Adrienne D'Ambricourt (born Adrienne Dumontier; 2 June 1878 – 6 December 1957) was a French-American actress of the
silent and
sound film
A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...
eras. She was born in Paris, and emigrated to the United States after the end of World War I.
Biography
A member of the
Comédie-Française who had also performed at the
Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt,
D'Ambricourt made her American acting debut in the 1922
Gershwin Broadway musical comedy, ''The French Doll'', in which she had one of the main roles, "Baroness Mazulier". She made her film debut in the 1924 silent film, ''
The Humming Bird'', where she was one of
Gloria Swanson's gang of thieves who turned into resistance fighters in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
With the advent of talking pictures, and before dubbing came into general use, D'Ambricourt was used in several films which were the French version of English language ones, such as ''Quand on est belle'' (''
The Easiest Way'' — 1931), ''L'énigmatique Mr. Parkes'' (''
Slightly Scarlet'' — 1930), and ''Nuit d'Espagne'' (''
Transgression'' — 1931).
[
She appeared in over 70 films, including such classics as '']Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
'', ''San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
'', and '' To Have And Have Not'', until about 1947, after which her film career began to decline. Her final role was in George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...
's '' Les Girls'', starring Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
and Mitzi Gaynor, in which she played the wardrobe woman.
Person life and death
D'Ambricourt had a son, Jean Dumontier, who was also an actor.[Foote, Blythe (July 16, 1940)]
"Anxiety for Soldier Son Bared by French Actress"
''The Pasadena Post''. p. 5. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
On December 6, 1957, D'Ambricourt suffered a fatal heart attack while driving in Hollywood.
Filmography
(Per AFI database)San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
'' (1936)
*'' The Great Ziegfeld'' (1936)
*'' Suzy'' (1936)
*'' Mama Steps Out'' (1937)
*'' Live, Love and Learn'' (1937)
*'' Seventh Heaven'' (1937)
*'' We Have Our Moments'' (1937)
*'' Artists and Models Abroad'' (1938)
*'' I'll Give a Million'' (1938)
*'' City in Darkness'' (1939)
*'' The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle'' (1939)
*'' Bulldog Drummond's Bride'' (1939)
*'' Pack Up Your Troubles'' (1939)
*'' Two Girls on Broadway'' (1940)
*'' Forty Little Mothers'' (1940)
*'' Joan of Paris'' (1942)
*'' The Pied Piper'' (1942)
*''Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
'' (1942)
*'' The White Cliffs of Dover'' (1944)
*'' Experiment Perilous'' (1944)
*'' Passage to Marseille'' (1944)
*'' The Song of Bernadette'' (1945)
*'' To Have and Have Not'' (1945)
*'' Paris-Underground'' (1945)
*'' This Love of Ours'' (1945)
*'' What Next, Corporal Hargrove?'' (1945)
*'' Saratoga Trunk'' (1946)
*'' The Return of Monte Cristo'' (1946)
*'' So Dark the Night'' (1946)
*''Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
'' (1947)
* '' Beautiful Love'' (1951)
*'' Bal Tabarin'' (1952)
*'' Million Dollar Mermaid'' (1952)
*'' The Purple Mask'' (1955)
*'' Les Girls'' (1957)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:DAmbricourt, Adrienne
1878 births
1957 deaths
Actresses from Paris
French silent film actresses
French film actresses
French television actresses
French stage actresses
French emigrants to the United States
People related to the Comédie-Française
Road incident deaths in California
20th-century French actresses
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City