45 RPMs 86: Edith Piaf ~ Milord & the Paper Doll

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Edith Piaf - Milord

45 RPM front cover 

artwork by Roger Anney

Today is the birthday of the woman who's song marked a pivotal moment in my life. Milord by Edith Piaf "came out" about the same time I did and I consider it the first "Gay" song I knew. At the time I frequented the Paper Doll, a bar/restaurant in the North Beach section of San Francisco and it was the song played over and over by the patrons.     

 

There is a wonderful history of the Paper Doll and many other venues of the area and the time on the website, Found SF (link below). In 2018 the Paper Doll was named an official SF landmark (links below).       

In the 1952 film noir, The Sniper, starring Marie Windsor and Arthur Franz as a serial killer, the Paper Doll is the scene of the first murder.     

 

 

Arthur Franz - The Sniper
 

 

I found this album on one of my frequent "junking" tours  (link below) on Turk Street in the late sixties and jumped on it.

 

 

Edith Piaf - Milord

45 RPM back cover

 

 

Milord (French: [milɔʁ]) is a term for an Englishman, especially a noble, traveling in Continental Europe. The term was used in both French and English from the 16th century. It derives ultimately from the English phrase "my lord", which was borrowed into Middle French as millourt or milor, meaning a noble or rich man.          

 

The song tells the tale of a woman of the street who spies a gentleman accompanied by a beautiful woman. The man does not see the singer but she dreams of talking to him and what they might have been (link to complete lyrics below).     

                           

Edith Piaf - Milord

45 RPM record

 

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Milord, Lyrics By J. Moustaki*, Music By M. Monnot*

Side 2:

B - Je Sais Comment, Lyrics By, Music By J. Bouquet* & R. Chauvigny*

Companies, etc.

    Record Company – Les Industries Musicales Et Electriques Pathé Marconi
    Printed By – Imp. Carron & Fils
    Pressed By – Pathé Marconi, Chatou – 200666
    Pressed By – Pathé Marconi, Chatou – 200692

 Credits:

 

    Artwork [Cover] – Roger Anney
    Conductor [Orchestre, Direction] – Robert Chauvigny

 

Notes:

Other similar releases:
Edith Piaf - Milord / Je Sais Comment (repressed by Pathé Marconi, Chatou cat# 265809 / 265810)
Edith Piaf - Milord and Edith Piaf - Milord, both printed by Dillard et Cie. Imp. Paris

Les Industries Musicales Et Electriques Pathé Marconi - Paris.
Imp. Carron & Fils - Villeurbanne
Record Made In France.
Sleeve Printed in France.

Barcode and Other Identifiers        

         

    Rights Society: BIEM
    Price Code (Cover): M
    Price Code (Label): Ⓜ
    Matrix / Runout (Label side A): 7 TCL 1219
    Matrix / Runout (Label side B): 7 TCL 1221
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, stamped): 7 TCL 1219 21 M3 200666
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, stamped): 7 TCL 1221 21 M3 200692

Edith Piaf – Milord
Label: Columbia – ESRF 1245
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, EP
Country: France
Released: Nov 1959
Genre: Pop
Style: Chanson

        

        

        

        

Viewfinder links:       

         

Arthur Franz

Milord lyrics              
Édith Piaf         

Piaf at the Olympia & Milord           

Turkish Delights           

Marie Windsor
     
Net links:       

         

Bay Area Reporter ~ SF landmark status recommended for site of North Beach LGBT eatery          

Found SF ~ Before the Castro: North Beach, a Gay Mecca        

NoeHill in SF ~ San Francisco Landmark #287              

SF Planning Department ~ Landmark Designation Case Report               
     
YouTube links:      
        
Milord        

Milord (live)        

      
        
         

        

        

Styrous® ~ Thursday, December 19, 2024

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Arthur Franz articles/mentions

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mentions:      

Member of the Wedding     

Edith Piaf ~ Milord     

          

     

     

     

Arthur Franz - 1956

publicity photo

     

     

     

      

     

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20,000 vinyl LPs 24: The Member of the Wedding

      The Member of the Wedding

         opening title from the film

Julie Harris died today. I was saddened when I heard the news as her spirit was an integral part of an early period of my life through her films. I will never forget them.

My first encounter with the brilliant acting of Harris was with her third film, I Am a Camera, 1955, in which she played, Sally Bowles. This film was based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood; in turn, I Am a Camera was the base for the blockbuster musical, Cabaret, in 1966. In 1955, she also starred in the splendid film, East of Eden, based on the novel by John Steinbeck.

It was her first film, The Member of the Wedding, 1952, which I didn't see until sometime in 1955, with her character of Frances 'Frankie' Addams that made me fall in love with her. Member of the Wedding was based on the Carson McCullers novel of the same name. I will always remember her soft, gentle dialogues with John Henry (Brandon De Wilde). Nor will I forget the wonderful interchanges between her character Frankie and Berenice Sadie Brown (Ethel Waters). I used to think the "Frankie" and "Sally" roles couldn't have been more contrasting but later realized this is not so.

In Member of the Wedding, she plays Frankie Addams, a boyish, articulate 12-year-old girl, who is going through an unhappy stage of her life, having been spurned by the neighborhood girls and friendless. She spends most of her time in the kitchen talking to her maid, Bernice (Ethel Waters), and the young boy next door, John Henry (Brandon De Wilde). Her brother Jarvis (Arthur Franz) is going to marry Janice (Nancy Gates), and Frankie imagines that she will leave town with them. Her unrealistic plans become too obviously unworkable. She runs away from home but has a disastrous encounter with a soldier who tries to have sex with her. Berenice learns that her foster brother, Honey, has been involved in a hit-and-run accident with a stolen car and ends up in jail. Several months pass, John Henry has died, and because Frankie's family is moving, they no longer need a housekeeper. Frankie says goodbye to Berenice who reflects sadly on the death of John Henry and Honey's prison sentence, but Frankie has her mind on the teenage boy down the street, says goodbye and skips out of the house. As the film ends Berenice has tears in her eyes, a sad smile on her face and hums quietly to herself. Has Frankie learned nothing from all this? It is a sad and bitter movie.

Julie Harris (left) as Frankie Addams, 

Ethel Waters as Berenice Sadie Brown, 

and Brandon de Wilde as John Henry 

film still

When I think about the endings of both the films, I Am a Camera and The Member of the Wedding, I realize both roles actually are similar in that both characters end the film with a non-nonchalance for what has happened that is somewhat disturbing. In spite of the negative qualities of the films, the performances turned in by the cast of both make them gems of cinema.

Ms. Harris starred in almost a hundred (99) films and TV appearances; they are all listed at the Imdb website.

I have the vinyl LP recording of the Member of the Wedding with Carson McCullers reading from The Member of the Wedding and other works on MGM Records which I will listen to and recollect my thoughts and feelings all those many decades ago when I first met Julie Harris as Frankie.

Clips from The Member of the Wedding film can be seen at:

Turner Classic Movies
Opening credits
It Don't Do
Green & Crazy Summer

YouTube:
Eyes On the Sparrow (Ethel Waters singing)
Bernice's husband          

Carson McCullers ~ The Member Of The Wedding          


Julie Harris was 87 years old. She will live forever in my heart as Frankie.

The entire collection is for sale. Interested? Contact Styrous®

Styrous® ~ Sunday August 25, 2013

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