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.
La femme coupée en morceaux
Danielle Darrieux Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rue de la Bienséance, à deux pas du château
On trouva ce matin une malle d'osier
Renfermant les morceaux de Pélagie Rosier
Une ancienne danseuse des Folies Bergère
Premier prix de beauté et de danse légère
Elle avait soixante ans, plus connue autrefois
Sous le fier pseudonyme de Lola Lola
Elle envoûtait les foules et des salles entières
L'acclamaient en hurlant aux soirées de premières
On a ouvert la malle, et aussi une enquête
On attend les détails, la police est discrète
On pose des questions, on fouille l'entourage
Afin de découvrir l'auteur du découpage
J'ai été arrêtée par un car de police
En rentrant de l'école où j'ai mis votre fils
Je me suis renseignée, on cherchait un sadique
Que certains qualifiaient de fou métaphysique
D'autres disaient de lui que c'est laid, que c'est lâche
L'arme du crime étant ou la scie ou la hache
Le monstre avait coupé la dame savamment
Et rangé les morceaux avec discernement
Dans l'ordre énuméré par l'ordre des docteurs
Avec les pieds en bas Arrêtez! Quelle horreur!
On dit que l'on s'agite en milieu informé
Que la population ne doit pas s'alarmer
Je vais aller voir ça, le mystère m'enchante
Puis je prendrai mon train
Il va en perm' à Nantes!
Au revoir, à lundi
Prenez votre bagage
Au revoir, mes amis
Et faites bon voyage!
Dieu que ce crime est laid, et quel assassin sale!
Il rangea cependant les morceaux dans la malle
The lyrics of Danielle Darrieux and Alice Herald's song La femme coupée en morceaux (The Woman Cut into Pieces) recount a gruesome crime that occurred on Rue de la Bienséance, close to the castle. The police found a wicker case containing the dismembered body of Pélagie Rosier, a former dancer at the Folies Bergère who had won beauty and dance awards. Pélagie, who was known under the stage name Lola Lola, was sixty years old when she was murdered.
The lyrics describe Pélagie's past success as a performer, whose captivating moves and beauty enchanted her audiences. The murder investigation is shrouded in mystery, as the police try to uncover the identity of the killer. There are various opinions about the perpetrator, ranging from a "metaphysical madman" to an unscrupulous brute who used either a saw or a hatchet to dismember Pélagie's body with skill and precision.
The lyrics capture the horror of the crime and the shock of those who knew Pélagie. The song is notable for its use of vivid imagery, which creates a sense of drama and intrigue. The mystery surrounding the murder of Pélagie Rosier has captivated the imagination of many over the years, inspiring films, books, and plays. The lyrics of La femme coupée en morceaux offer a unique perspective on this tale of crime and passion.
Line by Line Meaning
Tiens, on a découpé une femme en morceaux
Hey, a woman has been cut into pieces
Rue de la Bienséance, à deux pas du château
On the Rue de la Bienséance, just a stone's throw from the castle
On trouva ce matin une malle d'osier
This morning, a wicker trunk was found
Renfermant les morceaux de Pélagie Rosier
Containing the pieces of Pélagie Rosier
Une ancienne danseuse des Folies Bergère
A former dancer from the Folies Bergère
Premier prix de beauté et de danse légère
Winner of the first prize for beauty and light dance
Elle avait soixante ans, plus connue autrefois
She was sixty years old, more famous in the past
Sous le fier pseudonyme de Lola Lola
Under the proud pseudonym of Lola Lola
Elle envoûtait les foules et des salles entières
She enchanted crowds and entire halls
L'acclamaient en hurlant aux soirées de premières
Who cheered for her loudly at premiere nights
On a ouvert la malle, et aussi une enquête
They opened the trunk and also an investigation
On attend les détails, la police est discrète
Details are awaited, the police are discreet
On pose des questions, on fouille l'entourage
Questions are asked, and the surroundings are searched
Afin de découvrir l'auteur du découpage
In order to discover the perpetrator of the cutting
J'ai été arrêtée par un car de police
I was stopped by a police car
En rentrant de l'école où j'ai mis votre fils
Returning from school where I dropped off your son
Je me suis renseignée, on cherchait un sadique
I asked and they were searching for a sadist
Que certains qualifiaient de fou métaphysique
Some called him a metaphysical madman
D'autres disaient de lui que c'est laid, que c'est lâche
Others said he was ugly and cowardly
L'arme du crime étant ou la scie ou la hache
The weapon of the crime being either a saw or an axe
Le monstre avait coupé la dame savamment
The monster had cut the lady skillfully
Et rangé les morceaux avec discernement
And arranged the pieces with discernment
Dans l'ordre énuméré par l'ordre des docteurs
In the order listed by the doctors
Avec les pieds en bas Arrêtez! Quelle horreur!
With the feet at the bottom. Stop! How horrible!
On dit que l'on s'agite en milieu informé
It is said that people are restless in the know
Que la population ne doit pas s'alarmer
That the population should not be alarmed
Je vais aller voir ça, le mystère m'enchante
I am going to see it, the mystery enchants me
Puis je prendrai mon train
Then I will take my train
Il va en perm' à Nantes!
I'm going on leave to Nantes!
Au revoir, à lundi
Goodbye, see you on Monday
Prenez votre bagage
Take your luggage
Au revoir, mes amis
Goodbye, my friends
Et faites bon voyage!
And have a good trip!
Dieu que ce crime est laid, et quel assassin sale!
God, this crime is ugly, and what a filthy murderer!
Il rangea cependant les morceaux dans la malle
However, he put the pieces back in the trunk
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Jacques DEMY, Michel LEGRAND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind