Renée Saint-Cyr

French actress 'Renée Saint-Cyr' (qv) became synonymous with chic comedy and costumed drama, enjoying major success for nearly seven decades before her death after an attack of bronchitis at age 99. Over the years she equipped herself well opposite the established talents of 'Raymond Rouleau' (qv), 'Jules Berry' (qv), 'Raimu' (qv), 'Noël-Noël' (qv), 'Harry Baur' (qv), 'Pierre Brasseur' (qv) and 'Paul Meurisse' (qv).Born Marie Louise Eugénie Vittore on November 16, 1904, and the daughter of a hotel owner and opera singer, Renée was a one-time model who married Charles Leopold Lautner (1894-1938), a wealthy man, at age 21 before entering the acting leagues. After studies at a drama school in Marseilles, she made her film bow starring as one of _The Two Orphans (1933)_ (qv) co-starring 'Rosine Deréan' (qv), based on the Gish sisters' silent classic _Orphans of the Storm (1921)_ (qv). She took on Lillian's role and would adopt the moniker of Saint-Cyr, supposedly taken from a beloved canine.Saint-Cyr's alluring beauty, patrician demeanor, and comedic skills gave her great momentum co-starring in such chic 1930's film comedies as _Toto (1933)_ (qv), _Love and Cool Water (1933)_ (qv), _Une fois dans la vie (1934)_ (qv) (Once in a Lifetime), _Der letzte Milliardär (1934)_ (qv), _Paris (1937)_ (qv), _School for Coquettes (1935)_ (qv), _Donogoo (1936)_ (qv), _Paris (1937)_ (qv) and _The Pearls of the Crown (1937)_ (qv), as well as the dramas _27 rue de la Paix (1936)_ (qv) and _Marked Girls (1938)_ (qv).Renée also graced the stage during this time in a production of "The Threepenny Opera," among others. She nixed an offer to sign with 20th Century-Fox, but did star in England's _Strange Boarders (1938)_ (qv) and Italy's _Dunkelrote Rosen (1940)_ (qv) (Red Roses) co-starring 'Vittorio De Sica' (qv). Into the 1940s war years, she starred in such popular film vehicles as the Hector Berlioz biopic _Symphonie der Liebe (1942)_ (qv) (The Fantastic Symphony), the title dramatic roles in _Marie-Martine (1943)_ (qv) and _Paméla (1945)_ (qv), plus _Pierre and Jean (1943)_ (qv), _Patricia (1946)_ (qv) and _...und sowas nennt sich Detektiv (1946)_ (qv).Saint-Cyr left films after shooting _The Knight of the Night (1953)_ (qv), _Il cavaliere di Maison Rouge (1954)_ (qv) (The Glorious Avenger) (as Marie Antoinette) and _If Paris Were Told to Us (1956)_ (qv) (as Empress Eugénie}, but returned into the next decade with _Coctail party (1960)_ (qv) and _Lafayette (1962)_ (qv). By this time, her only child, 'Georges Lautner' (qv), had become an influential film writer and director and had begun churning out a series of standard genre movies that occasionally featured Renee in the cast. Such films included _The Monocle (1964)_ (qv), _Das Millionen-Duell (1967)_ (qv), _Some Too Quiet Gentlemen (1973)_ (qv), _Now We've Seen It All! (1976)_ (qv), _These Sorcerers Are Mad (1978)_ (qv), _My Other Husband (1983)_ (qv), _Room Service (1992)_ (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net