Jude Law

English actor Jude Law (1972) has been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards and three Laurence Olivier Awards. His early successes included such films as Gattaca (1997), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Road to Perdition (2002). Later, he co-starred as Dr. John Watson in Sherlock Holmes (2009), as Hugo's father in Hugo (2011), and as a young writer in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).


British postcard by Music Factory, no. 245.


Vintage postcard by CinéFilm(s). Jude Law in A.I. (Steven Spielberg, 2001).


Vintage promotion card by Movie Insider for Oris, no. P-40. Jude Law in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Kerry Conran, 2004).

A disabled former swimming star living in a eugenics-obsessed dystopia

David Jude Heyworth Law was born in 1972 in Lewisham, South London. Jude was the second child of Peter Law and Margaret Heyworth. Both his parents were teachers at the National Youth Music Theatre, and now live in France. His older sister Natasha is an artist. Law has said that he was named after both the book 'Jude the Obscure' and the Beatles song 'Hey Jude'. As a five-year-old, he was cast in a rendition of 'Saint George and the Dragon'.

At the age of twelve, he began his acting career at the National Youth Music Theatre in London. From 1987 onwards, he appeared regularly in theatre productions. One of his first major stage roles was Foxtrot Darling in Philip Ridley's 'The Fastest Clock in the Universe', which he performed at the Hampstead Theatre in London. At 17, he left school to take a role in the soap opera Families (1990). He toured Italy in 1992 with the play 'Pygmalion'.

In 1994, he attracted the attention of many critics with his portrayal of Michael in a production of Jean Cocteau’s tragicomedy 'Les Parents Terribles' and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer. In 1995, the play was staged on Broadway under the title 'Indiscretions', where Law acted opposite Kathleen Turner and Roger Rees. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play that same year. Jude Law received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and the Theatre World Award for his performance.

His film career began with the crime drama Shopping (Paul Anderson, 1994), with his future wife, Sadie Frost. Further film roles soon followed. In 1997, he took on the role of Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’ Douglas, Oscar Wilde's elegant lover, in the biopic Wilde (Brian Gilbert, 1997), alongside Stephen Fry and Vanessa Redgrave. His international breakthrough came with the role of Jerome Eugene Morrow, a disabled former swimming star living in a eugenics-obsessed dystopia, in the Science-Fiction film Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997), with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. In Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), he played the role of Billy Hanson, a male prostitute killed by his partner, an art dealer portrayed by Kevin Spacey.

Jude Law was nominated for an Oscar in 2000 for his supporting role as Dickie Greenleaf in the psychological thriller The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), alongside Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow. He actually won a BAFTA Award for his role, and the film did very well at the box office. He played a leading role as Inman in the war drama Cold Mountain (2003) alongside Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. It earned him a second Oscar nomination in 2002. In both films, Law was directed by Anthony Minghella. From then on, he mainly appeared in major productions, such as Steven Spielberg’s A.I. (2001) and Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition (2002). In Mike Nichols’ relationship drama Closer (2003), he co-starred with Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen.


British postcard by Pyramid, Leicester, no. PC0091, 2000.


Poster postcard in the Cinemascope Collection, no. 345. Photo: Paramount / Miramax. Matt Damon and Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999).


Poster postcard, no. 6457. Image: Paramount / Miramax. Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999). Caption: How far would you go to become someone else?

The Sexiest Man Alive and most bankable in Hollywood

People magazine chose Jude Law as the Sexiest Man Alive in November 2004. In the remakes Alfie (Charles Shyer, 2004) and Sleuth (Kenneth Branagh, 2007), Law took on the roles originally played by Michael Caine in the first film adaptations (1966 and 1972). In the new version of Sleuth, Caine himself took on the role of the older antagonist, previously played by Laurence Olivier. By the end of the year, Law was one of the Top Ten A-list of the most bankable film stars in Hollywood, according to the Ulmer Scale.

