Henri Étiévant

Henri Étiévant (1870–1953) was a French stage and screen actor and film director. Among his best-known films is the monumental silent version of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables (Albert Capellani, 1913), in which he played the merciless police inspector Javert.


French postcard by Edition Pathé Frères.


French photo card by Pathé Frères for the film Bonaparte et Pichegru (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Georges Mitchell. Henri Étiévant as Leblanc, collecting his blood money from Bonaparte (Georges Saillard).


French postcard by ELD (E. Le Deley). Photo: Films Pathé Frères. Part of a booklet of postcards on Les Misérables (Albert Capellani, 1913). Caption: M. Madeleine (Henry Krauss) refuses the resignation of Javert (Henri Étiévant).

Inspector Javert

Henri Gaston Étiévan-Estival, better known as Henri Étiévant, was born in Paris in 1870. He was the son of journalist and playwright Alfred Etiévant, a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Étiévant began as a stage actor in the 1890s. He acted at André Antoine's Théâtre-Libre (1893-1894) and the Théâtre de l'Œuvre (1895-1898).

From 1901, he acted for several years at the Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, in plays such as 'Le Roman de Françoise' (1903), 'La Grande Famille' (1905), 'Roule-ta-Bosse' (1906) and 'Nick Carter' (1909). At least until 1912, Étiévant remained at the Ambigu.

Henri Étiévant made his film debut at Pathé Frères in 1908 and had a prolific career there until 1914. He often played bad guys, such as the traitor Leblanc in Bonaparte et Pichegru (Georges Denola, 1911), and as Jacques Garaud opposite the title character played by Jeanne Grumbach in La porteuse de pain (Georges Denola, 1912).

In the four-part episode film Les Misérables (Albert Capellani, 1913), he played Javert, the police commissioner mercilessly pursuing Jean Valjean (Henry Krauss). International critics, unaccustomed to such large-scale productions, were full of praise for Capellani's four-part production. Occasionally, Etiévant worked for other companies such as Radios, where he, e.g. played King Henry VIII in Le page / Pour être reine (1910) opposite Madeleine Céliat, who played Catherine Howard.


French postcard in the Collection Photo-Programme, Paris. The stage play 'La grande famille', by Alexandre Arquillière, was first performed at the Paris-based Théâtre de l'Ambigu on 22 November 1905. Play in six acts, directed by Georges Grisier. Main actors: Louis Gauthier (Sergeant Bertrand), Henri Etiévant (Lieutenant Brune - on the photo), Suzanne Munte (Louise), Villa (the corporal). Caption: Act 4. At Louise's room - Abandonment of his post at the guard's.


French postcard. Scene from the stage play 'Roule ta Bosse' by Jules Mary & Émile Rochard. The play was first staged at the Théâtre de l'Ambigu in Paris in 1906. The leads were for Henri Étiévant as Bastien Clairejoie, named Roule-ta-Bossse, Maggie Gauthier as Bastienne, and Grey as Gaspard de Mauléon. Caption: Gargousse [to Grey] There is only you as a man of the world carrying a revolver. Grey is the man with the straw hat, who plays the evil count. Right in the light clothes stands Roule-ta-Bosse, played by Henri Étiévant.


French photo card by Pathé Frères for the film Bonaparte et Pichegru (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Georges Mitchell. Left, Louis Ravet as Pichegru, in the middle Henri Étiévant as Leblanc.


Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 3 of 6. Photo: Milano Films. Mercedes Brignone, Franz Sala and Livio Pavanelli in Il rubino del destino / The Ruby of Destiny (Henri Étiévant, 1914), scripted by Augusto Genina. The film was released in Spain as El rubí del destino in January 1914.

Film director in Italy, Germany and France

In 1913, Henri Étiévant worked as a film director at Milano Films, on films with Pina Fabbri, Livio Pavanelli, and Thea Sandten.

In 1913-1914, he also worked as a director in Germany for the company Vitascope. He directed films such as Pauline (1914), often with Thea Sandten in the lead. The outbreak of the First World War abruptly ended Henri Étiévant 's film career. Between 1915 and 1919, he was absentfrom the sets and only returned behind the camera after his military service in 1920.

