“I confess it, I love the camera. When it’s not on me, I’m not quite alive” – Bujold. Those were the days. Two of my favorite people just played on TCM in Obsession (1976), Cliff Robertson and Bujold. For those not familiar with the movie the wealthy Robertson is obsessed with the memory of his deceased wife Elizabeth, that Bujold is the spitting image of. They call this Brian De Palma’s homage to Hitchcock. I call it Bujold’s best movie. Okay half kidding there. Kind of like Grace Kelly in Rear Window, that moment in time when she was at her peak, De Palma was, and the composer for the score Bernard Herrmann was at his absolute best. In fact there’s a funny little story involving Herrmann and Bujold I’ll put below:

“Composer Bernard Herrmann became infatuated with Bujold after seeing her performance in an early cut of “Obsession“. His feelings were heightened by Bujold’s surprise visit to the soundtrack recording sessions in London in July 1975, the only time the two met in person. Herrmann’s friend Charles Gerhardt recalled, “As she spoke to Benny in a heavy French accent I could tell he was about to get the hanky out. She told him of all the trouble she’d had with Cliff Robertson because he spent all his time in makeup and didn’t make their love scenes meaningful. She said, ‘Mr. Herrmann, he wouldn’t make love to me – but you made love to me with your music‘. And Benny started to cry. He would tell that story over and over at dinner, and start crying again every time”. After Herrmann’s death five months later, his widow found a photo of Bujold in his wallet.”

Oh! Wonderful story! (turns out from research Robertson was a pain to work with the whole time. He was just coming off of Three Days of the Condor and Midway, maybe he was too big for his britches?) Every critic acknowledges the films melodramatic tendencies and overall silliness, but to a man they all loved it! I wonder if part of the reason for that is the same as mine? Bujold? They say that in the next 10 years or so she had films of questionable quality, but that through her efforts the performances often rose above it (‘Earthquake’?).

French-Canadian, born July 1, 1942. She was 33 at the time of filming for Obsession. When I did my “10 Most Beautiful Women of the 70’s” post, I didn’t include her. I had seen Obsession in the theater when it had come out 46 years before. The only other film I remembered seeing her was in 1984’s ‘Tightrope‘, in a really strange pairing with Clint Eastwood, when she would have been 42. Only having seen the movie once, my memory tells me it wasn’t the “Bujold vehicle” that obsession was.

De Palma certainly did right by her. Basically all her shots were in soft focus with the best lighting. I suppose he would have when you consider that in the mid 70’s she was a very valuable commodity. I imagine if you took a survey of men back then they would have all had favorable impressions of her. A woman with a French accent is an automatic aphrodisiac for a man. Sexiness or attractiveness is a hard thing to figure out. I have the feeling she would not have had the career she did without that wonderful French accent. Sorry, but I think it’s true. 5′ 4″, coquettish I would say. She could definitely turn it on for the camera.

I don’t know, call me crazy. But I certainly don’t understand or rather I am unable to explain “fame”, “star power”, “likability” or whatever. I do remember her vaguely in ‘Earthquake’ (1974). She was the young hottie Charlton Heston was having the affair with unbeknownst to his wife (Ava Gardener). Great scene when he knowingly in a futile effort leaves behind a distraught Bujold to jump into the raging water to try and save his wife. All he has is a last look into Bujold’s eyes of, “I have to try”.

‘Appeal’ is a strange phenomena (without spellcheck no less). So I had seen Bujold in 3 movies, although it was nearly 50 years ago. Compared to Rachel Ward who I only ever saw once, and did include in my “Most Beautiful Women” series.

Genevieve Bujold spent her first twelve school years in Montreal’s oppressive Hochelaga Convent, where opportunities for self-expression were limited to making welcoming speeches for visiting clerics. As a child she felt “as if I were in a long dark tunnel trying to convince myself that if I could ever get out there was light ahead.” Caught reading a forbidden novel, she was handed her ticket out of the convent and she then enrolled in Montreal’s free Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique. – IMDB

That upturned nose and that down turned mouth. It’s an attractive combination. Do you realize from that IMDB story? She nearly spent her life as a Nun! That’s fascinating to me. She always seemed to have an impish or childlike quality to her. Even though she turned 18 the year after I was born, it’s just hard to imagine her ever being old.