Andrée Clément(1918-1954)

Andrée Clément (b. 1918) lived like a shooting star. Her dark, mysterious cold beauty was unique; her face epitomized either sweet innocence and/or malign evil. An exceptionally talented actress, her career was cut short when she died of tuberculosis at the early age of 36. A student of Charles Dullin, she made her debut on stage in 1941 : she was to play in Molière's « Don Juan » and in Anouilh's « Adèle Ou la Marguerite » (1948). After minor roles, notably in Bresson's « Les Anges du Péché » and in Daquin's « Premier de Cordée », she got her breakout part in Decoin's « La Fille du Diable » (1945) in which she outshone such seasoned actors as Pierre Fresnay and Fernand Ledoux. Serge Reggiani was extremely impressed by his co-star's performance in « Coïncidences » (1946). In both movies, she was ideally cast as the outcast, the ill-fated girl who had a chip on her shoulder. Prestigious Michèle Morgan once said that « la Symphonie Pastorale » was Clément 's film, not hers. Other movies include « Dieu a besoin des Hommes », « Suivez cet Homme » and « Macadam ». Her death was certainly a major loss for the French cinema, particularly the film Noir.