Florence Marly

Florence Marly (2 June 1919 – 9 November 1978) was a Czech-born French film actress.[1] During World War II, Marly moved to neutral Argentina with her Jewish husband, film director Pierre Chenal, where she appeared in several films. She also acted in two of her husband's films while they were in Chile.[2]

Florence Marly
Marly in an ad for the film Sealed Verdict
Born
Hana Smékalová

(1919-06-02)2 June 1919
Obrnice, Czechoslovakia
Died9 November 1978(1978-11-09) (aged 59)
Glendale, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1937–1975
Spouse(s)Pierre Chenal (1937–1955); Count Degenhart von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1956)

Career

Marly was born Hana Smékalová in Obrnice, Czechoslovakia. She studied French and her dream was to become an opera singer. At age 18 she went to Paris to study art, literature, and philosophy at Sorbonne. She met her future husband Pierre Chenal who cast her in his film The Alibi. She played a major role in René Clément's Les Maudits, a fictionalized account showing the fate of Nazi refugees.[3] After moving to Hollywood, she acted in Paramount's film Sealed Verdict opposite Ray Milland.[4] Next year, she starred in Stuart Heisler's Tokyo Joe (1949) alongside Humphrey Bogart. In it she played Bogart's wife, who divorces him after he moves to the United States from Japan before Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II. The film met with mixed responses from critics. Clive Hirschhorn wrote in his book, The Columbia Story, that it was "a little more than a Bogart parody".[5] Marly's acting in the espionage film Tokyo File 212 brought her appreciations. Robert J. Lentz wrote in Korean War Filmography that she had given the best performance in the film.[6] It was Hollywood's first feature film to be shot entirely in Japan.[7]

In 1962 she appeared in a small role as a gangster's girlfriend in the Twilight Zone episode Dead Man's Shoes.[8] She had the eponymous role of a blood-thirsty vampire queen in Curtis Harrington-directed science fiction horror film Queen of Blood (1966), based on a novel by Charles Nuetzel.[9] It met with positive reviews.[10] Paul Meehan wrote in Saucer Movies that she gave a "convincing" performance.[11] Marly made a 16 mm sequel to Queen of Blood titled Space Boy! (1973).[12]

Personal life

At a dinner, director Fritz Lang bit Marly's hand.[9] During the early years of her acting career, the U.S. Consulate mistook her for the Russian-born, left-inclined, singer and songwriter Anna Marly, and she was subsequently blacklisted in Hollywood by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Even after she was cleared from the blacklist, at a Hollywood party Jack L. Warner "turned his back on [her]".[13] Noël Coward, in a letter, called her a "rather sweet" "beautiful Czech lady".[14] She was married to Chenal from 1937 to 1955.[15] In 1956 she married the Austrian Count Degenhart von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1893-1965) but divorced him the same year.

Filmography
Marly in an advertisement for Tokyo Joe

References
  1. Phillips, Alastair; Vincendeau, Ginette (17 July 2006). Journeys of desire: European actors in Hollywood : a critical companion. BFI. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-84457-123-9.
  2. Plazaola, Luis Trelles (1 January 1989). South American Cinema/ Cine De America Del Sur: Dictionary of Film Makers/ Diccionario De Los Productores De Peliculas. La Editorial, UPR. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-8477-2011-8.
  3. Klinowski, Jacek; Garbicz, Adam (2012). Feature Cinema in the 20th Century: Volume One: 1913-1950: a Comprehensive Guide. Vol. 1. Planet RGB Limited. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-62407-564-3.
  4. "Sealed Verdict". The Rotarian. Rotary International. 74 (1): 53. January 1949. ISSN 0035-838X.
  5. Blottner, Gene (17 March 2015). Columbia Noir: A Complete Filmography, 1940-1962. McFarland. pp. 230–231. ISBN 978-1-4766-1761-9.
  6. Lentz, Robert J. (2003). Korean War Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-7864-1046-0. OCLC 50630520.
  7. "Tokyo File 212". American Film Institute. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  8. Lofficier, Jean-Marc; Lofficier, Randy (15 April 2003). Into The Twilight Zone: The Rod Serling Programme Guide. iUniverse. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-4620-9900-9.
  9. Painter, Deborah (15 November 2010). Forry: The Life of Forrest J Ackerman. McFarland. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-7864-5798-4.
  10. Shelley, Peter (15 September 2009). Grande Dame Guignol Cinema: A History of Hag Horror from Baby Jane to Mother. McFarland. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7864-5485-3.
  11. Meehan, Paul (1 January 1998). Saucer Movies: A UFOlogical History of the Cinema. Scarecrow Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-8108-3573-3.
  12. Video Watchdog. Tim & Donna Lucas. 1993. p. 80.
  13. Malone, Aubrey (10 April 2015). Hollywood's Second Sex: The Treatment of Women in the Film Industry, 1900-1999. McFarland. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-4766-1951-4.
  14. Coward, Noël (31 October 2014). The Letters of Noël Coward. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 596. ISBN 978-1-4081-4767-2.
  15. Rège, Philippe (11 December 2009). Encyclopedia of French Film Directors. Vol. 1. Scarecrow Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-8108-6939-4.
  16. Films in Review. Vol. 30. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. 1979. p. 59.
  17. Buache, Freddy (1972). Erich von Stroheim: présentation par Freddy Buache. Textes et propos d'Erich von Stroheim, points de vue critiques, témoignages... (in French). Seghers. p. 160.
  18. Films in Review. Vol. 8. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. 1957. p. 203.
  19. Bessy, Maurice; Chirat, Raymond (1987). Histoire du cinéma français: 1935-1939 (in French). Pygmalion. p. 439. ISBN 978-2-85704-239-6.
  20. Focus on Film. Vol. 19–31. Tantivy Press. 1974. p. 27.
  21. Ruuth, Marianne (1 July 1991). Cruel city: the dark side of Hollywood's rich and famous. Roundtable Pub. p. 41. ISBN 9780915677481.
  22. Martín, Jorge Abel (1978). Cine argentino (in Spanish). Ediciones Corregidor. p. 73.
  23. Hogan, David (1980). Who's Who of the Horrors, and Other Fantasy Films: The International Personality Encyclopedia of the Fantastic Film. A. S. Barnes. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-498-02591-4.
  24. Erickson, Hal (7 August 2012). Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918. McFarland. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-7864-6290-2.
  25. Vega, Alicia; Agüero, Ignacio (1979). Re-visión del cine chileno (in Spanish). Editorial Aconcagua : Centro de Indagación y Expresión Cultural y Artística. p. 38.
  26. Coo, Carlos Ossa (1971). Historia del cine chileno: Carlos Ossa Coo (in Spanish). Empresa Editora Nacional Quimantú. p. 67.
  27. Langman, Larry (1995). A Guide to American Crime Films of the Forties and Fifties. Greenwood Press. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-313-29265-1.
  28. Derry, Charles (1 August 1977). Dark dreams: a psychological history of the modern horror film. A. S. Barnes. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-498-01915-9.
  29. Product Digest. Vol. 1. Quigley Publishing Company. 1973. p. 49.
  30. Films in Review. Vol. 27. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. 1976. p. 551.
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