Sissi (1955)

The Austrian film Sissi (Ernst Marischka, 1955), starring Romy Schneider and Karlheinz Böhm, is the first instalment in the hugely popular trilogy of films about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was known to her family as 'Sissi'.


Dutch postcard by N.V. Int. Filmpers (I.F.P.), Amsterdam, no. 1027.

Carefree, Impulsive And Nature-Loving

Sissi (Ernst Marischka, 1955) is based around Elisabeth's young years 1852–1854. Princess Elisabeth, nicknamed Sissi (Romy Schneider), is the second oldest daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria (Gustav Knuth) and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria (Magda Schneider).

Elisabeth is a carefree, impulsive and nature-loving child. She is raised with her seven siblings at the family seat Possenhofen Castle on the shores of Lake Starnberg in Bavaria. She has a happy childhood free of constraints associated with her royal status.

With her mother and her demure older sister Helene (called Néné), 16-year-old Sissi travels from Possenhofen to the spa town of Bad Ischl in Upper Austria. Ludovika's sister, Archduchess Sophie (Vilma Degischer), is the mother of the young emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (Karlheinz Böhm).

Helene (Uta Franz) is called by Archduchess Sophie to meet the young emperor Franz Joseph in the imperial villa so that the two might be immediately engaged. Sissi is unaware of the real reason for the journey and is forbidden by her aunt to participate in any social events due to her rebellious ways.

Sissi spends her time fishing in the forest where by chance she meets Franz Josef. The emperor is unaware that the girl is his cousin Sissi. He takes a liking to her and invites her for an afternoon hunting trip in the Alps.


Dutch postcard by Takken, Utrecht, no. 2064. Romy Schneider and Karlheinz Böhm.

Future Empress

They meet as arranged in the mountains where they talk and become acquainted. Sissi falls in love with him but does not reveal her true identity. During their trip, Sissi learns of the planned marriage between Franz Joseph with her sister. The Emperor confesses that he envies the man who will marry Sissi and confesses that he feels no connection to Néné.

Upon hearing his indirect declaration of love, Sissi becomes distraught due to her loyalty to Néné. She runs away from Franz Joseph without any explanation.

When Sissi returns to their residence, Néné reveals the reason for the trip to Bad Ischl: to become engaged with Franz Joseph. Unexpectedly, Franz Josef's brother, Carl-Ludwig (Peter Weck), arrives and Sissi is invited by the Archduchess to act as his partner at the Emperor's birthday celebration.

At his birthday party, Franz Joseph is suddenly confronted by Sissi's appearance there with her mother and sister. He realises who Sissi is and tries to talk to her, openly confessing his love and asking her to marry him. Sissi rejects Franz Joseph in order not to betray her sister.

He defies his mother's reservations and Sissi's resistance and announces, to the surprise of his guests, his betrothal to Sissi. Néné is heartbroken and leaves the party crying. Sissi, in a state of shock, is forced to obey the Emperor's wishes.

In Possenhofen, preparations for the wedding have started. Sissi is not excited for her impending marriage, as the hurt Néné has left for an indefinite period. For her sister's sake, Sissi attempts to break her engagement, however, Néné returns with a new suitor, Maximilian Anton, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis. The sisters reunite and Néné gives her blessings to Sissi for her marriage.

For the wedding ceremony, Sissi travels with her family on the steamboat Franz Joseph down the Danube to Vienna. People line the banks, waving flags and cheering their future Empress. As part of a grand procession, Sissi enters the city in a gilded carriage. The wedding takes place in the Augustinian Church on 24 April 1854.

Although he played her husband in this trilogy, Karlheinz Böhm is only 10 years older than Romy Schneider.


Dutch postcard by Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 1980. Photo: Filmex N.V.

Christmas Special

Sissi was filmed in the original places locations where the Empress visited. These locations included Schönbrunn Palace, the Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl and St. Michael's Church.

Sissi was viewed by 20 to 25 million people in the European cinemas. It is one of the most successful German-language films ever.

The film was followed by Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin/Sissi: The Young Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1956) and Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin/Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1957). In 1962, a condensed version of the trilogy was released in English under the title Forever My Love.

The trilogy is a popular Christmas television special in several European countries. The Empress' date of birth on Christmas Eve 1837 adds to the appeal of the film as a Christmas special.

The success of the film marked Empress Elisabeth's entrance to popular culture which made the historical figure even more legendary. The popularity of the films attracted tourists to places which were associated with the Empress, specifically those in Austria. The popularity also led to the creation of the 1992 musical Elisabeth, which became the most successful German-language musical of all time. The trilogy was parodied in the animated film Lissi. (2007)

Romy Schneider's role as Elisabeth is considered her acting breakthrough. She became synonymous with her role in the film, even as she progressed in her acting career.

