Lily Bouwmeester
Also Known As: not available
Biography: Lily Geertruida Maria Henriëtte Bouwmeester (1901–1993) was a Dutch stage and film actress, who received an honorary Golden Calf for being "the best actress in Pre-War Dutch cinema". The daughter of two musicians, Bouwmeester spent her youth touring Europe with her parents. When constant travelling proved to be too exhausting, she moved in with her aunt, actress Theo Mann-Bouwmeester. She dreamed to become a dancer, but her aunt demanded for her to become an actress and sent her to several auditions. At the age of 14, she debuted in a stage production by Herman Heijermans. Bouwmeester made her screen debut in silent film Majoor Frans (1916). In 1917, she landed a contract with a prestigious theatre in Amsterdam and performed at the Stadsschouwburg, receiving much acclaim from theatre critics. While working on a play in 1920, she met actor Theo Frenkel Jr., whom she married in 1921. Soon after that she left the Stadsschouwburg to produce her own plays with her husband. After her divorce in the early 30s, Bouwmeester decided she needed a break and left the theatre. She did not, however, give up acting. In 1935, when the sound film had just been introduced in the Netherlands, she auditioned for the lead role in The Cross-Patch (1935), but had no luck. She was noticed by director Ludwig Berger, who cast her in Pygmalion (1937). The production was a success; Bouwmeester became an instant star and was offered a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures. She declined, however, because her new husband, actor Cor van der Lugt Melsert, was unwilling to travel to the United States with her. During World War II, Bouwmeester secretly took in two Jewish children in her home. After the liberation in 1945, she was offered movie roles again, but declined all offers. She decided to return to theatre instead and played in the famous stage production of Pygmalion. In 1969, she resigned from acting completely.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Birthday: September 28, 1901
Deathday: July 12, 1993
Adult: No
Gender: Female
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Known For:
Pro Domo
Overview: Count De Grancé have two degenerate children. For the adolescent daughter there is still some hope, as her main vice appears to be that she devours the novels of Emile Zola. The son leads a dissolute life in gambling dens, where he cheats at cards, and in night-clubs he associates with dancers. [As of 2024, it appears only a 12-minute fragment of the film survives, at EYE Filmmuseum.]
Genres: Crime
Original Language: xx
Release Date: 1918-09-21
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Koffie Hag Spaart Hart en Zenuwen
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1931-02-07
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Somewhere in the Netherlands
Overview: Mobilization on the brink of the Second World War divides a husband and wife. When lawyer Frans van Loon is called up to join the mine clearance service he doesn't want to worry his wife and keeps it from her. His secretiveness leads her to believe he doesn't love her anymore. She subsequently falls for the charms of an actor. When Frans finds out, a violent quarrel ensues.
Genres: War Drama Romance
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1940-04-19
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Pygmalion
Overview: Prof. Henry Higgens takes a wager on turning a low class flower seller named Liesje Doeluttel into a presentably lady. Adaptation of Bernard Shaw's play.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1937-02-26
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Major Frans
Overview: When his granddaughter is born, debt-ridden Colonel von Zwenken misses out on Aunt Roselaar's allowance of 20,000 guilders. Anxious to keep the money, his son-in-law telegraphs the aunt that a son was born, Frans, and the girl is brought up as a boy. Based on the novel by Anna L.G. Bosboom-Toussaint.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1916-08-25
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The Secret of Delft
Overview: The secret from the title is the lost recipe for shiny Delft pottery, that Jan Vogel is desperately trying to rediscover. For his attempts he needs platinum, but the funds run out because the factory owner Van Haaften has lost his money in stock-speculations. Luckily for Jan, he finds a farewell letter in the park, including a large sum of money. Meanwhile, the owner's son Leo confesses his love for Jan's daughter Annie, but Van Haaften forbids their marriage.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: xx
Release Date: 1917-03-09
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Tomorrow It Will Be Better
Overview: Still coming to terms with the death of her mother, Willy Verhulst loses her father as well -- just as she is about to sit her final exams. She manages to pass, and as she is trying to find a job she remembers a young man she met in the hospital. The boy, Herder, works for a radio station and gives her a job as a secretary.
Genres: Comedy Romance Music
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1939-02-23
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Daddy Long Legs
Overview: Judy Aalders grows up in an orphanage. Albert Woudenberg happens to be present when Judy confronts the trustees of the orphanage and is expelled. He decides to send her to university and Judy, who has only ever seen his shadowy long legs, refers to him as 'Daddy-Long-Legs' from that day. Not knowing he is in fact her benefactor, Judy's relationship with Albert gradually turns into love.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1938-10-06
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Forty Years
Overview: This government commissioned film -- made on the occasion of the forty year anniversary of queen Wilhelmina's reign -- chronicles the lives of two Dutch families from 1898 to 1938 against the backdrop of the social and political events of the times. It shows the emergence of trade unions, the troubled years of the First World War, the development of aviation and Schiphol airport, the Dutch East Indies and the lives of the Dutch royal family.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1938-01-10
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The Devil in Amsterdam
Overview: The devil has arrived in Amsterdam, hell-bent on bombarding a poor girl, a wealthy banker and a young painter with great misfortune. This film is presumed lost.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: xx
Release Date: 1919-03-21
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De man zonder hart
Overview: When his colleague presents him with (forged) evidence of his wife Sylvette's unfaithfulness, factory owner Jean Sourdier kills him in a fit of rage. After fifteen years in prison he is determined to take revenge on his wife by killing Ninette, a daughter from her second marriage.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1937-04-23
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Ulbo Garvema
Overview: In the prologue, a boat with some shipwrecked persons is drifting at sea. Among them is Baron van Waldheim, who, before he dies of exhaustion, entrusts his little son Alfred to the care of his butler Hendrik. The evil Jan van Oort persuades Hendrik to give him the Baron's papers. When they put the boy ashore, he wounds himself on a nail (leaving a scar that will later prove his identity). For years Van Oort manages to pass himself off as Baron van Waldheim; he is married and has a daughter and a son. One day Hendrik turns up demanding a job as butler, swearing that otherwise he will betray Van Oort's secret. Meanwhile, Alfred - now an adult known as Ulbo Garvema - has become a teacher. Unaware of who Van Oort really is, he accepts the position of tutor to Van Oort's children. He falls in love with the daughter, but Van Oort refuses to give his consent to their marriage. Ulbo and the girl elope.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: xx
Release Date: 1917-11-02
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Het goudvischje
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: xx
Release Date: 1919-07-12
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