Actor. Born in Tirlemont, Belgium, he began his career in the theater and toured through Europe, Canada and South America, after which he joined the Comedie Française in Paris. When the Nazis marched into France in 1940, he went to the USA where he was much in demand for playing spies and villains in Hollywood films. Francen's films include "Crépuscule d'épouvante" (1921), "La Neige sur les Pas" (1923), "La Fin du Monde" (1931), "J'accuse!" (1938), "La Vierge Folle" (1938) and "La Fin du Jour" (1939), Hold Back the Dawn" (1941), "Tales of Manhattan" (1942), "Mission to Moscow" (1943), "Madame Curie" (1943), "The Desert Song" (1943), "The Mask of Dimitrios" (1944), "Confidential Agent" (1945), "The Beast with Five Fingers" (1946), "A Farewell to Arms" (1957), "Der Tiger von Eschnapur" (1959), "Das indische Grabmal" (1959), "Journey to the Lost City" (1959), "Fanny" (1961) and "Top Crack" (1966), his last role. He was married to actress Mary Marquet. He died in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Actor. Born in Tirlemont, Belgium, he began his career in the theater and toured through Europe, Canada and South America, after which he joined the Comedie Française in Paris. When the Nazis marched into France in 1940, he went to the USA where he was much in demand for playing spies and villains in Hollywood films. Francen's films include "Crépuscule d'épouvante" (1921), "La Neige sur les Pas" (1923), "La Fin du Monde" (1931), "J'accuse!" (1938), "La Vierge Folle" (1938) and "La Fin du Jour" (1939), Hold Back the Dawn" (1941), "Tales of Manhattan" (1942), "Mission to Moscow" (1943), "Madame Curie" (1943), "The Desert Song" (1943), "The Mask of Dimitrios" (1944), "Confidential Agent" (1945), "The Beast with Five Fingers" (1946), "A Farewell to Arms" (1957), "Der Tiger von Eschnapur" (1959), "Das indische Grabmal" (1959), "Journey to the Lost City" (1959), "Fanny" (1961) and "Top Crack" (1966), his last role. He was married to actress Mary Marquet. He died in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni
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