Hungarian postcard by Magyar Rotophot. Photo: Strelisky, Budapest.
Hungarian postcard by the magazine Shinhazi Elet (Theatre Life), Budapest, published by Jozsef Pécal. Photo: Angelo, Budapest, 1919. Irén Varsányi in Ferenc Molnár's play 'Liliom'.
The new type of woman of the time
Irén Varsányi was born in 1877 or 1878 (sources differ) as Malvin Wollner in a Jewish family in Györ, Hungary, a middle-class city at the time. She moved with her family to Budapest to enrol in drama school. Here she was discovered by theatre director Mór Ditrói, who immediately signed the 18-year-old, who had not even graduated, to the newly founded Vígszínház Comedy Theatre.
The theatre was founded in 1894 and opened in 1896, amidst Budapest's population explosion and hunger for theatre. She played the role of Ibolyka in the opening performance, 'The Barangók'. Varsányi was an instant success. After countless actresses portraying the traditional female roles of the time, naïve, comic, and dramatic heroines, with learned gestures, Varsányi's effortless naturalism was refreshing.
Irén Varsányi wonderfully brought out the new type of woman of the time: the easy-going bourgeoise. Her greatness lay in the fact that she could play far more than only one character. Varsányi was a universal actress, which was new for the time. She played Ferenc Molnár's 'Liliom', George Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion', Carlo Goldoni's 'Mirandolina', etc.
Between 1918 and 1920, Irén Varsányi acted in four Hungarian silent films: she debuted as the title character and protagonist of Anna Karenina (Márton Garas, 1918), based on Leo Tolstoy's classic novel. Dezsõ Kertész played her lover Vronsky, while Karenin was played by Emil Fenyvessy. In 1995, the Hungarian Film Institute and Compline Studio recreated the original Hungarian intertitles, thus restoring the film to its original state, while before only a version with German intertitles existed.
In 1919, Varsányi acted in two more films by Garas: A Táncosnö / The Dancer, starring Leopoldine Konstantin as the dancer, and again with Dezsõ Kertész and Emil Fenyvessy. Irén Varsányi also played a double role as the protagonist in Sappho, also with Fenyvessy and Victor Varconi. In 1920, Varsányi played a supporting part in her last film, A színésznö / The Actress (Antal Forgács, 1920), starring Helene von Bolvary and Paul Lukas.
Hungarian postcard. Photo: Båro Bianka, Budapest, 1918. Caption: Irén Varsányi and her little girl.
Hungarian postcard by the magazine Shinhazi Elet (Theatre Life), Budapest / City, no. 80. Photo: Báró Bianca. Irén Varsányi in Ernö Vajda's play 'Szerelem vására' (Love Fair), performed at Vígszínház (the Comedy Theatre).
A life refrained from scandals except one
In addition to her success on stage (and screen), Irén Varsányi led an exemplary family life. Her life was refrained from scandals, and she strictly protected her private life from the tabloids of the time.
In 1904, she married Illés Szécsi, an industrialist and landowner, one of the founding members of the Vígszínház. They lived opposite the Vígszínház, in a large bourgeois apartment. Their marriage was legendary, although contemporaries said that Varsányi had to give up much of her bohemian, easygoing spirit, honed in the acting world, to fit into the somewhat boring, bourgeois world.
Their two children were brought up in peace and affection. For Varsányi, it was important to spend time with them, to be part of their lives. During her long marriage, she only had one breakdown - she was said to be Ferenc Molnár's greatest love.
She met Molnár at the rehearsals of 'The Bodyguard' in 1910, and they fell madly in love. According to contemporaries, Varsányi then tried for once to break out of the bourgeois life, which was a little stifling, but also offered comfort and wealth. Molnár made her leave home and even initiated divorce proceedings. But when her daughter became ill, she returned to her family. Molnár attempted suicide soon after.
Irén Varsányi's career did not decline even as she aged out of her roles as young girls and naughty beauties, but we will never know what she would have been like as an elderly actress. She made her last appearance on stage in 1932, aged 54, by which time she had been battling illness for some time. In the autumn of that year, she underwent surgery for gallstones. The operation was a success, but Varsányi died two days later due to complications.
Hungarian postcard by Magyar Rotophot, no. 8. Photo: Strelisky, Budapest. Irén Varsányi and Gyula Hegedüs in the stage comedy 'A kék róka' by Ferenc Herczeg.
Hungarian postcard by Magyar Rotophot. Photo: Strelisky, Budapest. Irén Varsányi and Gyula Csortos in the stage comedy 'A kék róka' by Ferenc Herczeg.
Hungarian postcard by Magyar Rotophot, no. 14. Photo: Strelisky, Budapest 1917. Caption: the stage actors Irén Varsányi, Gyula Csortos, Frigyes Tanay, Frida Gombaszögi, and Gyula Hegedüs pose in the photo studio of Strelisky. 'Kék róka' means 'Blue fox,' referring to the eponymous stage comedy 'A kék róka' by Ferenc Herczeg. The play later became famous through the film adaptation Der Blaufuchs (Viktor Tourjansky, 1938) with Zarah Leander.
Sources: Nora Nemes (We love Budapest), Wikipedia (Hungarian) and IMDb.
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