So, Just Who Was Andre Daven?

Before delving, in the next instalment, into Andre and Rudolph's association in the mid. Twenties, it is necessary to get to grips with and understand a little Daven himself. So, just who was Andre Daven?

A. L. D., far left, on board the Ile de France, in early 1934. (His wife, Daniele Parola, is second from the right.)

In the Spring of 1934, a decade after first setting foot in the United States, Andre Daven was interviewed 1 in France about his imminent re-crossing of the Atlantic. The interviewer, knowing him well, commenced the piece jokingly by stating that Daven had, the last time he returned, declared he was "finally" back and "for a long time!" Behind the lightheartedness lay an obvious, serious message: Daven, on his way again to the USA for the second time in twelve months was not a man that stood still. Behind the "made for travel" 35-year-old film producer - already "the creator of so many beautiful films." - stretched ten years of achievements. The trip to Hollywood, at the request of the pre-merger Fox Film Corp., to create a French version of Caravan (Caravane), with Charles Boyer, would be the foundation of yet another ten.

The image taken on board the Ile de France, before departure or after arrival, captures wonderfully this latest milestone. In the company of actors Pierre Brasseur and Jean Murat, Murat's fiancée the actress Annabella, his own wife, actress and personality Daniele Parola, and a gentleman apparently named Monsieur Figurant, Andre Daven fails to disguise his excitement or his optimism. Though the general revelry may be due in part to the consumption of champagne, regardless, his expression reveals him to be an individual with a bright immediate future.

Marseille in 1900.

Andre's complete pathway to this important point is, currently at least, far from fully known. An exhaustive search has uncovered no profile or interview, digitized or otherwise, where he opens up and talks about his family or early years. The varied documents and references available to us online hint at an interesting beginning. But these hints are possibilities that cannot be stitched together to make anything.

What we can be certain of is that he was born, Lucien Andre Davenport, 2 on March 13th, 1899, at Marseille, Southern France, 3 and that his mother was Marie Laurence Arthur Davenport. 4 Addresses are unknown. As are schools. Likewise, the timing of his move North, and when and where he fought in WW1, are two further missing puzzle pieces. However, if his ability in early adulthood to express himself in print points to a good education, and his youthful bearing and appearance indicate being well brought up, then evidence he was a cast member of a film in 1920, definitely places him in Paris twelve months after the Armistice.

The film, Cine-Ressources, WIKIPEDIA and IMDb reveal, was Marcel L'Herbier's beautifully simple, much-praised L'Homme du large., which was completed in August. How and exactly when he encountered L'Herbier and came to be included is probably forever a mystery. Of greater importance, anyway, is that at the tender age of 21, the inclusion parachuted Andre-L. Daven, as he was now known, into the sphere of cutting edge French movie-making.

Andre Daven listed with other Cinea contributors in June 1921.

As is often the case, in exciting, experimental times, one thing led to another and a year later Daven became a junior contributor at Cinea. 5 His listing by surname alone illustrates his lack of seniority at the newly founded weekly title; however, his employer, "prolific, intelligent, insightful, and influential" 6 Louis Delluc, 7 clearly had faith in his abilities. Initially giving him responsibility for the Derriere L'Ecran (Behind the Screen) section. Then making him supervisor of writing and commercial publicity. Delluc liked Andre so much in fact, that he awarded him a significant role in his 1922 production La Femme du nulle part. 8

A charming cartoon of A.-L. Daven, at the age of 24, in 1923.

Twelve months on again he was sufficiently established and highly thought of to be openly wished (in Comoedia) a speedy recovery after a serious operation. Yet, despite health issues that Spring, it would be a Vintage Year. Two further cinematic performances, in Leon Poirier's three part L'Affaire du Courier, and in Rene Leprince's motion picture Vent debout, inflated his Silver Sheet appearances to six. And his meaningful connection with already legendary Jacques Hebertot would, in late Summer, bring him into intimate contact with one of the greatest celebrities of the Silent Era.

Rudy Valentino shakes hands on arrival at Le Bourget, France, on August 15th, 1923.

