave, and the landlord remains as poor as ever, while our two friends do a little dance in celebration.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Charles Prince in Rigadin veut se faire arrêter (Georges Monca, 1911). Script by Gabriel Timmory.

Rigadin (Charles Prince), looking for a place to stay and a meal on a day when he’s completely broke, tries to get himself arrested. He heads straight to the police station, where he explains his request. There, he’s asked to provide proof of his claim, and since he hasn’t committed any crime, poor Rigadin is given a harsh rebuff. With his stomach growling, the poor wretch swears to get himself arrested at any cost. He enters a restaurant where he is served a hearty meal and turns out his empty pockets when the bill comes. This time, his case is clear; an officer is summoned, and the accused prepares to follow him, when a sympathetic patron intervenes and pays the bill. Rigadin, furious and dejected, tries various schemes without success. In desperation, he goes to sleep in a vacant lot, and he takes pity on a poor stray dog and brings it home. As a reward, he receives a blue banknote. Rigadin, who can’t believe his stroke of luck, no longer thinks of getting arrested and goes to order a suit. But the merchant, suspecting the note’s origin, sends for the police, and this time Rigadin is arrested — a victim of his own good deed, just as fortune was beginning to smile on him.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Charles Prince in Rigadin veut se faire arrêter (Georges Monca, 1911). Script by Gabriel Timmory.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Paul Capellani as the lieutenant, André Hall as the lover, Aimée Tessandier as the mother and Madeleine Barjac as the daughter in Ma fille (Michel Carré, 1911). Carré also scripted the film.

A young woman (Madeleine Barjac) is being courted by an army officer (Paul Capellani). Before taking the courtship any further, her father feels he must warn the officer that the young woman was adopted by them when she was three years old. The officer ignores this. But on the day of the wedding, amidst the happiness of the two fiancés, the girl’s biological mother (Aimée Tessandier) appears and comes to claim her child. She is a poor woman, degraded by poverty and by the degrading influence of a lazy, drunken partner (André Hall). The law is clear. The young girl must leave her adoptive parents and follow her biological mother. Upon arriving at the slum of her new parents, the poor, uprooted girl, subjected to the lechery of the drunkard, cries out for help. Fortunately, her fiancé has followed her through this ordeal. He arrives with officers. The drunkard is taken to the station. The poor mother, mistreated by her lover while trying to defend her child, falls ill and dies in the hospital after entrusting her daughter to her adoptive family and her fiancé. The young girl thus returns to her former situation. The event that had brutally torn her away from her happiness will have been nothing more than a bad dream.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le Mémorial de Sainte Hélène ou la captivité de Napoléon (Michel Carré, 1911). Cinematography by Pierre Trimbach. The skinny man on the right must be Georges Tréville as Hudson Lowe.

Exiled to the island of Saint Helena, Napoleon (Laroche), surrounded by generals and loyal friends, lived on the memory of his brilliant epic. But, persecuted by the island’s governor, Sir Hudson Lowe (Georges Tréville), and completely broken in body, mind, and spirit, the great fallen emperor soon succumbed to the island’s deadly climate. This entire drama, with its vivid and accurate portraits and true anecdotes, unfolds before our eyes with gripping interest and remarkable power.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. On the foreground right: Georges Tréville as Hudson Lowe, and in the back: Laroche as Napoleon in Le Mémorial de Sainte Hélène ou la captivité de Napoléon (Michel Carré, 1911).


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le Mémorial de Sainte Hélène ou la captivité de Napoléon (Michel Carré, 1911). Cinematography was by Pierre Trimbach. Cast: Laroche (Napoleon), Georges Tréville (Hudson Lowe), Roger Monteaux (Blackeney), Emile Milo, Herman Grégoire, Sainrat, Mévisto, Dupont-Morgan, Eugénie Nau, Charlotte Barbier, Maria Fromet and Madeleine Fromet.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères / Le Film Russe. Scene from L'Chaïm (Maurice André Maître, Kaï Hansen, 1911). Cast: Nicolaï Vassiliev (Moische), Mikhaïl Doronine (Matess), Maria Reitzen (Rockelé), Ludmila Sychova (the mother). Cinematography by George Meyer, art direction by Cheslav Sabinsky.

