Janie Marèse (born Jeanne Marie Thérèse Bugnot, 23 May 1908 in

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Sainte-Maxime Sainte-Maxime (; Occitan language, Occitan and Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Santa Maxima'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France ...

, Var) was a French actress who appeared in four

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...

and three feature-length films, most notably

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

's second sound film ''

La Chienne ''La Chienne'' () is a 1931 French film by director Jean Renoir. It is the second sound film by the director and the twelfth film of his career. The film is based on the eponymous story "La Chienne" by Georges de La Fouchardière. The literal ...

'', before her death at age 23, in a

road accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...

Career

Marèse made her first screen appearance in a 1929 short, ''C'est par amour pour vous Madame''. Her first full-length feature was ''Amours viennoises'' in 1930, followed by the

Marc Allégret Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director. Biography Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...

-directed adaptation of '' Mam'zelle Nitouche''. Marèse's break came when she was offered the leading role (originally intended for

Catherine Hessling Catherine Hessling (born Andrée Madeleine Heuschling; 22 June 1900 – 28 September 1979) was a French actress and the first wife of film director Jean Renoir. Hessling appeared in 15, mostly silent, films before retiring from the acting profe ...

) in Renoir's ''La Chienne'' (''The Bitch''), in which she played Lulu, a prostitute who connives with her pimp and lover ( Georges Flamant) to financially exploit an unhappily married man (

Michel Simon Michel Simon (; 9 April 1895 – 30 May 1975) was a Swiss actor of German origin active primarily in France. French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

in a car driven by her co-star Georges Flamant when Flamant lost control of the vehicle, which overturned, killing Marèse instantly. Flamant survived the accident. The French media, shocked by the untimely death of a promising young talent, subsequently vilified Flamant (he was labelled "un assassin" by some newspapers) to the extent that his career was seriously damaged by negative public perception.

Filmography

Feature films * 1930: ''Amours viennoises'' - dir.

Jean Choux Jean Choux (1887–1946) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film producer, producer born in Geneva. He was active in French and Italian cinema from the silent era until his death in 1946. Filmography * ''The Vocation of André C ...

and Robert Land * 1931: ''Mam'zelle Nitouche'' - dir.

* 1931: ''

'' - dir.

Janie Marèse at IMDb.com
/ref> Short films * 1929: ''C'est par amour pour vous Madame'' - dir. Henri Lepage * 1931: ''Les Quatre Jambes'' - dir. Marc Allégret * 1931: ''Isolons-nous Gustave'' - dir. Marc Allégret * 1931: ''Le Collier'' - dir. Marc Allégret

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marese, Janie 1908 births 1931 deaths French film actresses People from Chartres Actors from Centre-Val de Loire Road incident deaths in France 20th-century French actresses