She was the undisputed star of pre-war Polish cinema – an audience favourite and, in contemporary reviewers’ minds “the actress with the most beautiful smile”. It is with her that Eugeniusz Bodo “had an appointment at nine” in the film “Piętro wyżej” (“Upstairs”), and in “Pawel i Gaweł” it was she whom he and Adolf Dymsza tried to send off to sleep with that most famous lullaby, “Ach, śpij kochanie” (“Sleep, sleep, my darling”), which is still sung to this day. But that is not the end. Toruń-born Helena Grossówna was preparing to follow in the footsteps of Pola Negri – also from our region – and conquer Hollywood. She had already bought a ticket on a cruise ship to America when war broke out. For the next six years Helena Grossówna played the greatest role of her life, though it is one that went largely unrecognised. Officially, she was a waitress in a Warsaw cafe. Secretly, she was a lieutenant in the Home Army, the commander of a female unit in the Warsaw Uprising, and after the surrender, a prisoner in a German camp. Her Home Army past meant that Polish cinema abandoned its greatest star after 1945. In post-war films she had only a few minor roles. Fortunately, the TV broadcast “W starym kinie” (“In the old cinema”) brought her pre-war roles to younger viewers. Today in Toruń, in the place where Helena Grossówna’s family home once stood, there is now a roundabout bearing her name. This great Pole – an actress and a patriot – deserves to live on in the memory of future generations. Hence the idea for a comic book, a quintessentially pop culture medium, just like cinema of which she was such a star.
Piotr Całbecki Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship
ISBN 978-83-953483-2-7
story
Maciej Jasiński art
Jacek Michalski
.pl tote ka .fn.o rg
story
Fot. FIN A / fo
Maciej Jasiński art Jacek Michalski content advisor Dr Krzysztof Trojanowski translation Tim Brombley, Damian Jasiński
Grace, beauty and a versatile talent! Born in Toruń, the undisputed star of pre-war cinema Helena Grossówna (1904–1994) effortlessly combined dance, singing and acting, delighting lovers of the silver screen, but also opera, theatre, cabaret and revue goers. She was a breath of fresh air to the entertainment world, and audiences quickly fell in love with her, giving her the title “the most beautiful smile in Warsaw”. By the outbreak of World War II, she had appeared in 17 films, and mainly in hit comedies: “Dodek na froncie” (“Dodek on the front”) (directed by M. Waszyński, 1936), “Piętro wyżej” (“Upstairs”) (directed by L. Trystan, 1937), “Paweł i Gaweł” (“Paweł and Gaweł”) (directed by M. Krawicz, 1938), “Szczęśliwa trzynastka” (“Lucky Thirteen”) (directed by M. Czauski, 1938), and “Zapomniana melodia” (“Forgotten melody”) (directed by K. Tom, J. Fethke, 1938). She was also celebrated for her dramatic roles in “Królowa przedmieścia” (“Queen of the suburbs”) (directed by E. Bodo, 1938) and “Testament profesora Wilczura” (“The Testament of Professor Wilczur”) (directed by L. Buczkowski, 1939/1942). However, Grossówna’s adventure with cinema began back in June of 1930, when she found herself near Paris on the set of the first full Polish-language “talkie”, and went down in history for speaking the first Polish words recorded on that film. Since 1926, as a professional dancer, Grossówna had shone on the stage of the Municipal Theatre in Toruń, where she had made her modest debut a little earlier with a minor role in the operetta “Księżniczka czardasza” (“The Gypsy Princess”). Soon, with her future husband, entrepreneur Jan Gierszal, she left for France. In Paris, she attended ballet courses and, with a dance company under the patronage of Pola Negri, she toured France, Italy and Switzerland, where she was applauded by Ignacy Paderewski himself. After returning to her country, she was inundated with proposals from Toruń, Bydgoszcz and Poznań. Performances in the “Różowa kukułka” (“The Pink Cuckoo”) literary cabaret from Poznań revealed her exceptional acting and vocal skills. She also recorded for radio, and her popularity grew rapidly. “If not for the flood and Grossówna, there’d be nothing to write about in the newspapers,” it was said in 1934. Success in the operetta “Jacht miłości” (“Love Yacht”) at the New Theatre in Poznań resulted in an invitation to Warsaw, opening the artist a door to a great career in film. She successfully combined on-camera work with performances in Warsaw cabarets and theatres. Her winning streak was brutally interrupted by the outbreak of war. During the occupation, Helena Grossówna worked as a waitress, also appearing