Acting
Jun 2, 1902
Paris, France
Paul Bonifas
Acting
Biography
Paul Bonifas (3 June 1902 – 9 November 1975) was a French actor, born in Paris. In the 1920s, while working for the French customs service, Bonifas took classes in acting at the Conservatoire de Paris in his spare time. He left with the first prize for comedy, which allowed him to join the Odéon Theatre in 1933, then the Comédie-Française in 1938. He made his first film appearance in 1935 in a version of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, directed by Pierre Chenal. During World War II he served as a lieutenant in the artillery, was badly wounded, and evacuated from Dunkirk with his unit. In London he joined the Free French, and worked for Radio Londres broadcasting to occupied France. In 1942 he appeared in the film The Foreman Went to France. In 1943 he formed "The Molière Players", who staged a repertoire of mainly Molière works in London theatres, as well as in regional towns and at French army barracks. He came to the Comedy Theatre, London with Théâtre Molierè in 1943 and 1944, performing in L'Anglais Tel Qu'on Le Parle, Le Malade Imaginaire, Gringoire, Le Misanthrope et L'Auvergnat, Les Femmes Savantes, Le Paquebot Tenacity, La Testament Du Pere Leleu and L'Extra. His Company included Andre Frere, Georges Rex, Suzette Marquis, Elma Soiron and Paul Clarus. In 1944 "The Molière Players" appeared in the short film Aventure malgache directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This was written by, and based on the experiences of, Jules Francois Clermont, an actor in Bonifas' troupe working under the name of Paul Clarus, who had operated an illegal radio station Madagascar Libre in Madagascar while the island was under Vichy control. Bonifas then appeared in a number of other British films, including Two Fathers with Bernard Miles, directed by Anthony Asquith, and had minor roles in the musicals Heaven Is Round the Corner and Champagne Charlie, the action adventure film The Man from Morocco, the comedy-drama Johnny Frenchman and the horror film Dead of Night. Bonifas returned to France in 1946 and resumed his career in theatre, specializing in comedy, but also taking dramatic roles. His later film career included appearances in Trapeze (1956), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956), Fanny (1961), Charade (1963), Greed in the Sun (1964), The Train (1964), Is Paris Burning? (1966), Triple Cross (1966), and The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1974). Bonifas died on 9 November 1975 at Vernouillet, Yvelines, France. Source: Article "Paul Bonifas" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Feature Films (72)
As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory.
The Train
After Regina Lampert falls for the dashing Peter Joshua on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband's World War II cronies, Tex, Scobie and Gideon, who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines.
Charade
Two people, a Frenchman and a Jewish German woman, meet on a train while escaping the German army entering France.
The Last Train
A truck driver ventures into the Moroccan desert to retrieve a stolen truck, facing danger, bad luck, and uneasy alliances. Chaos builds to a climactic showdown.
Greed in the Sun
During the Korean War, Joe Moran, is convicted for striking a colonel. Imprisoned in Germany he encounters his former company commander Captain Ross, jailed for black marketeering. Together with Ross' cohorts Joe agrees to escape with them, but things go wrong and a policeman is killed. An appalled Joe escapes by himself, abandoning the others, who are recaptured. Years later Joe has a boat rental business where he is found by Ross. Now a wanted drug smuggler he wants the use of Joe's boats and to ensure his cooperation, they kidnap his wife and daughter.
Cold Sweat
Television & Series (8)
The first American television series of Sherlock Holmes adventures aired in syndication in the fall of 1954. The 39 half-hour mostly original stories were produced by Sheldon Reynolds and filmed in France by Guild Films, starring Ronald Howard as Holmes and Howard Marion Crawford as Watson. Archie Duncan appeared in many episodes as Inspector Lestrade. Richard Larke, billed as Kenneth Richards, played Sgt. Wilkins in about fifteen episodes. The series' associate producer, Nicole Milinaire, was one of the first women to attain a senior production role in a television series.
Sherlock Holmes
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
L’Agence O is a famous Parisian private detective firm. Its premises are located in the Passage Choiseul. In front, Torrence leads the shop. In fact, the agency's team is complemented by Émilie le Roux, Mademoiselle Berthe and Barbet, who scrutinize clients through a one-way mirror located behind the desk. Getting hold of a man disguised as an old lady, solving the mystery of the Prisoner of Lagny or discovering who is blackmailing the painter Tigrane Alban does not worry the experts at the O Agency. Les Dossiers de l’Agence O is a French-Canadian television series in thirteen episodes of approximately 55 minutes created by Marc Simenon and broadcast first in Quebec from December 14, 1967 to March 13, 1968 on Télévision de Radio-Canada, then in France from March 11 to June 3, 1968 on the first channel of the ORTF.