In 2008, Law helped director Terry Gilliam complete the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by agreeing to take on part of the role of the lead actor Heath Ledger, who had died during filming. As the character of Tony undergoes several transformations in the film, Gilliam altered the script for the resumption of filming so that Law only had to portray the role in one episode. The other episodes were taken over by Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell. In Sally Potter’s film Rage, which was screened in competition at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival, he played the drag-performing supermodel Minx. It was the world’s first feature film to debut on mobile phones.

In Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie, 2009) and its sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011), Jude Law played the role of Dr Watson alongside Robert Downey Jr. This was followed by the Science-Fiction thriller Repo Men (Miguel Sapochnik, 2010) opposite Forest Whitaker. Other notable films include the medical thriller Contagion (Steven Soderbergh, 2011), Hugo (Martin Scorsese, 2011), Side Effects (Steven Soderbergh, 2013), The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014), and Spy (Paul Feig, 2015).

In the last two instalments of the Fantastic Beasts film series, a spin-off of the Harry Potter films, The Crimes of Grindelwald (David Yates, 2018) and The Secrets of Dumbledore (David Yates, 2022), he portrayed the young wizard Albus Dumbledore. He also played Yon-Rogg in another blockbuster, Captain Marvel (Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, 2019). Since 2024, he has played the role of Jod Na Nawood in the television series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. In 2024, Jude Law was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Law returned to the stage in 2009, playing the role of Hamlet in William Shakespeare’s play, directed by Michael Grandage at Wyndham’s Theatre in London, during a guest performance at Kronborg Castle in Denmark, and at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway. In 2011, he played the male lead in Eugene O’Neill’s play 'Anna Christie'.

Jude Law was in a relationship with actress Sadie Frost for ten years, six of which they were married (1997-2003). Law met her on the set of the film Shopping (1994). The couple had three children together: two sons (Rafferty and Rudy) and a daughter (Iris). Frost already had a son from a previous relationship. In late 2003, Law began a relationship with co-star Sienna Miller whilst they were working on the film Alfie. They had an on-off relationship until February 2011 and were also engaged for a time. Law became a father to a daughter (Sophia) in 2009, the result of a brief relationship with American model Samantha Burke. He had another daughter (Ada) with ex-girlfriend Catherine Harding in 2015. Law has been married to psychologist Phillipa Coan since 2019. They have two children together, born in 2020 and 2023.


Belgian Poster postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: Columbia Pictures. Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen in Closer (Mike Nichols, 2004).


Dutch Poster postcard by Boomerang, no. P25-11. Photo: Village Roadshow Pictures / Warner Bros. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011). Caption: Do you also solve every puzzle? Test it here.


Dutch Poster postcard by Boomerang, no. P25-09. Photo: Village Roadshow Pictures / Warner Bros. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011). Caption: Are you a real Sherlock Holmes?

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

Yvonne Printemps

French singer and actress Yvonne Printemps (1894-1977) was a glittering star of the European stage. A true diva, she loved the spotlight and would be seen draped with jewels, wearing enormous hats and having her pet dogs on a leash. Printemps also appeared in ten international silent and sound films.


French postcard by EPC (Editions et Publications Cinématographiques), Paris, no. 25.


French postcard by Editions A.N., Paris, no. 24. Photo: G.L. Manuel Frères.


French postcard by Editions A.N., Paris, no. 2. Photo: Emera.


French postcard by FA (F.A. Christensen), no. 025. Photo: Dupont-Eméra.


French card by Massilia. Photo: Studio Charles.

Miss Springtime at the Folies Bergère

Yvonne Printemps was born Yvonne Willigniolle Dupre in Ermont, Ile-de-France, France, in 1894. Her parents were Léon-Alfred Wigniolle, a cashier, and Palmyre Vignolle. At age 10, Yvonne started appearing in amateur productions.

