French postcard by FA, no. 104. Photo: Talma.
French postcard. Caricature by Charles Gesmar. Collection: Marlene Pilaete. Charles Gesmar (1900-1928) had a short but brilliant career as a poster designer, illustrator and costume designer.
French postcard by Wyndham Ed., Paris, no. 101.
Critics celebrated her charm
Spinelly was born Élisa Berthelot in 1887 in Paris. Her mother was Elisa Marie Louise Berthelot. Her father was unknown. In 1904, Élisa took the name of Fournier when her mother married Marc Fournier.
As Andrée Spinelly, she made her stage debut in 1905 in 'Les Petites Laripette', an operetta bouffe by Paul Morize and Henry Vernel at the Parisiana.
She was noticed by Alfred Delilia, the critic of the prominent newspaper Le Figaro: "Miss Andrée Spinelly, a young artist of sixteen, has just turned out to be an excellent actress in 'Les Petites Laripette', the current success of Parisiana ”. In the following years, she starred on stage in light comedies and revues.
During the first ten years of her career, Spinelly spotted unknown or overlooked designers. She enlisted Paul Poiret for both her costumes and gowns. Until the advent of the First World War, Poiret worked closely with Spinelly. André Perugia became her shoemaker of choice. In 1915, she discovered the talent of the very young Charles Gesmar, then only fifteen years old. Gesmar designed her costumes and posters. Later he became Mistinguett’s costume designer and a popular illustrator.
In the same period, Spinelly began an affair with Raimu with whom she played in 'Plus ça change!' (1915) and 'L'École des cocottes' (1920). Critics celebrated her charm.
French postcard by J.L.C., no. 2. Caption: Parisiana.
French postcard by A.N. (A. Noyer), Paris, no. 49. Photo: Studio G.L. Manuel Frères.
A beautiful young woman at the centre of a web of espionage in Lebanon
During the 1930s, Spinelly starred in a few films. She played the lead in the comedy L'amour à l'américaine/American Love (Claude Heymann, Pál Fejös, 1931) co-starring André Luguet and Suzet Maïs. Based on a play of the same name, it portrays the romantic escapades of a young American woman in France who falls in love with a married man.
Spinelly then starred in the spy thriller La Châtelaine du Liban/The Lady of Lebanon (Jean Epstein, 1934), with Jean Murat. She played a beautiful young woman at the centre a web of espionage in Lebanon with clashes between the French and British secret services. The film was based on the novel 'La Châtelaine du Liban' (1924) by Pierre Benoit. Filming took place in Lebanon, France, Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.
Her other films included the Georges Feydeau adaptation Un fil à la patte/A Fly in the Ointment (Karl Anton, 1933) with Robert Burnier, and the French-German co-production Idylle au Caire/Season in Cairo (Claude Heymann, Reinhold Schünzel, 1933), starring Renate Müller. It was an alternate language version of the musical comedy Saison in Kairo (Reinhold Schünzel, 1933) made by the Ufa. The film was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and on location in Egypt.
Her final film was Suzanne et ses brigands/Suzanne and the Robbers (Yves Ciampi, 1949) with René Dary and Suzanne Flon. Her affair with the novelist Pierre Benoit, whom she had met in 1933 during the filming of his novel 'La Châtelaine du Liban', led her to retire to the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in 1948.
In 1966, Andrée Spinelly died in Bidart, Pyrénées-Atlantiques. She was 79.
French postcard. Photo by Studio G.L. Manuel Frères. Publicity for Campari. Caption: Campari est le jazz band de l'appetit.
French postcard. Photo by Studio G.L. Manuel Frères. Publicity for Campari. Caption: Campari est le jazz band de l'appetit.
Sources: The Historialist, Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.
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