17 October 2024

Marcella Sabbatini

Marcella Sabbatini (1914-2001) was an Italian child actress of the silent screen. She played the child of many divas

Marcella Sabbatini
Italian postcard by Vettori, Bologna, no. 1026. "La più piccola Attrice Cinematografica" (The youngest film actress). Sabbatini's name is misspelled here as Sabattini.

Pina Menichelli, Milton Rosmer and Marcella Sabbatini in La donna e l'uomo
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Fotominio. Pina Menichelli, Milton Rosmer and Marcella Sabbatini in La donna e l'uomo/Woman and Man (Amleto Palermi, 1923).

Quo Vadis? (1924)
Italian postcard by Edizione L'Argentografica, Torino, no. 3049. Lillian Hall-Davis as Lygia/Licia, Alphons Fryland as Vinicius and Marcella Sabbatini as the son of Domitilla and Plautus the Italo-German epic Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924), one of the many adaptations of the classic novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz.

A celebrated child actress in Italian silent films


Marcella Sabbatini was born in Rome in 1914 into a family of revue and operetta actors. She made her film debut in 1919, while still a child, in a film by Celio. In addition to numerous films, she was portrayed, alone and with actresses such as Pina Menichelli in a series of postcards with publicity photos.

Her career took off and between 1919 and 1926 she became a celebrated child actress in Italian silent films, with over thirty films, gaining child star status. In 1919, she made her film debut in Mario Bonnard's Germana, with Maria Caserini and Mina D'Orvella. She remained with Bonnard in several subsequent films, including Per un figlio (1920), again with Caserini and D'Orvella, followed by Papa Lebonard (1920) with Ugo Piperno in the title role.

Together with Ettore Casarotti, the duo Arnold and Patata (Aldo Mezzanotte), Franco Cappelli and Mimmo Palermi, Sabbatini was part of a new generation of Italian child actors who had established themselves in those years, before the crisis in Italian film production, with the bankruptcy of the U.C.I., interrupted their careers.

In 1921 Mario Bonnard cast her in the lead role in a re-edition of the film L'amor mio non muore, in which he had starred in 1913. The cast was composed entirely of child actors under the direction of Wladimiro Apolloni.

In addition to Bonnard, the young actress also worked several times with director Herbert Brenon at La principessa misteriosa (1920), Beatrice (1921) and Il colchico e la rosa (1921). All three films were shot in Italy and starred Marie Doro. She also acted in Jacques Creusy's Liberazione (1920), with Renée Pilar, and I dannati (1921) with Linda Pini.

Soava Gallone in All'ombra di un trono
Italian postcard by G. B. Falci, Milano, no. 115. Photo: Films Gallone. Soava Gallone and Marcella Sabbatini in All'ombra di un trono/L'Ombra di un tron/In the Shadow of a Throne(Carmine Gallone, 1921), based on a novel by Charles Folly, 'Fleur d'ombre'.

Soava Gallone in All'ombra d'un trono
Italian postcard by G. B. Falci, Milano, no. 117. Photo: Films Gallone. Soava Gallone and Marcella Sabbatini in All'ombra di un trono/L'Ombra di un tron/In the Shadow of a Throne(Carmine Gallone, 1921).

Marcella Sabbatini and Edy Darclea
Italian postcard by Vettori, Bologna, no. 2001. Marcella Sabbatini and Edy Darclea in La valse ardente/The Fiery Waltz (Torello Rolli, 1921).

The little son of Domitilla


From 1920, Marcella Sabbatini often acted as the child of the Italian divas. She was the daughter of Francesca Bertini in La ferita/The Wound (Roberto Roberti, 1920) and L'ultimo sogno/The Last Dream (Roberto Roberti 1921). Pina Menichelli was her mother in La donna e l'uomo/Woman and Man (Amleto Palermi 1923) and Soava Gallone in All'ombra di un trono/L'Ombra di un tron/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921), and La cavalcata ardente/The Fiery Ride (Carmine Gallone, 1925). She was the child of Maria Jacobini in La casa sotto la neve/Under the Snow (Gennaro Righelli, 1922 and La bocca chiusa/The Closed Mouth (Guglielmo Zorzi, 1925).

