Alexandre Bisson
Alexandre Bisson | |
|---|---|
 Alexandre Bisson | |
| Born | Alexandre Charles Auguste Bisson 9 April 1848 |
| Died | 27 January 1912 (aged 63) |
| Occupation(s) | Playwright, vaudevillist, novelist |
| Spouse(s) | Juliette Bisson, sculptress and psychical researcher |
Alexandre Bisson (9 April 1848 – 27 January 1912) was a French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist. Born in Briouze, Orne in Lower Normandy, he was successful in his native France as well as in the United States. Remembered as a significant creator of Parisian vaudeville, in collaboration with Edmond Gondinet, Bisson's 1881 three-act comedy Un Voyage d'agrément was performed at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris.
In 1892, the first of a Bisson's dozen plays came to New York City's Broadway stage. Of his works, Bisson is best remembered for his play Madame X that was performed in 1910 both in Paris and on Broadway with Sarah Bernhardt in the leading role. Over the years, the play would be revived for Broadway three times and nine Madame X motion pictures in several languages have been filmed. The first silent screen adaptation was in 1916 and the latest in 2000. Better-known versions include a 1929 sound film starring Ruth Chatterton and directed by Lionel Barrymore plus the 1966 film starring Lana Turner. In 2006, a musical based on the original play was produced in Chicago.
Bisson also adapted the 1910 best-selling Florence Barclay novel, The Rosary as a three-act play for the Paris stage. Widely acclaimed in the United States, Alexandre Bisson was invited to write about the theatre by The Saturday Evening Post and his articles "The Dilemmas of the Theater'" and "How the World Contributes to the American Stage" were published in 1912.
Alexandre Bisson died in Paris in 1912 at the age of 63.
Selected works for stage
- 1882: 115, Rue Pigalle
- 1886: Une Mission délicate
- 1886: Un Conseil judiciaire
- 1887: Ma gouvernante
- 1888: Les Surprises du divorce (with Antony Mars)
- 1892: Le Député de Bombignac)
- 1893: Le Veglione (le Bal masqué)) (with Albert Carré)
- 1895: Monsieur le Directeur ! (with Fabrice Carré)
- 1896: Disparu !
- 1897: Jalouse
- 1897: La famille Pont-Biquet
- 1898: Feu Toupinel (adapted by William Gillette as Mr. Wilkinson's Widows)
- 1898: Le Contrôleur des wagons-lits
- 1900: Château historique !
- 1901: Le Bon juge
- 1907: Les Plumes du paon
- 1908: Madame X
- 1910: Nick Carter vs. Fantômas (with Guillaume Livet) (translated ISBN 978-1-934543-05-4)
Filmography
Madame X Adaptations
- Madame X (1910 film)
- Madame X, directed by George F. Marion (1916), starring Dorothy Donnelly as Jacqueline Floriot
- Madame X, directed by Frank Lloyd (1920), starring Pauline Frederick as Jacqueline Fleuriot
- Madame X, directed by Lionel Barrymore (1929), starring Ruth Chatterton as Jacqueline Fleuriot
- La mujer X, directed by Carlos F. Borcosque (Spanish-language, 1931), starring María Fernanda Ladrón de Guevara as Jaquelina
- Madame X, directed by Sam Wood (1937), starring Gladys George as Jacqueline Fleuriot
- The Trial of Madame X, directed by Paul England (UK, 1948), starring Mara Russell-Tavernan as Jacqueline
- Madame X, directed by Artemio B. Tecson (Philippines, 1952), starring Alicia Vergel
- Madame X, directed by Orestis Laskos (Greece, 1954), starring Cybele as Lina Flerianos
- Madame X, directed by Julián Soler (Mexico, 1955), starring Libertad Lamarque as Adriana
- Madame X, directed by David Lowell Rich (1966), starring Lana Turner as Holly Parker
- Madame X, directed by Robert Ellis Miller (1981, TV film), starring Tuesday Weld as Holly Richardson
- Madame X (2000 film)
Other Adaptations
- Her Beloved Villain, directed by Sam Wood (1920, based on the play Le Veglione ou le Bal masqué)
- Le sorprese del divorzio, directed by Guido Brignone (Italy, 1923, based on the play Les Surprises du divorce)
- La Famille Pont-Biquet, directed by Christian-Jaque (France, 1935, based on the play La Famille Pont-Biquet)
- Êtes-vous jalouse ?, directed by Henri Chomette (France, 1938, based on the play Jalouse)
- Le sorprese del divorzio, directed by Guido Brignone (Italy, 1939, based on the play Les Surprises du divorce)
- Mi fortuna por un nieto, directed by Luis Bayón Herrera (Argentina, 1940)
- Las sorpresas del divorcio, directed by Roberto Ratto (Argentina, 1943, based on the play Les Surprises du divorce)
- Les femmes sont folles, directed by Gilles Grangier (France, 1950, based on the play Château historique)
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