Marpessa Dawn, Eurydice In The Film 'Black Orpheus,' 74, NY Times
DGH
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/movies/27dawn.html?ref=obituaries
Marpessa Dawn, Eurydice in the Film 'Black Orpheus,' Dies at 74
By DENNIS HEVESI [New York Times]
Marpessa Dawn, who played the beautiful, melancholic and doomed Eurydice in
the classic 1959 Brazilian movie "Black Orpheus," died on August 25 [2008]
at her home in Paris [France]. She was 74.
The cause was a heart attack, her daughter Dhyana Kluth said.
Ms. Dawn's death followed by 41 days that of her "Black Orpheus" co-star,
Bruno Melo, who played the title role. The family did not publicly announce
the death until this week.
Directed by Marcel Camus and based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and
Eurydice, "Orfeu Negro," as it is called in Portuguese, brings together an
innocent country girl, played by Ms. Dawn, and a trolley car motorman and
gifted guitarist, portrayed by Mr. Melo. They meet amid the frenzy of Rio's
carnival and are soon swaying to a provocative samba among the crowds. But
Eurydice is stalked by a man in a skeleton costume. Eventually, Orpheus
finds her in the morgue. In the end, bearing her body in his arms, he falls
to his death from a cliff.
Reviewing the film for The New York Times in 1959, Bosley Crowther wrote
that Ms. Dawn conveys "forthright emotion."
"A pretty, frank face and a gentle manner that suggest absolute innocence,"
the review continued, "gather an aura of wistfulness about her that filters
down into a melancholy mood."
"Black Orpheus" became renowned for its soundtrack by the bossa nova legends
Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá, with songs like "Manhã de Carnaval" and
"A Felicidade." It won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and
the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for best foreign film in 1960.
Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor was born near Pittsburgh on Jan. 3, 1934. As a
teenager, she moved to England, where she had bit parts on television, and
later to France, where she worked as a governess and danced and sang in
nightclubs.
After her role in "Black Orpheus," Ms. Dawn appeared in several less
successful movies and on French television. She also starred in several
plays, including "Chérie Noire," a comedy that toured France, Belgium,
Switzerland, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
Ms. Dawn was married twice. Besides her daughter Ms. Kluth, she is survived
by four other children and four grandchildren.
ZapRatz
> Marpessa Dawn, who played the beautiful, melancholic and doomed Eurydice in
> the classic 1959 Brazilian movie "Black Orpheus,"
I first saw that film about a decade ago and, I believe, an additional
time since then. I liked it a lot and although I don't recall much of
it, I recommend folks to check it out.
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As of the day this message is being posted there are,
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Magnus
I remember the extraordinary crowd scenes as different dance clubs
compete for a prize, each following the other. The death-masked man,
Death himself, who seeks for Eurydice, is on her trail here, and the
action becomes very intense. It is like Hitchcock crossed with
Fellini.
The film is a beautiful evocation of the old myth. I'm sorry to hear
of Ms. Dawn's death.
magnus
Jane Margaret Laight
>
> - Show quoted text -
I am very sorry to hear of both her death and that of her co-star,
Breno [note spelling] Mello (September 7); I loved that movie and have
always looked for pieces of the movie whenever I went to Rio or some
place during Carnival..
And here is an interesting connection between the movie and one of the
presidential candidates:
http://neoneocon.com/2008/09/06/rip-bruno-mello/
JML
who thinks "Marpessa" is a lovely name for a girl