Schneider reprised the role of Elisabeth in Luchino Visconti's film Ludwig (1972), this time portraying the Empress as a mature yet cynical woman.


Dutch postcard by Takken, no. AX 3028. Photo: Filmex N.V. Still: scene with Romy Schneider and Ivan Petrovich from Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin/Sissi: The Young Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1956).


Dutch postcard by Int. Filmpers (I.F.P.), Amsterdam, no. 1535. Publicity still for Sissi – Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin/Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1957) with Walter Reyer.


Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. 3720. Photo: ERMA / Herzog-film-Wien. Publicity still for Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin/Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1957).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

Márta Eggerth (1912-2013)

On 26 December 2013, Hungarian-born singer and actress Márta Eggerth (1912-2013), who maintained a global career for over 70 years, died in Rye, New York. She was the popular and talented star of 30 German and Austrian operetta films of the 1930s. Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Straus, and Paul Abraham, composed works especially for her. After the rise of the Nazis, she continued her career with her partner Jan Kiepura in the US. Ms. Eggerth was 101.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6799/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Freiherr v. Gudenberg.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7096/2, 1932-1933. Photo: Atelier Kiesel, Berlin / Aafa Film.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7311/1, 1932-1933. Photo: Atelier Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7875/1, 1932-1933. Photo: Atelier Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8356/2, 1933-1934. Photo: Atelier Binder, Berlin.

Wunderkind

Márta (or Martha) Eggerth was born in Budapest in 1912. Her mother, a dramatic coloratura soprano, dedicated herself to her daughter, who was called a 'Wunderkind'.

At the age of 11, she made her theatrical debut in the operetta 'Mannequins'. Marta began singing the demanding coloratura repertoire by composers including Rossini, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, and Johann Strauss II.

Soon she was hailed as Hungary's 'national idol'. She performed at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest. Eggerth made her film debut in Budapest in such silent films as Csak egy kislány van a világon/There Is Only One Girl in the World (Belá Gaál, 1929).

While still a teenager, Márta Eggerth embarked on a tour of Denmark, Holland and Sweden before arriving in Vienna at the invitation of Emmerich Kalman. Kalman had invited her to understudy Adele Kern, the famous coloratura of the Vienna State Opera, in his operetta 'Das Veilchen von Montmartre' (The Violet of Montmartre). Eventually, she took over the title role to great critical acclaim after Kern suddenly became indisposed.

Next, she performed the role of Adele in Max Reinhardt's famous 1929 Hamburg production of 'Die Fledermaus' (The Bat). At the age of 17, she was perhaps the youngest singer ever to undertake this part. Her silvery soprano voice made her a popular star of the operetta in the following years.


Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 330. Photo: City Film.


Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 468. With Richard Tauber.


Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 547.


Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 593.


Dutch postcard by Filma, no. 664.

German talkie

Márta Eggerth's film career really career took off with the German sound film Bräutigamswitwe (Richard Eichberg, 1931) co-starring Georg Alexander. It was based upon the play, Unwelcome Wife, written by Edward A. Paulton and Fred Thompson. It tells the story of two philanderers who marry each other.

Bräutigamswitwe is the German-language version of the British film Let's Love and Laugh (Richard Eichberg, 1931) which was made simultaneously but with Muriel Angelus. The success of the film resulted in international fame for Eggerth.

Her next film was a crime film, Der Draufgänger/The Daredevil (Richard Eichberg, 1931) also starring Hans Albers and Gerda Maurus. Der Draufgänger was the second film by Richard Eichberg after Der Greifer/The Copper (Richard Eichberg, 1930), in which Hans Albers played an energetic policeman and thus cemented his image as Blond Hans and early action hero of German sound film. The film was shot at original locations in Hamburg harbour.

Then followed the film operetta Trara um Liebe/Trumpet Call of Love (Richard Eichberg, 1931) with Maria Paudler and Georg Alexander, the drama Eine Nacht im Grandhotel/Night at the Grand Hotel (Max Neufeld, 1931) and the comedy Moderne Mitgift/Modern Dowry (E.W. Emo, 1932) with Georg Alexander and Leo Slezak.

Franz Léhar composed the music for Es war einmal ein Walzer/Once There Was a Waltz (Victor Janson, 1932), especially for Eggerth. The story was written by the young Billy Wilder. The film was remade in Britain as Where Is This Lady? (Victor Hanbury, Ladislao Vajda, 1932), again with Márta Eggerth in the leading role.


Dutch postcard, no. 237. Photo: City Film.


Dutch postcard by City Film, no. 464. Marta Eggerth and Hans Junkermann in Traum von Schönbrunn/Dream of Schönbrunn (Johannes Meyer, 1932). Sent by mail in 1934.


