Trivia: Parisian actress/singer Francoise Rosay enjoyed a starring career that spanned 61 years. After receiving her training at the Conservatoire National de Declamation, Francoise made her stage bow in 1908, originally intending to become an opera singer. In 1917, she turned to "straight" dramatics under the guidance of Jacques Feyder, whom she would later marry. Though she'd appeared sporadically in films since 1913, Rosay's first movie of note was Feyder's expressionist Crainquebille (1922). She came to Hollywood in 1929 to star in the French-language version of Norma Shearer's The Trial of Mary Dugan. She remained in California until multi-language productions went out of fashion in 1931; among her projects during this period was the German-language version of Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, in which she exchanged Teutonic witticisms with Buster Keaton. Rosay spent the World War II years in Switzerland, where she taught acting classes at the Conservatoire Geneve. Acting in international productions right up to her death, Ms. Rosay appeared in well over 100 films, delivering dialogue flawlessly in a multitude of languages. One of the best-loved figures of the French cinema, Rosay was the recipient of the Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur, and served on the executive boards of several arts-oriented organizations. Francoise Rosay was the author of two volumes of memoirs, Le Cinema notre Metier (1956) and La Traversee d'Un Vie.

Trivia: Actress Marie Bell, born Marie-Jeanne Bellon-Downey, began her film career as a supporting actress in a number of French silent films. She made her performing debut as a dancer in England when she was only 13. She went on to study drama at the Paris Conservatory. After appearing in films for four years Bell joined the distinguished Comedie-Française. She did not become a well-known actress until the advent of sound. Her most famous films are Le Grand Jeu (1934) and Un Carnet de Bal (1937). For her work for the French Resistance during WW II, Bell was awarded the Legion of Honor by General de Gaulle.

Trivia: Learning his craft at the Paris Conservatory, Algeria-born actor Pierre Blanchar made the first of many memorable stage appearances in 1920. One of France's most popular show business personalities, Blanchar's most famous screen characterizations include Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment (1935) and Napoleon in the British A Royal Divorce (1938). He was also highly praised for his work in Duvivier's Un Carnet du Bal (1937) and Delannoy's La Symphonie Pastorale (1946), the latter film containing perhaps his most touching performance. In 1942, he extended his talents into directing for a brace of films. Pierre Blanchar was the father of actress Dominique Blanchar.

Trivia: If not the greatest character actor of his time, French stage and film star Harry Baur was certainly one of the most beloved. Baur was 24 when he made his Paris stage debut, and 30 when he made his earliest film appearance in Shylock (1910). Hitting his cinematic stride in the 1930s, Baur played almost as many famous factual and fictional personages than George Arliss and Paul Muni combined. He starred as Jean Valjean in the 1934 French adaptation of Les Miserables, Porfiry in Crime and Punishment (1935), Emperor Rudolph in 1936's Der Golem, and as the title character in Rothschild (1933), Taras Boulba (1936), Un Grande Amour de Beethoven (1936), Rasputin (1938) and Volpone (1939). Tragically, with the advent of Hitler, Baur learned that fame was no cushion against fanaticism. While he was in Berlin to star in his last film, 1942's Symphonie eines Lebens, Baur's Jewish wife was arrested on trumped-up espionage charges. His efforts to secure his wife's freedom led to his own arrest and torture at the hands of the Gestapo. In April of 1943, the Germans made a great show of releasing Harry Baur from prison; a few days later, however, he died under mysterious circumstances in Paris.

Trivia: A superb leading man of French stage and screen with an ugly, humorous, tragic face, Jouvet is considered by some to be the finest French actor of his time. Determined to be an actor, he was rejected three times by the Paris Conservatoire; in 1908 he joined a stage company as an administrator, then debuted onstage two years later. In 1913 he was appointed director of the Theatre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris. During World War One he served in combat at the front. From 1919-21 he was in New York, appearing with his troupe in a repertory of productions that received much acclaim. Back in France, he became the director of the Theatre de Champs Elysees; by the early '30s he was one of the most prominent performers on the Paris stage. Having appeared in one film (1913's Shylock), in 1933 he began taking film roles to support his theatrical work; his subtle, forceful, witty performances redeemed poor movies and intensified high-quality work. During World War Two he toured South America with his company; after the war he returned to Paris, continuing to appear on stage and screen until shortly before his death. His daughter is actress Lisa Jouvet.

Trivia: Robert Lynen was a leading child star in French films during the '30s. He was born the son of American citizens living in Paris. His best-known film was Duvivier's Poil de Carotte (1932). In 1944, the 23-year-old Lynen was executed by the Gestapo.

Trivia: French actress Sylvie made her stage debut at the beginning of the 20th century. She made her first film in 1912, but didn't like the experience and returned to the stage. A highly regarded character player by the '30s, Sylvie returned before the cameras for the 1935 French version of Crime and Punishment. Most of her screen assignments were scene-stealing bits and cameos, with larger roles coming her way in such costume productions as Therese Raquin (1954) and the Kirk Douglas version of Ulysses (1954). At age 81, Sylvie received the best and most popular film assignment of her life as the slightly senile title character in The Shameless Old Lady (1964). In accepting this assignment, Sylvie exercised the usual actress' prerogative of playing a part much younger than herself; the film's Shameless Old Lady was only in her early seventies.