Micheline Presle (; born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne; 22 August 1922 – 21 February 2024) was a French actress. She was sometimes billed as Micheline Prelle. Starting her career in 1937, she starred or appeared in over 150 films appearing first in productions in her native France and also in Hollywood during the era of Classical Hollywood Cinema, before returning again to Europe, especially French films from the mid-1960s until 2014.
Biography Early life Born in Paris on the left bank on 22 August 1922, Presle wanted to be an actress from an early age. She took acting classes in her early teens. She was the daughter of Robert Chassagne, a French banker (who fled to the United States amid a finance scandal) and artist Julie Bachelier.
She received early education in a convent school, but took acting classes with the Belgian actor Raymond Rouleau. She reprised the relationship by appearing with him in Falbalas, a/k/a Paris Frills (1945).
Early French cinema (1937–1950) Presle made her film debut at the age of 15 in the 1937 production of La Fessée. In 1938, she was awarded the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as the most promising young actress in French cinema. Her rise to European stardom, in films such as Devil in the Flesh (1947), led to offers in Hollywood.
"Exquisite good looks" coupled with a "graceful transition between froth and drama" facilitated her long career, with more than 200 credited roles.
Hollywood cinema Her role in the Devil in the Flesh led to a Hollywood career, including leading roles opposite Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Paul Newman and Tyrone Power. That film was controversial, even being banned in Britain for years.
In 1950, Presle was signed by 20th Century Fox, led by Darryl F. Zanuck. He promised she "could avoid "ooh-la-la" eye-candy roles" with spare time so she could make a biopic about Sarah Bernhardt, a project to which she had obtained the film rights for a biography written by Bernhardt's granddaughter. However, Hollywood's promise soon dimmed. Zanuck changed Presle's last name to Prell, thinking to his American ear that her name was a homonym for 'pretzel.' It was later changed to Prelle after a soap company brought out Prell shampoo. Her first Hollywood production was a starring role opposite John Garfield in the film Under My Skin directed by Jean Negulesco. That same year, director Fritz Lang cast her opposite Tyrone Power in the war drama American Guerrilla in the Philippines. In 1950, she became the second wife of American actor William Marshall with whom she had a daughter, Tonie. William Marshall had teamed up with actor Errol Flynn and his production company, and in 1951 he directed Flynn and her in the film Adventures of Captain Fabian.
Disenchanted with Hollywood, since "They gave me uninteresting parts in bad pictures," she went back to work in European film.
In 1945, she married tennis player Michel Lefort. She later married William Marshall, an American actor and band leader. She returned to France, divorcing Marshall in 1954. Her career flourished in French films, and in 1957, she was a guest on the American Ed Sullivan Show. In 1959, she performed in the United Kingdom English-language production of Blind Date directed by Joseph Losey.
She returned to Hollywood in 1962 for the role of Sandra Dee's mother in the Universal Studios film If a Man Answers, which also featured Dee's husband, singer Bobby Darin. The following year, Presle acted again in English in The Prize starring Paul Newman.
Return to French cinema
Presle did not make another English film, but after performing in more than 50 films in French, in 1989, she appeared in the French-made bilingual production I Want to Go Home, for which she was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
In 1971, Presle signed the Manifesto of the 343, publicly declaring she had had an illegal abortion.
She received an Honorary César in 2004.
Tonie Marshall, her daughter, won a César for Venus Beauty Institute in which Presle appeared.
Death Presle died in Nogent-sur-Marne on 21 February 2024, at the age of 101, at the Maison des Artistes, a retirement home for artists, which receives partial government support. Her death was confirmed by Olivier Bomsel, her son-in-law, without specifying the cause.
Filmography (selected) A more complete list has been compiled by the British Film Institute with 133 works.