He retook his career as a director with the film Neuf / Nine (1920). In the 1920s, he focused on directing such films as La fille de Camargue (1921) with Stacia Napierkowska and Charles Vanel, La fin de Monte-Carlo / The End of Monte Carlo (1927) with Jean Angelo and Francesca Bertini, and La sirène des tropiques / Siren of the Tropics (Mario Nalpas, Henri Étiévant, 1927) with Josephine Baker.

With Nalpas, he co-directed his last film, the late silent film La symphonie pathétique / Pathetic Symphony (Mario Nalpas, Henri Étiévant, 1930). He would still act in five sound films in the 1930s, such as the comedy La bande à Bouboule / Bouboule's Gang (Léon Mathot, 1931). After his participation in Julien Duvivier's minor work L'Homme du jour / The Man of the Hour (1936), the 66-year-old Étiévant withdrew completely from the film business.

Henri Étiévant died in 1953 in Paris at the age of 83. He was the father of the stage and screen actress Yvette Étiévant (1922-2003), who peaked on stage in the 1950s and 1960s, and played in countless films and TV series between 1945 and the 1990s.


French postcard by Europe, no. 227. Photo: Sélections Cinégraphiques Maurice Rouhier. Francesca Bertini and Jean Angelo in La fin de Monte-Carlo (Henri Étiévant, Mario Nalpas, 1927).


French promotional postcard. Photo: Josephine Baker in La Sirène des tropiques / Siren of the Tropics (Mario Nalpas, Henri Étiévant, 1927). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


French promotional postcard. Photo: Josephine Baker in La Sirène des tropiques / Siren of the Tropics (Mario Nalpas, Henri Étiévant, 1927). The script was written by Maurice Dekobra. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


French postcard, no. 9. Photo: Galy.

Sources: Les Archives du Spectacle (French), Wikipedia (French and German), and IMDb.

Fernando Lamas

Handsome, dapper Argentine-born actor Lorenzo Lamas (1915-1982) came to Hollywood as a romantic lead in several colourful MGM extravaganzas and then succeeded in living up to his Latin Lover image in real life.


Vintage postcard, no. 1051. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M.G.M.).


Italian postcard by Vannina, Milano. Arlene Dahl and Fernando Lamas.


Dutch postcard by DRC, no. F 205. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M.G.M.). Sent by mail in 1956.

Lana Turner's love interest

Lorenzo Lamas was born Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos in 1915 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied drama at school in his native country and later enrolled in a law course at college. His strong leaning towards athletic pursuits prevailed, and he abandoned his studies to take up horse riding, winning trophies, fencing and boxing (middleweight amateur title) and becoming the South American Freestyle Swimming Champion of 1937.

While still in his teens, he appeared on stage, then on radio, and by the age of 24, in his first motion picture. His 14 Argentine films included Navidad de los pobres / Christmas with the Poor (Manuel Romero, 1947), El tango vuelve a París / The Tango Returns to Paris (Manuel Romero, 1948), and La historia del tango / The Story of the Tango (Manuel Romero, 1949).

For Republic, he appeared in a supporting role in the Swashbuckler The Avengers (John H. Auer, 1950) with John Carroll, shot on location in Argentina. Some scenes were filmed in the US, leading to Lamas going to Hollywood. In 1949, he was signed by MGM and went on to play 'Latin Lover' roles.

He had a star part as Lana Turner's love interest in the Technicolour musical The Merry Widow (Curtis Bernhardt, 1952), a solid hit. He romanced Elizabeth Taylor in The Girl Who Had Everything (Richard Thorpe, 1952), which was also successful. He charmed Esther Williams in another A-grade production, Dangerous When Wet (Charles Walters, 1953).

He also spent time 'on loan' to Paramount, who featured him in several Pine-Thomas B-movies, such as the 3-D Technicolour Sangaree (Edward Ludwig, 1953) and Jivaro / Lost Treasure of the Amazon (Edward Ludwig, 1954). His sole appearance on Broadway was in the 1957 play 'Happy Hunting'. There was considerable friction between him and co-star Ethel Merman, both on and off-stage. Lamas was nonetheless nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor, but had the misfortune of coming up against Rex Harrison's Professor Higgins in 'My Fair Lady'.


