MORGAN, MICHÈLE

(1920- )

Actress. Born Simone Roussel near Paris, Michèle Morgan aspired to become an actress from an early age. She studied drama with René Simon in Paris and found bit parts in films. Among her early and largely uncredited roles were parts inRené Guissart'sUne fille à papa(1935), Yvan Noé'sMademoiselle Mozart(1935) andGigolette(1936), Léonide Moguy'sLe Mioche(1936), and Robert Siodomak'sLa Vie parisienne(1936).

Morgan's big break came in 1937, whenMarc Allegretcast her oppositeRaïmuin his filmGribouille(1937). Her reputation was cemented the following year when she starred oppositeJean GabininMarcel Carné'sLe Quai de brumes(1938). The film has long been considered one of her best and best known. With these two films, in particular, Morgan, a classic beauty and a talented actress, became an international star, and she went on to become one of the great actresses of French cinema. Her film career ultimately spanned five decades.

During the late 1930s and 1940s, Morgan's star continued to rise. She appeared in many of the period's most significant films, including Allegret'sOrage(1938), oppositeCharles Boyer, Maurice Gleize'sLe Récif de corail(1938), opposite Gabin,Jacques Feyder'sLa Piste du nord(1939), Albert Valentin'sL'Entraîneuse(1940),Georges Lacombe'sLes Musiciens du ciel(1940), oppositeMichel Simon,Jean Grémillon'sRemorques(1941), again with Gabin,Julien Duvivier'sUntel père et fils(1943), alongside Raïmu andLouis Jouvet, andJean Delannoy'sLa Symphonie pastorale(1946) andAux yeux du souvenir(1948), oppositeJean Marais.

Morgan also went to Hollywood during this period; however, she was not able to command the respect in Hollywood films that she did in French films.She appeared in a handful of English-language roles in such films as Lewis Milestone'sMy Life with Caroline(1941), Robert Stevenson'sJoan of Paris(1942), Michael Curtiz'sPassage to Marseille(1944), alongside Humphrey Bogart, Arthur Ripley'sThe Chase(1946), and Carol Reed'sThe Fallen Idol(1948). Ultimately, Morgan gave up on Hollywood and returned to France.

The 1950s were still peak years in Morgan's career. She appeared in more than twenty films during the decade. Among the best known are Allegret'sMaria Chapdelaine(1950),René Clement'sLe Château de verre(1950), Grémillon'sL'Étrange Madame X(1951), Delannoy'sLa Minute de vérité(1952),Obsession(1954), andMarie-Antoinette reine de France(1956),Christian-Jacqueand Delannoy'sDestinées(1954),Sacha Guitry'sSi Paris nous était conté(1955) andNapoléon(1955),René Clair'sLes Grandes manœuvres(1955), Denys de la Patellière'sRetour de manivelle(1957),André Cayatte'sLe Miroir à deux faces(1958),Henri Verneuil'sMaxime(1958), Robert Hossein'sLes Scélérats(1959), andHenri Decoin'sPourquoi viens-tu si tard? (1959). In addition, Morgan did several international films, particularly in Italy and Germany.

Although her career was in slowdown by the 1960s, Morgan managed to find roles in a number of films, including Alex Joffé'sFortunat(1960), Verneuil'sLes Lions sont lâchés(1961), Philippe Agostini'sRencontres(1962),Gérard Oury'sLe Crime ne paie pas(1962),André Hunébelle'sMéfiez-vous,mesdames! (1963),Claude Chabrol'sLandru(1963), Hossein'sLes Yeux cernés(1964), andMichel Deville'sBenjamin(1968). She had only one film role in the 1970s, in Chabrol'sLe Chat et la souris(1975). In the 1980s and 1990s, Morgan worked primarily in television, and she did not have a single credited role in a French film. She retired from the screen in 1999.