Dutch postcard by Filma, no. 450. Photo: publicity still for Die Blume von Hawaï/The Flower of Hawaii (Richard Oswald, 1933), an adaptation of the operetta 'The Flower of Hawaii' by Paul Abraham.


Latvian postcard by IRA, Riga.


Latvian postcard, no. 2284. Photo: J. Rolin (?), Riga. With Hans Söhnker.


Latvian postcard by IRA, Riga, no. 2734. Photo: Ars.

Cheeky, captivating girl

In the silver age of the operetta Márta Eggerth starred in numerous successful film operettas and musical comedies as the cheeky, captivating girl like in Das Blaue vom Himmel/The Blue from the Sky (Victor Janson, 1932), but she also played more tragic roles.

The Austrian-German musical Leise flehen meine Lieder/Gently My Songs Entreat (Willi Forst, 1933) with Hans Jaray is a biopic of the composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828). It was Willi Forst's directorial debut. The German title refers to the first line of the Lied 'Ständchen' (Serenade) from Schubert's collection Schwanengesang, which Eggerth performs in the film.

A British version was also made called Unfinished Symphony (Anthony Asquith, Willi Forst, 1934), again with Jaray and Eggerth. This title refers to the story that Franz Schubert left his symphony unfinished after losing the love of his life. The New York Times wrote: "Hans Jaray's performance reveals Schubert as a gentle and sad-faced youth, inordinately sensitive and at the same time filled with modest confidence in his genius. The well-known German actress and singer, Marta Eggerth, is the lovely aristocrat who laughed at the wrong time, and she helps the photoplay considerably with the warmth and skill of her interpretations of the Schubert songs."

To Eggerth's great successes belong also such film operettas as Der Zarewitsch (Victor Janson, 1933) and Die Czardasfürstin/The Csardas Princess (Georg Jacoby, 1934) and the comedy Die ganze Welt dreht sich um Liebe/The World's in Love (Viktor Tourjansky, 1935).

Critics praised her musical abilities, but also her nuanced acting. In favour of her film work, she appeared less and less on stage.


Dutch postcard.


Dutch postcard.


French postcard by Editions P-C, Paris, no. 113. Photo: Super Film / Vanderheyden. Marta Eggerth sang the English Waltz 'Je veux t'aimer' in C'est un amour qui passe , the French language version of Ein Lied, ein Kuß, ein Mädel/A Song, a Kiss, a Girl (Géza von Bolváry, 1932).Text by Jean Sorbier and music by Robert Stolz. Copyright: Alrobi, Berlin / Editions Salabert, Paris, 1932.


French postcard by Editions P-C, Paris, no. 108. Photo: Ufa. Marta Eggerth sings the Slow Fox 'C'est un amour qui passe' in C'est un amour qui passe (Geza von Bolvary, 1932), an alternate language version of Ein Lied, ein Kuß, ein Mädel/A Song, a Kiss, a Girl (Géza von Bolváry, 1932). Text by Jean Sorbier and music by Robert Stolz. Copyright: Alrobi, Berlin / Editions Salabert, Paris, 1932.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6748/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Aafa-Film. Marta Eggerth and Rolf von Goth in Es war einmal ein Walzer/Once There Was a Waltz (Victor Janson, 1932).

Dazzling Pair

On the set of Mein Herz ruft nach dir/My Heart Calls You (Carmine Gallone, 1934), Marta Eggerth fell in love with the young Polish tenor and film star Jan Kiepura.

The couple married in 1936, and they were the most dazzling 'Liebespaar' (Love Pair) of the European cinema. They caused a sensation wherever they appeared. In 1936, she also filmed the drama Das Schloss in Flandern/The Castle in Flanders (Géza von Bolváry, 1936) and the operetta Das Hofkonzert/The Court Concert (Detlef Sierck a.k.a. Douglas Sirk, 1936) with Johannes Heesters, both filmed in and around Berlin.

From 1937 on, she was no langer wanted in Nazi Germany because of her marriage to Jan Kiepura. At the time the couple lived in Vienna and worked there in films. Together they starred in Zauber der Boheme/The Charm of La Boheme (Géza von Bolváry, 1937), based on motives from Giacomo Puccini's opera 'La Bohème'. The political situation in Austria became more and more uncomfortable for Eggerth and Kiepura being foreigners.

The leading operetta composers of the day, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Robert Stolz and Paul Abraham, all wrote songs for her films. However, by 1938, after the Anschluss, with the exception of Lehár, all of them, being Jewish, had fled Vienna for the US.

