June Duprez
Encyclopedia
June Duprez was an English film actress.
The daughter of American vaudeville
performer Fred Duprez
, she was born in Teddington
, Middlesex
, England, during an air raid in the final months of World War I.
She began acting in her teens with a theatre company and made her first film, The Crimson Circle
, in 1936. Her next film, The Cardinal
(1936), was also a success, and she had a small role in The Spy in Black
(1938), but it was her fourth film, The Four Feathers
(1939), that made her a star
. Her peak of success came with the landmark fantasy film The Thief of Bagdad
(1940), which she made for Alexander Korda
.
Korda took charge of her career after this point and took her to Hollywood where he set her asking price at $50,000 per movie. However, as Duprez had not yet achieved the level of popularity in America that she had in Britain, Korda's tactic only served to place her out of contention for most roles. She appeared in Little Tokyo, U.S.A.
(1942), Tiger Fangs
(1943), None But the Lonely Heart (1944) and The Brighton Strangler
(1945) before performing well amid a top ensemble cast in René Clair
's film version of Agatha Christie
's And Then There Were None
(1945). After a few more motion pictures, Duprez retired. Her final credited film performance was in One Plus One (1961).
She retired from acting when she married for a second time in 1948, a wealthy sportsman. The union produced two daughters but ended in divorce in 1965. Duprez lived in Rome, Italy, for several years, then returned to London to live out the remainder of her life. She died there, after a long period of illness, at age 66.
The daughter of American vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer Fred Duprez
Fred Duprez
Fred Duprez was an American film actor who appeared mainly in British films.Fred Duprez was born in Detroit, Michigan. He died from a heart attack on board a ship enroute to England...
, she was born in Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, England, during an air raid in the final months of World War I.
She began acting in her teens with a theatre company and made her first film, The Crimson Circle
The Crimson Circle
The Crimson Circle is a British crime film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Hugh Wakefield, Alfred Drayton, and Niall MacGinnis...
, in 1936. Her next film, The Cardinal
The Cardinal (1936 film)
The Cardinal is a 1936 British historical drama film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Matheson Lang, Eric Portman and Robert Atkins. The film depicts a power battle in Rome in 1570 between Giuliano de Medici and one of his rivals.-Cast:...
(1936), was also a success, and she had a small role in The Spy in Black
The Spy in Black
The Spy in Black is a 1939 British film, and the first collaboration between the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They were brought together by Alexander Korda to make the World War I spy thriller by Joseph Storer Clouston into a film...
(1938), but it was her fourth film, The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers (1939 film)
The Four Feathers is a 1939 adventure film directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, C. Aubrey Smith. Set in the 1890s during the reign of Queen Victoria, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice. It is one of a number of adaptations of the 1902 novel...
(1939), that made her a star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
. Her peak of success came with the landmark fantasy film The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British fantasy film produced by Alexander Korda, and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, with contributions by Korda's brothers Vincent and Zoltán, and William Cameron Menzies...
(1940), which she made for Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
.
Korda took charge of her career after this point and took her to Hollywood where he set her asking price at $50,000 per movie. However, as Duprez had not yet achieved the level of popularity in America that she had in Britain, Korda's tactic only served to place her out of contention for most roles. She appeared in Little Tokyo, U.S.A.
Little Tokyo, U.S.A.
Little Tokyo, U.S.A. is an American film, produced during World War II, that was condemned by United States Office of War Information as an "invitation to the Witch Hunt", preaching hate for all people of Japanese descent.-Plot:...
(1942), Tiger Fangs
Tiger Fangs
-External links:**...
(1943), None But the Lonely Heart (1944) and The Brighton Strangler
The Brighton Strangler
The Brighton Strangler is a 1945 American crime film directed by Max Nosseck and starring John Loder, June Duprez and Michael St. Angel. In Britain an actor goes mad and tries to live out the life of the character he is playing by committing a string of murders.-Cast:* John Loder - Reginald Parker...
(1945) before performing well amid a top ensemble cast in René Clair
René Clair
René Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
's film version of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None (1945 film)
And Then There Were None is a 1945 film adaption of Agatha Christie's best-selling mystery novel And Then There Were None directed by René Clair....
(1945). After a few more motion pictures, Duprez retired. Her final credited film performance was in One Plus One (1961).
She retired from acting when she married for a second time in 1948, a wealthy sportsman. The union produced two daughters but ended in divorce in 1965. Duprez lived in Rome, Italy, for several years, then returned to London to live out the remainder of her life. She died there, after a long period of illness, at age 66.