Rockelé (Maria Reitzen) and Chloma are deeply in love with one another and have exchanged vows of love. But Chloma’s wealthy master, Matess (Mikhaïl Doronine), who is also in love with the beautiful Jewish girl, goes to the synagogue on the eve of the Sabbath and asks Reb Moische, Rockelé’s father, for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The father readily agrees, and Rockelé, knowing full well that any resistance would be futile, passively obeys. On the day of the betrothal, following tradition, they drink the l’chaim. All the guests pass the cup of rich wine from hand to hand, from which the betrothed must take a sip if they wish to live happily and long. But the chaim must have betrayed its reputation, for a year after their marriage, misfortune enters Matess’s home with Chloma, who comes to beg the woman he still loves to run away with him. Rockelé hesitates. A little girl has been born of their union. By deserting her home, she knows she will bring misery to Matess, who loves her tenderly and showers her with kindness. But her reason is powerless against the pull of her heart. And so, Rockelé, taking her daughter in her arms, goes to join her lover in the night. Matess, after waking as a happy man, realises the betrayal he has suffered. Desperate over the destruction of his home, he falls from one low point to another, into poverty and drunkenness. One day, Rockelé comes to visit him with her child. He does not recognise them. But after they leave, a letter reveals to him that he has just seen the very people he has been mourning for many years. The unfortunate Matess, now without hope after this encounter, sinks into an even deeper and more desperate state of decline.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from the comedy Express union (N.N., 1911). While in the plot the character is named Gontran, he doesn't look at all like the popular Eclair comedy actor René Grehan, better known as Gontran. Needless to say, the African lady is a male actor, dressed up in blackface.

Aunt Eulalia, finding herself in dire straits, names her nephew Gontran as her sole heir, on the non-negotiable condition that he be married by nightfall. Gontran sets out in search of a fiancée and, after a series of hilarious adventures and setbacks, resigns himself in desperation to marrying a beautiful black woman. He hurries to rush through the wedding and present himself at Aunt Eulalia’s house with his new bride. But the aunt has come back to life, and the unfortunate Gontran, back to square one, is left with his black wife to fend for himself.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le rêve d'un joueur / The Dream of a Gambler (N.N., 1911), scripted by Legrand. Actors: Séverin and his company.

The scene takes place during the Directoire period. An elegant man, disguised as Pierrot, goes to his club after formally promising his wife that he will no longer gamble. But as he is an inveterate gambler, he is irresistibly drawn to the roulette wheel. In just a few games, he loses the considerable sum he had brought with him. He returns home, worried, and falls asleep while trying to devise some clever roulette strategies. A terrible nightmare haunts his sleep. He dreams that, overcome by his fatal passion, he steals twenty thousand francs from his wife, which he loses in a few spins of the wheel. Pierrot, in a panic, follows one of the players who has just won a large sum and strangles him. Then he runs away like a madman. But, caught by the police, he will pay for his crime. Punishment looms before him, terrible, in the form of a gallows. But just as the rope tightens cruelly around his neck, our sleeper wakes with a start. It was only a dream, and a salutary one at that.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Un duel à la mie de pain / A Duel with Breadcrumbs (N.N., 1911).

Threatened with seizure by an inexorable landlord, Dupinceau, with the help of a few merry companions, vows to take a little revenge on his irascible tormentor. Terrible, with the airs of Matamores, our rappers settle down in the café next to Harpagon. One of them picks a fight with him and challenges him to a duel. The unfortunate landlord spends hours in agony before going to the field where the revolver duel takes place. Fortunately, the guns are loaded with breadcrumbs and the miser, unaware of the ruse, believes he has killed his opponent and allows himself to be taken to the police station by one of them, disguised as a policeman. Dupinceau then intervenes and helps his prisoner escape, but not before making him pay a ransom and settle his rent.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathé Frères. Scene from Le grand-père / The Grandfather (Georges Monca, 1911), scripted by Jules Mary and Monca.