Marcella Sabbatini also played the child of lesser female stars such as Edy Darclea in La valse ardente/The Fiery Waltz (Torello Rolli, 1921) and Enna Saredo in La figlia della tempesta/The Daughter of the Storm (Carmine Gallone, 1921), Il dubbio/The Doubt (Edoardo Bencivenga, 1921), Le due madri/The Two Mothers (Torello Rolli, 1922) and Le vie del mare/The Ways of the Sea (Torello Rolli, 1923). In 1923 Bonnard directed her again in La maschera che ride/The Laughing Mask and Il trittico/The Triptych.

In the late silent epic Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924) starring Emil Jannings as Nero. Sabbatini played the little son [!] of Domitilla (Elga Brink).

In the mid-1920s, Sabbatini played opposite Rina De Liguoro in the rural drama Maremma (Salvatore Aversano, 1924) and in the De Amicis adaptation Il focolare spento/The Unlit Hearth (Augusto Genina, 1925). However, the lead in the latter film was for rising star and Genina's then-girlfriend Carmen Boni. In 1926, Washington Borg entrusted her with the lead role in the film Mi chiamano Mimì/They call me Mimì (1929), for which she received good critical acclaim, although it was her last silent film.

Sabbatini's last film was Perché no?/The Lady Lies (1930), directed by Amleto Palermi, the first of the films made by the American company Paramount for Italian cinema. The sound film was shot in the Joinville factory in France. Having abandoned show business, Marcella retired to private life. She married Alfredo Tentoni, a musician born into a family of musicians, with whom she had two sons, Fabrizio (1938) and Piero (1942). Marcella Sabbatini died in Rome, in 2001, at 86.

Francesca Bertini and Marcella Sabbatini
Italian postcard by Ed. Vettori, Bologna, no. 2007. Francesca Bertini and Marcella Sabbatini, possibly in La ferita/The Wound (Roberto Roberti, 1920). They also played together in L'ultimo sogno/The Last Dream (Roberto Roberti, 1921).

Marcella Sabbatini and Milton Rosmer in La donna e l'uomo
Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Rinascimento Film / UCI. Milton Rosmer and Marcella Sabbatini in La donna e l'uomo/Woman and Man (Amleto Palermi, 1923). The woman is unknown.

Pina Menichelli and Marcella Sabbatini in La donna e l'uomo
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Fotominio. Pina Menichelli and Marcella Sabbatini in La donna e l'uomo/Woman and Man (Amleto Palermi, 1923).

Sources: Wikipedia (Italian), and IMDb.

16 October 2024

Ross Verlag, Part 6: Film-Foto-Verlag

Ross Verlag disappeared by the end of the war. The National Socialists had retained the name after they had forced Heinrich Ross out of his own company. But during the Second World War, they also started to use the name Film-Foto-Verlag. The design of the cards and the numbering system did not alter. After the war, the name Film-Foto-Verlag reappeared in the early 1950s for a short while, but it soon changed to UFA/Film-Foto. Here are 25 of our favourite Film-Foto-Verlag postcards.

Rosita Serrano
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 2245/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Quick / Ufa. Rosita Serrano.

Karl Martell
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 2582/2, 1939-1940. Photo: Quick / Tobis. Karl Martell.

Traudl Stark
German Postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 2669/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Tita Binz / Tobis. Traudl Stark.

Will Quadflieg
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3202/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Tita Binz / Tobis. Will Quadflieg.

Marika Rökk
Marika Rökk in Tanz mit dem Kaiser/Dance With the Emperor (Georg Jacoby, 1941). German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3478/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Quick / Ufa.

Ursula Deinert
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3505/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Weidenbaum. Ursula Deinert.

Pál Jávor
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3543/1. Pál Jávor.

Charlotte Dalys
German Postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3596/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Bavaria Filmkunst. Charlotte Dalys.

Heinrich George in Andreas Schlüter (1942)
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. 3647/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Lindner / Terra. Heinrich George in Andreas Schlüter (Herbert Maisch, 1942).