Vintage postcard, no. 83. Fernando Lamas in The Avengers (John H. Auer, 1950).


Spanish postcard. Arlene Dahl and Fernando Lamas in Sangaree (Edward Ludwig, 1953). Sent by mail in 1954.


Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 810. Photo: Paramount Pictures. Publicity still for Jivaro (Edward Ludwig, 1954).


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag (FFV), no. FK 338. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

First of the Red Hot Lamas

In real life, Fernando Lamas proudly lived up to his reputation as a ladies' man. His effortless charm and way with the ladies earned him the moniker 'First of the Red Hot Lamas'. With two ex-wives back in Argentina, actress Perla Mux and Lydia Barachi, he conducted well-publicised affairs with most of his female co-stars, including one with Lana Turner, which began while filming The Merry Widow (Curtis Bernhardt, 1952).

Actress Arlene Dahl, who appeared with him in Sangaree (Edward Ludwig, 1953) and The Diamond Queen (John Brahm, 1953), became his third wife from 1954 till 1960, and fellow swimming champion Esther Williams his fourth from 1969 till his death.

In Europe, he appeared in such films as Duello nella sila / Duel of Fire (Umberto Lenzi, 1962) with Liana Orfei. Lamas himself directed the Spanish film La fuente mágica / Magic fountain (Fernando Lamas, 1963), with himself and Esther Williams playing the lead roles. He also helped to write the Eurowestern Die Hölle von Manitoba / A Place Called Glory (Sheldon Reynolds, 1965), starring Lex Barker and Pierre Brice.

Lamas returned to Hollywood. From then on, he began to concentrate on television, alternating between acting in a recurring role as Playboy Ramon de Vega in Run for Your Life (1965) and directing episodes of shows like Mannix (1967), Alias Smith and Jones (1971), The Rookies (1972) and House Calls (1979). He directed another feature film, The Violent Ones (Fernando Lamas, 1967), with Aldo Ray and David Carradine.

Lamas was in Kill a Dragon (Michael D. Moore, 1967) with Jack Palance, and 100 Rifles (Tom Gries, 1969) with Jim Brown and Raquel Welch. His final film was The Cheap Detective (Robert Moore, 1978) with Peter Falk. Fernando Lamas died in 1982 in Los Angeles of pancreatic cancer. He was 67. He was the father of two daughters and of actor Lorenzo Lamas, best known for his roles in TV soaps like Falcon Crest (1981-1990) and The Bold and the Beautiful (2004-2006).


Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit., no. 2975. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M.G.M.).


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 504. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1954.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. D. 71. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 339. Photo: MGM.

Sources: I.S. Mowis (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

Gerda Krum

Gerda Krum (1878-1953) was a popular Danish operetta star in the 1900s. She also acted in six films in the early 1910s. Her life was full of tragedies.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 1351. Gerda Krum, aka Gerda Krum-Nathansen in 'Den glade Enke', the Danish version of Franz Léhar's operetta 'The Merry Widow / Die lustige Witwe'. This postcard was mailed in 1907. In 1906, Gerda Krum-Nathansen performed opposite Holger Reenberg at the Casino in Copenhagen in the operetta.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 843. Gerda Krum in 'Røverne' (Les brigands, 1869), an operetta by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 927. Photo: H. Paetz. In 1910, Gerda Krum, then called Gerda Krum-Juncker, performed opposite Henry Seemann at the Casino in Copenhagen in the operetta 'Greven af Luxemburg' (Der Graf von Luxemburg, 1909) by Franz Léhar.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 695. In 1908, Gerda Krum performed opposite Holger Reenberg at the Casino in Copenhagen in the operetta 'Manden med de tre Koner' (Der Mann mit den drei Frauen, 1908) by Franz Léhar.