A young painter, Marcel Hubert (Roger Monteaux), asked for Suzanne Duroc's (Jeanne Bérangère) hand in marriage. But her father (Charles Mosnier), lacking confidence in the future, ruthlessly rejected this suitor with an uncertain future. Spurred on by love, the young man made progress. After graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts, he renewed his proposal, but with no more success. Suzanne then gave in to her love and, despite her father's wishes, married the man she loved. The years have passed. Suzanne's father, despite his daughter's frequent pleas, has not forgiven him. Now a grandfather, he refuses to see his granddaughter Jeannette (Marie Fromet) and grows old, unhappy and stubborn in his isolation. Then chance brings him into contact with the child. While playing, the little girl runs into his legs and scrapes her knee. Mr Duroc, feeling sorry for her, bandages the wound and the little girl and her grandfather, without knowing each other, part as friends. A few days later, little Jeannette discovers a portrait of her grandfather in a drawer and recognises her new friend. She then forms a grand plan to win over her stubborn grandfather. After an initial failure, the girl takes a bold step. She pretends to be ill in her parents' absence and summons her alarmed grandfather to her bedside. Finally, he agrees to forgive her.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathe Frères / Nizza. Scene from Le chien du chemineau / The Vagrant's Dog (N.N., 1911).

A vagrant, wandering for many days, without work or bread, is rejected by the villagers. At the end of his strength, he lies down to die beside his last friend, an old and faithful sheepdog. The dog, alerted by his instinct, runs to the nearest village and barks to attract the farmers to the place where the starving man is dying. But one of them recognises the dog that, that very morning, had threatened him with his teeth while defending his master. He rouses the villagers against him, and they give him a relentless chase. The wounded dog drags himself back to his master. The villagers, moved by the distress of the creature they have hunted, take him in and comfort him.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: SCAGL / Pathe Frères. Scene from La fille du clown / The Clown's Daughter (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Maurice Kéroul. Lucie Pacitti played the daughter while Théodore Thalès played the clown.

An old clown and his daughter, a celebrated ballerina, live happily under the same roof until the dancer, yielding to the entreaties of one of her admirers, leaves her father's house to run away with her seducer. But the old man has discovered her plan. He follows her and catches up with her. She tries to escape him and rolls under the wheels of a car, which crushes her. Years pass; the old clown, retired to the countryside, cannot forget the terrible accident, when he discovers that the young peasant girl who comes every morning to bring him milk bears a striking resemblance to the one he lost. The young girl tries to ease the old clown's pain, and he, confusing the vision of the missing woman with the real presence of the little milkmaid, falls into his final sleep with the comforting feeling of his child's tenderness beside him.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathe Frères. Scene from 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. Photo: Pathe Frères. Scene from Bonaparte et Pichegru (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Georges Mitchell. Left, Louis Ravet as Pichegru, in the middle Henri Étiévant as Leblanc.

After his escape from Guiana, where he had been deported for conspiring with Cadoudal against the First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte (Georges Saillard), Pichegru (Louis Ravet) returns to France and Paris to see his wife, whom he adores, and his child, whose illness he has just learned about. Bonaparte, informed of his return, orders his arrest, but the police are unable to find the fugitive's trail, and Inspector Loupaille reports to the First Consul the failure of his mission. The latter decides that a reward of 100,000 francs will be paid to anyone who hands over the ex-general. Just when the outlaw, after being hunted on all sides, believes himself safe at the home of Citizen Treille, a draper who has offered him hospitality, and he is finally enjoying a moment of rest and happiness among his family, he is betrayed by one of his former officers, Leblanc (Henri Etiévant), Treille's associate. Finding himself face to face with his former brother-in-arms, the valiant companion of his campaigns, tied up like a criminal, Bonaparte has a moment of emotion. But fate has spoken, and it is with anger and contempt that he throws the blood money at the traitor Leblanc.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathe Frères. Scene from Bonaparte et Pichegru (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Georges Mitchell. Left, Louis Ravet as the dead Pichegru; next to him, Georges Saillard as Bonaparte.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathe Frères. Scene from Bonaparte et Pichegru (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Georges Mitchell. Henri Étiévant as Leblanc, collecting his blood money from Bonaparte (Georges Saillard).


