Michel Lemoine

Michel Lemoine was a French actor, film director, writer, and producer known for his extensive career in theater, mainstream and genre cinema, and later in erotic and adult films. ^[1] Born Michel Charles Lemoine on September 30, 1922, in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, he trained under René Alexandre of the Comédie Française in the 1940s and began his professional life in student theater productions, securing his first major stage role as Lenny in an adaptation of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. ^[2] He maintained steady stage work through the 1950s while taking small film roles starting in the late 1940s. ^[1] Lemoine's acting career expanded significantly in the 1960s, particularly through appearances in Italian genre films across Westerns, thrillers, science fiction, spy movies, and costume dramas, where he collaborated with directors including Mario Bava, Jesús Franco, Julien Duvivier, Antonio Margheriti, and José Bénazéraf. ^[1] A notable breakthrough came with his role as Marco in The Prisoner of the Iron Mask (1961). ^[1] He made his directorial debut in 1970 with How Short Is the Time for Love, followed by Les désaxées (1972), which generated controversy at the Cannes Film Festival, and Seven Women for Satan (1976), an unconventional take on The Most Dangerous Game that earned an X certificate in France and was restricted to specialized adult cinemas. ^[1] In the late 1970s and 1980s, Lemoine increasingly focused on directing and writing soft-core erotic and explicit hardcore adult films, often using pseudonyms such as Michel Leblanc or Michel Blanc and working with performers like Olinka Hardiman. ^[1] Lemoine died on July 27, 2013, in Vinon, Cher, France, at the age of 90. ^[1]

Early life

Early life and training

Michel Charles Lemoine was born on September 30, 1922, in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. ^[1] He began his acting career in the theatre during the 1940s, performing in numerous classic productions in Paris theatres. ^[3] His stage work continued through the 1950s, including directing and performing in the play Le Préféré by Renée Delamare at the Théâtre Charles de Rochefort during the 1951-1952 season. ^[4] Lemoine made his transition to cinema in the late 1940s, with early roles appearing around 1948 through opportunities provided by Sacha Guitry. ^[3]

Acting career

Early roles in French cinema

Michel Lemoine began his acting career in French cinema at the end of the 1940s, making his screen debut under the patronage of Sacha Guitry, who cast him in Le diable boiteux (1948) and Le trésor de Cantenac (1949). ^[3] He went on to collaborate with notable French director Julien Duvivier, appearing in La fête à Henriette (1952) among other productions of the era. ^[3] His elegant physique and attractive appearance led to frequent typecasting as a jeune premier, or romantic leading man, in French comedies and dramas throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s. ^[3] This role archetype suited his charm and allowed him to feature in numerous light-hearted and dramatic films during this formative period of his career. ^[5] Lemoine balanced his early film work with ongoing theatre performances, which he had pursued since the 1940s and continued until the late 1950s. ^[3] His early cinema roles established him as a reliable presence in postwar French film, often in supporting or lead capacities that highlighted his sophisticated on-screen persona. ^[6]