Definitely best in singing roles

Gerda Krum was born in 1878. She was the daughter of actress Johanne Krum-Hunderup and solo dancer and ballet master Daniel Krum, who died by his own hand when Gerda was 9 years old.

She made her debut in 1897 at the Folketeatret, where she remained until 1900. She was then engaged at the Aarhus Theatre from 1901/02 to 1904/05, where she was definitely best in singing roles.

Her stage roles included Fiorella in 'Røverne' (Les Brigands), Adéle in 'Batermusen' (Die Fledermaus), Serpolette in 'Cornevilles Klokker' (Les cloches de Corneville), Bettina Hønsepige in 'Lykkebarnet' (La mascotte), Eurydice in 'Orfeus i Underverdenen' (Orphée dans l'Enfer) and the title role in 'Den skønse Helene' (La belle Hélène).

Gerda Krum later came to the Casino in Copenhagen, where in 1906 she played 'Den glade enke' (The Merry Widow) with great success and in December 1907, she guest-starred at the National Theatre in Norway in the role of Hanna Glawari in 'The Merry Widow'. Later in April 1913, she was a guest at the Central Theatre in Norway in the operetta 'Eva'.

In 1906, she married the actor Ludvig Nathansen, who was 20 years her senior. In 1907, he became fiercely jealous over his young wife's great success in the lead role in 'Den glade Enke'. He himself played a minor role in the performance at Aalborg Theatre, and he apparently found the waltz of the two leading actors, Holger Reenberg and his wife Gerda Krum-Nathansen, too convincing. He asked her to drop the role, which she refused. In their hotel room, he drew a gun to his wife's back. He missed her twice but then turned the gun on himself and died mortally wounded.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 1351. In 1906, Gerda Krum-Nathansen performed opposite Holger Reenberg at the Casino in Copenhagen in the operetta 'Den glade Enke' (Die lustige Witwe / The Merry Widow) by Franz Léhar.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 1352. Gerda Krum-Nathansen in the operetta 'Den glade Enke' (Die lustige Witwe / The Merry Widow) by Franz Léhar.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 1355. Gerda Krum aka Gerda Krum-Nathansen in 'Den glade Enke', the Danish version of Franz Léhar's operetta 'The Merry Widow / Die lustige Witwe'. This postcard was mailed in 1907. In 1906, Gerda Krum-Nathansen performed opposite Holger Reenberg at the Casino in Copenhagen in the operetta.

Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Stockholm, no. 1451. In 1906, Gerda Krum performed at the Casino, Copenhagen, in 'Yduns Æbler' (1906), a burlesque operetta by Danish composer August Enna.

Tragic events completely overshadowed her promising career

Gerda Krum made her debut at Nordisk Film in 1911, where she probably made her film debut opposite Philip Bech in the silent film Dommeren / The Judge (dir. unknown, 1911).

At Nordisk, she played opposite the star Valdemar Psilander in two films: Livets Løgn / A Fatal Lie (August Blom, 1911), about a wife who takes revenge when her husband's friend rejects her attentions, and Scenen og Livet / All the World's a Stage / Stage and Life (Robert Dinesen, 1913), also with Clara Wieth and Henry Seemann.

Until 1914, she managed to appear in about six films, also including Dramaet i den gamle Mølle / The Last of the Old Mill (Robert Dinesen, 1913) and Gidslet / Hostage (Martinius Nielsen, 1914).

In 1910, Gerda Krum married the chief prosecutor Hjalmar Juncker, and after that, she withdrew more and more from the stage, partly because she became a mother. She enjoyed a few happy years. When they lost their 15-year-old daughter in a motorcycle accident, her husband got so depressed that he tried to shoot himself. He failed, but lost his eyesight. Gerda Krum retired and cared for her husband till he died in 1949.

Gerda Krum died in 1953 and was buried at Holmens Kirkegård in Østerbro. She was 74.


Danish postcard by Alex Vincents Kunstforlag, Copenhagen, no. 687. In 1907, Henry Seemann and Gerda Krum co-starred in the Franz Lehar operetta 'Manden med de tre koner' (Der Mann mit den drei Frauen).


