BLIER, Bernard

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Nationality: French. Born: Buenos Aires, Argentina, of French parents, 11 January 1916. Education: Lycée Condorcet; studied drama with Raymond Rouleau, and at Paris Conservatory under Louis Jouvet. Family: Married; son: film director Bertrand Blier; daughter: Brigitte. Career: 1936—stage debut at Théâtre de l'Etoile, Paris; 1937—film debut in Troix-six-neuf; 1940—mobilized at beginning of war, taken prisoner by Germans; 1942—resumed stage appearances; after war—leading player in "boulevard comedies" on Parisian stage. Awards: Brussels Prize, 1949; Prix Feminin de Cinéma, 1950; Prix Balzac, 1973; Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur; Special César, 1988. Died: In Paris, 29 March 1989.

Films as Actor:

1937

Trois-six-neuf (Rouleau); Gribouille (Heart of Paris) (M.Allégret); Le Messager (Rouleau); La Dame de Malacca(M. Allégret); L'Habit vert (Richebé)

1938

Altitude 3200 (Youth in Revolt) (Benoît-Lévy); Entrée desartistes (The Curtain Rises) (M. Allégret); Hôtel du Nord(Carné); Grisou (de Canonge); Double Crime sur la LigneMaginot (Treachery Within) (Candera); Place de la Concorde (Lamac); Accord final (Bay)

1939

Le Jour se lève (Daybreak) (Carné); L'Enfer des anges(Christian-Jaque); Quartier Latin (Colombier); Nuit deDécembre (Heure exquise) (Bernhardt); Tourelle 3 (Christian-Jaque—unfinished due to outbreak of war)

1941

L'Assassinat du Père Nöel (Who Killed Santa Claus?) (Christian-Jaque); Le Pavillon Brûle (de Baroncelli); Premier bal(Christian-Jaque); Caprices (Joannon)

1942

La Symphonie fantastique (Christian-Jaque); La Femme quej'ai le plus aimée (Vernay); Romance à trois (Richebé); LaNuit fantastique (L'Herbier); Le Journal tombe à cinqheures (Lacombe); Le Mariage de chiffon (Autant-Lara);Marie Martine (Valentin)

1943

Les Petites du quai aux Fleurs (M. Allégret); Je suis avec toi(Decoin); Domino (Richebé)

1944

Farandolle (Zwoboda)

1945

Seul dans la nuit (Stengel); Monsieur Gregoire s'évadé(Daniel-Norman)

1946

Messieurs Ludovic (Le Chanois); Le Café du Cadran (Gehret)

1947

Quai des Orfèvres (Clouzot)

1948

Dédée d'Anvers (Dédée) (Y. Allégret); D'homme à hommes(Man to Men) (Christian-Jaque); Les Casse-pieds (TheSpice of Life) (Dreville)

1949

L'Ecole buissonière (Passion for Life; I Have a New Master)(Le Chanois); Monseigneur (Richebé); Retour à la vie("Tante Emma" ep.) (Cayatte); L'Invité du Mardi (Deval)

1950

La Souricière (Calef); Manèges (The Cheat; Riding for a Fall)(Y. Allégret); Les Anciens de Saint-Loup (Lampin); Souvenirs perdus (Christian-Jaque)

1951

Sans laisser d'adresse (Le Chanois); La MaisonBonnadieu (Rim)

1952

Agence matrimoniale (Le Chanois); Je l'ai été trois fois(Guitry)

1953

Secrets d'alcôve ("Le Lit de la Pompadour" ep.) (The Bed)(Delannoy); Suivez cet homme! (Lampin)

1954

Avant le déluge (Cayatte); Scènes de ménage (Berthomieu)

1955

Le Dossier noir (Cayatte); Les Hussards (Joffe)

1956

Crime et châtiment (Crime and Punishment) (Lampin);Prigionieri del male (Costa); Rivelazione

1957

L'Homme à l'imperméable (The Man in the Raincoat)(Duvivier); Retour de Manivelle (There's Always a PriceTag) (de la Patellière); Quand la femme s'en mêle (Y.Allégret); La Bonne Tisane (Bromberger)