on public stages. At the same time, as a member of a special unit in the Home Army, she was engaged in clandestine activity. She fought in the Warsaw Uprising, commanding a women’s unit of the Sokół battalion as a lieutenant. Her courage in the fight for a free Poland was appreciated by the Polish President in exile, who honoured her with the prestigious Cross of Merit with Swords. After the Uprising was quashed, Grossówna was sent to the Gross-Lübars prisoner-of-war camp, and from there to the stalag in Oberlangen, where she gained the great respect of her fellow prisoners for her exceptional attitude and sacrifice for others. Post-war cinema did not use this still-popular artist’s talents to the extent they deserved. Grossówna appeared just a few times on the small and big screen in supporting roles and bit parts. Until her retirement in 1965, she was an actress at Warsaw’s Syrena Theatre. At the height of her fame Helena Grossówna was referred to in the print media as the “spicy cookie”, partly in reference to the spiced cookies that her hometown is famed for. She won audiences’ hearts with her naturalness and girlish charm spiced with a pinch of sensuality and a dash of mischievous allure. She was not just an icon of 1930s Polish cinema, but also a heroine in the struggle for independence, and at the same time an exceptionally affable, sincere and humble person.
Dr Krzysztof Trojanowski (assistant professor at the Faculty of Philology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Romance scholar and film buff, lover of old cinema, and fan of Helena Grossówna)
ISBN 978-83-953483-2-7 publication date 2020 print run 500 copies publisher Agencja Reklamowa GALL sc ul. Szosa Chełmińska 50, 87-100 Toruń gall@gall.torun.pl commissioned by Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region
Contact: Office of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region in Toruń Address: Plac Teatralny 2, 87-100 Toruń, tel. +48 56: 6218600, 6218610 e-mail: punkt.informacyjny@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl www.kujawsko-pomorskie.pl facebook.com/WojewodztwoKujawskoPomorskie twitter.com/lubietubyc instagram.com/kujawskopomorskie youtube.com/user/umwkp issuu.com/kujawsko-pomorskie flickr.com/photos/kujawskopomorskie
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.pl tote ka .fn.o rg
story
Fot. FIN A / fo
Maciej Jasiński art Jacek Michalski content advisor Dr Krzysztof Trojanowski translation Tim Brombley, Damian Jasiński
Grace, beauty and a versatile talent! Born in Toruń, the undisputed star of pre-war cinema Helena Grossówna (1904–1994) effortlessly combined dance, singing and acting, delighting lovers of the silver screen, but also opera, theatre, cabaret and revue goers. She was a breath of fresh air to the entertainment world, and audiences quickly fell in love with her, giving her the title “the most beautiful smile in Warsaw”. By the outbreak of World War II, she had appeared in 17 films, and mainly in hit comedies: “Dodek na froncie” (“Dodek on the front”) (directed by M. Waszyński, 1936), “Piętro wyżej” (“Upstairs”) (directed by L. Trystan, 1937), “Paweł i Gaweł” (“Paweł and Gaweł”) (directed by M. Krawicz, 1938), “Szczęśliwa trzynastka” (“Lucky Thirteen”) (directed by M. Czauski, 1938), and “Zapomniana melodia” (“Forgotten melody”) (directed by K. Tom, J. Fethke, 1938). She was also celebrated for her dramatic roles in “Królowa przedmieścia” (“Queen of the suburbs”) (directed by E. Bodo, 1938) and “Testament profesora Wilczura” (“The Testament of Professor Wilczur”) (directed by L. Buczkowski, 1939/1942). However, Grossówna’s adventure with cinema began back in June of 1930, when she found herself near Paris on the set of the first full Polish-language “talkie”, and went down in history for speaking the first Polish words recorded on that film. Since 1926, as a professional dancer, Grossówna had shone on the stage of the Municipal Theatre in Toruń, where she had made her modest debut a little earlier with a minor role in the operetta “Księżniczka czardasza” (“The Gypsy Princess”). Soon, with her future husband, entrepreneur Jan Gierszal, she left for France. In Paris, she attended ballet courses and, with a dance company under the patronage of Pola Negri, she toured France, Italy and Switzerland, where she was applauded by Ignacy Paderewski himself. After returning to her country, she was inundated with proposals from Toruń, Bydgoszcz and Poznań. Performances in the “Różowa kukułka” (“The Pink Cuckoo”) literary cabaret from Poznań revealed her exceptional acting and vocal skills. She also