Victor Francen

Victor Francen
Wedding picture with his wife actor Mary Marquet in 1934
Born	Victor Franssens (1888-08-05)5 August 1888 Tienen, Belgium
Died	18 November 1977(1977-11-18) (aged 89) Saint-Cannat, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Years active	1921–1966
Spouse(s)	Eleanor Kreutzer Renée Corciade Mary Marquet

Victor Francen (born Victor Franssens, 5 August 1888 – 18 November 1977) was a Belgian-born actor with a long career in French cinema and in Hollywood.

Biography

Francen was born in 1888 in Tienen, the son of a chief of police.

According to Russian sources, he attended opera classes in Odessa before 1914. Was already well known in Russian empire before 1914. Postcards with his portraits were printed and sold.

He worked in trade in Belgium before settling in Paris where he trained in dramatic art under Paul Mounet. His stage career in the 1920s included appearances in plays by Henri Bernstein, Georges Bataille and Edmond Rostand which took him all over the world. After three appearances in silent films, he played the Prophet in Abel Gance's film La Fin du monde (The End of the World) (1931) and established his career as a leading man in French films.

In 1940, he was introduced to American films by Charles Boyer and appeared in Hold Back the Dawn (1941), The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942), Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942), Tales of Manhattan (1942), Mission to Moscow (1943), Madame Curie (1943), The Desert Song (1943), In Our Time (1944), Passage to Marseille (1944), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), The Conspirators (1944), Confidential Agent (1945), San Antonio (1945), Devotion (1946), Night and Day (1946), The Beast with Five Fingers (1946), The Beginning or the End (1947), To the Victor (1948), Hell and High Water (1954).

He was married three times, his last marriage to the actress Mary Marquet. He died in 1977 in Saint-Cannat, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.

Complete filmography

• Le doute (1921) - Le jeune écrivain Pierre Aubry
• Crépuscule d'épouvante (1921) - Michel Fortin
• La neige sur les pas (1923) - Marc Romenay
• La Fin du monde (End of the World) (1931) - Martial Novalic
• L'aiglon (The Eaglet) (1931) - Flambeau
• Après l'amour (When Love Is Over) (1931) - Pierre Meyran
• Ariane, jeune fille russe (1932) - Constantin
• Mélo (The Dreamy Mouth) (1932) - Marcel, l'amant
• Les ailes brisées (1933) - Fabrège
• Le velour (1933) - Richard Voisin
• L'Aventurier (1934) - Étienne Ranson
• Le chemineau (1935) - Le chemineau / The Vagabond
• Sacrifice d'honneur (1935) - Le capitaine de Corlaix
• La porte du large (1936) - Commandant Villette
• Le roi (The King) (1936) - Le roi Jean IV de Cerdagne - en visite à Paris
• Nuits de feu (Nights of Fire) (1937) - Fedor Andreiev
• L'appel de la vie (The Call of Life) (1937) - Le professeur Rougeon
• Double crime sur la ligne Maginot (Double Crime in the Maginot Line) (1937) - Capitaine Bruchot
• Feu! (1937) - André Frémiet
• Forfaiture (The Cheat) (1937) - Pierre Moret
• J'accuse! (1938) - Jean Diaz
• Tamara la complaisante (1938) - Grigory
• La vierge folle (The Foolish Virgin) (1938) - Marcel Armaury
• La fin du jour (The End of the Day) (1939) - Marny
• Entente cordiale (1939) - Le roi Édouard VII
• L'homme du Niger (The Man from Niger) (1940) - Le commandant Bréval
• Hold Back the Dawn (1941) - Van Den Luecken
• The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942) - Dr. Blondin
• Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942) - Florimond Massey
• Tales of Manhattan (1942) - Arturo Bellini
• Mission to Moscow (1943) - Vyshinsky, chief trial prosecutor
• Madame Curie (1943) - President of University
• The Desert Song (1943) - Caid Yousseff
• In Our Time (1944) - Count Pawel Orwid
• Passage to Marseille (1944) - Capt. Patain Malo
• The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) - Wladislaw Grudek
• The Conspirators (1944) - Hugo Von Mohr
• Hollywood Canteen (1944) - Victor Francen
• Confidential Agent (1945) - Licata
• San Antonio (1945) - Legare
• Devotion (1946) - Constantin Heger
• Night and Day (1946) - Anatole Giron
• The Beast with Five Fingers (1946) - Francis Ingram
• The Beginning or the End (1947) - Dr. Marré
• To the Victor (1948) - Police Inspector Beauvais
• La Révoltée (1948) - Henri Dumières
• La nuit s'achève (1950) - Dr. Coudray (Thiriot)
• Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951) - Henri Brissac
• Hell and High Water (1954) - Prof. Montel
• Bedevilled (1955) - Father Du Rocher
• A Farewell to Arms (1957) - Colonel Valentini
• The Indian Tomb (1959) - Penitent (uncredited)
• Journey to the Lost City (1960)
• Fanny (1961) - Panisse's Elder Brother
• The Big Scare (1964) - Docteur Chabert
• Top Crack (1966) - (final film role)

External links

• Victor Francen at IMDb
• Victor Francen at the Internet Broadway Database
• Victor Francen at Find a Grave