Danielle Darrieux Movies
French actress Danielle Darrieux studied the cello at the Paris Conservatory, but the direction her life took was more towards acting than music. Danielle made an impressive film debut as a headstrong teenager in La Bal (1931), but didn't crack the consciousness of international filmmakers until her heartrending portrayal of the doomed Baroness Marie Vetsera in Mayerling (1937). The success of this film led to Danielle's American contract with Universal pictures; studio executive Joe Pasternak cannily concocted what film critic Leonard Maltin has labelled a "winsome" image for the actress in her first US film, The Rage of Paris (1938). Electing to return to France after her American debut, Danielle found herself working under the scrutiny of the new Nazi regime. She made the best of things, continuing to star in films and entertaining the occupation troops as a singer. Unfortunately, this latter activity caused Ms. Darrieux to be labelled a collaborator by the French underground, which at one point targetted the actress for execution. After the war, there were some awkward moments for Danielle, but the death sentence was allowed to lapse. She returned briefly to the US in the early '50s, appearing as a French chanteuse in Rich, Young and Pretty (1950) and as James Mason's duplicitous lady friend in Five Fingers (1952). Most fans feel that Danielle did her best work in the latter part of her career, notably in director Max Ophuls' Madame De... (1953) and Jacques Demy's Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). The actress sang in concerts and cabarets in the '60s, and in 1970 replaced Katharine Hepburn the Broadway musical Coco. In the '80s, Danielle Darrieux scored a significant success in a Paris staging of the film musical Gigi, playing the role originated in the 1985 film by Hermione Gingold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1934
Released abroad as The Slump is Over, this backstage comedy pokes gentle fun at the Depression-era French bourgeoisie. Director Robert Siodmak concentrates on the trials and tribulations of a young and impoverished theatrical troupe. Recently fired by their temperamental leading lady, the actors defiantly draw up plans to put on a show themselves. To raise the necessary funds and obtain props, costumes, electrical supplies and the like, the girls in the troupe adopt the tactics of Warner Bros. golddiggers, targeting a number of middle-class businessmen and shopkeepers as their pigeons. As a result, the film's "Big show" finale isn't nearly as entertaining as the various methods adopted to get that show on stage. Critics in 1935 were much taken by star Danielle Darrieux, predicting that she might have a future in Hollywood if she'd learn to speak English (She did, and the result was the delightful 1938 Universal comedy The Rage of Paris). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Albert Prejean, (more)
- 1932
Coquecigrole was adapted from a novel by Alfred Marchard. Max Dearly stars as a washed-up stage actor who unofficially adopts a young orphan girl nicknamed Coquecigrole (Daniele Darrieux, in her second film appearance). Working "between engagements" as a waiter, the old actor becomes friendly with Tulipe (Raymond Galle), a young dishwasher with theatrical ambitions. Dearly raises enough funds to stage a revue, starring Coquecigrole and Tulipe, who of course fall in love with each other. Things take a dark turn when the girl's natural father appears out of nowhere to claim his parental rights. Poor Coquecigrole is snubbed by her "real" family, forcing her father to realize that she'd be better off with her old friends. Things end on a triumphant note when the reunited Coquecigrole and Tulipe are married, with their old mentor beaming happily from the sidelines. That is, things should end here: instead, the producers insist upon dragging in a comic coda, wherein Max Dearly is seen playing nursemaid to the couple's troublesome baby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Gina Barbieri, (more)
- 1932
Le Coffret de Laque (Lackered Box) was based on Agatha Christie's Black Coffee, previously filmed in England in 1931. Gaston Dupray stars as Christie's insufferably brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, here depicted along more comic lines than usual. The story gets under way at a weekend house party where a scientist is murdered and his secret papers stolen. Putting his "little grey cells" in action, Poirot methodically pieces together the clues, revealing the culprit to be -- you guessed it -- the Least Likely Suspect. Sixteen-year-old Danielle Darrieux plays the traditional ingenue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Darrieux, Rene Alexandre, (more)
- 1931
Based on a novel by Helen Nimirosky, The Ball was filmed simultaneously in German and French-language versions. The French adaptation, Le Bal, served to introduce 14-year-old Danielle Darrieux to the picture-going public. Darrieux plays the daughter of a pair of delicatessen owners who suddenly come into a huge sum of money. Striving to buy their way into society, the couple utterly neglects their daughter, who naturally grows resentful. When they plan to throw a huge fancy-dress ball to curry favor with the glitterati, Darrieux gets even by destroying all of the invitations, and as a result no one shows up. This results in a near-breakup for the couple, but eventually they realize that their daughter has done them an enormous favor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucie Mannheim, Germaine Dermoz, (more)
