Cornell Borchers obit

Actress Cornell Borchers Has Died 

She was not on the list.

Tall, blonde, turquoise-eyed Cornell Borchers was born of Lithuanian ancestry and studied medicine before turning towards a career in the performing arts. She attended drama classes from 1947 to 1948 and was discovered for films by the director Arthur Maria Rabenalt. She made a few German films before signing a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. Publicity quickly touted her as the new Ingrid Bergman, but her first Hollywood sojourn turned out to be rather brief. After just one picture, The Big Lift (1950), Cornell walked out on her contract, convinced that quality roles were not forthcoming. For a while, her career lost its direction and she toiled away in a brace of minor German crime dramas and romances. Fortuitously, she was then snapped up by Michael Balcon for his Ealing production of The Divided Heart (1954), a sober post-war drama for which Cornell won a BAFTA award as Best Foreign Actress. This rekindled Hollywood's interest and Universal-International signed her to a two-picture-a-year deal. She was co-starred opposite Rock Hudson in the melodrama Never Say Goodbye (1956), and, in Ingrid Bergman-like fashion (even rather sounding like her) beguiled Errol Flynn in the romantic espionage drama Istanbul (1957). Her swan song was an undistinguished social drama entitled Flood Tide (1958), a misfire, which resulted in Universal failing to renew her contract. Cornell returned to Germany, having reached what amounted to be the apex of her career. She eventually quit acting in 1959, devoting herself to her family and living a secluded life away from the limelight.

 

Actress

Barbara Rütting in Doctor Without Scruples (1959)

Doctor Without Scruples

5.5

Harriet Owen

1959

 

Television Playwright

7.2

TV Series

Martha Heinz

1958

1 episode

 

Cornell Borchers, George Nader, and Michel Ray in Flood Tide (1958)

Flood Tide

6.7

Anne Gordon

1958

 

Errol Flynn and Cornell Borchers in Istanbul (1957)

Istanbul

6.1

Stephanie Bauer

Karen Fielding

1957

 

Cornell Borchers and Dieter Borsche in Rot ist die Liebe (1957)

Rot ist die Liebe

5.6

Rosemarie

1957

 

Rock Hudson and Cornell Borchers in Never Say Goodbye (1956)

Never Say Goodbye

6.1

Lisa Gosting

1956

 

Michèle Morgan and Cornell Borchers in Oasis (1955)

Oasis

5.2

Karine Salstroem

1955

 

Cornell Borchers, Yvonne Mitchell, and Michel Ray in The Divided Heart (1954)

The Divided Heart

6.9

Inga

1954

 

Maxie (1954)

Maxie

Nora, seine Frau

1954

 

Schule für Eheglück (1954)

Schule für Eheglück

6.1

Regine

1954

 

Haus des Lebens (1952)

Haus des Lebens

6.8

Dr. Elisabeth Keller

1952

 

Cornell Borchers and Gustav Fröhlich in Abenteuer in Wien (1952)

Abenteuer in Wien

7.0

Karin Manelli

1952

 

Dark Eyes (1951)

Dark Eyes

7.8

Helene Samboni

1951

 

Unvergängliches Licht (1951)

Unvergängliches Licht

5.3

Michèle Printemps

1951

 

Das ewige Spiel (1951)

Das ewige Spiel

5.7

Marie Campenhausen

1951

 

Die tödlichen Träume (1951)

Die tödlichen Träume

Angelika

Inez

Lisette ...

1951

 

Sybille Schmitz in Die Lüge (1950)

Die Lüge

Ellen, seine Tochter

1950

 

The Big Lift (1950)

The Big Lift

6.4

Frederica Burkhardt

1950

 

0 Uhr 15, Zimmer 9 (1950)

0 Uhr 15, Zimmer 9

5.7

Maria Mertens

1950

 

Absender unbekannt (1950)

Absender unbekannt

Dr. Elisabeth Markert - Lehrerin

1950

 

Jeanette Schultze in Martina (1949)

Martina

6.3

Irene

1949

 

Anonyme Briefe (1949)

Anonyme Briefe

Cornelia

1949

 

Soundtrack

Rock Hudson and Cornell Borchers in Never Say Goodbye (1956)

Never Say Goodbye

6.1

performer: "FOR THE FIRST TIME"

1956

 

The Big Lift (1950)

The Big Lift

6.4

performer: "Vielleicht" (uncredited)

1950