Josette Andriot
Encyclopedia
Josette Andriot was a French film actress of the silent era, best known for playing the role of Protéa in the series of espionnage films made between 1913 and 1919.
She was born Camille-Élisa Andriot on 23 August 1886, in Paris (20e), the fifth of six children whose father was a dyer and their mother a florist. (Her youngest brother Lucien Andriot [1892-1979] became a noted cinematographer.) She joined the Éclair
studios as an actress first in 1909, and then from 1911 she made around 60 films exclusively for that studio. She had no theatrical training, and the skills that she brought to the film studio were those of an accomplished sportswoman - in riding, cycling, and swimming. She proved to be a natural actress.
Her early films were made principally with the director Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset
, for whom she became a favourite performer. In his Zigomar series, she played Rosaria, the title-character's accomplice, forever escaping from threatening predicaments. In 1913 Jasset made Protéa, a spy adventure with the distinction of being the first to have a woman as the central action figure. Although Jasset died shortly after completion, the film had considerable success and Andriot went on to make four more films in the series with other directors. After the last one was released in 1919, she retired from acting. She died on 13 May 1942 in Antibes.
Her appeal rested on her physical ability as a woman of action and her cool resourcefulness. "Whatever this most dauntless of women dares to do, she undertakes it with a smile on her lips": the observation of a reviewer in 1913. In her role as Protéa, she also wore a characteristic costume of a close-fitting black jersey, two years before Musidora
achieved cult status with her similar appearance as Irma Vep in Feuillade's Les Vampires
.
She was born Camille-Élisa Andriot on 23 August 1886, in Paris (20e), the fifth of six children whose father was a dyer and their mother a florist. (Her youngest brother Lucien Andriot [1892-1979] became a noted cinematographer.) She joined the Éclair
Eclair (camera)
Éclair was a film production, film laboratory and movie camera manufacturing company established in Épinay-sur-Seine, France by Charles Jourjon in 1907....
studios as an actress first in 1909, and then from 1911 she made around 60 films exclusively for that studio. She had no theatrical training, and the skills that she brought to the film studio were those of an accomplished sportswoman - in riding, cycling, and swimming. She proved to be a natural actress.
Her early films were made principally with the director Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset
Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset
Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset was an early film pioneer in France, active between the years 1905 and 1913. He worked on many genres of film, but was particularly associated with the development of detective or crime serials, such as the Nick Carter and Zigomar series.-Career:Victorin Jasset was born...
, for whom she became a favourite performer. In his Zigomar series, she played Rosaria, the title-character's accomplice, forever escaping from threatening predicaments. In 1913 Jasset made Protéa, a spy adventure with the distinction of being the first to have a woman as the central action figure. Although Jasset died shortly after completion, the film had considerable success and Andriot went on to make four more films in the series with other directors. After the last one was released in 1919, she retired from acting. She died on 13 May 1942 in Antibes.
Her appeal rested on her physical ability as a woman of action and her cool resourcefulness. "Whatever this most dauntless of women dares to do, she undertakes it with a smile on her lips": the observation of a reviewer in 1913. In her role as Protéa, she also wore a characteristic costume of a close-fitting black jersey, two years before Musidora
Musidora
Musidora was the stage name of Jeanne Roques, a popular French silent film actress. She became famous for her vamp roles in such film serials as Les Vampires and Judex, in which she developed a persona comparable to that of Theda Bara...
achieved cult status with her similar appearance as Irma Vep in Feuillade's Les Vampires
Les Vampires
Les Vampires is a 1915/1916 ten-part silent film serial. It was written and directed by Louis Feuillade and stars Musidora as "Irma Vep" a femme fatale whose name is a suspicious anagram of "vampire." The serial is set in Paris and follows the exploits of a gang of master criminals who call...
.