Arletty


Léonie Marie Julie Bathiat, known professionally as Arletty, was a French actress, singer, and fashion model. As an actress she is particularly known for classics directed by Marcel Carné, including Hotel du Nord, Le jour se lève and Children of Paradise. She was found guilty of treason for an affair with a German officer during World War II.

Early years

Arletty was born on 15 May 1898 in Courbevoie, to a working-class family. After her father's death, she left home and pursued a modeling career. She took the stage name "Arlette" based on the heroine of a story by Guy de Maupassant. She was not interested in acting until she met Paul Guillaume, an art dealer. He recommended some theaters and, at the age of 21, she was hired.
Her early career was dominated by the music hall, and she later appeared in plays and cabaret. In 1928 she performed in Maurice Yvain's operetta Yes at the Théâtre des Capucines which was written as a starring vehicle for her. Arletty was a stage performer for ten years before her film debut in 1930. Arletty's career took off around 1936 when she appeared as the leading lady in the stage plays Les Joies du Capitole and Fric-Frac, in which she starred opposite Michel Simon. She later starred as Blanche in the French version of A Streetcar Named Desire.
Marcel Carné was known for his poetic realism filmmaking style. Arletty's role of Raymonde in his film, Hotel du Nord, garnered attention for her "Atmosphere! Atmosphere!” performance. In 1945 Arletty appeared in her most famous film role, the central part of Garance in Les Enfants du Paradis, her fourth role for the director. For this role she earned one of the highest salaries ever in French cinema.

Collaboration

Arletty was imprisoned in 1945 for her wartime liaison with a German Luftwaffe officer, Hans-Jürgen Soehring, during the occupation of France. She allegedly later commented on the experience, "My heart is French but my ass is international." The quotation in French is "Si mon cœur est français, mon cul, lui, est international". Although other French women fell in love with German soldiers, her romantic affiliation with Soehring during the German occupation prompted a charge of treason.
James Lord wrote of her special treatment:
Arletty was too well known for the mere humiliation of having her head shaved, her naked skull tarred with a swastika and in this abject state paraded through the streets to confront the jeers and spittle of the mob. Prison would be none too good for her, people said, looking forward to severe retribution for the moral treason of which they found her guilty.

For her crimes she received a sentence of eighteen months' imprisonment. She served a two-month sentence.

Later years

After a moderately successful period as a stage actress in later life she was forced to retire into private life due to progressive loss of her eyesight. One of her final screen appearances was in a small role as an elderly French woman in The Longest Day.

Legacy

In 1995 the government of France issued a series of limited edition coins to commemorate the centenary of film that included a 100 Franc coin bearing the image of Arletty.

Filmography

  • The Sweetness of Loving as Une dactylo
  • A Dog That Pays Off as Josyane Plaisir
  • The Beautiful Adventure as Madame Desmignières
  • Abduct Me as Lulu
  • Mademoiselle Josette, My Woman as Unknown role
  • Je te confie ma femme as Totoche
  • Une idée folle as Anita - une danseuse
  • Un soir de réveillon as Viviane
  • Court Waltzes as La chocolatière
  • Le voyage de Monsieur Perrichon as Anita Mathieu
  • Pension Mimosas as La môme Parasol
  • Vertigo as Emma
  • Madame Angot's Daughter as Ducoudray
  • Lovers and Thieves as Agathe
  • La Garçonne as Niquette
  • Adventure in Paris as Rose Blondel de Saint-Leu
  • The Bureaucrats as La belle-soeur de la hourmerie
  • Le Mari rêvé as Eve Roland
  • Let's Make a Dream as Une invitée
  • Mais n'te promène donc pas toute nue as Clarisse
  • Feu la mère de madame as Yvonne
  • The Pearls of the Crown as La reine d'Abyssinie
  • Désiré as Madeleine Crapicheau, la femme de chambre
  • Aloha, le chant des îles as Ginette Gina
  • Mirages as Arlette
  • The Little Thing as Irma Borel
  • Mother Love as Bernadette Mezin
  • Hôtel du Nord as Raymonde
  • Daybreak as Clara
  • Fric-Frac as Loulou
  • Extenuating Circumstances as Marie Qu'a-d'ça
  • Thunder Over Paris as Ida
  • Madame Sans-Gêne as Catherine Hubscher
  • The Woman I Loved Most as Simone, l'actrice locataire
  • Bolero as Catherine
  • The Lover of Borneo as Stella Losange
  • Les Visiteurs du soir as Dominique
  • Children of Paradise as Claire Reine, dite Garance
  • Madame et ses peaux-rouges as Mademoiselle Pascale
  • Portrait of an Assassin as Martha
  • Gigolo as Madame Alice
  • Love, Madame as Herself
  • The Father of the Girl as Edith Mars
  • Flesh and the Woman Blanche
  • The Air of Paris Blanche Le Garrec
  • Huis clos as Inès, une lesbienne
  • My Priest Among the Poor as Nine
  • Explosive Vacation! as Arlette Bernard
  • The Stowaway as Gabrielle
  • And Your Sister? as Lucrèce du Boccage
  • Sunday Encounter as Juliette Armier
  • Maxime as Gazelle
  • Paris la belle as Récitante / Narrator
  • Les Primitifs du XIIIe as Récitante / Narrator
  • The Dance as La mère d'Albert
  • Girl on the Road as Gabrielle, maîtresse de Rameau
  • The Law of Men as Loune de Lindt
  • The Longest Day as Madame Barrault
  • Destination Rome as La marquise
  • The Trip to Biarritz as Fernande
  • Dina chez les rois as Récitante / Narrator
  • Jacques Prévert as Herself
  • Carné, l'homme à la caméra as Herself