Dorit Kreysler
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3715/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Manninger / Berlin-Film. Dorit Kreysler.

Hans Albers in Münchhausen (1943)
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3728/2, 1941-1944. Photo: von Stwolinski / Ufa. Hans Albers in Münchhausen/The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen (Josef von Baky, 1943).

Ilse Werner
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3732/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Quick / Ufa. Ilse Werner.

Alida Valli
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3783/1, 1941-1944. Photo: DIFU. Alida Valli.

Curd Jürgens
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3832/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Hämmerer / Wien Film. Curd Jürgens.

Irene von Meyendorff
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3836/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa. Irene von Meyendorff.

Paul Hubschmid
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 110, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis. Paul Hubschmid.

Rudolf Prack
German Postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 121. Photo: Baumann / Ufa. Rudolf Prack.

Johannes Heesters (1903 - 2011)
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, G 143, 1941-1944. Photo: Berlin-Film / Wesel. Johannes Heesters.

Lili Muráti
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 190. Photo: Quick. Lili Muráti.

Zarah Leander
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 203, 1941-1944. Photo: Quick / Ufa. Zarah Leander.

Rossano Brazzi
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 209, 1941-1944. Photo: Ufa. Rossano Brazzi.

Mady Rahl
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 212, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa. Mady Rahl.

Kristina Söderbaum
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 225, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa. Kristina Söderbaum.

Claude Farell (Monika Burg)
German Postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. K 1416. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis. Monika Burg.

Kirsten Heiberg
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. K 1425. Photo: Baumann / Terra. Kirsten Heiberg.

Our Ross Verlag Tribute will be continued next week. And please, check out the Ross Verlag Movie Stars Postcards website.

15 October 2024

Ich will nicht wissen wer du bist (1932)

Liane Haid, Gustav Fröhlich and Szöke Szakáll were the stars of the delightful romantic comedy Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (1932), scripted by Ernst Marischka and Robert Weil and directed by Géza von Bolváry. A year later, Szakall but also Fröhlich's wife and daughter had to go into exile because of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The rise of the fascists also ended the careers of the Jewish publishers of the postcards in this post, Heinrich Ross of Ross Verlag and Joseph Peter Welker of JosPe.

Liane Haid, Szöke Szakall and Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist (1932)
Dutch postcard by JosPe, Arnhem, no. 385. Photo: City Film. Liane Haid, Gustav Fröhlich and Szöke Szakáll in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932).

Gustav Fröhlich, Liane Haid, and Betty Bird in Ich will nicht wissen wer du bist
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 158/1. Photo: Boston-Film. Gustav Fröhlich, Liane Haid and Betty Bird in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932).

Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist (1932)
German postcard by Ross Verlag. no. 7086/1, 1932-1933. Photo: Boston-Film. Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want to Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932).

A comedy of mistaken identities


Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932) is a comedy of mistaken identities, written by Ernst Marischka and Robert Weil.

The penniless Count Lerchenau (Gustav Fröhlich) has to work as a chauffeur under the name Robert Lindt. However, he lost his last job, because women love him so much.

His former servant Ottokar (Szöke Szakáll) remains loyal to him and tries to get him to marry a rich woman. However, at the restaurant where he is supposed to meet a suitable lady, he ends up flirting with the attractive Alice (Liane Haid) instead.

Robert gives Count Lerchenau as a reference to get a job on President Fuhring's (Max Güllstorff) staff. But then Führing wants to speak to Lerchenau, and Franz has to play the role of the count...

Alice, it turns out, is Führing's niece. When she learns that Robert is only a chauffeur, she wants nothing more to do with him. But after all sorts of turbulence, they find each other after all.

Liane Haid and Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist
Dutch postcard, no. 360. Photo: City Film. Liane Haid and Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist (Géza von Bolváry, 1932). The mark on the right side of the card refers to the Dutch censorship approval.

Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist (1932)
Dutch Postcard, no. 362. Photo: City Film. Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932).