The dramatic arrival by plane in France, of Rudolph Valentino and his wife, Natacha Rambova, set the tone, not only for the couple's European jaunt, but also the association of Daven and Valentino. It would be a whirlwind affair. Ultimately climaxing - after receptions and parties, trips, gifts, photo. opportunities, exchanges and discussions, shopping expeditions, promises made and more - with Andre featuring in Rudy's comeback 1924 Super Production, Monsieur Beaucaire. (For the full story see the forthcoming post.)

In the calm after the storm that was the Valentino Affair it would appear Daven paused to lick his wounds. How he was occupied from July to September is anyone's guess -- but it is hard to imagine him idle. By October he had re-emerged with an excellent, observational piece, 9 about Madame sans-Gene, 10 Gloria Swanson's latest vehicle then being filmed in France. As Gloria was Rudy's former co-Star, as well as a fellow Famous Players-Lasky stable mate, it is likely they first met while he was in the United States. Whenever they initially encountered one another, as the witty article plainly shows, these were two people who hit it off. Daven would be Swanson's right hand that Autumn, into Winter and through to the start of 1925. And aside from publicising Miss Swanson during her stay, he introduced her to her next husband, generally accompanied her (particularly that New Year's Eve), 11 was a guest at the intimate wedding, in January, and even arranged a secret abortion. 12

The Theatre des Champs-Elysee in 1922.

If Andre L. Daven had already risen to a dizzying height he was to climb still higher. His appointment to the position of Artistic Director of the Theatre des Champs-Elysee, by the new Licensee, Rolf de Mare (his apparent lover), 13 was officially announced in the January of 1925, but had probably been agreed upon late in 1924. His installation was to prove fortuitous, not just for himself and for the venue, but also for international culture and a whole series of talented performers -- most notably: 'the Black Venus' Josephine Baker.

 

Though the Baker biographies tell the tale in differing ways, and credit a variety of others for the idea and the negotiations, etc., the person responsible for the implementation was, without question, Andre. Just as it was he who commissioned and approved the sets and artwork for what would be known as: La Revue Negre. 

The Twenties continued to roar, but in September 1926, just one month after Valentino's tragic demise, the curtain suddenly and dramatically fell on Andre's eighteen month tenure, when he himself suffered a life-threatening collapse of his health. A report in Le Petit Journal, on October the 7th 1926, explained the situation:

CHAMPS-ELYSEE MUSIC-HALL

Mr. Andre-L. Daven, director of the

Champs-Elysee Music Hall, whose

double pneumonia had caused serious

concern, is at present out of danger.

He will need a long convalescence and

a serious rest with prescribed 

medicines to fully recover.

Three quarters of a year passed before Andre Daven was again in the limelight. Though not totally recovered, he and longterm girlfriend, the vivacious, blonde and doll-like Daniele Parola, had decided to marry. Parola, who appeared from nowhere in the Spring of 1926, and became a minor Star that same year, following success in a Palais Royal Theatre show, had clearly been there for him during his bout of ill health. Yet, while an inside report of the nuptials provides positive insight and, seemingly, proves it was not only gratitude which prompted his proposal, we are left wondering why Rolf de Mare was so conspicuously present at the low-key, select ceremony.

The newlyweds in 1927.

In the first decade of their union, Parola would, herself, rise to prominence, in time becoming a popular and important actress. Her husband was naturally instrumental in her climb, as she, of course, was supportive of his. It was good timing for them both. By the Autumn of 1927 the theatre - in reality titled the Music-Hall-des-Champs-Elysee - had seriously declined in popularity, and several serious disagreements about its future led to Daven's resignation. In the following year, Andre, Daniele, and her aunt and uncle, narrowly escaped death, when Daven's auto. crashed through a level crossing barrier and into the path of an oncoming train. All were injured -- but Parola was the one most seriously hurt. Suddenly the Patient was now the Nurse.

Considering his future lay in the film industry, it is ironic that the new owners of the Theatre des Champs-Elysee, The Parisien Theatre Co., decided to convert his former place of work into a cinema. Though he had, in the Spring of 1929, planned to become Artistic Director at a new Music Hall - there is a solitary 1928 announcement - when this was no longer a viable option, he turned to his picture-making friends.