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathe Frères. Georges Vinter in Nick Winter et l’affaire du Célébric hôtel (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911). Vinter stands right on this card, Jacques Vandenne as the hotel manager at left, Jacques Normand as the hotel rat in the middle.

Detective Nick Winter (Georges Vinter) has to deal with a notorious hotel rat (Jacques Normand) who remains elusive, despite the many misdeeds that signal his presence. He's staying at the Celebric Hotel and is preparing, with the help of an accomplice, to carry out a successful robbery of an old lady's room, whose purse is stuffed with banknotes. But the tempting bag is a trap for our thieves. The old lady is none other than the astonishing Nick Winter, who triumphs once again in this scene.


French photo card by Cinéma Pathé. Photo: Pathe Frères. Scene from Nick Winter et l’affaire du Célébric hôtel (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911).

Nick Winter has to deal with a notorious hotel rat who remains elusive, despite the many misdeeds that signal his presence. He's staying at the Celebric Hotel and is preparing, with the help of an accomplice, to carry out a successful robbery of an old lady's room, whose purse is stuffed with banknotes. But the tempting bag is a trap for our thieves. The old lady is none other than the astonishing Nick Winter, who triumphs once again. It is not clear which actor the shouting man on this card is.

Check out more cards from the Pathé album 1911 in our Flickr album.

Source: Fondation Jerome Seydoux-Pathé.

Independence Day (1996)

The American Science-Fiction film Independence Day, directed by Roland Emmerich, was a smash-hit blockbuster in the Summer of 1996. Emmerich also co-wrote the screenplay with the film's producer, Dean Devlin. Stars are Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum. The film is about an alien attack on Earth and humanity’s defence against it. 20th Century Fox released the film with a marketing campaign on a scale never seen before. The campaign played a key role in the film becoming the year’s most successful film worldwide and, at the time, the second-highest-grossing film of all time, behind Jurassic Park (1993). Independence Day launched a wave of large-scale Disaster and Science-Fiction films.


British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1001. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Publicity still for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).


British poster postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1002. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Poster for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996). Caption: We've always believed we weren't alone. Very soon we'll wish we were.


British poster postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1003. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Poster for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).

A colossal alien spaceship approaches Earth

Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996) begins on 2 July, two days before US Independence Day, 4 July. A colossal alien spaceship, with a diameter of around 550 kilometres, approaches Earth and releases three dozen smaller saucer-shaped craft, each with a diameter of around 25 kilometres. The ships settle above the world’s major cities, including Moscow, Delhi, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Here they hover stationary without doing anything further.

Satellite reception is disrupted worldwide, and panic and uncertainty spread. All the world’s armies mobilise, but some believe the aliens are peaceful and organise parties to welcome them. David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), an employee of a cable company in New York, discovers that the ships are communicating with one another and counting down to something. With the help of his ex-wife, Constance (Margaret Colin), who works at the White House, and his father, Julius (Judd Hirsch), he gains access to the White House to warn the president, Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman).

The president wants to evacuate the cities, but it is already too late. The ships open their hatches, behind which a powerful weapon is concealed, and simultaneously launch their attack, reducing all the cities to ashes. The president and his entourage manage to escape just in time on Air Force One as Washington, D.C., suffers the same fate. The following day, the US military attempts to launch a counterattack, but every assault is repelled because the larger ships possess a force field and command a fleet of small combat vessels, each with its own force field.

