Bernard Blier

Bernard Blier (born January 11, 1916 in Buenos Aires , † March 29, 1989 in Saint-Cloud , Hauts-de-Seine ) was a French film actor . Blier, who made 181 films, was one of the most prominent character actors in France.

life and work

Bernard Blier was born in Argentina in 1916, where his father, a biologist, was on a business trip. He took acting lessons while studying philosophy. He made his debut as a film actor in 1936 and was then seen for many years mainly in smaller roles. His colleague Louis Jouvet advised him to be persistent in his profession and to play whatever role he was offered.

Over the decades, Blier, who sometimes made six or seven films a year, became one of the most popular character actors , especially in France and Italy . With his bald, round head, the sturdy actor received prominent roles in films such as $ 100,000 in the Sun (1963), My Uncle Benjamin (1969), Camouflage - Hasch mich, ich bin der Killer (1971) or The Body of My Enemy ( 1976). Blier covered a broad spectrum of acting. As the devious head of the secret service in the successful crime comedy The Big Blonde with the Black Shoe (1972), he played his most famous role.

Blier also worked in two DEFA feature film productions: in 1955 under director Wolfgang Staudte in the unfinished film Mother Courage and Her Children and in 1958 in the international film production Die Elenden .

Blier was married twice and died of cancer in 1989 . His son Bertrand became a successful film director.

Filmography (selection)

• 1938: Hôtel du Nord
• 1939: The day is dawning (Le Jour se lève)
• 1941: Once a year (Caprices)
• 1942: Symphony of Love (La Symphonie fantastique)
• 1942: Marie-Martine
• 1943: Carmen
• 1945: The Eerie Song (Alone in the Dark) (Seul dans la nuit)
• 1947: Café Cadran (Le Café du cadran)
• 1947: Under false suspicions (Quai des Orfèvres)
• 1948: The pain in the ass (Les Casse-pieds)
• 1948: From person to person (D'homme à hommes )
• 1948: If you skip school (L'École buissonnière)
• 1949: The tavern for the full moon (Dédée d'Anvers)
• 1949: A woman in the saddle (Manèges)
• 1949: L'Invité du Mardi
• 1949: return to life (Retour à la vie)
• 1950: 1848 (documentary short film, speaker)
• 1950: it happened in Paris (souvenirs perdus)
• 1951: Without giving the address (Sans laisser d'address)
• 1952: marriage brokerage (Agence matrimoniale)
• 1952: Je l'ai été trois fois
• 1953: Can women be like that? (Secrets d'alcôve)
• 1954: Scènes de ménage
• 1954: Before the Flood (Avant le déluge)
• 1955: The black file (Le Dossier noir)
• 1955: Les Hussards
• 1955: Mother Courage and her children unfinished
• 1956: The man in the raincoat (L'Homme à imperméable)
• 1957: The adventures of little Remi (Sans famille )
• 1957: The Misery (Les misérables)
• 1957: The Cat ( La Chatte)
• 1957: Lucifer's daughter (Retour de manivelle)
• 1957: Potassium cyanide (La Bonne tisane)
• 1958: The game was his bane (Le Joueur)
• 1958: The big families (Les Grandes familles)
• 1958: Night falls in Montmartre (En légitime défense)
• 1958: Let killers ask (Quand la femme s'en mêle)
• 1958: Marie-Octobre
• 1959: Heroes want to live too (Marche ou crève)
• 1959: The Tsarina's Favorite (Il cavaliere e la zarina)
• 1959: There are no vacancies in the Kittchen (Archimède, le clochard)
• 1959: It was called the Great War (La Grande guerra)
• 1959: With the eyes of love (Les yeux de l'amour)
• 1960: The boss knows no mercy (L'Ennemie dans l'ombre)
• 1960: The Hunchback of Rome (Il gobbo)
• 1960: The corpse is in the wrong suitcase (Crimen)
• 1961: The Fenouillard family's involuntary trip around the world (La famille Fenouillard)
• 1961: The President (Le président)
• 1961: The seventh jury member (Le Septième juré)
• 1961: The Lord with the Millions (Le Cave se rebiffe)
• 1962: We ask for bed (Les petits matins)
• 1962: Germinal
• 1963: My uncle, the gangster (Les Tontons flingueurs)
• 1963: With fist and sword (Il magnifico avventuriero)
• 1963: The whip on the neck (I compagni)
• 1964: 100,000 dollars in the sun (Cent mille dollars au soleil)
• 1964: Barbouzes' recipes for murder (Les Barbouzes)
• 1964: The Hunt for Men (La Chasse à l'homme)
• 1965: Casanova '70
• 1965: The ladies ask (Les Bons vivants)
• 1966: Sharp curves for Madame (Le Grand restaurant)
• 1966: A question of honor (Una questione d'onore)
• 1966: an almost perfect murderer (Delitto quasi perfetto)
• 1967: The Cruel Job (Peau d'éspion)
• 1967: The Stranger (Lo straniero)
• 1967: Nic and Co - commissions of all kinds (Du mou dans la gachette)
• 1967: The Whore and the Fool (Un idiot à Paris)
• 1968: Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso in Africa?
• 1968: Caroline Chérie (Beautiful as Sin) (Caroline Chérie)
• 1969: My Uncle Benjamin (Mon oncle Benjamin)
• 1970: The commissioner's great coup (Laisse aller… c'est une valse)
• 1970: The Scattered (Le Distrait )
• 1971: Camouflage - hash me, I'm the killer (Jo)
• 1971: The Killer and the Commissioner (Le Tueur)
• 1972: The tall blonde with the black shoe (Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire)
• 1972: Sorry, comrades! Let man be noble, helpless and rich (Moi y'en a vouloir des sous)
• 1974: The Judgment - Fast-track Trial (Processo per direttissima)
• 1974: The Severed Hand (La Main à couper)
• 1974: It's not easy in this world (C'est dur pour tout le monde)
• 1975: Madame Pp's highlight (C'est pas parce qu'on a rien à dire qu'il faut fermer sa gueule)
• 1975: Dear Victor (Ce cher Victor)
• 1975: A crazy class reunion (Amici miei)
• 1976: The Body of My Enemy (Le Corps de mon ennemi)
• 1976: Nuit D'Or - The Night of Gold (Nuit d'or)
• 1979: You meet the murderer at the buffet (Buffet froid)
• 1979: Series noire
• 1980: come back, kid! (Voltati Eigenio)
• 1985: Let's hope it's a girl (Speriamo che si femmina)
• 1986: I hate actors! (Je hais les acteurs)
• 1986: Twist Again in Moscow (Twist Again à Moscou)
• 1987: Paganini
• 1987: The Demons (Les Possédés)
• 1987: Trouble in Paradise (Sotto il ristorante cinese)

Trivia

Bernard Blier was caricatured by Albert Uderzo in the character of Cajus Musencus, head of Caesar's secret police, in the Asterix album The Odyssey (1981).

Web links

• Bernard Blier in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Frank-Burkhard Habel , Volker Wachter : The great lexicon of the GDR stars. The actors from film and television. Extended new edition. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-89602-391-8 .