She was discovered by music hall director Paul-Louis Flers, who let her play at his famous music hall, Folies Bergère. He gave her the stage name ‘Mademoiselle Printemps’ (Miss Springtime) because of her sunny disposition. She made her professional stage debut at the age of 14 in the revue 'Nue Cocotte' at La Cigale in Paris.

The following year, she returned to the Folies Bergères, where she appeared for four years. The charming and intelligent beauty with the exceptional voice soon became a 'grande vedette', and appeared with such great stars of the day as Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett. As a lyrical soprano, she appeared in operettas like 'Les Contes de Perrault' (The Stories of Perrault, 1913) and 'Le Poilu' (The Soldier, 1916).

Her first film appearance was in the silent film Un roman d'amour et d'aventures / A Love and Adventure Novel (René Hervil, Louis Mercanton, 1918). Her co-star and script-writer was actor-playwright Sacha Guitry. They married a year later. Together, they performed in a number of his plays.

Printemps had worldwide success with Reynaldo Hahn's 'Mozart' in which she played the title role in a travesty. In 1925, Gance and Printemps brought this extremely popular production to cities in North America, including New York City, Montreal, Quebec, and Boston, Massachusetts. In America, she appeared in a curious silent film version of 'La Dame aux Camélias', Camille (Ralph Barton, 1926) starring Paul Robeson as Alexandre Dumas fils and Anita Loos as Camille.


French postcard by F.A. Christensen, Rueil, no. 303. Photo: Reutlinger.


French postcard for La Revue des Folies-Bergère 1911, no. 9. Photo: Paris Qui Chante. Yvonne Printemps as Buckingham.


French postcard by Publications J.P. Paris. Caricature by Raoul Cabrol. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


French postcard, no. 46. Photo: G.L. Manuel Frères.


French postcard by Editions Chantal, Rueil, no. 5 A.


French postcard by Viny, no. 124. Photo: Védis-Film.


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 12. Photo: Films Orange.


French postcard by Editions A.N., Paris, no. 1176. Photo: Harcourt.


French postcard by S.E.R.P., Paris, no. 21. Photo: Studio Harcourt.

Personifying the grand diva

In 1931, Sacha Guitry directed Yvonne Printemps in Franz Hals opposite Pierre Fresnay. While married to her director, she fell in love with her co-star. In 1932, she divorced Guitry for Fresnay, whom she did not marry, but the pair remained with each other for life.

In 1934, Printemps and Fresnay received international acclaim for their performances in the Noel Coward play, 'Conversation Piece'. They performed in Paris and at London's West End before going to the United States to star on Broadway. That year, Printemps also starred as courtesan Marguerite Gautier in a new film version of 'Camille', La dame aux camélias / The Lady of Camelias (Fernand Rivers, Abel Gance, 1934), opposite Fresnay as Armand Duval.

Fresnay also directed her in the film Le Duel / The Duel (Pierre Fresnay, 1939). Printemps appeared in a total of ten films, including the starring role in both the stage and screen versions of Les trois valses / Three Waltzes (Ludwig Berger, Albert Willemetz, 1938) as Fanny, Yvette and Irène Grandpré, and in the title role of Adrienne Lecouvreur (Marcel L'Herbier, 1938), in both films opposite Fresnay.

Loving the spotlight, she would be seen draped with jewels and wearing enormous hats. Personifying the 'grand diva', she made a great spectacle wherever she went with her pet dogs on a leash. Her last film appearance was in the comedy Le Voyage en Amérique / Trip to America (Henri Lavorel, 1951). She continued to perform on stage until she was well into her sixties.

With Pierre Fresnay, she co-directed the Théâtre de la Michodière in Paris until he died in 1975. Two years later, Yvonne Printemps died in the Paris suburb of Neuilly in 1977. In 1994, the government of France placed her image on a postage stamp.


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, Paris, no. 2022. Photo: Studio Piaz.


French promotion card by La Voix de son Maitre (His Master's Voice). Photo: Studio Charles. Yvonne Printemps in Les trois valses / Three Waltzes (Ludwig Berger, Albert Willemetz, 1938).