Only Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) survives the destruction of his squadron. He also manages to crash one of the aliens’ combat ships by luring it into a ravine, though it costs him his own plane in the process. He knocks the alien inside the ship unconscious and uses his parachute to carry the alien away. Hiller is picked up by Russell Casse (Randy Quaid), who is driving through the desert with a group of refugees. They take the captured alien to Area 51, where the President and his entourage are also present. It soon becomes clear that the scientists at Area 51 have known about these aliens for some time: during the Roswell incident, a warship carrying three aliens was found. The President orders the captured alien to be examined.

The alien awakens and takes control of one of the scientists’ minds. He reveals that his species has already destroyed dozens of planets after first plundering them of all their natural resources. The alien is shot dead. The President, shocked by this, orders the deployment of nuclear weapons. It proves futile; the force fields can even withstand nuclear explosions. On 4 July, Levinson has an idea. He wants to use the ship in Area 51 to infiltrate the aliens’ mothership and upload a computer virus that disables all their force fields. Hiller volunteers to be the pilot. The two are given the go-ahead to proceed with the plan and fly to the mothership.


British poster postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1004. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Poster for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996). Caption: The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe has been answered.


Dutch postcard by Boomerang Freecards. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Publicity still for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996). Captions: Earth. Watch closely. It's maybe the last time. Independence Day. The day we fight back.

A truly brilliant marketing campaign

The idea for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996) came about when Emmerich and Dean Devlin were in Europe promoting their film Stargate (Roland Emmerich, 1994). A journalist asked Emmerich why he had made a film like Stargate when he didn’t believe in aliens. Emmerich replied that he was still fascinated by the possibility of an alien invasion and asked the journalist how he would react if he woke up one morning to find colossal spaceships hovering over every city on Earth.

The idea stuck, and Emmerich decided to turn it into a film together with Devlin. Emmerich and Devlin wrote their screenplay during a two-week holiday in Mexico. Just one day after they sent it out for consideration, 20th Century Fox chairman Peter Chernin greenlit the screenplay. Pre-production began just three days later in February 1995, and production started in August 1995.

The pair tried to use as many authentic pyrotechnics and as little computer animation as possible. Volker Engel and Douglas Smith created the special effects. Production designer Patrick Tatopoulos designed the film's aliens. The actual aliens in the film are diminutive and based on a design Tatopoulos drew when tasked by Emmerich to create an alien that was "both familiar and completely original". The film score, composed by David Arnold, was recorded with a 90-piece orchestra and a 46-member choir and won a Grammy in 1997.

While ID4 (as it was initially titled) was still in post-production, 20th Century Fox started a marketing campaign on a scale never seen before, costing $25 million. It was launched with a commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXX, for which Fox paid $ 1.3 million. The film was marketed with several taglines, including: "We've always believed we weren't alone. On July 4, we'll wish we were", "Earth. Take a good look. It could be your last", and "Don't make plans for August".

The weekend before the film's release, the Fox Network aired a half-hour special on the film, the first third of which was a spoof news report about the events in the film. Roger Ebert attributed most of the film's early success to its teaser trailers and marketing campaigns, acknowledging them as "truly brilliant". Although the film’s US release was scheduled for 3 July 1996, due to the enormous interest, it was shown in many cinemas a day earlier, on the day the film’s plot begins. Stephen Molstad wrote a novel based on the film to help promote it. The novel explores the characters and situations in greater depth.


British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1005. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Publicity still for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).


British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1006. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Publicity still for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).


British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1007. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox. Publicity still for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).

In the tradition of silly summer fun

Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996) received mixed reviews, with praise for the performances, musical score and visual effects, but criticism for its characters. Roger Ebert: "For all of its huge budget, Independence Day is a timid movie when it comes to imagination. The aliens, when we finally see them, are a serious disappointment; couldn’t they think of anything more interesting than octopus men? If an alien species ever visits Earth, I, for one, hope they have something interesting to share with us.

Or, if they must kill us, I hope they do it with something we haven’t seen before, instead of with cornball ray-beams that look designed by the same artists who painted the covers of Amazing Stories magazine in the 1940s. Still, Independence Day is in the tradition of silly summer fun, and on that level, I kind of liked it, as, indeed, I kind of like any movie with the courage to use the line, 'It’s the end of the world as we know it."

