#anyway for brief context: she and her partner (Igor) were under threat of death during Nazi occupation

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

Returning to Paris, I had to pay. With rage in my heart and often tears in my eyes (the makeup artist Chakatouny lamented each morning my poor appearance, and couldn't make me look any better), I made one film — just one — to guarantee the freedom of a person I loved. I was ugly, terrible; everything in me refused to be. I still remember the look of my [screen] partner Raymond Rouleau (who knew Igor and the causes of my breakdown) studying me and trying in vain to give me a little encouragement!

— Edwige Feuillère reflecting on the making of Mam'zelle Bonaparte (1942) and aiding the escape of her fiancé (named here as Igor) from Nazi-occupied France

(From Les Feux de la mémoire by Edwige Feuillère, 1977. Translated by me. ♡)

#please be nice my translation may not be perfect but i tried my best :') #it's kinda difficult to convey the same tone and emotion into english #anyway for brief context: she and her partner (Igor) were under threat of death during Nazi occupation #igor more-so and the nazis had already tried to arrest him but he dodged it #so edwige used all her money to help him escape and did this film to help pay off her debts to those who got him out #this is one of the rare times she publicly discussed her experience of this film bc it was so negative for her (understandably so) #edwige feuillère #classic film #french film #cinéma français #les feux de la mémoire #memoir #history #1940s #vintage #quote #excerpt #raymond rouleau #mam'zelle bonaparte (1942) #monique joyce #maurice tourneur #wwii #la résistance #period drama #cora pearl #napoleon iii #old hollywood #(it's not but shh) #costume drama #film