Jeanne Bérangère (born Françoise Marie Charlotte Béraud; 9 June 1864 – 19 November 1928) was a French stage and film actress whose career spanned nearly forty years on the stage and in films during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

era.

Early life

Françoise Marie Charlotte Béraud was born on 9 June 1864 to Pierre and Appoline Béraud (''née'' Dumont), wealthy landowners in

Ainay-le-Château Ainay-le-Château () is a commune in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Castelainaisiens'' or ''Castelainaisiennes''. Geography Ainay-le-Château is locat ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

, France. By the end of the 19th century she became a stage actress in Paris, billing herself as Mademoiselle Bérangère. She garnered a degree of national recognition by posing for series of postcards which helped spread her image across France. In 1909, she was chosen by French film director

Michel Carré Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist. He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing libre ...

to appear in her first screen role in ''La peur'' (English title: ''Fear'') opposite

Henri Desfontaines Henri Desfontaines (12 November 1876, Paris – 7 January 1931, Paris) was a French film director, actor, and scriptwriter. Filmography As director * 1908 : ''Hamlet'' * 1909 : '' Le Puits et le pendule'' * 1910 : '' Un invité gênant'' * 1 ...

Film career

Following her appearance in ''La peur'', Bérangère was placed under contract by brothers Emile and

Charles Pathé Charles Morand Pathé (; 26 December 1863 – 25 December 1957) was a pioneer of the French film and recording industries. As the founder of Pathé Frères, its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when Pathé and his brothers pioneered the deve ...

for their film production company

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

where she appeared in approximately twenty films between 1910 and 1913, including one of the first film portrayals of

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

(''Cléopâtre'', 1910) and several films directed by

Albert Capellani Albert Capellani (23 August 1874 – 26 September 1931) was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent film, silent era. He directed films between 1905 and 1922. One of his brothers was the actor-sculptor Paul Capellani, and anoth ...

, before signing with the Éclair Film Company. At Éclair she appeared in a number of well regarded films, including the Charles Krauss adaptation of

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

's '' Trompe-la-Mort'' (1913). During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she largely refrained from appearing in films, preferring to working on the stages in Paris; one notable exception is the 1916 patriotic film ''Français!...n’oubliez jamais'' (English title: ''French!...Never Forget''), directed by Robert Boudrioz and

Roger Lion Roger Lion (27 September 1882 – 27 October 1934) was a French film director and screenwriter. Filmographie * 1912 : ''L'Agence Cacahouète'' * 1914 : ''La Petite Bretonne'' * 1915 : ''À qui la femme?'' * 1916 : ''Sacré Joseph'' * 1916 ...

. After the war, Jeanne Bérangère returned to the screen in Lucien Lehmann's ''Chimera'' (1918) alongside Edmond Van Daële, followed by two films by

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

: ''L'homme du large'' (1920) and ''El Dorado'' (1921). She would spend her remaining years working in films for:

Germaine Dulac Germaine Dulac (; born Charlotte Elisabeth Germaine Saisset-Schneider; 17 November 1882 – 20 July 1942)Flitterman-Lewis 1996 was a French filmmaker, film theorist, journalist and critic. She was born in Amiens and moved to Paris in early child ...

Victor Tourjansky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * Victor (1951 film), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...

Yakov Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (russian: Яков Александрович Протазанов; 4 February ( O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of ...

, Raymond Bernard,

André Hugon André Hugon (17 December 1886 – 22 August 1960) was a French film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his silent films from 1913 onwards, particularly of the 1920s and into sound. Hugon was born in Algiers in 1886 wh ...

Gaston Ravel Gaston Ravel (1878–1958) was a French screenwriter and film director. He made over sixty films, mostly during the silent era. In 1929 he co-directed the historical film ''The Queen's Necklace''.Klossner p.77 Selected filmography * '' The Knot'' ...

, and

Louis Mercanton Louis Mercanton (4 May 1879 – 29 April 1932) was a Swiss people, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actor. Mercanton was born in Nyon, Vaud, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Partial filmography Director * '' ...

. She would also appear in a number of

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater ...

s throughout the 1920s; most notably: ''L’essor'' (English title: ''Rise'', 1920), which ran in ten installments and was directed by

Charles Burguet Charles Burguet (26 May 1878 – 9 June 1946) was a French director best known for his silent films of the late 1910s and early 1920s. He directed well over 30 films between 1912 and 1929. Selected filmography * ''The Mysteries of Paris'' ...

; ''L’assomoir'' (English title: ''The Truncheon'', 1921), which ran in four installments and was directed by

Charles Maudru Charles Maudru (1859-1935) was a French film director of the silent era. He was the father of the screenwriter Pierre Maudru.Goble p.351 Selected filmography * '' Serge Panine'' (1922) * '' The King of Paris'' (1923) * '' The Loves of Rocambole ...

and Maurice de Marsan; '' Les mystères de Paris'' (English title: ''The Mysteries of Paris'', 1922), which ran in twelve installments and again directed by Charles Burguet; and ''Belphégor'' (1926), which ran in four installments and was directed by

. Her final film role was in the 1928 Marcel Manchez directed ''La dame de bronze et le monsieur de cristal'', opposite

Marcel Vallée Marcel Vallée (15 January 1880, in Paris – 31 October 1957, in Fontaine-le-Port) was a French actor, primarily of the theater. He began working in films with Max Linder in 1906. He appeared in some American films. Selected filmography * '' ...

Death

Jeanne Bérangère died in Paris on 19 November 1928 at the age of 64.Le Cinéma Français.
Retrieved 9 September 2016.

Selected filmography

*''

Heart of an Actress ''Heart of an Actress'' (French: ''Âme d'artiste'') is a 1924 French silent drama film directed by Germaine Dulac and starring Iván Petrovich, Nicolas Koline and Mabel Poulton. Poulton had almost been cast in Abel Gance's ''Napoleon'', but a ...

'' (French title: ''Âme d'artiste'') (1924) *'' The Little Thing'' (French title: ''Le petit chose'') (1923) *'' The Gardens of Murcia'' (French title: ''Aux jardins de Murcie'') (1923) *''

The Mysteries of Paris ''The Mysteries of Paris'' (french: Les Mystères de Paris) is a novel by the French writer Eugène Sue. It was published serially in 90 parts in ''Journal des débats'' from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843, making it one of the first seria ...

'' (French title: ''Les mystères de Paris'') (1922, serial) *'' The Conspiracy'' (French title: ''Mademoiselle 100 millions'') (1913)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berangere, Jeanne 1864 births 1928 deaths French stage actresses French film actresses French silent film actresses People from Allier 20th-century French actresses