Daniel Mendaille (27 November 1885 – 17 May 1963) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly sixty years.

Early life

Born Daniel Henri Elie Mendaille in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Académie royale d'architecture The Académie Royale d'Architecture (; en, "Royal Academy of Architecture") was a French learned society founded in 1671. It had a leading role in influencing architectural theory and education, not only in France, but throughout Europe and t ...

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institut ...

in Paris. At age twenty, he abandoned his studies in architecture and enrolled in the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

and studied acting under Paul Mounet. After graduating, he was engaged at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

Cirque d'Hiver The Cirque d'Hiver ("Winter Circus"), located at 110 rue Amelot (at the juncture of the rue des Filles Calvaires and rue Amelot, Paris 11ème), has been a prominent venue for circuses, exhibitions of dressage, musical concerts, and other events, i ...

, Théâtre Antoine and the l’Œuvre et de la Renaissance.

Film career

During the early 1900s, he began appearing in small roles in film. One of his first roles was in the 1909

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

-directed short ''La mort du duc d'Enghien en 1804'' (English release title: ''The Death of the Duc d'Enghien'') for the Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL), affiliated with Pathé-Frères Mendaille continued to work in theater and film throughout the 1910s and 1920s. Already a featured actor, he began performing in leading roles in such films as

Léon Poirier Léon Poirier (25 August 1884 – 27 June 1968) was a French film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his silent films from 1913 onwards. He directed some 25 films between 1913 and 1949. His most famous film today is '' Verdu ...

's in ''Le coffret de jade'' (1921), Marcel Dumont's ''La proie'' (1921) and

Robert Péguy Robert Péguy (14 December 1883 – 21 July 1968) was a French film director best known for his films of the 1920s and 1930s. He directed some 30 films between 1910 and 1946. His career peaked in the 1930s. Selected filmography * '' 600,00 ...

's ''Le crime de Monique'' (1922). In 1923, he portrayed the Comte de Maupry in ''L'affaire du courrier de Lyon'' for

Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...

and was also part of the cast of ''Surcouf'' (1924) and ''Jean Chouan'' (1925), both serials directed by Luitz-Morat. In 1927 he appeared in the epic silent French historical film ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'' directed by

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...

and the following year in the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

silent docudrama '' Verdun: Visions of History'' opposite

Albert Préjean Albert Préjean (27 October 1894 in Paris – 1 November 1979 in Paris) was a French actor, primarily in film. He served in World War I, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur. With Lysiane Rey, he was the ...

, Suzanne Bianchetti, Berthe Jalabert and

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

. Daniel Mendaille had little difficulty transitioning to the

sound era A sound film is a motion picture with 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, but decades passed befor ...

of films. Notable performances of the 1930s include the portrayal of a miner in Georg Wilhelm Pabst's ''La tragédie de la mine'' (1931), the French-language version of

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary '' Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. ...

's '' The Testament of Dr. Mabuse'' (1933), a diplomat in

Alexis Granowsky Alexis Granowsky (russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Грано́вский; 1890–1937) was a Russian theatre director who later became a film director. Granowsky was born as Abraham Azarkh to a Jewish family in Moscow. After study ...

's ''Moscow Nights'' opposite French actress Annabella (1934), as Gaston Roude in the first film adaptation of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

's ''

L'Assommoir ''L'Assommoir'' , published as a serial in 1876, and in book form in 1877, is the seventh novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series '' Les Rougon-Macquart''. Usually considered one of Zola's masterpieces, the novel — a study of alcoholism and p ...

'' (1933) and as Micheletto, the chief henchman in Abel Gance's historical drama '' Lucrèce Borgia'' (1935). Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Mendaille would often be relegated to supporting roles as a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

or in bit parts, with notable performances in such films as

Jacques Becker Jacques Becker (; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter. His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led th ...

's ''Casque d'Or'' (1952),

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer (; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls (; ), was a German-French film director who worked in Germany (1931–1933), France (1933–1940 and 1950–1957), and the United States (1947–1950). He made near ...

' ''

The Earrings of Madame de… ''The Earrings of Madame de...'' ( ) is a 1953 romantic drama film directed by Max Ophüls from a screenplay he co-wrote with Marcel Achard and Annette Wademant, based on the 1951 novel ''Madame de...'' by Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin. The fi ...

'' (1953),

Christian-Jaque Christian-Jaque (byname of Christian Maudet; 4 September 1904 – 8 July 1994) was a French filmmaker. From 1954 to 1959, he was married to actress Martine Carol, who starred in several of his films, including ''Lucrèce Borgia'' (1953), ''M ...

's adaptation of

's '' Nana'' (1955) and Max Ophüls' ''

Lola Montès ''Lola Montès'' is a 1955 historical romance film and the last completed film of German-born director Max Ophüls. Based on the novel ''La vie extraordinaire de Lola Montès'' by Cécil Saint-Laurent, the film depicts the life of Irish dancer an ...

'' (1955). Mendaille appeared in approximately 120 films.

Personal life

Daniel Mendaille was married to Spanish-born actress Leda Ginelly. Following Ginelly's death in April 1959, he retired from performing and lived a secluded life at the family residence in

Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Colliaciens''. See also * Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The ...

, where he died in May 1963 at age 77.CinéArtistes.com
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Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendaille, Daniel 1885 births 1963 deaths French male stage actors French male film actors French male silent film actors Actors from Tours, France 20th-century French male actors