CHARLES BOYER
Posted: August 22nd, 2010, 3:19 pm
I can't find a thread for Charles Boyer, I can't remember one if we have had one before. I've watched a few of his movies recently, by coincidence, he appears regularly with some of the stronger female leads of the thirties and forties and I started realising how much I enjoy his performances (and his accent) so I bought I book and took it on holiday with me.
Not a shred of gossip attached to his name, he got a lucky break when a lead actor couldn't go on stage and he could memorise all the part in time, he was untried but passed the test and a career on the French stage was his. He made some silent movies but theatre remained his main calling. He tried three times unsuccessfully to break into Hollywood, starring a couple of times with Claudette Colbert and sharing a house with Maurcie Chevalier. Finally he was successful, what kept him in Hollywood was his marriage at the age of 34 to Pat Patterson, he'd never been in love before and their marriage was a long lasting one that bore him one child at the age of 44.
With his success came many films mainly in America but some in France. His biographer Larry Swindell opinion was that he often helped actresses to Oscar winning performances without winning himself. Antole Litvak who directed Algiers stated that audiences didn't realise how good Charles Boyer was, Hedy Lamarr in her first film was a dreadful actress and the success of the partnership was all down to Boyer, his acting and his patience with the newcomer.
When he returned to the stage to Broadway, Ingrid Bergman was sitting in the audeince and heard the ladies in front of her say 'That can't be him, surely not, what is all the fuss about?' She lent forward and said 'wait until he speaks and then see how you feel' The ladies fell for him.
Not a shred of gossip attached to his name, he got a lucky break when a lead actor couldn't go on stage and he could memorise all the part in time, he was untried but passed the test and a career on the French stage was his. He made some silent movies but theatre remained his main calling. He tried three times unsuccessfully to break into Hollywood, starring a couple of times with Claudette Colbert and sharing a house with Maurcie Chevalier. Finally he was successful, what kept him in Hollywood was his marriage at the age of 34 to Pat Patterson, he'd never been in love before and their marriage was a long lasting one that bore him one child at the age of 44.
With his success came many films mainly in America but some in France. His biographer Larry Swindell opinion was that he often helped actresses to Oscar winning performances without winning himself. Antole Litvak who directed Algiers stated that audiences didn't realise how good Charles Boyer was, Hedy Lamarr in her first film was a dreadful actress and the success of the partnership was all down to Boyer, his acting and his patience with the newcomer.
When he returned to the stage to Broadway, Ingrid Bergman was sitting in the audeince and heard the ladies in front of her say 'That can't be him, surely not, what is all the fuss about?' She lent forward and said 'wait until he speaks and then see how you feel' The ladies fell for him.