French collector card by Pathé. Photo: Production C.I.C.C. (Compagnie industrielle et commerciale cinématographique). Yvonne Printemps and Raimu in Le Duel / The Duel (Pierre Fresnay, 1941), scripted by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Jean Villard.


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 2.


French postcard by EPC (Editions et Publications cinématographiques), no. 204. Photo: Teddy Piaz, Paris.


French postcard by Star Presse Champs-Elysees, no. 46.


French postcard, no. 723. Photo: Harcourt.


Clip of the Luce News of Printemps and Guitry performing in Rome at the Teatro Valle in 1932. Source: CinecittaLuce (YouTube).


Yvonne Printemps sings 'Une Heureuse Rencontre' in La valse de Paris (Marcel Achard, 1950). Source: Stephen Joeagi (YouTube).


Yvonne Printemps in an Opéra Comique by Jacques Offenbach in La valse de Paris (Marcel Achard, 1950). Source: Stephen Joeagi (YouTube).

Sources: Wikipedia (English and French) and IMDb.

Souvenirs from Noordwijk (1)

Every spring and autumn, we visit de VerzamelJaarbeurs, the Collectors' Fair in Utrecht. Of course, we have our favourite postcard sellers there. Unfortunately, their numbers are dwindling. The range on offer is changing; sellers are getting older or find the stall hire fees too high. One such seller is Jac Verloop. I once bought our finest find from him: an album of Pathé postcards from 1911. After the COVID period, Jac decided to stop attending the Collectors’ Fair, but continued to trade in postcards. So this summer, we visited him and his wife at their home in Noordwijk, a lovely coastal town in the Netherlands. We found some wonderful postcards, which we’ll be sharing with you in two posts. Here's the first with Ivo's selection of his finds.


Vintage postcard, nation and editor unknown, 1920s-1930s. The writing is in Esperanto.

Kôkichi Takada (1911-1998) was born Takeichi Kaijura in 1911. He began his film career with Shochiku Co. in 1926 and became a leading star in the mid-1930s. He often starred in historical films. Takada performed with a travelling troupe in post-war Japan before returning to the screen in 1954. He died in Kyoto of pneumonia at the age of 86 in 1998. This card is part of a set of Japanese film actors from the period before WW II. We'll share them in a future post.


French postcard by J.R.P.R., Paris, no. 379. Photo: Studio Lorelle. Simone Genevois as Jeanne d'Arc in La merveilleuse vie de Jeanne d'Arc / Saint Joan the Maid (Marco De Gastyne, 1929), produced by Pathé-Natan and distributed by Aubert.

Simone Genevois (1912–1995) was a French film actress who began her career as a child actor. She had a supporting part as Pauline Bonaparte in Abel Gance's Napoléon (1927). Thern followed her best-known role as Joan of Arc in the epic La nerveilleuse de Jeanne d'Arc / Saint Joan the Maid (1929).


French postcard in the series Nos artistes dans leur loge, no. 131. Photo: Comoedia.

Denise Grey (1896-1996) debuted on screen in Mademoiselle Etchiko (André Hugon, 1913), but her first major part was in the Hector Malot adaptation En famille (1915). Grey also became a star of the Parisian stage in the 1920s and was a leading can-can dancer with the Folies Bergère. From 1935, she was prolific as a supporting actress in sound cinema and during World War II, she became a member of the Comédie Française. Until 1992, she acted in 122 films and TV productions.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. 6603. Photo: Film Pathe. Caption: The Kiss of Judas.

This could be a postcard for Pathé's second film adaptation of the Life of Christ: La Vie et la Passion de Jésus-Christ (Ferdinand Zecca, Lucien Nonguet, 1902-1903). The postcard series consists of four cards: 'Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane', 'The Betrayal of Judas', 'The Kiss of Judas', and 'Judas Receives the Thirty Silver Pieces'.