Danish postcard by Paul Heckscher, unnumbered. Sent by mail in 1907. Holger Reenberg in the Franz Léhar operetta 'Den glade Enke' (The Merry Widow), performed with Gerda Krum at the Casino theatre in Copenhagen in 1906.


Danish postcard by Alex. Vincents Kunstforlag, no. 309. Gerda Krum as Eurydice in the operetta 'Orfeus i Underverdenen' (Orphée dans l'Enfer/ Orpheus in the Underworld) by Jacques Offenbach. The headgear reminds one of the statue of the Lady of Elche, now at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid.

For the film Livets Løgn / A Fatal Lie (August Blom, 1911), see Stumfilm.dk (Dutch intertitles, Danish subtitles, plot description in English).

Sources: Filmdatabasen, Danskefilm (Danish), Aarhus Wiki (Danish) and IMDb.

Julien Clerc

Though sometimes dismissed in France as little more than a 'chanteur de charme' ('a ladies' singer'), Julien Clerc (1947) in fact enjoyed one of the most successful and longest-lived careers in contemporary French pop. He shaped the nouvelle chanson aesthetic across a span of decades that began in the shadow of the 1968 student rebellions, with the hit 'La Cavalerie'. He continued well into the following century with such evergreens as 'Si on Chantait' and 'This Melody'.


French postcard by Publistar, no. 1457. Photo: L. Camil.


French postcard by Editions Lyna, Paris, no. 2090. Photo: Michel Ginfray / Gamma.


French postcard by CO, no. CO 878. Photo: Pierre Terrasson.

A revival of traditional French chanson

Julien Clerc was born Paul-Alain Auguste Leclerc in 1947 in Paris. He was the son of Paul Leclerc, a senior UNESCO official, and Évelyne Merlot. His parents divorced in 1949. While his father preferred classical music, his mother, who came from the French Antilles island of Guadeloupe, introduced him to the music of singers such as Georges Brassens and Édith Piaf. Ghislaine, his father's second wife, a harpsichordist, introduced him to the piano.

Leclerc started playing the piano at the age of six. During his time at secondary school, he met Maurice Vallet, and they began writing songs. Encouraged by his father, he enrolled in law school at the Sorbonne, but spent more time in the cafés in front of the university, particularly at L'Écritoire. It was there, in 1966, that he met Étienne Roda-Gil, a dandy poet and son of a Spanish revolutionary, who would become his alter ego and official lyricist. Roda-Gil wrote the lyrics for most of Leclerc's compositions until 1980 and again from 1992 onwards.

Leclerc adopted the stage name Julien Clerc and signed a contract with the Pathé-Marconi label. In May 1968, he released his first album, which won the Académie Charles Cros Record Award. His first single, 'La cavalerie', opened a new chapter in the history of French chanson. The verses written by Roda Gil and Clerc's contemporary hippie look, with his long black curls, resonated strongly with young audiences in Paris in May 1968.

RFI: "Julien Clerc's neo-symphonic music and Vallet and Roda-Gil's almost dreamlike lyrics were well suited to this period of change. These songs were welcomed as a revival of traditional French chanson, and their highly harmonic style was quite unusual at the time, especially in France. In addition, Julien Clerc's voice, characterised by its famous vibrato, allowed the singer to stand out from the very beginning."

In 1969, Clerc performed at the Olympia for the first time as the opening act for a Gilbert Bécaud concert. Despite having only been active in music for a year, the performance was a great success. He would later return to the Olympia repeatedly for a series of concerts.


French promotion card by Imp. Cornu, Paris for Odeon / EMI / Pathé Marconi, no. 12-68. Photo: Philippe Galland.


French promotion card by Imp. Cornu, Paris for EMI / Pathé Marconi, no. 7-71. Photo: Tony Frank.


French postcard by Le Journal de Stéphanie, no. 7.


French postcard by La Roue Tourne, Paris.

Seducing Miou-Miou

From May 1969 to February 1970, Julien Clerc starred as Claude Bukowski in the highly successful Paris production of the musical 'Hair'. This show greatly increased his popularity in France. That year, the press wrote about his relationship with singer France Gall, which would last four years.

