Florence Marly (2 June 1919 – 9 November 1978) was a Czech-born French film actress. During World War II, Marly moved to neutral Argentina with her Jewish husband, film director Pierre Chenal, where she appeared in several films. She also acted in two of her husband's films while they were in Chile.

Career

Marly was born Hana Smékalová in

Obrnice Obrnice () is a municipality and village in Most District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Obrnice consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. She studied French and her dream was to become an opera singer. At age 18 she went to Paris to study art, literature, and philosophy at Sorbonne. She met her future husband Pierre Chenal who cast her in his film '' The Alibi''. She played a major role in

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films ''The Battle of the Rails'' (1946), ''Forbidden Games'' (1952), ''Gervaise (film), Gervaise'' (1956), ''Purple No ...

's '' Les Maudits'', a fictionalized account showing the fate of Nazi refugees. After moving to Hollywood, she acted in Paramount's film '' Sealed Verdict'' opposite Ray Milland. Next year, she starred in Stuart Heisler's '' Tokyo Joe'' (1949) alongside

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

. In it she played Bogart's wife, who divorces him after he moves to the United States from Japan before Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II. The film met with mixed responses from critics. Clive Hirschhorn wrote in his book, ''The Columbia Story'', that it was "a little more than a Bogart parody". Marly's acting in the espionage film '' Tokyo File 212'' brought her appreciations. Robert J. Lentz wrote in ''Korean War Filmography'' that she had given the best performance in the film. It was Hollywood's first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

to be shot entirely in Japan. In 1962 she appeared in a small role as a gangster's girlfriend in the Twilight Zone episode ''Dead Man's Shoes''. She had the eponymous role of a blood-thirsty vampire queen in Curtis Harrington-directed science fiction horror film '' Queen of Blood'' (1966), based on a novel by Charles Nuetzel. It met with positive reviews. Paul Meehan wrote in ''Saucer Movies'' that she gave a "convincing" performance. Marly made a 16 mm sequel to ''Queen of Blood'' titled '' Space Boy!'' (1973).

Personal life

At a dinner, director

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

bit Marly's hand. During the early years of her acting career, the U.S. Consulate mistook her for the Russian-born, left-inclined, singer and songwriter Anna Marly, and she was subsequently blacklisted in Hollywood by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Even after she was cleared from the blacklist, at a Hollywood party

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's ca ...

"turned his back on er.

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

, in a letter, called her a "rather sweet" "beautiful Czech lady". She was married to Chenal from 1937 to 1955. In 1956 she married the Austrian Count Degenhart von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1893-1965) but divorced him the same year.

Filmography

* '' The Alibi'' (1937) - La maitresse de Gordon * '' The Lafarge Case'' (1938) - Emma Pontier * '' Café de Paris'' (1938) - Estelle * '' Sirocco'' (1938) - Diana * '' Savage Brigade'' (1939) - Isa Ostrowski * '' Le Dernier Tournant'' (1939) - Madge, la dompteuse * ''La piel de Zapa'' (1943) - Fedora * '' End of the Night'' (1944) * '' Viaje sin regreso'' (1946) * '' The Damned'' (1947) - Hilde Garosi * '' Krakatit'' (1948) - Princess Wilhelmina Hagen * '' Sealed Verdict'' (1948) - Themis DeLisle * '' Tokyo Joe'' (1949) - Trina Pechinkov Landis * '' Tokyo File 212'' (1951) - Steffi Novak * '' Gobs and Gals'' (1952) - Soyna DuBois * '' The Idol'' (1952) - Cristina Arnaud * '' Confession at Dawn'' (1954) * '' Undersea Girl'' (1957) - Leila Graham - Gang Moll * '' Queen of Blood'' (1966) - Alien Queen * '' Games'' (1967) - Baroness, Party Guest * '' Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls'' (1973) - Tana * ''Space Boy'' (1973, Short) * ''The Astrologer'' (1975) - Diana Blair (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marly, Florence 1919 births 1978 deaths French film actresses Czech film actresses 20th-century French actresses People from Most District Czechoslovak emigrants to France French expatriates in Argentina French expatriates in Chile French expatriate actresses in the United States