French postcard by SIP, Series 42, no. 16. Photo: Camus, Paris.

Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Her ingenious delivery of songs charged with risqué meaning made her famous. She also appeared in some classic silent films, such as F.W. Murnau's Faust (1926).


French postcard, no. 126. The card was sent by mail in 1911.

Suzanne Desprès (1875–1951) was a French stage actress of the Comédie Française, where she appeared in important plays, including 'Phèdre'. In 1915, Desprès debuted in cinema in the female lead in Les soeurs ennemies by Germaine Dulac. In the 1920s, she played the lead in La porteuse de pain (1923) by René Le Somptier, and had a major supporting part in Jean Renoir's historical film Le tournoi (1928). Between 1935 and 1940 she acted in ten French sound films, including Julien Duvivier's Maria Chapdelaine (1934).


French postcard KF, Paris. Caricature of Edmond Rostand on the back of the rooster Chantecler, one of his most famous plays. The surrounding chicks represent his other plays.


French postcard by Ed. Etoile, Paris (G. Piprot). Photo: Moreau.

Paola Monti (?-?) started her career in the 1900s in Paris as a barefoot dancer. In the years before WWI, she was the leading actress in some thirty mostly short Italian films.


French postcard by Ed. C. Jeangette, Paris. Mlle Santory as La Muse in the opera 'Louise' by Gustave Charpentier. It was performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1900. The postcard was sent by mail in 1905.


French postcard by SIP, series 34, no. 4. Photo: Leopold Reutlinger, Paris. The postcard was sent by mail in 1901.

Marie Marville began her career as a horsewoman at the Molier circus in 1894. Sporty and emancipated, she rode horses, rowed, fenced, and ice skated. The newspaper Gil Blas frequently mentioned her among the demi-mondaines of the Belle Époque. In 1898, she made her stage debut in Courteline's 'La Peur des coups' in Ostend. She was hired in 1908/1909 and 1910/1911 to perform in the Folies Bergère revues. In 1913, she married P.-L. Flers (Léon Pujol), a playwright, songwriter, and revue director. Marville continued to perform on stage, but she probably never acted in a film.


French postcard, no. 1553. Photo: Leopold Reutlinger, Paris. The postcard was sent by mail in 1903.

Louise Willy, also known as Loulou, was born around 1873 and died on an undetermined date after 1913. She was a French cabaret, theatre and silent film artist. Willy is best known for her part in the first erotic film in 1896. Yes, she made history.


French postcard. The characters Dudulle & Bébert in the stage farce 'Le Tour du Monde d'un Enfant de Paris' (1914) at the Théâtre Molière. 'Le Tour du monde d'un enfant de Paris' was a play in 12 acts by Ernest Morel. It was also performed as 'Le Beau voyage d'un enfant de Paris'.


British postcard in The Bee Series. Caption: The late Miss Bessie Wentworth.

Bessie Wentworth (1873-1901) was an English music hall singer and comic entertainer. In 1891, she joined Jack Sheppard's troupe and became a principal boy in pantomimes, before developing a solo act in music halls. She sang plantation and coon songs, dressed as a young man wearing a stereotypical costume of open-necked shirt, striped pantaloons, and a large straw hat. One of her most successful songs was 'Looking for a Coon Like Me' by John Harrington. In the 1890s, she was a popular subject of postcards of her in masculine poses. Toulouse-Lautrec portrayed her as a plantation worker in a lithograph in 1896. She died aged 27 from typhoid fever.


British postcard by Ed. J. Baker & Son, no. 36. Photo: Prothero, Bristol. Fanny Fields as Gretchen, the servant of Mother Goose in the 1905 play 'Mother Goose', performed as the Bristol Prince’s Theatre’s Christmas pantomime.

Fanny Fields (1880–1961), often billed as 'Happy' Fanny Fields, was an American singer, dancer and comic entertainer who found success in British music halls and pantomimes in the early 1900s. Fields was famous for her impersonations of Dutch country girls, complete with folkloristic attire and clog dances. She made two silent films before making her last stage appearance at the London Coliseum in 1913.


