1. – Michel Simon, La Chienne, France, 1931. There are several stories about the casting of Maurice and his lethal mistress, Lulu – a hooker, unknown to him. According to co-producer Pierre Braunberger, Jean Renoir’s “final” choice (not quite!) was Baur and Florelle. When Chaplin ran the film for his Hollywood friends, he called Simon “the greatest actor in the world.” (And Renoir, of course, was the greatest director).
2. – Raimu, Fanny, France, 1932. Raimu refused the second chapitre of the Marseilles trilogy on-stage. He even refused the film, probably knowing (before writer Marcel Pagnol did) that Baur was unavailable. “César is me, not him!”
3. – Gabriel Gabrio, Regain/Harvest, France, 1937. Another lost Marcel Pagnol film… Gabrio starred in the first (silent) version of Les Miserables, 1913; Baur was the definitive Valjean in the 1933 version.
Birth year: 1880Death year: 1943Other name: Casting Calls: 3