6 best Milady in world cinema: Which of the actresses became the most spectacular "femme fatale with the past"

2023 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 13:10

The historical adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas "The Three Musketeers" has become one of the most popular literary sources for film adaptations in world cinema - in 120 years, starting from the era of silent cinema, more than 100 film versions of it have been released. And one of the most striking characters in all the films was Milady. Some of the actresses in this image looked the most convincing - perhaps because they themselves in life behind the scenes were in many ways similar to their heroine …

In the novel, the author described Milady's appearance as follows: "". However, the question of external similarity was not decisive - it was much more important to grasp the inner essence of this character, and some actresses undoubtedly succeeded!

Barbara La Marr

One of the first images of Milady on the screens was embodied by Barbara La Marr - an American silent film star of the early twentieth century. She starred in the silent film "The Three Musketeers" in 1921, where she appeared in her crown role - a female vamp. Milady in her performance looked mysterious, vile and seductive. The actress herself was distinguished by the same adventurous character, and another adventure novel could be written about her life. Her real name is Rita Dale Watson. The exact data on her parents and date of birth has not been preserved. In infancy, she was taken into a foster family. At the age of 14, she ended up in a juvenile colony, at the age of 16, she began her career as a dancer, performing very frank dances. In the early 1920s. Barbara La Marr conquered Hollywood as a screenwriter and actress, starred in 27 films in 6 years, and in 1926 died at the age of 29, exhausted by alcohol and drug addiction. She went down in the history of cinema as "a girl who was too beautiful" - this is how the actress was called in Hollywood, among whose fans were politicians, movie moguls, millionaires, royals and charlatans.

Lana Turner

In 1948, in another American version of The Three Musketeers, the role of Milady was played by one of the most glamorous, seductive and sensual stars of classic Hollywood, Lana Turner. She largely repeated the fate of her predecessor: at the age of 10 she got into an orphanage, began her career at a young age as a dancer in a nightclub, and at the age of 16 she began acting in films. For the next 20 years, Lana Turner remained one of the brightest stars in Hollywood. She also exploited the image of the femme fatale on the screens and was also known as a heartbreaker, having been married 8 times. Her contributions to cinematography have been starred on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Mylene Demonjo

The best Milady in cinema is often called the French actress Mylene Demongeot. Her father was from Italy, and her mother was Ukrainian, a native of Kharkov. When Mylène Demongeot studied acting, she began a career as a model and fashion model with Christian Dior, and in 1953 she made her film debut. The role of the insidious Milady in the French "Three Musketeers" in 1961 became her calling card and one of the best film works, and this film adaptation is called one of the most successful in world cinema. Mylene Demongeot was called the standard of exquisite French beauty and glamor. The actress is well known in our country too - for many years she has been to Kharkiv every year at the International Festival of Short Films as Honorary President for Life.

Faye Dunaway

One of the most elegant is considered the image of Milady, created by the American actress Faye Dunaway, who was called one of the brightest and most beautiful Hollywood stars at the turn of the 1960-1970s. Popularity and recognition brought her the main role in the film "Bonnie and Clyde", for which she was nominated for an "Oscar", and the actress won the award in 1976 for her role in the film "Network". At the peak of her popularity, she also played the role of Milady in two films - "The Three Musketeers" in 1973 and "The Four Musketeers" in 1974. Producer Robert Evans said about her: "".

Margarita Terekhova

Whoever is called the best Milady abroad, for our viewers there will certainly never be another Milady except Margarita Terekhova. Her beauty cannot be called classic, she did not have perfectly styled curls and bold necklines, like her foreign colleagues, but the image she created was mesmerizing and hit the spot. On the set, the actress showed her character - she did not like the dresses that were offered to her, and she herself came up with a man's suit for her heroine: a black shirt, picked up by a belt, leggings, boots, a black cloak and a hat with a feather. Director Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich recalled: "".

And Terekhova herself said about this work: "".

Milla Jovovich

In the new century, the film versions of The Three Musketeers were farther and farther from the literary source and amazed with new technologies and special effects. The film by Paul Anderson was released in 3D, a comic film was made from the classic adventure novel, and Milady, performed by the director's wife, Milla Jovovich, turned out to be a kind of superwoman. Paul Anderson explained his main idea as follows: "".

And this fatal beauty from the twentieth century. still haunts filmmakers and makes dozens of Hollywood stars try to reproduce her image on screens: Which of the actresses managed to successfully reincarnate in Marilyn Monroe.