Micheline Presle

Micheline Presle (; born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne; 22 August 1922 – 21 February 2024) was a French actress.

Biography Early life Born in Paris on the left bank on 22 August 1922, Presle wanted to be an actress from an early age. She took acting classes in her early teens. She was the daughter of Robert Chassagne, a French banker (who fled to the United States amid a finance scandal) and artist Julie Bachelier. It was later changed to Prelle after a soap company brought out Prell shampoo. Her first Hollywood production was a starring role opposite John Garfield in the film Under My Skin directed by Jean Negulesco. That same year, director Fritz Lang cast her opposite Tyrone Power in the war drama American Guerrilla in the Philippines. In 1950, she became the second wife of American actor William Marshall with whom she had a daughter, Tonie. William Marshall had teamed up with actor Errol Flynn and his production company, and in 1951 he directed Flynn and her in the film Adventures of Captain Fabian.

She returned to Hollywood in 1962 for the role of Sandra Dee's mother in the Universal Studios film If a Man Answers, which also featured Dee's husband, singer Bobby Darin. The following year, Presle acted again in English in The Prize starring Paul Newman.

She received an Honorary César in 2004. at the Maison des Artistes, a retirement home for artists, which receives partial government support.

Title Year References/NoteGirls in Distress a/k/a Young Girls in Trouble 1939 They Were Twelve Women 1940 Paradise Lost 1940 Ecco la felicità 1940 Foolish Husbands 1941 Le soleil a toujours raison 1941 La Nuit fantastique Fantasic Night 1942As a "Dream woman" opposite Fernand Gravey The Beautiful Adventure 1942 However it was not released until after the Liberation of France due to the ban on the films of Claude Dauphin after he joined the Free French. 1943 An adaptation from a story by Honoré de Balzac about a ballet-star, Clara Biondi, played by Presle. Paris Frills 1945 Twilight 1945Original Title: Felicie Nanteuil Fausse alerte The French Way 1945 in United States) Spy story. "helved during the war ... (a shortened version was released with the title The French Way in 1952 in the United States). The film revolves around a long-standing feud...." Boule de suif Angel and Sinner 1945She palayed the eponymous lead, a loveable prostitute and member of the resistance. Les jeux sont faits 1946French fantasy film directed by Jean Delannoy, based on the screenplay of the same name by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. Devil in the Flesh 1947World war I drama, voted one of 10 best films of the year by the National Board of Review. The Last Days of Pompeii The Sins of Pompeii 1950 Adapted from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Last Days of Pompeii. The film has also been known as Sins of Pompeii. Under My Skin 1950Cast as a cafe owner smitten by love with a jockey. Micheline Presle was borrowed from 20th Century Fox to play the female lead. The Lady of the Camellias 1953 It Happened in the Park 1953 The Love of a Woman 1953 House of Ricordi 1954 Napoléon 1955 Thirteen at the Table 1955 Beatrice Cenci 1956 The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful 1956 Christine 1958 Blind Date 1959 A Mistress for the Summer 1960 The Baron of the Locks 1960 Mistress of the World 1960science-fiction spy film remake of the 1919 eight-part silent film The Mistress of the World directed by William Dieterle and starring Martha Hyer and Carlos Thompson. It marked the comeback in his native country of the director William Dieterle after several decades spent in Hollywood. In West Germany, it was released in a longer version split in two parts (Die Herrin der Welt – Teil I and Die Herrin der Welt – Teil II). It was developed when producer Artur Brauner invested in a three-hour West German-French-Italian co-production. Brauner contracted William Dieterle to direct the film. The film was made with a predominantly German crew, but with a multi-national cast including Martha Hyer and Sabu from Hollywood, Carlos Thompson from Argentina and Gino Cervi from Italy, and Micheline Presle and Lino Ventura from France. 1961 Five Day Lover 1961 Based on the 1959 novel L'amant de cinq jours by Françoise Parturier. The film was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival and nominated for the Golden Bear. The film was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival and nominated for the Golden Bear, the ceremony's highest honor. The Assassin 1961 Time Out for Love Les grandes personnes 1961 The Italian Brigands 1961Internationally released as The Italian Brigands and Seduction of the South) is a 1962 Italian comedy- drama film directed by Mario Camerini. It was shot in Cerreto Sannita. Le Diable et les Dix Commandements 1962 If a Man Answers 1962Opposite Bobby Darin. For her performance Lollobrigida won the David di Donatello for best actress and the for the same category. The Law of Men 1962 The Bamboo Stroke 1963 The Prize 1963Amidst a Nobel Prize ceremony, spy drama with Paul Newman. Male Hunt 1964 It is a film noir. Le Roi de Cœur King of Hearts 1966 Released in France in 1966, King of Hearts was neither successful critically nor at the box office, with only 141,035 admissions. However, it achieved cult film status, when United States distribution rights were picked up by Randy Finley and Specialty Films in Seattle in 1973. It was paired with Marv Newland's Bambi Meets Godzilla and John Magnuson's Thank You Mask Man and marketed under the heading The King of Hearts and His Loyal Short Subjects. It made the rounds in the mid-1970s i repertory movie theaters as well as non-theatrical college and university film series across the United States, eventually running for five years at the now defunct film house the Central Square Cinemas (2 screens) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Peau d'Âne a/k/a Donkey Skin or Once Upon a Time and The Magic Donkey 1970A 1970 French musical fantasy comedy film directed by Jacques Demy, based on Donkeyskin, a 1695 fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a king who wishes to marry his own daughter. It was highly successful in France. It is distributed on DVD in North America by Koch-Lorber Films. It is also available in Blu-ray format as part of Criterion's The Essential Jacques Demy collection. In France, the film is considered a cult classic. The Legend of Frenchie King Petroleum Girls 1971 The film received generally negative reviews. Bardot's performance in particular was criticised by Jean Loup Passek, who noted how uncomfortable she seemed in the film's outdoors action setting. Writing in Variety Gene Moskowitz dismissed the film as "predictable, naive and gauche" whilst Tom Milne called it "drearily unfunny". Devil in the Brain 1972A 1972 Italian psychological thriller movie. Thieves After Dark 1984directed by Samuel Fuller Les Misérables 1995 A Man and His Dog 2009 Going South 2009 Thelma, Louise et Chantal 2010 2011A mockumentary.

Television Combat! (ABC, 1963, episode "Just for the Record"), U.S. drama series. (ORTF, 1965–1971), French comedy series in which she played the female lead opposite Daniel Gélin. Tales of the Unexpected (Anglia TV, 1984, episode "Kindly Dig Your Grave"), British anthology series.