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28 May 2015

Harry Cort

Polish actor Harry Cort (1905-?) came from a royal dynasty and had a short film career with starring roles in three silent films, 9:25. Przygoda jednej nocy (1929), Halka (1930) and Karuzela zycia (1930). A 'social scandal' ended the film career of the handsome actor.

Harry Cort
Polish postcard by Polonia, Krakow, no. 923. Collection: Joanna.

Dressed as a Girl


Harry Cort was born Prince Stanisław Józef Gedyminowicz-Bielski in Trzeszczany near Zamosc, Russia (now Poland). Staś Bielski was born in the lineage of the Gediminids dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which reigned from the 14th to the 16th century.

At the age of seven years, he and his family went abroad and toured southern Europe, Africa and Asia. In Austria, he witnessed the outbreak of World War I, and in 1919, he survived the Budapest Hungarian communist revolution.

In 1924 he returned to Poland and joined the Corps of Cadets Lviv. He graduated high school in Warsaw and then went to study in Paris.

At the end of the 1920s, he returned to Poland. The handsome young man was popular, won hearts, ruined pockets and accounts, was charming, dressed by the best tailors in Warsaw, mostly on credit, unpredictable and unstable in his feelings, his whims and fancies could not be predicted or controlled, but he possessed irresistible charm.
The Polish site Queer relates how the very handsome 21-years old Staś Bielski once visited a ball dressed as a girl. The result turned out to be impressive: "He looked phenomenal, moving up beautifully, it took only fakes for what he was lacking in the figure, his neck was covered with a scarf and his low voice was explained by a cold."

Pola Negri
Italian postcard by Ed. Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze. Photo: Pola Negri in Good and Naughty (Malcolm St. Clair, 1926).

A terrible reputation


Staś Bielski met author and film critic Maria Jehanne Wielopolska who persuaded him to try to play for the cinema. His film debut at the Biske Studio was the adventure film 9:25. Przygoda jednej nocy/9:25. Adventure one night (Adam Augustynowicz, Ryszard Biske, 1929) in which he co-starred with Iza Norska. The film is now considered lost.

The following year he played the male lead in the drama Halka (Konstanty Meglicki, 1930). Halka was played by Zorika Szymanska. The film was a remake of the early Polish film Halka (1913), based on an opera by Wlodzimierz Wolski. Later followed a sound version, Halka (Juliusz Gardan, 1937) starring Liliana Zielinska as Halka.

Harry Cort’s third and final film was the romantic comedy Karuzela zycia/Carousel of Life (Boleslaw Micinski, 1930) in which he co-starred again with Iza Norska. This film is also considered lost.

With the advent of sound films, Harry Cort began an intensive study to learn singing and diction. In the early days of the sound era, films were recorded in various languages. Harry Cort prepared to play in films spoken in Polish, German and French. With his knowledge of languages and contacts with Polish Hollywood star Pola Negri, he wanted to play in foreign films. Polish film soon did not offer more roles for Cort, so he appeared in the operetta 'The Woman Who Knows What She Wants' (1933), but no further engagements followed.

Harry Cort now had a terrible reputation, was accused of extorting money and left the country. Reportedly, Prince Bielski continued there to live a jet-set life. The King of Belgium invited him to his summer residence for holidays and millionaires invited him at their parties. Just before the war, he married Cuban millionaire Jeannine Marie de la Conception Renee de Guiroye in London. The British court was represented at the ceremony by the Duke of Kent. The couple divorced in 1943. Harry Cort or Prince Gedyminowicz-Bielski died in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

Sources: Queer (Polish), Nitrofilm (Polish), Film Polski (Polish), Filmweb (Polish) and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 25 October 2023.

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