Francine Mussey (6 October 1897 – 23 March 1933) was a French film actress whose career began in the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era of the 1920s and ended in 1933 when she committed suicide by ingesting poison at age 35. Mussey was born in the

18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements, or administrative districts, of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as '' ...

as Marcelle Fromholt in 1897. She made her debut in the 1920 Lucien Lehmann-directed film ''L'épave'', opposite actors Marcel Bonneau and

Jean-François Martial Jean-François Martial (12 September 1891 – 18 October 1977) was a Belgian actor who appeared in mostly French films beginning in the silent film era of the early 1910s until his retirement in the early 1960s. Born Martial Joseph Ghislain Fo ...

. She would go on to appear in a number of films throughout the 1920s and into the sound film era of the early 1930s directed by

Louis Feuillade Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the silent film, silent era. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serial film, serials ''Fantômas (1913 ser ...

, Gaston Ravel, Alexandre Ryder and

Jean Daumery Jean Daumery (1898-1934) was a Belgian-born film director. Jean (John) Daumery is the pseudonym of Jean Nicolas Pierre Ysaÿe. He was born in Brussels (Belgium) on 17 May 1898. He was the son of the pianist and composer Théo Ysaÿe and the actres ...

, among others. She appeared in the 1927 epic ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

''"Francine Mussey"
Unifrance.org, Retrieved 12 April 2016 which ran for five and a half hours.

Selected filmography

*'' The House of Mystery'' (1923) *'' The Man in the Saddle'' (1925) *'' Lady Harrington'' (1926) *''

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

'' (1927) *''

The Woman Who Couldn't Say No ''The Woman Who Couldn't Say No'' (German: ''Die Frau die nicht nein sagen kann'') is a 1927 German silent film directed by Fred Sauer and starring Lee Parry, Gustav Fröhlich and Hans Albers.Grange p.247 The film's sets were designed by the a ...

'' (1927) * '' Buridan's Donkey'' (1932)

References

External links

* 1897 births 1933 deaths French film actresses French silent film actresses Actresses from Paris Drug-related suicides in France 20th-century French actresses 1933 suicides {{france-film-actor-1890s-stub