Roles in Italian genre films

In the 1960s, Michel Lemoine shifted his career toward Italian genre cinema, appearing prolifically in peplums, science fiction, spaghetti westerns, Eurospy adventures, and erotic-tinged horror and exploitation films, often in co-productions between Italy and France. ^{[7] [8]} He took on a leading role in the science fiction picture Planets Against Us (1962), directed by Romano Ferrara, marking one of his first prominent parts in this vein. ^[8] During this period he also appeared in the peplum Hercules vs. Moloch (1963), the swashbuckler The Prisoner of the Iron Mask (1961), the Eurospy Mission to Caracas (1965), and The Lost Woman (1966). Lemoine frequently collaborated with exploitation directors known for boundary-pushing material. He worked repeatedly with José Bénazéraf on early erotic features including Sin on the Beach, Night of Lust, and Joe Caligula. ^[8] In 1964 he played the villain in Mario Bava's directorial debut in the western genre, The Road to Fort Alamo, and later appeared in another spaghetti western, Cemetery Without Crosses (1969). ^{[7] [8]} He participated in Antonio Margheriti's Gamma I science fiction series, including The War of the Planets (1966). ^{[9] [8]} His most notable recurring partnership was with Jesús Franco, often appearing alongside his then-wife Janine Reynaud in erotic horror films such as Succubus (1968), Kiss Me Monster (1969), and Sadisterotica (also known as Two Undercover Angels, 1969), where he portrayed the character Morpho. ^{[8] [10]} He also featured in the horror film Castle of the Creeping Flesh (1968). ^[11] Lemoine's roles in these Italian genre works frequently cast him as villains, enigmatic figures, or characters with mysterious or otherworldly qualities in films blending eroticism and fantastique elements. ^[8] His striking, handsome yet otherworldly appearance earned him recognition as possessing an uncanny screen presence and as one of the most extraordinary faces of the Eurofantastique. ^[8]

Directing career

Debut and 1970s works

Michel Lemoine transitioned to directing in the early 1970s, beginning with his uncredited co-direction of the 1970 film Comme il est court le temps d'aimer alongside Pier A. Caminnecci. ^[3] He frequently collaborated with his wife, actress Janine Reynaud, who appeared in several of his early directorial efforts, including this debut. His first fully credited solo feature as director was Les Désaxées (1972), a work he described as containing strong autobiographical elements. ^[12] In this and subsequent films, Lemoine often served multiple roles, writing, directing, and acting in his own productions. ^[13] Throughout the 1970s, he directed a series of erotic and genre-inflected films, including Les Chiennes (1973, also known as Le Manoir aux louves), in which he also appeared as an actor alongside Reynaud, Les Confidences érotiques d'un lit trop accueillant (1973, also known as Les Frôleuses), and Les petites saintes y touchent (1974, also known as Jeunes filles en extase). ^{[3] [13]} Lemoine's 1976 horror-erotic film Les Week-ends maléfiques du Comte Zaroff (also known as Seven Women for Satan), where he directed, wrote, and starred as the titular Comte Boris Zaroff, received an X certificate in France and was restricted to specialized adult cinemas. ^{[3] [12]}

1980s and later adult films

In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, Michel Lemoine transitioned to directing hardcore adult films, often crediting himself under the pseudonym Michel Leblanc. ^[1] His works during this period included Excitation au soleil (1978), Neige brûlante (1984), L'Île des jouissances sauvages (1986), and Hotspots (1987), all of which exemplified the explicit erotic content that defined his output under this alias. ^{[1] [14]} Lemoine frequently collaborated with adult actress Olinka Hardiman, directing her in multiple productions and notably casting her in the lead role of Marilyn, mon amour (1985), where her resemblance to Marilyn Monroe was central to the narrative and contributed to her prominence in French adult cinema during the decade. ^{[15] [1]}

Personal life

Family and pseudonyms

Michel Lemoine was married to French actress Janine Reynaud, who frequently co-starred in his films during the 1960s and 1970s, including in projects he directed such as Les désaxées (1972) and appeared alongside him in earlier works. ^{[16] [17]} Their marriage lasted for a time before they separated. ^[16] In his directing work, Lemoine often collaborated with a core group of actresses, including Martine Azencot and Nathalie Zeiger, who featured in multiple productions such as Seven Women for Satan (1976) and Les chiennes (1973). ^{[18] [19]} Professionally, Lemoine adopted several pseudonyms, particularly for his 1980s hardcore adult films, most notably Michel Leblanc, along with John Armando and Michel Blanc. ^{[2] [7]}

Death

Death and burial

Michel Lemoine died on July 27, 2013, in Sancerre, Cher, France, at the age of 90. ^[2] The cause of his death was not disclosed. ^[2] A religious ceremony was held on August 1, 2013, in the church at Vinon, Cher. ^[20]