Vintage postcard. We love this beautifully cut card, as if it were lace. Though it only mentions the word 'Carmen', the portrait is very much like the early Francesca Bertini, who would become one of the divas of Italian silent cinema.

Next week follows part 2 of Souvenirs from Noordwijk.

Eva (1913) and Wenn Wunden heilen (1914)

We finish our little Henny Porten tribute with one of her earliest film successes, the melodrama Eva (1913). Her husband, Curt A. Stark, directed her, and Harry Liedtke was one of her co-stars in this Messter Film production. The Spanish editor Reclam Films published a series of small collector cards for the film. We added for this post a second Reclam Film series for another little-known Messster production, Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal (Hans Oberlénder, 1913-1914) starring Alice Hechy.

Eva (1913)

Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 1 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Henny Porten, Hans Marr and possibly Harry Liedtke in Eva (Curt A. Stark, 1913).


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 2 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Henny Porten and Hans Marr in Eva (Curt A. Stark, 1913).


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 3 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Henny Porten, Hans Marr and Hermann Seldeneck in Eva (Curt A. Stark, 1913).

The recklessness and snobbery of the aristocracy

The success of Eva (Curt Stark, 1913) provided the opportunity for Porten to have her own Henny Porten series at Messter. Until his death at the Western Front in 1916, Curt Stark directed most of Porten's films and was also her first husband. Typical for German melodrama during the Wilhelminian era, Eva criticises the recklessness and snobbery of the aristocracy, but in the end, the class conflict and age difference are too big for a happy marriage. The heroine dies in her husband's arms.

Count Düren (Hermann Seldeneck) establishes the Neue Westfälische A.G., which he names ‘Evamine’ after his daughter Eva (Henny Porten). He appoints the experienced businessman Johannes Hartwig (Hans Marr), who enjoys his full confidence and also adores his daughter Eva, to head the company. Hartwig knows how to lure future shareholders, most of whom he finds among Count Düren's circle of acquaintances or among the company's workers. While Düren is hosting a reception to mark the launch of ‘Evamine’, a disturbing telegram arrives, stating that the company has already filed for bankruptcy. Although everyone now turns on Hartwig, it is Düren who had concealed the true financial situation of this new company from him from the outset. Eva is appalled by her father's business practices and stands in solidarity with Hartwig – much to the annoyance of her fiancé, Count Elimar (Harry Liedtke), an arrogant class-conscious snob. When he expects Eva to share his attitude, she breaks off the engagement.

Hartwig feels obliged to act and uses his entire fortune to protect the shareholders from losing their entire investment. Then things take a dramatic turn. Eva's father feels dishonoured by his own irresponsible actions and shoots himself. Eva, in turn, marries Hartwig out of a sense of gratitude and duty, without loving this much older man. The couple have a daughter, whom they name Lieschen. The marriage is ill-fated, and Eva is unhappy with her unloved husband. Mother Hartwig (Frieda Richard) adds to the tension by reproaching Eva for her aristocratic origins, as a kind of counterpoint to Count Elimar. When Elimar re-enters Eva's life and claims that he still loves her, she takes this as an opportunity to leave her husband and child. With a heavy heart, her husband agrees to a divorce.

But Elimar does not want Eva back in the sense that he intends to marry her. Rather, he envisions a liaison, a love affair without any firm commitment, and therefore tries to thwart Eva's divorce from Hartwig. Then one day, another of Elimar's exes, a certain Toinette (Marie Wendt), shows up and tells Eva all about the other girls this man has seduced and then callously abandoned. Now Eva demands that her ex-fiancé marry her, as this is the only way to preserve her honour. When he refuses, Eva shoots him. Countess Düren is sentenced to three years in prison, where she is cared for by Toinette, but is still terminally ill after her release. In the end, it is once again the loyal, decent Johannes Hartwig who immediately approaches her upon her release to take her home with him. But Eva is already so exhausted that she dies with a smile on her lips, because Hartwig has forgiven her.