Independence Day grossed over $817.4 million worldwide. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Sound. Following the film’s success, Stephen Molstad wrote a prequel novel titled 'Independence Day: Silent Zone.' This was followed in July 1999 by a third novel titled 'Independence Day: War in the Desert'.

The disaster elements portrayed in Independence Day (1996) marked a significant turning point for Hollywood blockbuster films. With advancements in CGI special effects, events depicting mass destruction became commonplace in films such as Twister (Jan de Bont, 1996), Dante's Peak (Roger Donaldson, 1997), Volcano (Mick Jackson, 1997), Deep Impact (Mimi Leder, 1998), and Armageddon (Michael Bay, 1998). The trend resumed from the mid-2000s to the 2010s, evident in three of Roland Emmerich's films, titled The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 2012 (2009), and White House Down (2013), as well as other blockbusters like Transformers (Michael Bay, 2007) and The Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012).

In 2016, a sequel was released in cinemas under the title Independence Day: Resurgence (Roland Emmerich, 2016), set exactly 20 years later. It was significantly less successful, grossing $389.7 million worldwide against its $165 million budget. Christy Lemire at RogerEbert.com: "It’s not completely terrible, even though 20th Century Fox’s decision not to screen it for critics before opening day would suggest as much. It’s just dull and hollow—a massive waste of time and money. The characters are flimsy, the dialogue is stilted and the amount of destruction is ridiculous, even if that’s all pretty typical for the brand of blockbusters inspired by Emmerich’s 1996 hit."


Dutch poster postcard by Film Freak Productions, Zoetermeer, no. FA 440. Poster: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Poster for Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).


British postcard by London Postcard Company, no. FX 1008. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox, 1996. Still from Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).


German poster postcard by Edgar, no. 1.954. Poster: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation / PlayStation / Sega. Poster for the game version of Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996).

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

Les Editions GIL

French publisher Les Editions GIL produced several film star postcards of contemporary French and international stars during the 1970s and 1980s. Their 'Acteurs Français' series contained portraits in black and white. The Acteurs and the Chanteurs series were both in colour. GIL vanished later in DKlogue éditions, which publishes mainly books.


French postcard by Les Editions Gil in the 'Acteurs Français' series, no. 3. Alain Delon.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Alain Delon (1935-2024) was the breathtakingly good-looking James Dean of French cinema. The 'male Brigitte Bardot' soon proved to be a magnificent actor in masterpieces by Luchino Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni. In the late sixties, Delon came to epitomise the calm, psychopathic hoodlum in the 'Policiers' of Jean-Pierre Melville, staring into the camera like a cat assessing a mouse.


French postcard by Les Editions Gil in the 'Acteurs Français' series, no. 4. Alain Delon in Borsalino (Jacques Deray, 1970).


French postcard by Les Editions GIL in the 'Acteurs Français' series, no. 5.

French actor Bernard Giraudeau (1947-2010) was, with his bright blue eyes, one of the most attractive but also talented stars of French cinema. For his roles, he was twice nominated for the French Oscar, Le César. Giraudeau also worked as a film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.


French postcard by Les Editions GIL in the 'Acteurs Français' series, no. 6.

Darkly handsome Gérard Lanvin (1950) is a César Award-winning French actor and screenwriter. He appeared in several popular French comedies and gangster films.


French postcard in the 'série acteurs' by Les Editions GIL, no. 5. Isabelle Adjani in L'Été Meurtrier / One Deadly Summer (Jean Becker, 1983).

Isabelle Adjani (1955) is a dark-haired beauty with porcelain skin and expressive blue eyes, who has appeared in nearly 50 films since 1970. The French film actress holds the record for most César Awards for Best Actress with five, for Possession (1981), L'Été Meurtrier / One Deadly Summer (1983), Camille Claudel (1988), La Reine Margot / Queen Margot (1994) and La journée de la jupe / Skirt Day (2009). She also received two Oscar nominations for Best Actress.


French postcard in the 'série acteurs' by Les Editions GIL, no. 6.