Andre Daven, far right, at the Joinville studios, in 1931.

According to Cine-Ressources, he secured the position of Assistant to Louis Nalpas, 14 Producer on Henri Fescourt's lavish, gargantuan four hour production of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo: Monte Cristo. (A spectacular full stop at the end of the Silent Era.) In a February 1930 L'Instransigeant article, written by Saint-Granier, he is at the then seriously struggling Gaumont Film Co., where he was tasked with commissioning writers to create: "... skits." or films of a dozen minutes or so. (Saint-Granier alone had supplied him with four.) By that Autumn he had moved on to better things at Paramount, at Joinville, where he was supervisor of all French production. 15 And yet despite this important position Butterfly Daven was eager to flit -- and flutter away he did.

Andre's credit as Supervisor of Tumultes (1932).

His departure from Joinville, in mid. 1931, was, officially, due to illness; yet his almost immediate shift to UFA, in Germany, suggests this was simply an excuse. Cine-Ressources provides a clue to the reason for the move in its listing of La Fille et la Garcon, which was initially a German film, and was then reproduced for the French market. Such an assignment would naturally have led to dialogue and meetings with German counterparts.

Andre Daven got to work immediately upon his arrival in Berlin that September. Cine-Ressources lists eight supervised productions, which were, in roughly the correct French order: 16 Le Vainqueur (March 1932), Tumultes (April 1932), Vous serez ma femme (May 1932), Quick and Coup de feu a l'aube (August 1932), Un homme sans nom (September 1932), Un reve blond (October 1932), and Stupefiants (November 1932). It is impossible to know what was released before or behind schedule. But even the most cursory look reveals he handled the mixed bag with aplomb. Interestingly, Tumultes, which is considered, at least in its German version, Sturme der Leidenschaft (Storms of Passion), a precursor of the Noir films of the Forties, featured his future good friend and collaborator, Charles Boyer, as the criminal unable to change his ways. While, Stupefiants, in German titled Der Weisse Damon (The White Demon), showcased his wife, Daniele Parola, in a role in which, according to contemporary critics, she was extremely convincing as the drug addict.

The lengthy gestation of La Reve Blond contributed to ending Andre's spell at UFA. That August a L'Instransigeant report heralded his return home. And while it failed to touch on the political situation in Germany, it did disclose his desire to leave, as soon as the dramatic comedy had been completed. Tellingly, it further revealed that: "... major projects would soon be announced."

The Mauretania at Cherbourg.

Andre Daven's immediate trip to New York, on the Mauretania, was just the first of a series of trans-Atlantic toings and froings during the rest of that troubled decade. Each crossing leading him inexorably toward his future. The post William Fox Fox Film Corp.'s engagement of Erich Pommer, as Producer of films for the German market, had led to Daven, his Assistant at UFA, also being engaged. The face-to-face meetings in New York were followed by more, early the following year (with Pommer accompanying him). Yet, the sudden coming of the Third Reich was to scupper Fox's Master Plan; and so, instead, Andre concentrated on creating films for them in France. (On a vole un homme and Liliom in 1934 being the only two.)

The love triangle at the heart of Caravane (1934).

Soon, as we saw at the start, he was on his way to the United States to work on Caravane, the French version of Caravan, with Charles Boyer again as the Hero. Despite a switch of nationalities the two features were practically the same. And the French language version was as much of a: "... gorgeously mounted operetta, a feast of visual beauty, with singing gypsies glorifying wine, romance, love and the dance..." 17 Of course today, such a light, frothy and escapist Crowd Pleaser has scant appeal. But Depression Era audiences loved these fantasy concoctions, and the various competing studios endlessly poured effort and money into them. It was, for Andre, however, a far cry from his previous gritty UFA projects. Was that the issue? The same set and story didn't give him much to do certainly. Whatever transpired, when he returned to France, at the end of 1934, he was no longer employed by Fox Films Corp. 18

Daven's Producer credit for: Razumov: Sous les yeux d'occident. (1936) 

As usual Daven turned a negative into a positive and formed his own production company: Andre Daven, Inc. The next few years would see him produce five impressive features in France: Baccara (1935), Razumov: Sous les yeux d'occident and Aventure a Paris (1936), Gribouille (1937), and Orage (1938). All the while continuing to travel by sea to North America.