Eva was shot at the Messter studios in Blücherstrasse in Berlin, with cinematography by Carl Froelich. The screenplay was based on a stage play by Richard Voss. The film had its press screening at the Admiraltheater in Berlin on 22 May 1913. The next day, the public screening started. The Berlin Morgenpost wrote at the time: "However, the plot of this drama, with its powerful emotions, is particularly well suited for portrayal on the silver screen. The well-known film actress Henny Porten gave a brilliant performance as Eva. She demonstrated her complete mastery of film technique through her facial expressions. She was supported in the leading roles by Hans Marr, the excellent Ibsen actor, who still seemed somewhat out of place in the film, Frieda Richard from the Berlin Theatre, and Messrs. Liedtke and Seldeneck."


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 4 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Henny Porten and Hans Marr in Eva (Curt A. Stark, 1913).



Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 5 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Possibly Marie Wendt and Harry Liedtke in Eva (Curt A. Stark, 1913).


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 6 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Henny Porten, and Frieda Richard in Eva (Curt A. Stark, 1913).

Wenn Wunden heilen (1914)

Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 1 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Alice Hechy and Charly Berger in Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal (Hans Oberländer, 1913).


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 2 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Alice Hechy, Charly Berger, Olga Engl and Hans Mierendorff in Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal (Hans Oberländer, 1913).


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 3 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Alice Hechy in Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal (Hans Oberländer, 1913).

The count, the governess and the young painter

Young German singer Alice Hechy starred as a young governess in the Messter production Wenn Wunden heilen / When wounds heal (Hans Oberländer, 1913). A year before, she had played, credited as Alice Scheel Hechy, her first film role for director Oberländer in Problematische Naturen / Problematic Natures (Hans Oberländer, 1912), also a Messter production.

In Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal, governess Hechy marries a count, played by Hans Mierendorff. As in Eva, class conflict and age difference are too big, and the couple soon divorces. The lovely Hechy then marries her once beloved painter, played by Charly Berger. Olga Engl played the snobbish mother of the count.

Though produced in 1913, Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal had its release in June 1914. Happily, the film was also released in Spain. The film title on the minicards of Reclam Film is Cuando las heridas se cicatrizan. This translates as 'When Wounds Leave Scars'. We prefer it above the German title

Although she was primarily a singer, Hechy acted in more silent films, like Das rote Pulver / The Red Powder (Joseph Delmont, 1913), Fräulein Piccolo / Miss Piccolo (Franz Hofer, 1914) with Dorrit Weixler, and Dorrits Eheglück / Dorrit’s Married Bliss (Paul Otto, 1916) with Bruno Kastner. Her most significant role in these years was that of the mechanical doll Olympia in Hoffmann's Erzählungen / Tales of Hoffmann (Richard Oswald, 1916), the early silent film adaptation of the operetta by Jacques Offenbach.

Then Hechy started a successful stage career in Berlin. First, she appeared at the Lustspielhaus (comedy house), then at the Theatre in der Kommandantenstraße, at the Neuen Theater am Zoo, and at the Theatre in der Behrenstraße. In the 1920s and early 1930s, Alice Hechy was repeatedly the star of the revues of Herman Haller. Guest performances took her to revues and operettas in Vienna.


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 4 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Alice Hechy, Olga Engl and Hans Mierendorff in Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal (Hans Oberlénder, 1913).


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 5 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Charly Berger in Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal (Hans Oberlénder, 1913).


Spanish minicard by Reclam Films, card 6 of 6. Photo: Messter Film. Alice Hechy, Charly Berger, Olga Engl and Hans Mierendorff in Wenn Wunden heilen / When Wounds Heal (Hans Oberlénder, 1913).

Sources: Filmportal, Wikipedia (German) and IMDb.