French, American-born actor Christophe or Christopher Lambert (1957) is known for his good looks, gravelly, raspy voice and his unsettling eyes. His best-known roles are Tarzan, Lord of the Apes in Greystoke (1984) and the immortal Connor MacLeod in the Highlander film series (1986-2000). He was also the hero of countless futuristic action films that often went straight to video.


French postcard in the 'série acteurs' by Les Éditions GIL, no. 7. Louis de Funès in L'aile ou la cuisse / The Wing and the Thigh (Claude Zidi, 1976).

French actor of Spanish origin Louis de Funès (1914-1983) was one of the giants of French comedy alongside André Bourvil and Fernandel. In many of his over 130 films, he portrayed a humorously excitable, cranky man with a propensity to hyperactivity, bad faith, and uncontrolled fits of anger. Along with his short height (1.63 m) and his facial contortions, this hyperactivity produced a highly comic effect, especially opposite Bourvil, who always played calm, slightly naive, good-humoured men.


French postcard by Les Editions Gil in the série acteurs, no. 3. Gérard Lanvin and Bernard Giraudeau in Les Spécialistes / The Specialists (Patrice Leconte, 1985).


French postcard in the 'série acteurs' by Les éditions GIL, no. 11. Photo: Louis de Funès in L'avare / The Miser (Louis de Funès, Jean Girault, 1980).


French postcard by Les Editions Gil, no. 14. Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (George Miller, George Ogilvie, 1985). Caption: "You don't have a hundred quid!"

American-Australian actor Mel Gibson (1956) became known worldwide thanks to the small-budgeted action film Mad Max (1979). He went on to star in such acclaimed films as Gallipoli (1981) and The Bounty (1984). In 1987, he became a superstar with the buddy cop action-comedy film series Lethal Weapon (1987-1998). As director of Braveheart (1995), he won both the Academy Award for best director and best film. Gibson also produced and directed The Passion of the Christ (2004) about the last phase of Jesus Christ's life on earth.


French postcard in the 'série Acteurs' by Les Editions GIL, no. 17. Gérard Lanvin.


French postcard in the 'série Acteurs' by Les Editions Gil, no. 20. Photo: Isabelle Adjani in L'Été Meurtrier / One Deadly Summer (Jean Becker, 1983).


French postcard in the 'série chanteurs' by Les Editions GIL, no. 28.

British rock artist Sting (1951) is best known as the pop star with the high-pitched, raspy voice and blonde, spiky hair. Sting (Gordon Summers) made his breakthrough as the singer and bass player for The Police and then launched a successful solo career. He also acted in film and television, and was memorable as the Mod leader in Quadrophenia (1979) and as Eddie’s father in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998).


French postcard in the 'série chanteurs' by Les Éditions GIL, no. 47. David Bowie in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Nagisa Oshima, 1983).

English musician and actor David Bowie (1947-2016) was a major pop star for over four decades. During the 1970s, he was a magnificent innovator. We love his album 'Changes'. With various stage and film roles, he also proved to be a fine actor.


French postcard in the 'série chanteurs' by Les Editions GIL, no. 76. David Bowie in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Nagisa Oshima, 1983).


French postcard in the 'série chanteurs' by Les Editions GIL, no. 125. Madonna in Who's That Girl (James Foley, 1987).

Madonna or Madonna Louise Ciccone (1958) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. During the MTV craze in the 1980s, Madonna pushed boundaries with her song texts and her provocative performances. She frequently reinvented herself and her music and stayed the 'Queen of Pop' for decades. Her global bestsellers were hits such as 'Like a Virgin' (1984) and 'True Blue' (1986), but for us she became more interesting with songs like' Like a Prayer' (1989), 'Vogue' (1991) and 'Frozen' (1998). And we're still fans, even of some of her films, including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Truth or Dare (1991), and Evita (1996). The remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl who never stops reinventing herself, Madonna is a seven-time Grammy Award-winner who has sold over three hundred million records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide.

Sources: DK Logue Editions.