MORE favourite dead not-American actors: an Advent Calendar
Day 22: Louis Jourdan
Recently, I was listening to an old hollywood musicals cd in the car (I find classic film songs incredibly soothing in times of stress) and Gigicame on and I nearly went off the road. There’s a lesson here, folks: don’t swoon and drive. See, the thing is, I’d not - all those years ago when I got that particular album - fallen prey to the charms of Louis Jourdan. I know, I know, it’s odd, right? He’s beautiful, swoony, has the sexiest accent, is a great actor, etc etc etc but sometimes you can go along knowing a person for ages and then suddenly BAM! they are super hot and you don’t know how you didn’t see it before. (This has happened to me a lot, you think I’d be used to it by now.)
So. Louis. Wow. He’s a swoonster alright. What magical thing is it about the french accent that makes it irresistable? (I generalise, but you know….guh). He is also one of those special people who clearlyhad a portrait in the attic, I mean he’s nearly sixty in the Columbo ep he’s in (and is great in). Mind boggling. But he’s not just a pretty (very pretty) face and swoony voice. He’s a fine, fine actor, and he turns his hand well to comedy, drama, pathos, lighthearted romance, stoical angst, and of course, singing. There’s a wonderful truthfulness to him - as well as playing the stereotypically worldy continental with ease he has a naive honesty that is incredibly charming. He can play villains, of course (that’s what continentals do in american/british films, obvs) but he is adept at sincerity too. Really, he is very lovely.
Favourite Role: Dr Nicholas Agi in The Swan [1956] which is a gem of a film, wonderfully written and cast (Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness, Jessie Royce Landis, etc etc). It’s funny and sad and rather intelligent, and it’s the film that made me fall in love with Louis.
Another Good Place to Start: Gigi[1958], because he’s soooo swoony and charming, and once you get past the squickiness of Thank Heaven for Little Girls (I swear it took me years to watch this film) and dive into the opulent Vincente Minnelli/Cecil Beaton world of the film it’s a delight. Leslie Caron is adorable as ever, and it’s glossier and less seedy than its origins, but that’s okay. Also The VIPs (1963) which is one of those looks-good-on-paper films that actually is: a sixties outing for Rattigan and Asquith, with some of my very faves in (Richard Burton, Orson Welles, Margaret Rutherford, Maggie Smith). Liz Taylor is choosing between Louis and Burton, so you get all the great voices as well as romantic angst, and comedy Orson, and just people being damn good at their acting.
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