Eggerth and Kiepura, who both had Jewish mothers, also left Austria for America, to continue their singing careers there. Márta's last German-language film was Immer wenn ich glücklich bin/Waltz Melodies (Karel Lamac, 1938) with Frits van Dongen, shot in Vienna in 1937.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5969/1, 1930-1931. Photo: H. Gärner / Eichberg-Film / SF. Marta Eggerth and Georg Alexander in Die Bräutigamswitwe/The widow of the groom (Richard Eichberg, 1931).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6856/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Atelier Badekow, Berlin / Aafa Film. Kai Heinrich comments at Flickr: "Zum Kennzeichen IA-3628 steht in Dietzlers Auto-Adressbuch für Gross-Berlin 1933: P (Personenwagen) Eggert, Martha, Fräulein, Halensee, Kurfürstendamm 108, Horch 90."


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 198/1. Photo: Cine Allianz / Ufa. Jan Kiepura and Mártha Eggerth in the musical comedy Mein Herz ruft nach dir/My Heart Calls You (Carmine Gallone, 1934).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7677/2, 1932-1933. Photo: Angelo Photos.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8115/1, 1933-1934. Photo: Atelier Manassé, Wien. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.

MGM Musicals

In 1938, Jan Kiepura and Márta Eggerth fled Austria after its annexation by the Nazis. They first settled down in the South of France, and later in the USA.

Eggerth was signed by the Schubert Theater to appear on Broadway in Richard Rodgers' musical 'Higher and Higher'. She had a leading role and four numbers. It was not a success, but Hollywood had spotted her.

She subsequently signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but she only performed in two of the studio's musicals. At the side of Judy Garland, she appeared in For Me and My Gal (Busby Berkeley, 1942), one of the big hits of the year, and Presenting Lily Mars (Norman Taurog, 1943).

Ronald Bergan in his obituary for The Guardian: "Accustomed to being a star, she was offered what she described disdainfully as "a little thing" – a supporting role in For Me and My Girl (1942). Insult was added to injury when her numbers were cut from the film on release. At least Eggerth had a few numbers in Presenting Lily Mars (1943), a vehicle for Garland. However, Garland takes Eggerth off, operatic hand gestures and all, in a comic variation of the aria 'Caro Nome' from Verdi's Rigoletto. It was enough to drive Eggerth from Hollywood forever."

Together with her husband, she returned to the theatre, and they first starred on the operatic stage in 'La Bohème' to rave reviews. Then they had a huge, three-year-long success with Franz Léhar's operetta 'Die lustige Witwe' (The Merry Widow), with Robert Stolz conducting and George Balanchine as choreographer. They would eventually perform 'The Merry Widow' more than 200 times, in five languages throughout Europe and America.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8356/3, 1933-1934. Photo: Atelier Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8583/1, 1933-1934. Photo: Ufa / Cine-Allianz / Frhr. von Gudenberg.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8939/2, 1933-1934. Photo: Atelier Binder.


German collectors card in the series 'Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst - Der Tonfilm', album no. 11, picture no. 137. Photo: Ufa / Ross Verlag. Marta Eggerth in Die Czardasfürstin/The Csardas Princess (Georg Jacoby, 1934).


Italian postcard by Rizzoli & C., Milano, 1936. Photo: Universal.

Flirtatious

After the war, Márta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura returned to France. They toured through Europe and starred in such films as La Valse Brilliante/Brilliant Waltz (Jean Boyer, 1948) in France and Das Land des Lächelns/Land of Smiles (Hans Deppe, Erik Ode, 1952) in Germany. Eggerth wasn't able to gain a foothold again in German cinema, and would further only appear in Frühling in Berlin/Spring in Berlin (Arthur Maria Rabenalt, 1957) starring Sonja Ziemann.

In the 1950s she became an American citizen, but her connection to Europe remained. In 1954 Eggerth and Kiepura brought 'The Merry Widow' to London's Palace Theatre and they often toured through Germany with 'The Merry Widow' and other productions.

After Jan Kiepura died in 1966, Eggerth stopped singing for several years. Finally, persuaded by her mother, she decided to revive her career. In the 1970s she began to make regular television appearances and to actively perform concerts in Europe. In 1979, she was awarded the Filmband in Gold for her longtime achievements in German cinema.

In 1984, she returned to the American stage. She co-starred in the Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt musical 'Colette' opposite Diana Rigg in Seattle and Denver, and later in Stephen Sondheim's 'Follies' in Pittsburgh. In 1999 Eggerth had a comeback appearance on German television as a chamber singer in the episode Nie wieder Oper/Never Opera Again of the popular crime series Tatort/Crime Scene. In 2005 she brought out a new album, 'Marta Eggerth: My Life My Song', with recordings from throughout her career.

