MAXUDIAN

(1881-1976)

Actor. Born Max Algop Maxudian in Smyrna in what is now Turkey, Maxudian, who was of Armenian, not Turkish, origin, moved with his family to France in 1893. He began his acting career on the stage, appearing at the Grand Guignol and the Odéon theaters. It was reportedlySarah Bernhardt, with whom Maxudian often worked, who interested Maxudian in the cinema, when she herself began to appear in films.

Maxudian's silent career was fairly prestigious. He appeared largely inFilm d'artproductions and was quite often the lead actor in the films in which he appeared. He made his screen debut inHenri DesfontainesandLouis Mercanton'sLes Amours de la reine Elisabeth(1912), a film in which he appeared opposite Bernhardt. He also starred in Desfontaines and Mercanton'sAdrienne Lecouvreur(1913), also opposite Bernhardt, as well as their filmAnne de Boleyn(1913). Other silent films in which he starred include Mercanton and René Hervil'sLe Tablier blanc(1917) andBouclette(1918), Jean Hervé'sLe Pauvre village(1917), Mercanton'sPhroso(1922) andVenus(1929), Charles de Marsan and Charles Maudru'sLes Premières armes de Rocambole(1923),Abel Gance'sLa Roue(1923) andNapoléon(1927), Rex Ingram'sThe Arab(1924), Henry Roussel'sLa Terre promise(1925), andJacques de Baroncelli'sLe Réveil(1925). Maxudian was also a particular favorite of directorRoger Lion. He appeared first in Lion's Portuguese filmsA Sereia de Pedra(1923) andOs Olhos da Alma(1924). He went on to appear also in Lion'sLa Fontaine de l'amour(1924),J'ai tué! (1924), andLa Clé de voûte(1925),Un soir au cocktail's bar(1929),La Nuit est à nous(1929), andL'Appel de la chair(1929).

Beginning during the silent era and continuing on into the sound era, Maxudian, like his contemporary,Marcel Dalio, began to be typecast as the foreigner, the Arab, or the Jew, and sometimes, therefore, the villain of the piece.It is probably also the case, as it was with Dalio, that he was a much better actor than many of the roles afforded him would suggest. This trend to typecast him began in the silent era but continued long into his performances in sound films.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Maxudian appeared in more than thirty films, includingGaston Ravel'sL'étranger(1930),Henri Fescourt'sLa Maison de la flèche(1930), Charles de Rochefort'sLe Secret du docteur(1930), Pierre Billon'sNuits de Venise(1931) andBourrasque(1935), Gabriel Rosca'sRocambole(1932), Lion'sDirect au coeur(1932), codirected with Arnaudy, and hisTrois balles dans la peau(1933), Leo Mittler'sLa Voix sans visage(1933),Julien Duvivier'sGolgotha(1935), Viktor Tourjansky'sLes Yeux noirs(1935) andPuits en flammes(1936), René Pujol'sPassé à vendre(1936), Maurice de Canonge'sUn soir à Marseille(1937),André Hugon'sLa Rue sans joie(1938), andDimitri Kirsanoff'sL'Avion de minuit(1938).

Maxudian's career more or less ended during the 1940s. After the Occupation, he was not permitted to act in film because of his foreign origin. After Liberation, he appeared in a handful of films, includingClaude Autant-Lara'sLe Diable au corps(1946), Raymond Leboursier'sLe Furet(1949), and Francis Campaux'sRonde de nuit(1949). However, he was not able to recapture the momentum his career had had prior to the war. He retired from the screen in 1950.