Daniele Parola in Razumov: Sous les yeux d'occident (1936).

Two, from 1936, Razumov: Sous les yeux d'occident, and Aventure a Paris, to a lesser and greater degree respectively, feature Daven's wife Parola. In Razumov, based on Joseph Conrad's 1911 novel Under Western Eyes, she makes her entrance three quarters of the way through, portraying Nathalie, 19 the sister of Jean-Louis Barrault's Assassin. While in Aventure, an adaptation of Henry Falk's 1928 comedic play Le Rabatteur, she appears half-way in, as Lucienne Aubier, the romantic target of Berry's and Barout's characters. In both characterisations she is luminous. And we can imagine how enjoyable it was for Andre to showcase her.

Despite the gathering war clouds at the time, in late October 1938, Andre Daven arrived in the USA with Albert Prejean. His arrival and return dates indicate they were in Hollywood for a fortnight -- but who they met with and what was discussed is not immediately clear. A deal with director Harry Lachman, announced that Summer and again in trade publications in the Autumn, seems afterwards to have fallen apart. Yet he was perhaps not particularly bothered, due to the fact that 1939 would see him working in France, on Le Corsaire, with Charles Boyer. (Probably the reason he journeyed to California.) 20

Hitler in Paris, in June 1940.

Sadly World Events were to interfere, not only with this project, but also his carefully laid plans for the following year. The outbreak of WW2 abruptly ended the filming of Le Corsaire and Boyer hurried back to the United States. Andre and Daniele seem to have escaped across The Channel to Britain. (Several reports in American industry magazines place him at Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. in the UK.) And from there headed for the USA. Leaving France then Europe must have been a wrench. And their abandonment of family and friends, as well as homes and possessions, was, surely, just as traumatic. If still living, Andre would have feared, not only for his Mother, but also for his Jewish stepfather.

By early March 1940 they were far from invasions and bombings, and able to feel safe, even if they fretted about their occupied nation. It seems Daven did not lose time in re-establishing a partnership with Nat Wachsberger and Harry Brandt, of Film Alliance of the US. However, that association fizzled when he was offered and accepted the position of Assistant to Darryl F. Zanuck. Thereby killing dead, forever, the American reshoot of Le Corsaire, as well as a second, substantial project with Boyer. (This would lead the next year to FAotUS attempting to sue him.)

If Andre Daven began as Zanuck's assistant, he had transferred, by the Autumn of 1942, to "Bryan Foy's Unit". And was, soon afterwards, trusted with his own production. An original story by Harold Buchman adapted by George Kessell, it was first called French Underground, then The Night is Ending, and finally: Paris After Dark. However, he became involved in another war film, Tonight We Raid Calais, that somehow managed to supersede Paris After Dark at the Box Office.

We might wonder if Daven reflected on the fact he was being given such assignments not long after being forced to flee France. Of course neither were unique, and it is plausible he actively sought out material of this nature, in order that he could, like others, contribute to the War Effort. (A notion given traction by several mentions of a project of his own devising.) 21

Following the release of Tonight We Raid Calais, and ahead of the release of Paris After Dark, he received respite in the form of a Technicolor, Feel Good project, called Home in Indiana. Just how full Daven's plate was by this time - 1943-1944 - is demonstrated by the announcement of yet another Technicolor film, this time named Nob Hill. By the May of 1944 he had signed a new contract with the studio. And was, aside from Nob Hill, responsible for two further productions -- apparently Our Moment is Swift and The Little Horse.

Despite these two additional projects apparently failing to make it to the screen, at least under his supervision, his work so far had earned the trust of Zanuck, and garnered praise from the critics. By May 1945 the studio had renewed his contract. And Hollywood was now, without question, his oyster.