In 2007, the Silent Film Festival of Pordenone in Italy presented one of her first Hungarian films, but the then 95-year-old star was not able to attend. The reason: she had to perform at a concert in New York! Mártha Eggerth always advocated the operetta: "In opera, everybody dies. In operetta, everybody is flirtatious", she said of her favourite art form. Marta Eggerth owned an 18-story apartment building in Rye, New York, where she died 26 December 2013. She was 101.


Vintage postcard, possibly Dutch.


Latvian postcard by Ross, no. 1111. Photo: E & B, R(iga). Mailed in Latvia in 1936.


Italian postcard by Rizzoli, Milano, 1937.


German postcard by Das Programm von Heute / Ross Verlag. Photo: Atelier Schenker, Berlin.


German card. Photo: Mitteldeutsche Union Tonfilm. Martha Eggerth and Hans Söhnker in Wo die Lerche singt/Where the Lark Sings (Karel Lamac, 1936).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9928/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Hämmerer / Ufa. Marta Eggerth in Das Hofkonzert/The Court Concert (Detlev Sierck a.k.a. Douglas Sirk, 1936). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 1199/1, 1937-1938. Photo: Paramount. Martha Eggerth and Jan Kiepura in front of their hotel Patria in Krynica-Zdrój, a popular Polish ski resort, near the Czech border. This luxurious modernist hotel, commissioned by Kiepura, was designed by architect Bohdan Pniewski in 1927 and opened in 1933. It had cost Kiepura 3 million dollars, gathered by his successful musicals in Europe and the US. Soon it became the toast of the town, attracting nobility and nouveaux-riches. It was run by Kiepura's parents, while Kiepura and Eggerth lived in Paris. In January 1937 it was the site of a royal scandal when the just-married Dutch crown Princess Juliana and her husband Bernhard, Prince zur Lippe-Biesterfeld, had tried to deceive the press, by sending their luggage elsewhere while hiding at the Hotel Patria. Soon their incognito as Count and Countess Von Sternberg (!) came out and the press sieged the hotel, while Kiepura and Eggerth came back overnight from Paris to welcome the hosts. The weeks in Patria must have been big fun for the royal couple, filled with skiing in the daytime and parties in the nighttime. Martha Eggerth remembered how she had fun with the couple, changing the ski boots in front of the hotel rooms in the middle of the night. During the war, the hotel was used as a sanatorium for German officers. After the war, the hotel was expropriated by the communists and became a state health resort. When Kiepura visited Krynica in 1958 he was not allowed to stay there. After his death, Martha Eggerth tried in vain to reclaim the building.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 1535/1, 1937-1938. Photo: Projectograph-Film. Marta Eggerth and Frits van Dongen in Immer wenn ich glücklich bin..!/Waltz Melodies (Karel Lamac, 1938).

Sources: Ronald Bergan (The Guardian), Anne Midgette (The Washington Post), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Filmportal.de, Wikipedia and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 10 February 2024.

Totò

Today, it's Postcard Friendship Friday again on the net. A weekly event in which postcard blogs present themselves. Start at Beth's blog with the great title The Best Hearts Are Crunchy, and enjoy some rare vintage postcards that are preserved on the net by bloggers like me.

Totò (1898–1967) was one of the most popular Italian film stars ever, nicknamed il principe della risata (the prince of laughter). He starred in about 100 films, many of which are still frequently broadcast on Italian television. Totò is an heir of the Commedia dell'Arte tradition, and can be compared to Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. His style and some of his recurring jokes and gestures are universally known in Italy.


Small Italian collectors card, no. 291. Photo: Ivo Meldones.

His Imperial Highness

Totò was born Antonio Clemente in the Rione Sanità, a poor district of Naples, in 1898. Totò is a typical pet name for Antonio in Naples and it most properly comes from the Neapolitan dialect variant Totonno. He was the illegitimate son of Anna Clemente from Sicily and the penniless Marquis Giuseppe De Curtis from Naples, who did not legally recognize him until 1937.

The young Totò preferred sports to studying, and in an incident with either a football or in the boxing ring, part of his nose became paralyzed. It gave him that look which later became his trademark.

Totò much regretted growing up without a father, to the point that at the age of 35, when he was already very popular, managed to have Marquis Francesco Maria Gagliardi Focas adopt him in exchange for a life annuity. As a consequence, when Marquis de Curtis recognized him, Totò had become an heir of two noble families, hence claiming an impressive slew of titles.

In 1946, when the Consulta Araldica—the body that advised the Kingdom of Italy on matters of nobility—ceased operations, the Tribunal of Naples recognized his numerous titles, so his complete name was changed from Antonio Clemente to Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Ducas Komnenos Gagliardi de Curtis of Byzantium, His Imperial Highness, Palatine Count, Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, Exarch of Ravenna, Duke of Macedonia and Illyria, Prince of Constantinople, Cilicia, Thessaly, Pontus, Moldavia, Dardania, Peloponnesus, Count of Cyprus and Epirus, Count and Duke of Drivasto and Durazzo.