Title Year References/NoteGirls in Distress a/k/a Young Girls in Trouble 1939Rentschler p.282 They Were Twelve Women 1940Dayna Oscherwitz & MaryEllen Higgins. (2009) The A to Z of French Cinema. Scarecrow Press. Paradise Lost 1940 Comedy of Happiness 1940Allan R. Ellenberger (2009) Ramon Novarro: A Biography of the Silent Film Idol, 1899–1968; with a Filmography , McFarland, p 143, accessed 23 January 2014 Ecco la felicità 1940 They Were Twelve Women 1940 Parade en sept nuits 1941 Foolish Husbands 1941Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. (1986) Histoire du cinéma français: encyclopédie des films, 1940–1950. PygmalionRège, Philippe. (20090 Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1. Scarecrow Press. Page 639. Le soleil a toujours raison 1941 La Nuit fantastique Fantasic Night 1942As a "Dream woman" opposite Fernand GraveyThe French Cinema Book; edited by Michael Temple and Michael Witt. (2004) (London: British Film Institute.) p 123. Georges Sadoul (1962) Le Cinéma français (1890–1962). (Paris: Flammarion) pp.92–93. The Beautiful Adventure 1942La Belle Aventure at Monsieur.louis.jourdan.net accessed 21 January 2014 However it was not released until after the Liberation of France due to the ban on the films of Claude Dauphin after he joined the Free French.La Belle Aventure at Louisjourdan.net 1943 An adaptation from a story by Honoré de Balzac about a ballet-star, Clara Biondi, played by Presle. Paris Frills 1945 Film critic Manny Farber in The New Republic, 16 December 1946, wrote: "This is the only movie I have ever seen in which a posturing, narcissistic personality is shown in the full run of everyday situations and is handled with a matter-of-fact understanding that makes it into a sad, creative, extremely curious and complicated character."Farber, Manny. 2009. Farber on Film: The Complete Film Writings of Manny Farber. Edited by Robert Polito. Library of America. p. 302 Twilight 1945Original Title: Felicie Nanteuil Fausse alerte The French Way 1945 in United States) Spy story. "[S]helved during the war ... (a shortened version was released with the title The French Way in 1952 in the United States). The film revolves around a long-standing feud...." Boule de suif Angel and Sinner 1945She palayed the eponymous lead, a loveable prostitute and member of the resistance. The film was released in the autumn of 1945, and was the first French film incorporating the theme of resistance. It is an adaptation of two short stories by Guy de Maupassant Boule de suif and Mademoiselle Fifi, which are inter-weaved, and is set during the Franco-Prussian War. A reviewer in Britain noted its "sense of humour, drama, satire and technical skill".Hackett, Hazel. The French Cinema Since the Liberation. Sight and Sound, Summer 1946, Vol.15 No.58, p50. Les jeux sont faits 1946French fantasy film directed by Jean Delannoy, based on the screenplay of the same name by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. Devil in the Flesh 1947World war I drama, voted one of 10 best films of the year by the National Board of Review. All Roads Lead to Rome 1949Hubert-Lacombe, Patricia. (1996)Le cinéma français dans la guerre froide: 1946–1956. L'Harmattan. Page 76* Siehlohr, Ulrike. (2,000) Heroines Without Heroes: Reconstructing Female and National Identities in European Cinema, 1945–1951. A&C Black. Page 65 The Last Days of Pompeii The Sins of Pompeii 1950 Adapted from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Last Days of Pompeii. The film has also been known as Sins of Pompeii.Marcel L'Herbier: l'art du cinéma; sous la direction de Laurent Véray. (2007) (Paris: Association française de recherche sur l'histoire du cinéma} p.386.Jaque-Catelain. (1950) Jaque-Catelain présente Marcel L'Herbier. (Paris: Vautrain) p.144L'Herbier, Marcel. (1979) La Tête qui tourne. (Paris: Belfond) pp.272–273. Under My Skin 1950Cast as a cafe owner smitten by love with a jockey. American Guerrilla in the Philippines 1950Early Technicolor war film. Adventures of Captain Fabian 1951 It was to be produced independently with a distributor sought later. Micheline Presle was borrowed from 20th Century Fox to play the female lead. The Lady of the Camellias 1953Goble, Alan. (1999) The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 137Hayward, Susan. (2010) French Costume Drama of the 1950s: Fashioning Politics in Film. Intellect Books, p. 464 It Happened in the Park 1953 The Love of a Woman 1953 Les Impures 1954 House of Ricordi 1954 Napoléon 1955 Thirteen at the Table 1955James Robert Parish. (1977) Film Actors Guide. Scarecrow Press. p. 224 Beatrice Cenci 1956 The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful 1956 The She-Wolves 1957Curti, Roberto. (2022) Italian Giallo in Film and Television: A Critical History. McFarland. p. 53.Goble, Alan. (1999) The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter p. 46.Parish, James Robert. (1977) Film Actors Guide: Western Europe. Scarecrow Press. p. 932.Vest, James M. (2003) Hitchcock and France: The Forging of an Auteur. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 127. Christine 1958 Blind Date 1959 A Mistress for the Summer 1960 The Baron of the Locks 1960 Mistress of the World 1960science-fiction spy film remake of the 1919 eight-part silent film The Mistress of the World directed by William Dieterle and starring Martha Hyer and Carlos Thompson."Il mistero dei tre continenti". It marked the comeback in his native country of the director William Dieterle after several decades spent in Hollywood."Il mistero dei tre continenti". Marco Giusti. 007 all'italiana. Isbn Edizioni, 2010. . In West Germany, it was released in a longer version split in two parts (Die Herrin der Welt – Teil I and Die Herrin der Welt – Teil II). It was developed when producer Artur Brauner invested in a three-hour West German-French-Italian co-production. Brauner contracted William Dieterle to direct the film. The film was made with a predominantly German crew, but with a multi-national cast including Martha Hyer and Sabu from Hollywood, Carlos Thompson from Argentina and Gino Cervi from Italy, and Micheline Presle and Lino Ventura from France. 1961 Five Day Lover 1961 Based on the 1959 novel L'amant de cinq jours by Françoise Parturier. The film was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival and nominated for the Golden Bear.