At the age of 24, Julien Clerc was already a big star. After three LPs, 'Yann et les dauphins' (1968), 'Des jours entiers à t’aimer' (1970) and 'Niagara' (1971), he received his first gold record in 1972 for his next studio album, 'Liberté égalité ou la mort'. Each of his albums in the 1970s, which were released at roughly yearly intervals, also went gold.

In Europe, he had numerous hits, such as 'Hélène', 'Si on chantait', 'Elle voulait qu'on l'appelle Venise', 'Ce n'est rien' and 'This melody'. Lyricist Etienne Roda-Gil was responsible for his greatest successes.

Clerc also tried his hand at acting. He starred in Claude Goretta's TV film Le temps d'un portrait / Time for a Portrait (1971). During the filming of D'amour et d'eau fraîche / Love and Cool Water (Jean-Pierre Blanc, 1976), he met the young actress Miou-Miou. In the film, they played the leading roles as a young couple in love. During the shooting of the film, Patrick Dewaere - Miou Miou's husband at the time - violently interfered with Julien Clerc, who seduced her. It was too late. Miou-Miou would be Clerc's partner until 1981.

He appeared with Georges Brassens and Françoise Hardy in Philippe Chatel's children's TV musical Emilie Jolie (Jean-Christophe Averty, 1980) and sang the title song. He also participated in '36 Front Populaire', a double album about the turbulent Popular Front period.


French postcard by Editions Lyna, Paris, no. 2017. Photo: Tony Frank.


French promotion card for Pathe Marconi / EMI by G.R. Joly, Paris, no. 2-75. Photo: Jean Denis Mahn.


French postcard by Corvisart, Epinal, no. 1.


Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.

A return to the chanson

In 1982, Julien Clerc achieved platinum status with 'Femmes indiscrétion et blasphème'. Four more platinum records followed until 1990. Clerc experimented with other musical styles, for example, on the album 'Cœur de rocker'.

After a temporary separation from his favourite author, Roda-Gil, he returned to his former chanson style after a short time. Clerc accompanied himself on the grand piano in many of his songs. Over the years, Clerc's repertoire varied from his own compositions to classic French songs such as 'Comme ici' by Georges Brassens and 'L'hymne à l'amour' by Édith Piaf. He performed in Africa, America and Europe.

In 2008, the album 'Où s'en vont les avions?' was released. In 2009, Clerc celebrated his 40th anniversary as an artist. Julien Clerc has been a member of Les Enfoirés for several years, a changing group of French artists who support Les Restos du Cœur, an organisation that helps the homeless.

In early 2019, he appeared as a coach on the French version of The Voice. In November 2019, the duet album 'Duos' was released, on which Clerc sings duets with Carla Bruni, Francis Cabrel, Calogero and Zaz. Christophe Maé, Sandrine Kiberlain and Soprano also sing on the album.

Clerc has five children: daughters Angèle (adopted) and Jeanne Herry with Miou-Miou; daughter Vanille and son Barnabé with his then-wife Virginie Coupérie, and son Léonard with journalist and screenwriter Hélène Grémillon, whom he married in 2012.


French postcard in the Star System series by Carte adhesive brevete S.G.D.G. / Auto-collant Dorchy.


Dutch postcard by Art Promotion, Amsterdam. Photo: EMI / Bovema.


French postcard by Ebullitions no. 590.


English postcard by NewLine, no. 72. Photo: Rocktography LTD, London.


French postcard by Damilla Editions, no. 94977. Photo: Pierre Terrasson.

Sources: Jason Ankeny (AllMusic), RFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.

María Mercader

María Mercader (1918-2011) was a Spanish actress who acted in Spanish and Italian films, largely between 1939 and 1952. She was the second wife of Vittorio De Sica and the mother of Christian and Manuel De Sica.


Spanish collector card by Cifesa / I.G. Viladot Sil, Barcelona.

Italian postcard by Gli attori della Tirrenia Cinematografica, no. 1. Maria Mercader in Brivido / Thrill (Giacomo Gentilomo, 1941).