Because of the regime, because everything was bombed, and because all the good directors had left


The male star of Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932) was Gustav Fröhlich, who had his breakthrough as Freder Fredersen in Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927). Fröhlich often played smart gentlemen in lighthearted musicals and romances. Because of his carefree attendance, Fröhlich was seldom allowed to play other characters. He frequently worked with Hungarian film director Géza von Bolváry, who specialised in Viennese Operettas and romantic comedies. Between 1931 and 1933 they made six films together. These include Liebeskommando/Love's Command (Géza von Bolváry, 1931), Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Do Not Want to Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932), and Was Frauen träumen/What Women Dream (Géza von Bolváry, 1933), which was co-written by Billy Wilder.

In 1931, Fröhlich married Hungarian opera star and actress Gitta Alpár, with whom he had a child, Julika. Alpár was Jewish and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler in 1933 destroyed her successful film career in Germany. Mother and child were forced to leave Germany and fled to the U.S. Fröhlich distanced from his wife because he didn't want to endanger his career. During the Third Reich, he remained one of the most prominent German film stars. Their marriage was dissolved in 1935 as 'illegal' in National Socialist Germany. After the war, Fröhlich tried to apologise for his behaviour but Alpár could not answer his pleas. A circumstance which, according to IMDb, gave Fröhlich a hard time in his last years and beclouded his lust for life.

Liane Haid was the first Austrian movie star in film history. She already appeared in operas and operettas before she made her first film appearance. Very popular were her silent film operettas Im weißen Rößl/The White Horse Inn (Richard Oswald, 1926) and Die Csardasfürstin/The Csardas Princess (Hanns Schwarz, 1927). The transition to sound film, which required a different way of acting, she mastered very well. In the hit film Das Lied ist aus/The Song Is Over (Géza von Bolváry, 1930), she sang the song that became famous: 'Adieu mein kleine Gardeoffizier' composed by Robert Stolz. Haid was at the height of her popularity. In 1933 alone, she appeared in nine feature films. From the mid-1930s, she refused film offers and instead focused on her stage career. In 1942, she escaped from Nazi Germany to Switzerland "because of the regime, because everything was bombed, and because all the good directors had left".

In the early 1930s, Hungarian actor Szöke Szakáll was, next to Hans Moser, the most significant representative of the Wiener Film, the Viennese light romantic comedy genre. Among his German films was Géza von Bolváry's Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt/Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1930). The Jewish Szakáll was forced to return to Hungary, because of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement. He was involved in over 40 films in his native land, including Skandal in Budapest/Romance in Budapest (Steve Sekely, Géza von Bolváry, 1933). When Hungary joined the Axis in 1940, he went into exile with his wife and became famous in Hollywood as S.Z Sakall. Many of Szakáll's close relatives later died in Nazi concentration camps, including all three of his sisters and his niece, as well as his wife's brother and sister.

The sets of Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are were designed by the art director Franz Schroedter. The music was by Robert Stolz. The title song 'Ich will nicht wissen wer du bist', composed by Stolz with lyrics by Ernst Marischka, was sung by Liane Haid. In the cast were also Adele Sandrock as Emerenzia, Betty Bird as Käthe, her niece, Julius E. Herrmann as Councillor of Commerce Blume, and Lotte Lorring as his wife Helga. At VPRO, the reviewer writes: 'An upbeat film operetta with very nice songs by Robert Stolz and fine roles by Liane Haid and Gustav Fröhlich. In 1942, scriptwriter Ernst Marischka directed a remake of the film, Abenteuer im Grandhotel/Adventures in the Grand Hotel (Ernst Marischka, 1942) with Wolf Albach-Retty and Carola Höhn. Hans Moser now played the role of Szöke Szakáll.

Liane Haid and Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist
Dutch Postcard, no. 382. Photo: City Film. Liane Haid and Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932).

Gustav Fröhlich and Liane Haid in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist (1932)
Dutch postcard by JosPe, Arnhem, no. 384. Photo: City Film. Liane Haid and Gustav Fröhlich in Ich will nicht wissen, wer du bist/I Don't Want To Know Who You Are (Géza von Bolváry, 1932).

Source: VPRO (Dutch), Filmportal (German), Wikipedia (English) and IMDb.