Le Bargy, Charles

(1858-1936)

   Actor and director. Charles Le Bargy was one of the great stage actors of the late nineteenth century. He was a member of the Comédie Française from 1880 until 1911 and became a sociétiare of the Comédie Française in 1887. Known for his dramatic capabilities, but equally talented as a comedic actor, Le Bargy's range as well as his talent made him a great theatrical name of his day. He was also an instructor at the Paris Conservatoire d'art dramatique, where he had Albert Capellani among his students.

   It was because of Le Bargy's great reputation, as well as his talent, that he was recruited by the founders of Studio Film d'Art in 1908 to act in and direct films for the fledgling studio, which aspired to bring cinema up from its fairground milieu and place it firmly among the arts. Le Bargy's career in cinema was short. It numbered a total of only six films, but several of these have become classics of the cinema.

   L'Assassinat du Duc de Guise (1908) is one such film. Le Bargy codirected the film, which recounts the 1588 assassination of Henri de Guise, with André Calmettes. Le Bargy's interpretation of Henri III, on whose orders de Guise is murdered, is considered one of the great performances of the early silent cinema. His next film was La Tosca (1909), starring Sarah Bernhardt as well as himself, and it was followed by Le Retour d'Ulyse (1909), which he codirected with Calmettes. That same year he also acted in Calmettes's film, La Légende de la Sainte-Chapelle (1909). This would be Le Bargy's last film for some time, as Studio film d'art went bankrupt in the year of its release, and Le Bargy returned to the stage.

   In 1920, however, Le Bargy returned to the screen, this time in front of the camera. He starred in Louis Mercanton's classic silent film, L'Appel du sang (1920). Le Bargy made only two films following this performance. In 1928, he had a role in Gaston Ravel's Madame Récamier, and in 1930 he appeared in Jacques de Baroncelli's Le Rêve. Despite his rather brief career, Le Bargy remains one of the pioneers of the early cinema. He is the father of actor Jean De-bucourt.

   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins