Sarah Bernhardt Movies
Illustrious French actress Sarah Bernhardt was primarily known for her theatrical work, but she also appeared in a few films. It was said that the Grande Dame of French theater loathed cinema, and yet continued to appear in films until her death. She did not make her film debut until 1900 in Hamlet's Duel. She hated her next film, Tosca (1908), so much so that she ordered the negative destroyed and it was never released. She did not appear in another film until 1911 with La Dame aux Camélias. This film was acclaimed by the public and critics alike and is credited with helping make cinema a respectable artistic medium in France. The next year she traveled to England to make Queen Elizabeth. This film was a tremendous success in the U.S. and lead the great actress to receive many offers to work with other studios. But Bernhardt was 69 and elected to stay with the studio she'd worked with from the start, Film d'art. Even after she lost her leg in 1915, Bernhardt continued to appear in the films she said she hated so much. In 1923, when the 79-year-old Bernhardt became ill, filmmakers transformed the actress's hotel room into a set to film La Voyante. Unfortunately she died before the film was finished. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1917
This film, made under the auspices of the French government, earned more attention than just about any other World War I propaganda film because its star was Sarah Bernhardt. She plays Madame D'Urbex, who lives with her husband (Jack Denbourg) and son, Robert (Aubrey Angle), on an estate in the peaceful village of Meurcy. When war breaks out, all the men go to fight, including Monsieur and Robert D'Urbex, the schoolmaster Guinot (Albert Signer) and Nonet (Albert Signer, Jr.), an orphan boy who is living with the caretakers of the D'Urbex estate. Madame D'Urbex, who has gone to work at a field hospital, hears that her son has been wounded and she tramps through the trenches in an effort to find him. She does, just as he lay dying. She returns to the hospital and Guinot shows up there one day, having been blinded in combat. He bears news that Monsieur D'Urbex has also been killed in battle. The grief-stricken Madame D'Urbex decides to devote herself to comforting others who are in pain. Guinot has been engaged to Marie (Alice Lagrange), the daughter of the estate caretaker, but he offers to give her her freedom, since he is blinded for life. She refuses, even though she is secretly in love with Nonet. The schoolmaster discovers this when Nonet comes home on leave, and insists that Marie follow her heart. This brings Guinot to a lonely, depressing juncture in his life, but Madame D'Urbex eases his sadness by taking him to his pupils, who honor him. Director Louis Mercanton had to shoot around the fact that Bernhardt was missing a leg -- it had been amputated two years earlier. But he and the great actress skillfully worked around this problem. Bernhardt also looks nearly two decades younger than her 72 years. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1916
Stage (and reluctant screen) star Sarah Bernhardt performed in this tragedy, directed by Louis Mercanton, who had also worked with her three years earlier in Queen Elizabeth. Jeanne Dore (Bernhardt) is married to a man who can't stop gambling. Jeanne gives him her jewels to pay off his debts -- providing he quits -- but he still stops by the roulette wheel and loses it all. In disgrace, he commits suicide, leaving Jeanne and their son (Raymond Bernard) in dire straits. Jeanne sells what's left of their possessions and finally her husband's uncle takes pity on her and buys her a Paris stationery shop to run. There, her son meets up with a married woman and falls hopelessly in love with her. Her financial demands eventually drive him to murder his uncle and he is sentenced to die on the guillotine. Bernhardt filmed this picture not long after her leg was amputated; Mercanton did a pretty good job of hiding her lack of mobility. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1912
A rousing box-office success in both the United States and Europe, Les Amours de la Reine Elisabeth brought theatrical legend Sarah Bernhardt to the screen as England's legendary queen. Elizabeth I (Bernhardt) is caught in a love triangle with the Earl of Essex (Lou Tellegen) and the Countess of Nottingham (Mlle. Romani). The queen gives the Earl a ring with the royal seal and promises the bauble will save his life if returned to her. When Essex is locked in the Tower of London, Elizabeth sends the countess to retrieve the ring. The Earl throws the ring away, paving the way for his former lover to sign his death warrant. The queen is heartbroken after learning of the incident in which the Earl refuses to save his own life. After the death of Bernhardt in 1923, the film was re-released and given the alternative title The Queen's Favorite. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sarah Bernhardt, Lou Tellegen, (more)
- 1910
The Alexandre Dumas classic Lady of the Camelias was given its first screen treatment in this Pathe one-reeler. With only 15 minutes screen time at their disposal, the producers were forced to telescope the events of the source material. As a result, the courtesan heroine Marguerite seems to expire from consumption only a few moments after falling in love with the handsome Armand. The reviewer for the trade magazine Variety indicated that the cast of the film was comprised of top artistes from the Parisian theater, but unfortunately he did not identify these worthies. Camille would of course be remade several times over the next 90 years, most unforgettably by Greta Garbo in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sarah Bernhardt
