Suzy Delair(1917-2020)

Prototype of the sexy cheeky French lady, Suzy Delair was discovered by Henri-Georges Clouzot, who became her companion and gave her two memorable roles : Mila Malou, inspector Wens' unbearable girlfriend in two films, Le dernier des six (1941), which he wrote, and L'Assassin habite au 21 (1942), which he penned and directed; and the mythical one of Jenny Lamour, a frivolous music-hall singer prepared to do anything to become famous who makes her poor husband insanely jealous in Quai des Orfèvres (1947). The rest of her filmography is rather disappointing, with a few exceptions such as Jean Grémillon's Pattes blanches (1949) , where she is -once again - an unfaithful companion ; Gervaise (1956), René Clément's masterpiece as Gervaise's obnoxious rival or Luchino Visconti's Rocco et ses frères (1960), another cinema milestone, even if her part in this film is minor. An excellent singer (Who has forgotten "Avec son tra la la"?), delightful in operettas, Suzy Delair could hardly choose between her two careers. This may be the reason why she missed out on more great roles than she finally interpreted. Nevertheless, Mila Malou and Jenny Lamour are now part of the French film heritage. Not everybody can boast having left such an imprint on several generations of movie-goers.