For someone born and raised in one of the poorest Neapolitan neighbourhoods this must have been quite an achievement, but in claiming the titles (at the time they had become meaningless) the comedian also mocked them for their intrinsic worthlessness. In fact, when he was not using his stage name Totò, he mostly referred to himself simply as Antonio De Curtis.

Totò's mother wanted him to become a priest, but as soon as 1913, at the age of 15, he was already acting as a comedian in small theatres, under pseudonym Clerment. In the minor venues where he performed, Totò had the chance to meet artists like Eduardo De Filippo, Peppino De Filippo and Carlo Scarpetta.

He served in the army during World War I and then went back to acting. He learned the art of the Guitti, the Neapolitan scriptless comedians, heirs to the tradition of the Commedia dell'Arte, and began developing the trademarks of his style, including a puppet-like, disjointed gesticulation, emphasized facial expressions, and an extreme, sometimes surrealistic, sense of humour.

In 1922, Totò moved to Rome to perform in bigger theatres. He performed in the genre of Avanspettacolo, a vaudevillian mixture of music, ballet and comedy preceding the main act. He became adept at these revues and in the 1930s he had his own company, with which he travelled across Italy.


Italian postcard by Il Piùlibri. Photo: youth portrait of Antonio De Curtis (Totò) with dedication.

Italy's Favourite Comedian

In 1937, Totò appeared in his first film Fermo con le mani/Hands Off Me! (Gero Zambuto, 1937). His debut contains some classic scenes, like the one in which he tries to give a haircut to a bald man. Another scene where he fishes from the fishmonger's counter was repeated in later films like Guardie e ladri/Cops and Robbers (Mario Monicelli, Steno, 1951) and Totò a Parigi/Totò in Paris (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1958).

As middle aged orphan Gaspare in I due orfanelli/The Two Orphans (Mario Mattoli, 1947) he had his big breakthrough. The majority of his films were essentially meant to showcase his performances, and contain his name Totò in the title.

Often they were parodies of established film genres. Fine examples are Totò al Giro d'Italia/Totò at the Tour of Italy (Mario Mattoli, 1948) with a cameo of famous cyclist Fausto Coppi, Totò Sceicco/Totò the Sheik (Mario Mattoli, 1950), Totò Tarzan/Tototarzan (Mario Mattoli, 1950), Totò terzo uomo/Totò the Third Man (Mario Mattoli, 1951), and Totò a colori/Totò in Color (Tonino Delli Colli, Steno, 1952).

Totò a colori, filmed in Ferraniacolor, was the first Italian colour film. It is widely regarded as Totò's masterpiece. He appears in a chase scene where he hides from his pursuers by disguising himself as a wooden marionette on stage. Once the show is over, his body collapses just like a dead puppet.

Another masterpiece is Guardie e ladri/Cops and Robbers (Mario Monicelli, Steno, 1951) with Aldo Fabrizi. The style of the film, produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti, is close to Italian neorealism. For his part Totò won the Nastro d'Argento (Silver ribbon award), and the film was a huge success with the public and was also liked by the critics. For Totò, Guardie e ladri represented a real turning point, for the first time his film got exclusively positive reviews, and his interpretation is still considered one of the best of his career.

Totò had the opportunity to act side by side with virtually all major Italian actors of the time. In Fifa e arena/Fright in the Arena (Mario Mattoli, 1948) and several other comedies his co-star was the beautiful Isa Barzizza. His co-star in 47 morto che parla/47 dead speak (Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1950) was another film beauty, Silvana Pampanini. And Sophia Loren was the beauty in Miseria e nobiltà/Poverty and Nobility (Mario Mattoli, 1954).

He co-starred with Orson Welles in L'uomo, la bestia e la virtù/Man, Beast and Virtue (Steno, 1953). The most renowned and successful team which Totò formed was with Peppino De Filippo. De Filippo was one of the few actors to have his name appear in film titles along with that of Totò, for example in Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina/Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1956) and Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge/Totò, Peppino and the outlaws (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1956), for which Peppino De Filippo was awarded with a Nastro d'Argento (Silver ribbon award) for best supporting actor.

During a tour in 1956 Totò lost most of his eyesight due to an eye infection that he had ignored to avoid canceling his show and disappointing his fans. The handicap however almost never affected his schedule and acting abilities.