Italian postcard by Stab. Angel, Terni / A. Terzoli, Roma, no. 311. Photo: Villoresi.


Italian postcard by Rizzoli & C., Milano, 1942. Photo: Bragaglia.

Italian films

María Mercader Forcada was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1918. Her cousin was Ramón Mercader, the murderer of Leon Trotsky in 1940, in Mexico. As a young girl, Mercader already had a minor part in the Spanish silent film La bruja / The Witch (Maximiliano Thous, 1923), but her film career really took off in 1939 when she acted in the Spanish musical Molinos de viento / Windmills (Rosario Pi, 1939).

This was followed by her acting in the French crime film L’étrange nuit de Noël / The Strange Christmas Night (Yvan Noë, 1939), starring Pierre Alcover and Sylvia Bataille. In the same year, she started to act in Italian films, probably first in Il segreto inviolabile / The Unbreakable Secret (1939), shot at the Titanus studios in Rome but directed by her Spanish compatriot Julio (de) Fleischner, and with another compatriot, José Nieto, as the male star of the film. It was the alternate-language version of the Spanish film Su mayor aventura / >His Greatest Adventure (Julio de Fleischner, 1940).

This set off a huge string of Italian films during the war years, directed by ‘routiniers’ such as Mario Bonnard (La gerla di papa Martin / Disillusion, 1941; Il re si diverte / The King's Jester, 1941) and Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (La forza bruta / Brute Force, 1941; Il prigioniero di Santa Cruz / The prisoner of Santa Cruz, 1941; Una famiglia impossibile / An Impossible Family, 1941; Due cuori di sequestro / Two Hearts Under Seizure, 1941; Se io fossi onesto / If I Were Really Honest, 1942), but also films directed by Giacomo Gentilomo (Brivido / Thrill, 1941) and Luigi Zampa (L’attore scomparso / The Actor Died, 1941).

In Il prigioniero di Santa Cruz, Mercader played opposite her compatriot Juan De Landa, who later played Bragana in Luchino Visconti’s Ossessione (1943). With Michel Simon and Rossano Brazzi, the stars of Tosca (Jean Renoir, Carl Koch, 1941), she acted in the Rigoletto adaptation Il re si diverte / The King's Jester (Mario Bonnard).

Her co-actors in those years were generally established actors such as Ruggero Ruggeri and Armando Falconi, but also such young, upcoming stars as Massimo Serato, Roberto Villa and Leonardo Cortese, and female stars such as Vivi Gioi and Doris Duranti. María Mercader occasionally acted in Spanish films as well.


Italian postcard by A. Scarmiglia Edizioni, Roma (ASER), no. 105. Photo: Bragaglia, Atlas Film.


Italian postcard by ASER, no. 121. Photo: Pesce. Sent by mail in 1943.


Italian postcard by ASER, no. 217. Photo: Gneme / Incine, Tirrenia.


Italian postcard by ASER, no. 304. Photo: Vaselli / Lux Film.


Romanian postcard.

Madly in love

In 1942, on the set of the comedy Un garibaldino al convent / A Garibaldian in the Convent, María Mercader met the director of the film, Vittorio De Sica. He fell madly in love with her, though De Sica was married to actress Giuditta Rissone.

Mercader and De Sica immediately after this production acted together in the comedy Se io fossi onesto / If I were really honest (Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1942). They were paired again in Non sono superstizioso...ma! / I'm not superstitious ... but! (Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1943) and I nostri sogni / Our Dreams (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1943).

Nevertheless, in those war years Mercader acted in many more films without De Sica than with him. These included Finalmente soli! / Finally Alone (Giacomo Gentilomo, 1942) with Enrico Viarisio, Musica proibita / Forbidden Music (Carlo Campogalliani, 1942) with singer Tito Gobbi, Il treno crociato / The Red Cross Train (Carlo Campogalliani, 1943) with Rossano Brazzi, La vita è bella / Life is Beautiful (Carlo Campogalliani, 1943) with singer Alberto Rabagliati and rising star Anna Magnani, and La primadonna (Ivo Perilli, 1943) with Anneliese Uhlig.