1958

Les Misérables (Le Chanois) (as Javert); La Chatte (The Cat)(Decoin); Les Grandes Familles (The Possessors) (de laPatellière); Sans famille (Michel); En légitime défense(Berthomieu); Le Joueur (Autant-Lara); L'Ecole descocottes (Audry)

1959

Marie-Octobre (Duvivier); La grande querra (La GrandeGuerre; The Great War) (Monicelli) (as Captain Castelli);Marche ou crève (Lautner); Archimède, le clochard (TheMagnificent Tramp) (Grangier) (as Pichon); Les Yeux del'amour (de la Patellière)

1960

Il Gobbo (Le Bossu de Rome; The Hunchback of Rome)(Lizzani) (title role); Crimen ( . . . and Suddenly It'sMurder) (Camerini) (as police commissioner); Vive HenriIV, vive l'amour! (Autant-Lara); Le Secret du Chevalierd'Eon (Audry); Le Président (Verneuil)

1961

Le Cave se rebiffe (The Counterfeiters of Paris; Money,Money, Money) (Grangier) (as Charles); Arrêtez les tambours(Women and War) (Lautner) (as Mayor Leproux); I brigantiitaliani (Les Guerilleros) (Camerini); Les Petits Matins(Audry); Le Monocle noir (Gerard)

1962

Mathias Sandorff (Lampin); Le Septième Juré (The SeventhJuror) (Lautner) (as Grégoire Duval); Pourquoi Paris? (de la Patellière); Les Saintes Nitouches (Montazel)

1963

I compagni (The Organizer) (Monicelli) (as Martinetti); Ilmagnifico avventuriero (Freda); Germinal (Y. Allégret);Cent Mille Dollars au Soleil (Greed in the Sun) (Verneuil)(as Mitch-Mitch)

1964

La Bonne Soupe (Careless Love) (Thomas) (as Monsieur Joseph); "Gente modern" ("Modern People") ep. of Altainfedeltà (High Infidelity) (Monicelli) (as Reguzzoni); Ilmagnifico cornuto (The Magnificent Cuckold) (Pietrangeli)(as Corna d'Oro); La Chasse à l'homme (Male Hunt)(Molinaro) (as Monsieur Heurtin); Les Barbouzes (TheGreat Spy Chase) (Lautner) (as Cafarelli); "Une Chance explosive" or "Le Jeu de la chance" ep. of La Chance et l'amour (Tavernier)

1965

"La Fermeture" ep. of Les Bons Vivants (Grangier); Unaquestione d'onore (A Question of Honor) (Zampa); Quandpassent les faisans (Molinaro)

1966

Du mou dans la gachette (Grospierre); Duello nel mundo(Scott); Delitto quasi perfetto (Camerini); Le Grand Restaurant (Besnard); Un Idiot à Paris (Korber)

1967

Lo straniero (The Stranger) (Visconti) (as defense counsel);Peau d'espion (To Commit a Murder) (Molinaro) (as Rhome); Le fou du Labo 4 (Besnard); Caroline chérie (de la Patellière); Copain suavé sa peau (Boisset); Si j'étais unespion (Breakdown; If I Were a Spy) (Bertrand Blier)

1968

Faut pas prendre les enfants du bon Dieu pour les canardssauvages (Operation Leontine) (Audiard); Riuscirannoi nostri eroi a trovare il loro amico misteriosamentescomparso in Africa? (Scola); Elle boit pas, elle fume pas,elle drogue pas, mais elle cause (Audiard); Appelez-moiMathilde (Mondy)

1969

Mon Oncle Benjamin (Molinaro)

1970

Le Cri du cormoran le soir au-dessus des jonques (Audiard);Le Distrait (Richard); Laisse aller, c'est une valse (Lautner)

1971

Catch Me a Spy (Clement); Homo eroticus (Man of the Year)(Vicario) (as Dr. Mezzini); Il furto e l'anima del commercio(Corbucci); Quarta parete (Bolzoni); Le Tueur (de la Patellière); Jo (Girault)

1972

Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire (The Tall BlondMan with One Black Shoe) (Robert) (as Milan); Tout le monde il est beau, tout le monde il est gentil (Yanne); Elle cause plus, elle flinque (Audiard); Boccaccio (Corbucci)

