Madeleine LeBeau. Madeleine the beautiful.
She played Yvonne, Bogie’s jilted lover in the immortal Casablanca. Her impassioned singing of La Marseillaise providing an indelible image.
The passion was genuine. She had fled Paris with Jewish actor Marcel Dalio in 1940. They braved a hurricane torn Atlantic to escape from Lisbon to Chile. Dialo using connections to get them to California and Hollywood.
The rest – c’est l’histoire.
I’m with Lazlo’s peasants – we have a voice and we need to use it. Thanks for posting this – I caught a mention on the radio, but I had no idea that the back story was as dramatic as it evidently was. There’s a great film to be made there.
Agree. She lived a fine old life. 92. Found it curiously moving when I came across her obit in The Times. These less famous lives, fleeting but embedded in our consciousness forever.
Vive la France – had no idea of her story, moving indeed. I can watch this clip repeatedly and never fail to wipe away the odd tear.
Rightly gets me every time.
Hats off to an extraordinary woman.
RIP.
A great scene from a great film. It is touching to read how this scene mirrored real life events. Thanks for posting