Nicolas de Gunzburg helped make Vampyr possible and gave it an uncertain, stiff leading presence that suits its unease. We value the producer more than the actor, though Dreyer found a use for his limitations.
Fi1m perspective
In Vampyr (1932), Nicolas de Gunzburg's Allan Grey has little of the ease we usually expect from a leading man. His stiff presence makes him a poor source of reassurance, which is useful in a film so intent on leaving us lost. We felt uneasy watching him because he never seems capable of making sense of what surrounds him. De Gunzburg is a limited performer, well suited to this particular film, and a producer whose contribution deserves attention beyond his appearance in front of the camera.
He acted under the name Julian West in his only film, having agreed to finance it in exchange for the lead role. De Gunzburg supplied essential independent backing for Dreyer's first sound film when studio support was unavailable. That is a substantial contribution, though it tells us little about how he might have worked across a longer producing career. He later worked in fashion publishing; our judgement of him in cinema rests on this one collaboration, which was consequential enough.
Dreyer directed the inexperienced actor towards minimal facial expression and the slowed movement of someone in a dream. Grey appears to have little control over what surrounds him, and de Gunzburg's lack of assurance fits that helplessness. Yet Sybille Schmitz, as Léone, holds our attention more readily: her unreadability gives us more to watch than his stiffness does. The acting can be awkward, and the film benefits from that awkwardness without quite making us forget it.
The hazy storytelling is the larger obstacle, and anyone looking for a reassuring guide will find Grey an unhelpful companion. But Dreyer's close scrutiny of faces and disorienting cutting sustain a discomfort that makes the effort worthwhile. De Gunzburg's production work gave that filmmaking a chance; his performance helps keep it peculiar. Give Vampyr time, rather than expecting its leading man to make it easier.
Biography
Nicolas de Gunzburg, also known by the screen name Julian West, was a French actor and producer. He financed and produced the 1932 horror film Vampyr, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, and starred in it as Allan Grey.
Born in Paris in 1904 to a wealthy Russian-Jewish banking family, de Gunzburg was a prominent socialite in interwar Paris, known for hosting extravagant costume balls. Following the film's release and his father's death, he emigrated to the United States in 1934.
In America he became a fashion editor, serving as editor-in-chief of Town & Country and as a senior fashion editor at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1971 and mentored designers including Calvin Klein, Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta. He died in New York in 1981.
