Allure: Gwili Andre

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Gwili Andre

Gwili Andre was born Gurli Andresen in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 4, 1908. She got her Hollywood break courtesy of David O. Selznick, who cast her opposite Richard Dix in Roar of the Dragon (1932), her first film. This was followed by Secrets of the French Police (1932). In the NYT review she was characterized as "handsome and quite competent." I should mention that I watched this film earlier this week and would concur. Unfortunately other reviewers and the public weren't particularly impressed with her or either film. Despite the lukewarm reception, she was given support of the studios and was even featured on the cover of the October 1932 issue of The New Movie Magazine. Unfortunately the publicity didn't enhance her popularity. She appeared in only five other films, all in non-starring roles, before giving up her career. Her final role was a minor part in The Falcon's Brother in 1942.

Gwili's death in 1959 was a bizarre suicide fueled by alcoholism and the disillusionment of a promising career that never materialized. Alone in her Venice, California apartment, she gathered together all the publicity stills and promotional material from her early career and set them ablaze, allowing herself to be consumed by the flames. She died later of her injuries.