DIEUDONNÉ, ALBERT

(1889-1976)

Actor, director, and screen-writer. Albert Dieudonné began his career on the stage, following in the footsteps of his uncle, who was also an actor. He ventured into cinema fairly early in his career. His first roles were in productions done byStudio Film d'art, and he appeared in Henri Burguet'sL'Empreinte ou la main rouge(1908) as well asCharles le Bargy'sL'Assassinat du Duc de Guise(1909). He also appeared in severalPathéfilms including Michel Carré'sLe Roi s'amuse(1909), as well asGeorges Monca'sJim Blackwood Jockey(1909) andAndré Hugon'sAngoisse(1917) andJacques Landauze(1920).

Without a doubt, the role for which Dieudonné is best known is that of Napoléon Bonaparte.He played Napoléon several times in his career, three of them in films directed byAbel Gance. It is the first film,Napoléon vu par Abel Gance(1927), that tied Dieudonné to the emperor, and his face, for many filmgoers, became the face of the emperor with Gance's film. Dieudonné reincarnated the emperor again in Gance'sNapoléon Bonaparte(1935) and again inBonaparte et la révolution(1971). So intertwined were Dieudonné and that role that near the end of his life, he gave lectures on the life of Napoléon. Other films in which Dieudonné appeared includeAlfred Machin'sLe Diamant noir(1913), Gance'sL'Héroïsme de Paddy(1915),La Folie du Docteur Tube(1915), andLe Périscope(1916),Jean Renoir'sCatherine/Une vie sans joie(1927), andRoger Richebé'sMadame Sans-Gêne(1941), a film in which Dieudonné also played Napoleon.

In addition to his acting, Dieudonné also tried his hand at writing and directing. He assisted Jean Renoir on the filmCatherine/Une vie sans joieand wrote the scenario for Hugon'sLes Chacals(1917),Jacques de Baroncelli'sL'Homme du Niger(1940), and René Hervil'sLa Douceur d'aimer(1930). He also directed three films of his own,Sous la griffe(1921),Son crime(1921),Gloire rouge(1923), films in which he also starred.