LOUIS JOURDAN

     Louis Jourdan was born in France and became an American citizen. He was pretty much typecast as a debonair Continental bon-vivant, a niche he got tired of fighting and later embraced. He lived to be 93, and his film characterization notwithstanding, was married to his beloved Bette for 58 years. She died last year; he quickly followed.
     Mr. Jourdan's first significant role is in Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947). The plot is too complicated to summarize here. Full of Hitchcockian surprises, it features Charles Laughton, Gregory Peck, Ethel Barrymore and Charles Coburn. Seen at first as a low-grade servant, Mr. Jourdan turns out to be the pivotal character of the film.
     In the first of many editions of Madame Bovary (1949) Louis Jourdan plays the caddish Rodolphe Boulanger who woos, wins and leaves in the the lurch the title character, played by Jennifer Jones. He is suave, debonair and hateful- a good job!
      Three Coins In The Fountain (1954) is a rather sappy romantic film more famous for the title song by the Four Aces than the movie. Louis Jourdan is perfectly cast as the playboy prince Dino di Cessi who has a well-deserved reputation as a womanizer. He woos, wins and throws over All-American girl Maria Williams (Maggie MacNamara). But this is a a 50's Hollywood film, so of course everyone falls into the proper arms at the Trevi fountain by the end.
     Gigi (1958) is a musical Parisian love story with Maurice Chevailer as an aging roue' and Louis Jourdan as hs playboy nephew Gaston. Leslie Caron is shopped out as a proposed mistress, but she isn't having that. Eventually Gigi and Gaston find they are meant for each other after all and there is a beautiful wedding to look at. This movie features Mr. Chevalier's rendition of the rather creepy "Thank Heaven For Little Girls." The title song, sung very creditably by Mr. Jourdan, is quite good.
     After several more Parisian playboy roles, Louis Jourdan landed the bad guy part of Prince Khan in the 007 thriller Octopussy (1980), This particular James Bond film features Roger Moore, rather effective as the iconic hero. The plot involves a real and a fake Faberge egg and a scintillating finale with everyone on an airplane that is about to crash. You'll be amazed to remember that Bond somehow lives through all this and that the villainous Khan doesn't make it.
     Louis Jourdan liked playing the baddie for a change, and really swung to the far end of villainy in the campy Swamp Thing (1982), He is the evil Anton Arcane, whose really awful lab work turns the hero from a regular guy into the title character. But the Thing rescues beautiful Adrienne Barbeau and the two successfully battle the bad guy.
     All of the movies in this column are available on DVD and for streaming. All are OK for all ages.