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Paul Bonifas

Paul Bonifas

Actor · 1902 – 1975 · Paris, France

Paul Bonifas (3 June 1902 – 9 November 1975) was a French actor, born in Paris. In the 1920s, while working for the French customs service, Bonifas took classes in acting at the Conservatoire de Paris in his spare time. He left with the first prize for comedy, which allowed him to join the Odéon Theatre in 1933, then the Comédie-Française in 1938. He made his first film appearance in 1935 in a version of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, directed by Pierre Chenal. During World War II he served as a lieutenant in the artillery, was badly wounded, and evacuated from Dunkirk with his unit. In London he joined the Free French, and worked for Radio Londres broadcasting to occupied France. In 1942 he appeared in the film The Foreman Went to France. In 1943 he formed "The Molière Players", who staged a repertoire of mainly Molière works in London theatres, as well as in regional towns and at French army barracks. He came to the Comedy Theatre, London with Théâtre Molierè in 1943 and 1944, performing in L'Anglais Tel Qu'on Le Parle, Le Malade Imaginaire, Gringoire, Le Misanthrope et L'Auvergnat, Les Femmes Savantes, Le Paquebot Tenacity, La Testament Du Pere Leleu and L'Extra. His Company included Andre Frere, Georges Rex, Suzette Marquis, Elma Soiron and Paul Clarus. In 1944 "The Molière Players" appeared in the short film Aventure malgache directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This was written by, and based on the experiences of, Jules Francois Clermont, an actor in Bonifas' troupe working under the name of Paul Clarus, who had operated an illegal radio station Madagascar Libre in Madagascar while the island was under Vichy control. Bonifas then appeared in a number of other British films, including Two Fathers with Bernard Miles, directed by Anthony Asquith, and had minor roles in the musicals Heaven Is Round the Corner and Champagne Charlie, the action adventure film The Man from Morocco, the comedy-drama Johnny Frenchman and the horror film Dead of Night. Bonifas returned to France in 1946 and resumed his career in theatre, specializing in comedy, but also taking dramatic roles. His later film career included appearances in Trapeze (1956), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956), Fanny (1961), Charade (1963), Greed in the Sun (1964), The Train (1964), Is Paris Burning? (1966), Triple Cross (1966), and The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1974). Bonifas died on 9 November 1975 at Vernouillet, Yvelines, France. Source: Article "Paul Bonifas" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Movies24

  • Movie7.7

    Charade

    1963 · 1.6K votes

  • Movie7.0

    Love in the Afternoon

    1957 · 346 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Notre-Dame de Paris

    The Hunchback of Notre Dame

    1956 · 124 votes

  • Movie6.3

    La Promesse

    Secret World

    1969 · 4 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Cold Sweat

    1970 · 85 votes

  • Movie7.2

    Dead of Night

    1945 · 312 votes

  • Movie7.6

    The Train

    1964 · 393 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Goodbye Again

    1961 · 42 votes

  • Movie7.2

    Les Misérables

    1958 · 126 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Triple Cross

    1966 · 86 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Le Retour du Grand Blond

    The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe

    1974 · 348 votes

  • Movie7.6

    La Vérité

    The Truth

    1960 · 212 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Cent Mille Dollars au soleil

    Greed in the Sun

    1964 · 168 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Le Train

    The Last Train

    1973 · 76 votes

  • Movie6.2

    L'Arbre de Noël

    The Christmas Tree

    1969 · 43 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Les abysses

    The Depths

    1963 · 12 votes

  • Movie7.1

    La Fête à Henriette

    Holiday for Henrietta

    1952 · 19 votes

  • Movie4.9

    La Française et l'Amour

    Love and the Frenchwoman

    1960 · 14 votes

  • Movie5.4

    La Femme et le Pantin

    A Woman Like Satan

    1958 · 15 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Fanny

    1961 · 46 votes

  • Movie5.3

    Aventure Malgache

    1944 · 61 votes

  • Movie6.5

    Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo ?

    Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

    1966 · 39 votes

  • Movie5.9

    Le Miracle des loups

    Blood on His Sword

    1961 · 23 votes

  • Movie7.2

    Cybèle ou les dimanches de ville d'Avray

    Sundays and Cybele

    1962 · 68 votes

Series7

  • TV7.0

    Au théâtre ce soir

    At Theatre Tonight

    1966 · 4 votes

  • TV7.2

    Sherlock Holmes

    1954 · 18 votes

  • TV10.0
  • TV7.2
  • TV7.0

    Bayard

    1964 · 1 votes

  • TV7.0

    Illusions perdues

    1966 · 1 votes

  • TV

    La Duchesse d'Avila

    1973 · 1 votes