recorded for radio, and her popularity grew rapidly. “If not for the flood and Grossówna, there’d be nothing to write about in the newspapers,” it was said in 1934. Success in the operetta “Jacht miłości” (“Love Yacht”) at the New Theatre in Poznań resulted in an invitation to Warsaw, opening the artist a door to a great career in film. She successfully combined on-camera work with performances in Warsaw cabarets and theatres. Her winning streak was brutally interrupted by the outbreak of war. During the occupation, Helena Grossówna worked as a waitress, also appearing on public stages. At the same time, as a member of a special unit in the Home Army, she was engaged in clandestine activity. She fought in the Warsaw Uprising, commanding a women’s unit of the Sokół battalion as a lieutenant. Her courage in the fight for a free Poland was appreciated by the Polish President in exile, who honoured her with the prestigious Cross of Merit with Swords. After the Uprising was quashed, Grossówna was sent to the Gross-Lübars prisoner-of-war camp, and from there to the stalag in Oberlangen, where she gained the great respect of her fellow prisoners for her exceptional attitude and sacrifice for others. Post-war cinema did not use this still-popular artist’s talents to the extent they deserved. Grossówna appeared just a few times on the small and big screen in supporting roles and bit parts. Until her retirement in 1965, she was an actress at Warsaw’s Syrena Theatre. At the height of her fame Helena Grossówna was referred to in the print media as the “spicy cookie”, partly in reference to the spiced cookies that her hometown is famed for. She won audiences’ hearts with her naturalness and girlish charm spiced with a pinch of sensuality and a dash of mischievous allure. She was not just an icon of 1930s Polish cinema, but also a heroine in the struggle for independence, and at the same time an exceptionally affable, sincere and humble person.
Dr Krzysztof Trojanowski (assistant professor at the Faculty of Philology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Romance scholar and film buff, lover of old cinema, and fan of Helena Grossówna)
ISBN 978-83-953483-2-7 publication date 2020 print run 500 copies publisher Agencja Reklamowa GALL sc ul. Szosa Chełmińska 50, 87-100 Toruń gall@gall.torun.pl commissioned by Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region
Contact: Office of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region in Toruń Address: Plac Teatralny 2, 87-100 Toruń, tel. +48 56: 6218600, 6218610 e-mail: punkt.informacyjny@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl www.kujawsko-pomorskie.pl facebook.com/WojewodztwoKujawskoPomorskie twitter.com/lubietubyc instagram.com/kujawskopomorskie youtube.com/user/umwkp issuu.com/kujawsko-pomorskie flickr.com/photos/kujawskopomorskie
She was the undisputed star of pre-war Polish cinema – an audience favourite and, in contemporary reviewers’ minds “the actress with the most beautiful smile”. It is with her that Eugeniusz Bodo “had an appointment at nine” in the film “Piętro wyżej” (“Upstairs”), and in “Pawel i Gaweł” it was she whom he and Adolf Dymsza tried to send off to sleep with that most famous lullaby, “Ach, śpij kochanie” (“Sleep, sleep, my darling”), which is still sung to this day. But that is not the end. Toruń-born Helena Grossówna was preparing to follow in the footsteps of Pola Negri – also from our region – and conquer Hollywood. She had already bought a ticket on a cruise ship to America when war broke out. For the next six years Helena Grossówna played the greatest role of her life, though it is one that went largely unrecognised. Officially, she was a waitress in a Warsaw cafe. Secretly, she was a lieutenant in the Home Army, the commander of a female unit in the Warsaw Uprising, and after the surrender, a prisoner in a German camp. Her Home Army past meant that Polish cinema abandoned its greatest star after 1945. In post-war films she had only a few minor roles. Fortunately, the TV broadcast “W starym kinie” (“In the old cinema”) brought her pre-war roles to younger viewers. Today in Toruń, in the place where Helena Grossówna’s family home once stood, there is now a roundabout bearing her name. This great Pole – an actress and a patriot – deserves to live on in the memory of future generations. Hence the idea for a comic book, a quintessentially pop culture medium, just like cinema of which she was such a star.
Piotr Całbecki Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship
ISBN 978-83-953483-2-7
story
Maciej Jasiński art
Jacek Michalski