Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career was among the longest in film history. She turned 100 in May 2017.
Darrieux was born in Bordeaux, France during World War I to a physician who was serving in the French Army. Her father died when she was seven years old. Raised in Paris, she studied the cello at the Conservatoire de Musique. At 13, she won a part in the musical film Le Bal (1931). Her beauty combined with her singing and dancing ability led to numerous other offers, and the film Mayerling (1936) brought her to fame.
In 1935, Darrieux married director/screenwriter Henri Decoin, who encouraged her to try Hollywood. She signed with Universal Studios to star in The Rage of Paris (1938) opposite Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Afterwards, she elected to return to Paris.
Under the German occupation of France during World War II, she continued to perform, a decision that was severely criticized by her compatriots. However, it is reported that her brother had been threatened with deportation by Alfred Greven, the manager of the German run film production company in occupied France, Continental. She got a divorce and then fell in love with Porfirio Rubirosa, a Dominican Republic diplomat and notorious womanizer. They married in 1942. His anti-Nazi opinions resulted in his forced residence in Germany. In exchange for Rubirosa's freedom, Darrieux agreed to make a promotional trip in Berlin. The couple lived in Switzerland until the end of the war, and divorced in 1947. She married scriptwriter Georges Mitsikidès in 1948, and they lived together until his death in 1991.
She gave a good performance in the 1951 MGM musical Rich, Young and Pretty. Joseph L. Mankiewicz lured her back to Hollywood to star in 5 Fingers (1952) opposite James Mason. Upon returning to France, she appeared in Max Ophüls' The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) opposite Charles Boyer, and The Red and the Black (1954) opposite Gérard Philippe. The next year she starred in Lady Chatterley's Lover, whose theme of uninhibited sexuality led to its being proscribed by Catholic censors in the United States.
During the late 1950s, she played a supporting role in her last American film, United Artists' epic Alexander the Great (1956) starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom. In 1961 she went to England at the request of director Lewis Gilbert to star in The Greengage Summer opposite Kenneth More. In 1963, she starred in the romantic comedy La Robe Mauve de Valentine at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. The play was adapted from the novel by Françoise Sagan. Then, in 1966, she played a memorable supporting role in Jacques Demy's musical The Young Girls of Rochefort. She is notable for being the only principal actor in any of Demy's film-musicals to sing her own songs. (All other actors had a separate person voice their singing parts.) During the 1960s she also was a concert singer.
In 1970, Darrieux replaced Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway musical Coco, based on the life of Coco Chanel, but the play, essentially a showcase for Hepburn, soon folded without her. In 1971 and 1972 she also appeared in the short-lived productions of Ambassador. In 1982, she worked again with Demy for his film Une chambre en ville, an opera-like musical melodrama reminiscent of the director's earlier masterpiece The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Once again, Darrieux provided her own vocals for her songs.
For her long service to the motion picture industry, in 1985 she was given an Honorary César Award. She continued to work, her career spanning eight decades, most recently providing the voice of the protagonist's grandmother in the animated feature, Persepolis (2007), which deals with the impact of the Islamic revolution on a girl's life as she grows to adulthood in Iran.
Danielle Darreux died on 17 October 2017 aged 100.
She was paid homage in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009): when Shosanna Dreyfus is preparing to take the Nazis down, her assistant calls her Danielle Darrieux.
Chanson de l'horloge d'Émilie Jolie
Danielle Darrieux Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vous étiez deux, nous serons trois Si vous m'emme′nez dans ce périple
Juré, craché, je n'sonnerai pas Ou juste un'fois pour le principe
J′ai moi aussi droit au bonheur Plus un seul tac, plus un seul tic
J′pass'rai d′midi à quatorze heures Vieux rêve de ma mécanique
Valse des heures et des secondes Mais qu'est-ce qui fait courir le monde
A nous les trains qui changent d'avis Auto-écoles buissonnières
Avions qui suivent les colibris Bateaux qui sèchent l′eau des paupières
Si vous m'emmenez, je vous promets Une vie dans un seul instant
J'ai besoin d′vous et vous de moi Vous étiez deux, nous serons trois
Ne laissez pas cette pendule Tomber dans la mélancolie
Et qui de l′aube au crépuscule Ne voit vieillir que ses amis
J'arrête là, silence, motus Mais pardonnez-moi cependant
C′est pour vous en faire gagner plus Que j'vous ai pris quelques instants
C′est d'accord! On t′emmène avec nous!
