Louis is definitely one of the 20th Century’s most underrated actors. Born in France in 1921, he trained to be an actor until the outbreak of war where he soon joined the French Resistance. He received his first major English-language role from Alfred Hitchcock in his 1947 courtroom drama, The Paradine Case, starring alongside Gregory Peck. The following year he starred in the epic melodrama Letter From An Unknown Woman which propelled him into numerous romantic roles such as Three Coins in the Fountain and The Swan. For many he’s remembered for his leading role in MGM musical Gigi where he recieved a Golden Globe nomination. With the decline of the classic musical and romantic melodrama, Jourdan’s film and TV work became less abundant despite a fantastic turn as The Count of Monte Christo. He continued to work in theatre and on television, taking the title role in the 1977 Count Dracula in which he was wonderful. This gave his career a small resurgence in the horror/sci-fi world being cast in Wes Craven’s The Swamp Thing and it’s sequel a few years later. He is also fondly remembered for his role as Prince Kamal Khan in Octopussy. In 1992, Jourdan retired and has since been living in the South of France with his wife of 67 years. He received one of France’s highest honors, Légion d’Honneur in 2010.
All the performances mentioned above a worth of a look but here are my favourite three:
Letter From An Unknown Woman
Possibly the definitive melodrama. The film follows a tale of unrequited love from an obsessed young girl (Joan Fontaine) to dashing musician (Louis). It’s pretty heart-wrenching but a fantastic watch.
Gigi
One of the last great Hollywood musicals. The follows a youthful playboy’s relationship with a courtesan-in training (Leslie Caron) – there relationship begins as a platonic friendship, however things are set to change…
Octopussy
In one of his more over-the-top perfomance (But come on it’s a Bond film, they’ve got to be) stars as Kamal Khan the villain with a penchant for fabrege eggs.
