Femme fatale and icon of European cinema
Filmplakat, Les Vampires, Folge „Les Yeux Qui Fascinent“, 1916, © CCO 1.0 Wikimedia
After Loïe Fuller and Lotte Reiniger, there is a new discovery in museum cinema: the revolutionary but almost forgotten Jeanne Roques (1889-1957), one of the first vamp actresses in European film history!
Known by her stage name Musidora, the actress was the star of the 1915 French silent film series "The Vampires". As Irma Vep, she led a gang who called themselves vampires. With her dark-rimmed eyes, black balaclava and catsuit, she became a cult figure in early film and a forerunner of later film characters such as the American Catwoman.
Unbekannt, Musidora in ihrer berühmtesten Rolle als Irma Vep in ihrem legendären Catsuit, ca. 1915, © CCO 1.0 Wikimedia