Ève Francis (born Eva Louise François; 24 August 1886 – 6 December 1980) was a French actress and film-maker. She was born in Belgium but spent most of her career in France. She became closely associated with the writer

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

, and in 1918 she married the critic and film-maker Louis Delluc (six years before he died).

Career

Ève Francis was born Eva Louise François at

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Saint-Josse-ten-Noode ( French, ) or Sint-Joost-ten-Node ( Dutch, ), often simply called Saint-Josse in French or Sint-Joost in Dutch, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part o ...

in Belgium. After completing her secondary education in Belgium, she embarked on a career as an actress and began working in the theatre in Paris in 1913. In 1914 she was introduced to the author

who chose her for the leading role in the first Paris production of his play '' L'Otage''. Although only a few performances were given, the play was well received in literary and artistic circles and her reputation was established. Her long-lasting association with Claudel was at times personal as well as artistic, and in later years she described him as the most extraordinary person she had known and the dominant influence in her life. When Claudel wrote his ''Paroles au maréchal'', addressed to

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

after the collapse of France in 1940, Ève Francis gave a public recital of the poem in Vichy. In 1913 Ève Francis met Louis Delluc, then a young novelist, poet and playwright, and a growing friendship led eventually to their marriage in January 1918. It was at her insistence that Delluc set aside his aversion to the film productions of the time and, in 1916, underwent a conversion to the possibilities of the new medium which would define the remainder of his career as a pioneering critic and film-maker.Pierre Lherminier. ''Louis Delluc et le cinéma français''. (Paris: Ramsay, 2008) pp.28-35. Her own career as a film actress developed fitfully from 1914 onwards, but in 1918 she made the first of several films with

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 chil ...

and became firmly linked with the avant-garde directors who contributed to the movement sometimes called impressionist cinema. When Louis Delluc turned to directing his own films in 1920, Ève Francis took the leading role in almost all of them, including '' La Femme de nulle part'' (1922) and ''L'Inondation'' (1924). She had one of her greatest successes in Marcel L'Herbier's ''

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

'' (1921) in which she played the ill-fated cabaret dancer Sibilla. Her style of acting has been described as balanced "between mannerism and pose; at its extreme it could be seen as an element of film architecture".''Dictionnaire du cinéma français'', sous la direction de Jean-Loup Passek. (Paris: Larousse, 1987) p.157: "Le jeu d'Ève Francis oscille entre le maniérisme et la pose; à la limite, on peut la considérer comme un élément d'architecture filmique. Although by the time of Delluc's early death in 1924, their personal relationship was becoming more distant, as his widow Ève Francis took charge of the substantial legacy of his writings and oversaw the posthumous publication of many of them. She greatly reduced the number of her own screen appearances, and during the 1930s she worked regularly as an assistant director with

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 ...

as well as giving lectures and writing film criticism. In the 1950s she gave support to the growing network of film societies in France ("ciné-clubs"), a project which Louis Delluc had first promulgated in 1920. Ève Francis published two books of her own. ''Temps héroïques: théâtre, cinéma'' (Gand: Enseigne du chat qui pêche, 1949), with a preface by Paul Claudel, included her portrait of Louis Delluc. She recorded her recollections of Claudel himself in ''Un autre Claudel'' (Paris: Grasset, 1973). After making two final screen appearances when in her late 80s, she died at Neuilly-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris on 6 December 1980 at the age of 94. She was buried in the cemetery at

Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine Bagneux () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department, in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Geography The commune of Bagneux is surrounded by the following communes, from the north and clockwise ...

Filmography

Actress

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

: ''La Dame blonde'', directed by Charles Maudru *

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

: ''Un homme passa'', directed by Henry Roussell *

: ''Le Roi de la mer'', directed by Jacques de Baroncelli *

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

: ''Âmes de fou'', directed by

: ''Frivolité'', directed by Maurice Landais *

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

: ''Le Bonheur des autres'', directed by Germaine Dulac *

: '' La Fête espagnole'', directed by Germaine Dulac *

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

: ''Fumée noire'', directed by Louis Delluc *

: ''Le Silence'', directed by Louis Delluc *

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

: ''Fièvre'', directed by Louis Delluc *

: ''Le Chemin d'Ernoa'', directed by Louis Delluc *

: '' Eldorado'', directed by

: ''Prométhée banquier'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

: '' La Femme de nulle part'', directed by Louis Delluc * 1924 : ''L'Inondation'', directed by Louis Delluc * 1924 : '' Âme d'artiste'' (''Heart of an Actress''), directed by Germaine Dulac *

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

: '' Antoinette Sabrier'', directed by Germaine Dulac *

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

: '' Club de femmes'' (''Women's Club''), directed by Jacques Deval *

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

: '' Forfaiture'' (''The Cheat''), directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

: '' La Brigade sauvage'' (''Savage Brigade''), directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

: ''Yamilé sous les cèdres'', directed by Charles d'Espinay *

: ''La Mode rêvée'', short film directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

: '' La Comédie du bonheur'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

: '' La Chair de l'orchidée'', directed by

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; ; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ''I ...

: '' Adieu poulet'', directed by

Pierre Granier-Deferre Pierre Granier-Deferre (2 July 1927 – 16 November 2007) was a French film director and screenwriter. His 1971 film ''Le Chat'' (The Cat) won the Best Actor and Best Actress awards at the 21st Berlin International Film Festival. His 19 ...

Assistant director

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

: '' L'Épervier'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

: '' Le Bonheur'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

: '' Le Scandale'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

: '' La Route impériale'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

: '' Veille d'armes'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

: '' Les Hommes nouveaux'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

: ''La Porte du large'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

: ''Le Roman d'un spahi'', directed by Michel Berheim *

: '' La Citadelle du silence'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

: '' Forfaiture'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier *

: '' La Brigade sauvage'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier

References

External links

*
Ève Francis recalls Paul Claudel
an interview filmed in 1973 and archived by INA. n French {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Eve 1886 births 1980 deaths People from Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Belgian film actresses Belgian silent film actresses 20th-century Belgian actresses French stage actresses French silent film actresses French film actresses Burials at the Cimetière parisien de Bagneux Belgian emigrants to France 20th-century French actresses