1973

Moi y'en a vouloir des sous (Yanne); Je sais rien, mais je diraitout (Richard); Par le sang des autres (Simenon); LesTontons flingueurs (Lautner)

1974

. . . la main à couper (Perier); Les Chinois à Paris (Yanne) (asPresident); C'est pas parce qu'on a rien à dire qu'il fermersa gueule (Besnard); Bons baisers à lundi (Audiard); Ilpiatto piange (Nuzzi); Processo per direttissima (de Caro)

1975

Ce cher Victor (Davis); Amici miei (My Friends) (Germi and Monicelli); C'est dur pour tout le monde (Gion); Le Faux-Cul (Hanin); Calmos (Femmes fatales) (Bertrand Blier)

1976

Le Corps de mon ennemi (Verneuil); La Nuit d'or (Moatti)

1977

Le Témoin (Mocky)

1978

Le Compromis (Zerbib)

1979

Il malato imaginario (La malade imaginaire; The Hypochon-driac) (Cervi); Série noire (Corneau) (as Staplin); Buffet froid (Bertrand Blier) (as police inspector)

1980

Voltati Eugenio (Comencini)

1981

Passione d'amore (Scola) (as Major Tarasso); Pétrole,pétrole (Gion)

1985

Le due vite di Mattia Pascal (The Two Lives of Mattia Pascal)(Monicelli) (as Paleari); Ca n'arrive qu'a moi (Perrin);Sceno di querra (Risi); Amici miei atto III (Loy)

1986

Je hais les acteurs (I Hate Actors) (Krawczyk) (as J. B. Cobb);Spaggia privata (Bozzetto); Twist Again à Moscou (Poure)(as Minister); Speriamo che sia femmina (Let's Hope It'sa Girl) (Monicelli) (as Uncle Gughi)

1987

Sotto il ristorante cinese (Bozzetto) (as Eva's father); I Picari(Monicelli)

1988

Mangeclous (Mizrahi); Ada dans la jungle (Zingy)

1989

Una botta di vita (Oldaini); Paganini (Kinski)

Publications

By BLIER: article—

Interview by B. Villien and P. Carcassone in Cinématographe (Paris), January 1980.

On BLIER: book—

Blier, Annette, and Claude Dufresne, Bernard Blier, Paris, 1989.

On BLIER: articles—

"Bernard Blier," in Ecran (Paris), July 1978.

Obituary in Variety (New York), 5 April 1989.

Beylie, Claude, "L'Ami Blier," in Avant-Scène du Cinéma (Paris), May 1989.

* * *

Although Bernard Blier made his film debut at the age of 21 in films by Marc Allégret and Rouleau (two films by each director in 1937), and worked regularly in films during the next few years, he began to get good roles only after the war. He had played ordinary workers in different settings quite convincingly, but was able to show his many-sided dramatic abilities in Dédée d'Anvers (Yves Allégret) and, particularly, in Quai des Orfèvres (Clouzot), a classic film of the criminal genre, in which he appeared with Jouvet and Dullin. His performance as a country teacher in L'Ecole buissonière (Le Chanois) solidified his reputation, and he won several prizes for his acting in it.

From that time he regularly appeared in French and foreign films as a leading character actor. Audiences have been particularly fond of his roles as police inspectors, his most notable performances in this vein being Javert in Le Chanois's version of Hugo's Les Misérables and in Cayatte's Le Dossier noir. But he also appeared in such works as Zola's Germinal (Yves Allégret), Camus's Lo straniero (Visconti), and many comic films.

His filmography, containing some 200 film roles, is evidence of the intensity of his work. He earned the reputation of an excellent and many-sided interpreter due to his discipline and exactingness, and he continued to occupy a prominent place in French film.

His work on the stage, begun slightly before his work in films, was also outstanding. His work in boulevard comedies climaxed in his success in Roussin's comedy Le Marie, la femme, et la mort which ran almost three years. He also appeared with Isabelle Adjani in the Comédie Française production of L'Ecole des femmes for the 300th anniversary celebration of Molière's death in 1973.

—Karel Tabery