Martine Carol (born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer; 16 May 1920 – 6 February 1967) was a French film actress. She frequently was cast as an elegant blonde seductress. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she was the leading sex symbol and a top box-office draw of French cinema, and she was considered a French version of America's Marilyn Monroe. One of her more famous roles was as the title character in Lola Montès (1955), directed by Max Ophüls, in a role that required dark hair. However, by the late 1950s, roles for Carol had become fewer, partly because of the introduction of Brigitte Bardot.

Early life
Born Maryse Mourer (or Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer) in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, she studied acting under René Simon, making her stage début in 1940.

After uncredited bits in The Last of the Six (1941) and The Strangers in the House (1942) she had her credited movie part in 1943, La ferme aux loups.

Career
Carol had support roles in L'extravagante mission (1945), Bifur 3 (1945) and Trente et quarante (1946), then was in Miroir (1947) with Jean Gabin, and Voyage surprise (1947).  She achieved fame on stage in a production of Tobacco Road. Carol received a lot of publicty because of her private life.

She had the female lead in En êtes-vous bien sûr? (1947) with Robert Dhéry and followed it with Carré de valets (1947) and La fleur de l'âge (1947) for Marcel Carne. Carol was in Sextette (1948) for Robert Hennion and had a support part in The Lovers of Verona (1949), a version of Romeo and Juliet from André Cayatte, playing a movie star. She had the female lead in I Like Only You (1949) for Pierre Montazel and played herself in We Will All Go to Paris (1950).

Stardom
Carol starred in Une nuit de noces (1950), Beware of Blondes (1950) and 'the popular historical comedy Dear Caroline (1951) which was controversial because of outfits she wore. The film turned Carol into a star and all the scenes where she had showers led her to be nicknamed "The Cleanest Woman in Paris". She played a movie star in the French-Spanish film Love and Desire (1952) and had the lead in Adorable Creatures (1952), directed by Christian-Jaque who became her husband in 1954.

Carol co starred with Gerard Philippe in  Beauties of the Night (1952) for Rene Clair.

Carol played the title role in A Caprice of Darling Caroline (1953), a sequel to Darling Caroline. She played a series of true life women:Lucrèce Borgia (1953) as Lucrezia Borgia, a big local hit, and Madame du Barry (1954), as Madame du Barry  for Christian-Jaque.  She played herself in Boum sur Paris (1953).

Carol had the title role in Nana (1955) from the novel by Emile Zola, alongside Charles Boyer. A contemporary article called her the French "Queen of Sex". She was in two all star anthology film,s, Daughters of Destiny (1954),  as Lysistrata with her segment directed by her husband and co starring Raf Vallone, and The Bed (1954). She reteamed with Vallone in the Italian comedy The Beach (1954).

International career
Carol took the female lead in The French, They Are a Funny Race (1955), the last film from director Preston Sturges, alongside Jack Buchanan. The movie was shot in English and French versions and was a hit in France but not in English speaking countries.

Carol played Lola Montez in Lola Montès (1955) for Max Ophuls opposite Peter Ustinov and Anton Walbrook. This was the most expensive European film at the time, and was shot in French, English and German. It was considered a box office disappointment but was widely seen. She was linked to a possible Hollywood film Lord Vanity at Fox but it was never made.

Carol made Defend My Love (1956), an Italian comedy with Gabriele Ferzetti, and had a cameo in Around the World in 80 Days (1956).

Carol's first proper English language film was Action of the Tiger (1957) with Van Johnson directed by Terence Young. Carol starred in an Italian-French comedy film for her husband, Nathalie (1957) which was popular enough for a sequel, Nathalie, Secret Agent (1959). In between these she went to Tahiti to star in an Australian-French adventure tale, The Stowaway (1958), alongside Roger Livesey and Karl Boehm, which was shot in English and French versions.

Carol starred in Venetian Honeymoon (1959) with Vittorio de Sica and Claudia Cardinale then was the lead in a Hollywood movie shot in Germany, Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) with Jeff Chandler and Jack Palance for director Robert Aldrich. She was Joséphine de Beauharnais in Abel Gance's The Battle of Austerlitz (1960), very popular in France.

Later career
Carol was one of several stars in Love and the Frenchwoman (1961) then starred in One Night on the Beach (1961). She supported Jean Gabin in The Counterfeiters of Paris (1961) and made The Betrayer (1962) for Roberto Rossellini. Carol then made Operation Gold Ingot (1962), and Beach Casanova (1962) with Curt Jurgens.

Carol's final film was Hell Is Empty (1967), a British movie alongside Anthony Steel, James Robertson Justice and Shirley Ann Field. It began filming in 1965 under the direction of Bernard Knowles. It was Martine Carol's first movie in three years. Filming was suspended due to lack of funds. Carol died of a heart attack in February 1967 and production resumed under the direction of John Ainsworth after her death.

Personal life
Despite her fame and fortune, Martine Carol's personal life was filled with turmoil that included a suicide attempt, drug abuse, and four marriages. She also was kidnapped by gangster Pierre Loutrel (also known as Pierrot le Fou or Crazy Pete), albeit briefly and received roses the next day as an apology.

Carol was married four times, including:
 Joseph Stephen Crane, American actor and restaurant manager, previously Lana Turner's husband, married in 1948, divorced in 1953.
 Christian-Jaque, film director, married July 15, 1954, divorced in 1959.
 Dr. André Rouveix, a young doctor she met in Martinique, Fort-de-France, married August 3, 1959, divorced in 1962.
 Mike Eland, English businessman, married in 1966 until her death.

Carol died unexpectedly of a heart attack in a hotel room in Monte Carlo at the age of 46.  She was first buried in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery, but after her grave was vandalized—some media reported that she had been interred with her jewels—was reburied in the Grand Jas Cemetery of Cannes (square n°3).

Filmography

References

Bibliography

External links

 
 
 

1920 births
1967 deaths
People from Saint-Mandé
French film actresses
French expatriates in Monaco
Burials at the Cimetière du Grand Jas
20th-century French actresses