Among Totò’s best-known films are also the anthology film L'Oro di Napoli/The Gold of Naples (Vittorio De Sica, 1954), the classic crime comedy I soliti ignoti/Big Deal on Madonna Street (Mario Monicelli, 1958) with Marcello Mastroianni and Vittorio Gassman as a pair of thieves who head a group of criminals in a break-in attempt, and the French-Italian comedy La Loi C'est la Loi/La legge è legge/The Law Is the Law (Christian-Jacque, 1958) with Fernandel as a French customs sergeant who conducts an on-going war of nerves with Italian smuggler Totò on the Franco-Italian border. The publicity attending the long-anticipated teaming of France's favourite comedian and his Italian counterpart helped to make The Law Is the Law one of the most successful films in both comedians' careers.


Italian postcard.

Controversial, Spicy Gags

Totò's unmistakable figure, with his peculiarly irregular ‘stone-face’, and his unique ability to disarticulate his body like a marionette, were very popular and his comic gags are now part of the Italian culture. Wikipedia notes that his typical character is uneducated, poor, vain, snobbish, selfish, naïve, opportunist, hedonist, lascivious and generally immoral, although fundamentally good-hearted.

Partly because of the radical, naïve immorality of his roles, some of his most spicy gags raised much controversy in Italian society. Che fine ha fatto Totò Baby?/Whatever happened to Totò Baby? (Ottavio Alessi, 1964) a parody of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich, 1962), included a cheeky and gross celebration of cannabis, in an era when drugs were generally perceived as depraved and dangerous. Nevertheless, such controversies never affected the love of the Italian public for him.

In Pasolini's Uccellacci e uccellini/The Hawks and the Sparrows (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1966) with Ninetto Davoli as Totò’s son, the episode La Terra vista dalla Luna/The Earth As Seen From The Moon from Le streghe/The Witches (Pier Paolo Pasolini a.o., 1965-1967) with Silvana Mangano, and the episode Che cosa sono le nuvole/What are clouds? from Capriccio all'italiana/Caprice Italian Style (Steno, Pier Paolo Pasolini a.o., 1968 - released after his death), he displayed his dramatic skills. These roles gave him the artistic acknowledgment that had eluded him so far by more stringent critics, who only began to recognize his talent after his death.

Despite his physical appearance Totò had a reputation as a playboy. He had for example a relationship with gorgeous film star Silvana Pampanini in the 1940s. One of his lovers, the cafe-concert singer Liliana Castagnola, committed suicide in 1930 after their relationship ended. This tragedy marked his life. He buried Liliana in his family's chapel, and named his only daughter Liliana De Curtis. She was born in 1933 to his first wife Diana Bandini Rogliani, whom he had married in 1932 (according to IMDb in 1935). He dedicated his most famous song Malafemmena (Wayward Woman) to Diana after they separated in 1939.

From 1951 on he lived with Franca Faldini and they married in 1954. A personal tragedy was the premature birth of their son Massenzio in 1954. The boy died a few hours later.

In 1967, Totò passed away at the age of 69 in Rome, after a series of heart attacks. Wikipedia: “Even in death he was unique — due to overwhelming popular request there were three funeral services: the first in Rome, a second in his birth city Naples — and a few days later, in a third one by the local Camorra boss, an empty casket was carried along the packed streets of the popular Rione Sanità quarter where he was born. Totò's birth home has been recently opened to the public as a museum, and his tombstone is frequently visited by fans, some of whom pray to him for help, as if he were a saint.”


Trailer Totò a Parigi/Totò in Paris (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1958). Source: Unidisjollyfilm (YouTube).

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Volker Boehm (IMDb), AllMovie, Wikipedia and IMDb.

C. Aubrey Smith

C. Aubrey Smith (1863–1948) was an English cricketer and actor, who started his film career in the British silent cinema. He went to Hollywood where he had a successful career as a character actor playing stereotypical Englishmen with the stiff upper lip and a stern determination. His bushy eyebrows, beady eyes, and handlebar moustache made him one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 790A. Photo: Walter Wanger.

Lurid, Sensationalist and Distasteful

Sir Charles Aubrey Smith CBE was born in London, England in 1863. He was educated at Charterhouse School and St John's College, Cambridge.

He played cricket for Cambridge University 1882-85 and for Sussex at various times between 1882 and 1892. He settled in South Africa to prospect for gold in 1888-89. He developed pneumonia and was wrongly pronounced dead by doctors. While in South Africa he captained the Johannesburg English XI. He captained England to victory in his only cricket Test match, against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 1888-1889.

Aubrey Smith began acting on the London stage in 1895. He was 30 then. His first major role was in The Prisoner of Zenda the following year, playing the dual lead roles of king and look-alike. He married Isabella Wood in 1896.