She was also one of the female all-star cast of Nessuno torna indietro / Responsibility Comes Back (Alessandro Blasetti, 1943), co-starring Elisa Cegani, Valentina Cortese, María Denis, Doris Duranti and Mariella Lotti.

During the German occupation of Rome and the Repubblica sociale di Salò, Mercader didn’t join the fascist industry in Venice, so her film acting stopped.


Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini Editori (B.F.F. Edit.), Firenze, no. 4351. Photo: Pesce / ENIC.


Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit., no. 4461, 1943. Photo: Bragaglia / LUX Film.


Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit., no. 4466, 1943. Photo: Bragaglia / LUX Film.


Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit., no. 21830. Photo: Bragaglia / I.C.I.

A leading pair again

After the Liberation of Rome, María Mercader renewed her film acting career and became a leading pair again with Vittorio De Sica in L’ippocampo / The Hippocampus (Gianpaolo Rosmino, 1945). She also had a supporting part in De Sica’s own film La porta del cielo / The Gate of Heaven (Vittorio De Sica, 1945), starring Marina Berti and Massimo Girotti.

After Il canto della vita / The Song of Life (Carmine Gallone, 1945), starring Alida Valli, she played a minor part in Natale in campo 119 / Christmas at Camp 119 (Pietro Francisci, 1947). Mercader played Clotilda Serra opposite De Sica and the upcoming actor Giorgio De Lullo in the Edmondo De Amicis adaptation Cuore / Heart and Soul (1948), which De Sica co-directed with Duilio Coletti.

After a lead in the period piece Il cavaliere misterioso / The Mysterious Cavalier (Riccardo Freda, 1948), with Vittorio Gassman as Casanova, Mercader stayed away from the screen until 1952, when she was paired with De Sica again in Buongiorno elefante! / Hello Elephant (Gianni Franciolini, 1952), scripted by Suso Cecchi D’Amico and Cesare Zavattini. After that, only incidental performances followed, such as Christian De Sica’s mother in Giovannino (Paolo Nuzzi, 1976).

In 1988, she acted in La casa del sorriso / The House of Smiles by Marco Ferreri, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 1991. It was the last Italian film to win in Berlin before Cesare deve morire / Caesar Must Die by the Taviani brothers. Other cameo appearances Mercader had in Claretta (Pasquale Squitieri, 1984), Il conte Max / Count Max (1991) by her son Christian De Sica - a remake of his father’s comedy Il signor Max / Mister Max (Mario Camerini, 1937), and Al lupo, al lupo / Wolf! Wolf! (Carlo Verdone, 1992).

All in all, she acted in some 40 films between 1923 and 1992. In 1959, Mercader and De Sica married in Mexico, after his divorce from Rissone, but Italian law did not recognise the divorce nor the marriage, so once he obtained French citizenship in 1968, Mercader married De Sica again in Paris. She became the mother of composer Manuel De Sica (1949) and actor and director Christian De Sica (1951). While De Sica died in Neuilly near Paris in 1974, Maria Mercader died in Rome in 2011, at the age of almost 93 years. In 1978, her autobiography 'La mia vita con Vittorio De Sica' (My Life with Vittorio De Sica) appeared, which was also distributed in Spanish (1980) and French (1981).

Italian or Romanian postcard. Maria Mercader and Michel Simon in Il re si diverte (Mario Bonnard, 1941).


Romanian postcard. Maria Mercader and Massimo Serato in Due cuori sotto sequestro (Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1941).


Romanian postcard. Foto: Criterion Romanesc. Maria Mercader and Leonardo Cortese in probably Un garibaldino al convento/ A Garibaldian in the Convent (Vittorio De Sica, 1942).


Romanian postcard. Maria Mercader and Guido Lazzarini in probably the Italian film La fanciulla dell'altra riva (Piero Ballerini, 1942). Lazzarini's name is misspelt on this card.

Sources: Wikipedia (French, Italian, Spanish, German and English) and IMDb. Additional information by Marlene Pilaete.