Josette Day Movies
French actress Josette Day's best-known role was that of Beauty in Cocteau's 1945 version of Beauty and the Beast. Born Josette Dagory in Paris, she started acting in films at age five and later went on to work in the theater and to dance in the Paris Opera. She began her adult film career in the early '30s and went on to play in French films through 1949 when she retired to marry a wealthy Belgian industrial magnate. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1939
Filmed during the war, this little-known Fernandel vehicle finally attained an American release in 1951. The star plays Lavarede, an obnoxious braggart and spendthrift who falls heir to his uncle's fortune. But there's a condition to the will: in order to claim his uncle's millions, Lavarede must first spend three months travelling around the world with but five sous to his name. Reportedly, the film ran into censorship problems with the provisional German government. Whatever the case, existing prints of Les Cinq Sous de Lavarde are obviously incomplete, with co-star Josette Day's role sliced into near-nonexistence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josette Day, Fernandel, (more)
- 1949
Also known as The Storm Within, Les Parents Terribles was adapted by director Jean Cocteau from his own stage play. Yvonne de Bray plays a manipulative, possessive mother, married to weakling Marcel Andre. At present, Yvonne is violently opposed to the impending marriage between her son Jean Marais to Josette Day. It gets more complicated than that: Day is Andre's mistress, who in turn is coveted by de Bray's sister Gabrielle Dorzat. These stunning revelations loosen the hold that De Bray has on her household. Her power gone, she seeks solace in self-destruction. Utilizing several of the original stage production's cast members, Les Parents Terrible was one of Cocteau's personal favorites (that's his voice as off-screen narrator); the property was ineffectively remade in England as Intimate Relations (1953). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Josette Day, (more)
- 1935
With director Abel Gance at the helm, the title character in Lucrezia Borgia exudes more sex appeal and wears fewer clothes than any previous screen incarnation of the infamous Florentine poisoner. Edwige Feuillere stars as Lucrezia, who learns her ruthless political cunning at the knee of Machiavelli (Aime Clariond) himself. Sold into a marriage of convenience by her craven brother Cesare (Gabriel Gabrio), Lucrezia soon holds all of 15th-century Florence in thrall. Her despotic rule is energetically challenged by tireless reformer Savonarola, who more or less functions as Abel Gance's alter ego (though Gance would certainly not have wished to meet Savonarola's grisly fate!) Filmed in 1935, Lucrezia Borgia ran into censorship problems in England (thanks to its implicit anti-Papal stance), Italy and Germany, holding up its international release for nearly two years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edwige Feuillère, Gabriel Gabrio, (more)
- 1939
The inimitable Raimu heads the cast of the frothy farce Monsieur Brotoneau. Known for his infallible punctuality, bank president Brontoneau (Raimu) causes a panic when he shows up 45 minutes late. When Brontoneau reveals that his tardiness was due to discovering his wife in bed with her lover, his faithful secretary Louise (Josette Day) is most sympathetic. Thus encouraged, Brontoneau allows his wife to go her own way and settles down to a hopefully blissful romantic relationship with Louise. All this changes when the wife's lover tires of her and she tearfully returns to Brontoneau, begging forgiveness. The banker is all for remaining with Louise, but his employees, shocked at such impropriety, try to arrange a reconciliation between Monsieur and Madame Brotoneau. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josette Day, Marguerite Pierry, (more)
