Biography

Arlette Marchal

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Brunette, exotic Lucienne Marie Marchal overcame her affliction with shyness by enrolling in, and ultimately winning, a beauty contest. One of the judges was the director Léonce Perret, who promptly helped her get her first role in motion pictures. After that, her face was sufficient to keep her in constant demand for both leading and supporting roles in Hollywood silent films (with MGM and Paramount), as well as in French and German-speaking productions. She hit her highs in such popular fare as Madame Sans-Gêne (1925) (as Napoleon Bonaparte's sister), Diplomacy (1926) (as rival to Blanche Sweet) and Blonde or Brunette (1927) (as the 'brunette' love interest to Adolphe Menjou). Arlette was not just a pretty face, however, as American critics consistently rated her performances from at least 'satisfactory', to 'excellent'. Back on the European continent from 1928, she had a few more successes before appearances in front of the camera became more widely spaced. By 1951, she had given up acting and concentrated on running her chain of fashion houses in France.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis

In 1925, Marchal was in Britain for "Venetian Lovers" (Walter Niebuhr, Frank A. Tilley, 1925). Then she played in the French production "La chatelaine du Liban/Milady of Liban" (Marco de Gastyne, 1926), with Iván Petrovich. In the meantime, Gloria Swanson had convinced Marchal to come over to Hollywood, which she did. Marchal also met and fell in love with director Marcel de Sano. The two married in 1928.
In Vienna, she played with Maria Corda in the British-Austrian epic "Die Sklavenkönigin/The Slave Queen" (Michael Kertesz, later Michael Curtiz, 1924). This was followed by the French super-production "Madame Sans-Gêne" (Léonce Perret, 1924). Marchal played the Queen of Naples opposite Gloria Swanson, who played the title role.
In 1960, she did one last stage role in Tovaritch, directed by Jacques Deval at the Théâtre de Paris.
She started her career as a mannequin at the fashion salon Jenny in 1920. A year later, she won a beauty contest in Aix-les-Bains. Head of the jury was film director Leonce Perret. This resulted in film offers in melodramas, costume dramas and comedies.
Arlette Marchal was a French film actress.

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