Yet, the liberation of France the previous year, and the subsequent conclusion of WW2 in Europe, has to have made him yearn to be back in Paris. And if not he then Daniele Parola. The French expatriate colony in LA was hardly a permanent substitute for the Mother Land. With others returning it became impossible to stay. So Mr. and Mrs. Daven returned.

The Davens in New York in October 1945.

Andre's value to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. was such that they arranged for him to take total control of their French productions in 1946. However, the folly of the move was quickly evident, if not to them at the time, then to us, now, when, in 1947, the company closed down their operations there. What was discussed when he returned to meet with executives is unknown. His final mention, in US film industry publications, was in VARIETY, at the start of 1948:

Andre Daven, formerly with 20th-

Fox, is leaving for Paris to produce

pictures in association with John

Mills, British clubman.

Wednesday, January 14th, 1948

Formerly with. Leaving for Paris. In association with Mills. Had he continued to work with the studio in the USA? His needing to travel to France suggests he did. And John Mills? If it was the British actor John Mills, then about to begin producing, he maybe expected to work with him on The History of Mr. Polly and The Rocking Horse Winner (both 1949). And yet he has no obvious credit in either.

In fact, between 1948 and 1955, Andre Daven pretty much disappears. And where he was and what he was doing can really only be guessed at, as he vanishes completely, at least from accessible newspapers and magazines. What few appearances there were, were scattered throughout historical works or appraisals; such as: Histoire encyclopedique du Cinema: I, Le Cinema Francais 1895-1929 (1947), A Pictorial History of the Silent Screen (1953), and Valentino (1954).

Daven's Executive Producer credit for Les Grandes Manoeuvres (1955).

Was Andre Daven already a figure of the past? Not Quite. In the mid. Fifties he had a brief revival, thanks to old friend Rene Clair, and to Julien Duvivier and Maurice Cazeneuve. In 1955 he was involved in the production of three films: Les Grandes Manoeuvres, with Clair; and Marianne de ma jeunesse; and a German version, Marianne, with Duvivier. Clair engaged him again as Executive Producer for Porte des Lilas in 1957. And his final production credit was Cazeneuve's Cette nuit-la in 1958.

What was the reason he concluded his career as a Producer just shy of his sixtieth year? Old age? Ill health? A lack of interest? All of these reason combined? We don't know. And due to the fact his obituary is elusive and undigitized we are not aware of reasons or how he occupied himself in his last twenty years. Whatever he did - writing, teaching, gardening - he could at least look back proudly on four decades of dedication to popular culture. Years of highs, lows and further highs. A multitude of magical moments both off and on the screen. His death, the same year as Clair, in 1981, at the age of 82, seems to have caused few waves. Daniele, his wife, lived on without him for almost twenty years. (Her obituary is likewise very difficult to access.)

It is hoped this lengthy, in parts incomplete look at Andre Daven's life and career, has put at least some flesh on the bones. And that he can as a result be better understood as a human being, and, as a professional.

NOTES AND REFERENCES:

1. The interview (by a J.-P. L.) was published on the first page of Cine-Comoedia, on March 13th, 1934
2. His full, true birth name
3. Source: official 1981 death record
4. His grandfather was an Englishman
5. The first edition of Cinea was issued in May 1922
6. A quote from Richard Abel's Louis Delluc: The Critic as Cineaste
7. Louis Delluc's death in 1924 ended his promising career
8. Daven's role was that of Le jeune homme (or the Young Lover)
9. The piece appeared in Comoedia, on October 3rd, 1924
10. Madame sans-Gene was released in the USA in Spring 1925. It is considered lost
11. The press reported they attended the same party on December 31st
12. As revealed in Gloria's biography: Swanson on Swanson (1980)
13. Several sources confirm this
14. Nalpas was a major figure in French silent cinema
15. Source: L'Instransigeant, 23rd of February, 1930
16. Arranged according to French release dates in the press
17. From: PICTURE PLAY, December 1934
18. Source: MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Wed., Dec. 5th, 1934
19. Natalie is Natalia in the original Conrad story
20. This is deduction from later events
21. The working title was Red Quarter and the setting was the Casbah in Marseille. It was planned as a Technicolor picture