L'Horloge:
Merci, Emilie!
Le conteur:
Je ne voudrais pas marcher sur vos plates-bandes, chère madame, mais je crois qu'il est grand temps de tourner la page!
L′Horloge:
Faites, mon ami, faites.
Oh, regarde, on dirait la lune!
Le conteur:
Ca ressemble plutôt à la planète Mars...
Tu y as déjà été?
Le conteur:
Non...
Regarde qui arrive... Qui est-ce?
Le conteur:
Je ne sais pas...
L′Horloge, moqueuse:
Il faut dire que vous ne savez pas grand chose, non?! Franchement...
Je vais lui demander...
The song "Chanson De L'Horloge" by Danielle Darrieux, from the play "Emilie Jolie," is a tender and contemplative piece that speaks about the passage of time through the perspective of an old clock. The lyrics describe the clock's desire to be a part of a journey with two individuals (who would become three with the clock), promising not to disturb them except for one chime just for the principle of it. The clock's inner voice longs for happiness and speaks of its dream to move from noon to 2 PM. The song also references the waltz of hours and seconds, musing on what drives the world, and desires to have a life in just one instant if the individuals take the clock with them. Lastly, the clock speaks of its fear of falling into melancholy and wishes to be of service to others.
The song's lyrics address the nature of time, the desire to partake in life, and the importance of companionship. The clock personifies the passing of time and its longing to be part of the individuals' adventures symbolizes the temporal nature of life. The song's central theme is time, which is apparent in the clock's voice yearning for happiness and change. The song's message is that life is fleeting and the clock seeks to be a part of the human experience, reminding the listeners to cherish their time and to live fully.
Line by Line Meaning
Vous étiez deux, nous serons trois
You were two, but now we will be three together on this journey.
Si vous m'emme′nez dans ce périple
If you take me with you on this journey.
Juré, craché, je n'sonnerai pas
I swear I won't make a sound, or maybe just one for the sake of it.
Ou juste un'fois pour le principe
Or maybe just once to fulfill my duty.
J′ai moi aussi droit au bonheur
I also have the right to happiness.
Plus un seul tac, plus un seul tic
No more ticking or tocking now.
J′pass'rai d′midi à quatorze heures
I'll pass from noon to two o'clock, as my mechanical nature allows.
Vieux rêve de ma mécanique
An old dream of my mechanical nature.
Valse des heures et des secondes
The waltz of the hours and the seconds.
Mais qu'est-ce qui fait courir le monde
But what makes the world go round?
Je ne voudrais tout simplement
I simply wish.
Qu'un peu de temps
Just a little time.
A nous les trains qui changent d'avis
Let's take the trains that change their minds,
Auto-écoles buissonnières
The driving schools that skip classes,
Avions qui suivent les colibris
The planes that follow the hummingbirds,
Bateaux qui sèchent l′eau des paupières
The boats that dry the tears.
Si vous m'emmenez, je vous promets
If you take me with you, I promise you.
Une vie dans un seul instant
A lifetime in just one moment.
J'ai besoin d′vous et vous de moi
I need you, and you need me.
Ne laissez pas cette pendule
Don't let this clock.
Tomber dans la mélancolie
Fall into melancholy.
Et qui de l′aube au crépuscule
And who, from dawn to dusk,
Ne voit vieillir que ses amis
Only sees their friends grow old.
J'arrête là, silence, motus
I'll stop here, silence, cut!
Mais pardonnez-moi cependant
But forgive me, however,
C′est pour vous en faire gagner plus
It's to help you gain more.
Que j'vous ai pris quelques instants
That I took some of your time.
C′est d'accord! On t′emmène avec nous!
Okay, we're taking you with us!
Writer(s): Philippe De Chateleux
Contributed by Caleb W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.