MELCHIOR, GEORGES

(1889-1944)

Actor. Georges Melchior was one of the great screen actors of the silent era. He began his career atPathé, where he appeared inAlbert Capellani'sL'Envieuse(1911), but he went almost immediately to rivalGaumont, where he remained for a number of years. While at Gaumont, Melchior worked closely withLouis Feuillade, appearing in such films asL'Attrait du bouge(1912),Le Maléfice(1912),Le Valet de coeur(1913),Un drame au Pays Basque(1913),S'affranchir(1913),L'Agonie de Byzance(1913),Les Millions de la bonne(1913),La Marche des rois(1913),La Rencontre(1914),La Petite Andalouse(1914),Manon de Montmartre(1914),Les Lettres(1914),Pâques rouges(1914), and Feuillade's legendaryFantômasseries (1913-1914), in which Melchior played journalist Jérome Fandor alongside Edmond Bréon andRené Navarre.Beyond his work with Feuillade, Melchior was also a favorite of director René Le Somptier who cast him inGrand-maman(1912),Fleur fanée. . .coeur aimé(1913),Un drame de l'air(1913),Le Pressentiment(1914),Le Monde renversé(1914),La Fille du caissier(1914),Chef d'école(1914),Le Pont des enfers(1916), andAubade à Sylvie(1917). Other films in which he appeared at Gaumont includeHenri Fescourt'sL'Amazone masquée(1912),Les Deux médaillons(1913),Le Départ dans la nuit(1913), andLa Voix qui accuse(1913), andGaston Ravel'sL'Amoureuse aventure(1914).

Melchior left Gaumont in 1917 and went out on his own. He appeared in a number of other silent films, including René Hervil andLouis Mercanton'sMères françaises(1917),Jacques Feyder's classic silent filmL'Atlantide(1920),Julien Duvivier'sLes Roquevillard(1922),Gaston Roudès'sLe Lac d'argent(1922),Les Rantzau(1923),Le Petit moineau de Paris(1923), andLa Maison au soleil(1928), Donatien'sMoncuré chez les riches(1925),Florine,la fleur du Valois(1926), andAu revoir et merci(1927), codirected with Pierre Colombier, Léon Abrams and Mercanton'sLa Voyante(1923), Le Somptier'sLa Forêt qui tue(1925) andLe P'tit Parigot(1926), Jean Choux'sLa Terre qui meurt(1926), Guiseppe Guarino'sLe Marchand de bonheur(1926) andCasque blanche. . .Toque noire(1927),André Hugon'sLa Vestale du Gange(1927), Marcel Dumont and Roudès'sLa Dédale(1927), Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant'sLa Sirène des tropiques(1927), and Georges Pallu'sLa Petite soeur des pauvres(1928).

Melchior attempted to transition into sound film in the 1930s, but he was never the actor in a sound film that he was on the silent screen. He had roles in a handful of films, including Jean Godard'sPour un soir. ..! (1931), Pallu'sLa Vierge du rocher(1932), Charles-Félix Tavano'sLe Billet de logement(1932), Maurice Champreux'sLe Grand bluff(1933), andMarcel L'Herbier'sLa Citadelle du silence(1937), which was his final film.