Despite the theatrical community's disdainful attitude towards the cinema, Smith enthusiastically launched his film career in 1914. He appeared in silent dramas as The Builder of Bridges (George Irving, 1915), The Witching Hour (George Irving, 1916), and Red Pottage (Meyrick Milton, 1918), co-starring Mary Dibley and Gerald Ames. He was already in his forties at the time.

Other British silent films were the drama Castles in (Horace Lisle Lucoque, 1920) with Lilian Braithwaite, the crime film The Face at the Window (Wilfred Noy, 1920) with Gladys Jennings, and The Shuttle of Life (D. J. Williams, 1920) starring Evelyn Brent.

In 1922 he co-starred in the romance The Bohemian Girl (Harley Knoles, 1922), starring Gladys Cooper and Ivor Novello. It was inspired by the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe and Alfred Bunn which was in turn based on a novel by Cervantes.

In the drama Flames of Passion (Graham Cutts, 1922) his co-star was Hollywood actress Mae Marsh. The film was made by the newly formed Graham-Wilcox Productions company, a joint venture between Cutts and producer Herbert Wilcox. The entrepreneurial Wilcox tempted American star Marsh to England with a high salary offer, believing this would improve the film's marketability in the US. The gamble paid off as it became the first post-war British film to be sold to the US, where it was shown under the title A Woman's Secret.

The final reel of the film was filmed in the Prizmacolor process. Flames of Passion proved controversial with critics, many of whom found the subject matter lurid, sensationalist and distasteful. Cinemagoers had no such qualms, and turned the film into a big box-office hit.

Aubrey Smith made his Broadway debut in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in the starring role of Henry Higgins.

In Hollywood, he played a supporting part in the silent drama The Rejected Woman (Albert Parker, 1924), featuring Alma Rubens in the title role and Béla Lugosi in a supporting role.

He returned to England to the theatre and it was his 1928 stage hit Bachelor Father that led to Smith's phenomenally successful career in talking pictures.


British postcard by J. Beagles & Co. Ltd., London, no. 184E. Photo: Dover St. Studios. Publicity still for the play The Flag Lieutenant with Cyril Maude as Lieutenant Richard Lascelles and C. Aubrey Smith as Major Thesiger at The Playhouse, 1908.


British postcard in the Rotary Photographic Series, no. 4208D. Photo: Foulsham & Banfield, London. Publicity still for the play Inconstant George with Charles Hawtrey as Georges Bullin and C. Aubrey Smith as Luciene de Versannes. The play written by Gladys B. Unger and directed by Charles Hawtrey was performed during the 1910-1911 season at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London.

The Hollywood Raj

First C. Aubrey Smith appeared in the early British sound film Such Is the Law (Sinclair Hill, 1930). A year later, he was back in America to co-star with Marion Davies and Ralph Forbes in the MGM drama The Bachelor Father (Robert Z. Leonard, 1931).

In Hollywood, Smith would have a successful career as a character actor playing military officers, successful business men, ministers of the cloth and ministers of government in films like the romantic comedy Just a Gigolo (Jack Conway, 1931) with William Haines, the romance Son of India (Jacques Feyder, 1931), and the magnificent comedy Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932).

In the classic jungle adventure Tarzan the Ape Man (W. S. Van Dyke, 1932), featuring Johnny Weissmuller, he played Jane’s (Maureen O’Sullivan) father.

Smith was also regarded as being the unofficial leader of the British film industry colony in Hollywood, the Hollywood Raj. Other British actors who were considered to be ‘members’ of this select group were David Niven (whom Smith treated like a son), Ronald Colman, Rex Harrison, Robert Coote, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Leslie Howard and Patric Knowles.

In 1932, he founded the Hollywood Cricket Club and created a pitch with imported English grass. He attracted fellow expatriates such as David Niven, Laurence Olivier, Nigel Bruce (who served as captain), Leslie Howard and Boris Karloff to the club as well as local American players.

His films include such classics as The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, 1934) starring Marlene Dietrich, The Prisoner of Zenda (John Cromwell, 1937), as the wise old advisor opposite Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and The Four Feathers (Zoltan Korda, 1939).

Smith became infamous for expecting his fellow countrymen to report for regular duty at his Hollywood Cricket Club, and anyone who refused was known to "incur his displeasure".

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1938, and knighted by King George VI in 1944 for services to Anglo-American amity. Fiercely patriotic, Smith became openly critical of the British actors of enlistment age who did not return to fight after the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

His later films include Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Victor Fleming, 1941), and the Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians (René Clair, 1945) in which he played General Mandrake.

Smith died from pneumonia in Beverly Hills in 1948, aged 85. His body was cremated and nine months later, in accordance with his wishes, his ashes were returned to England and interred in his mother's grave at St Leonard's churchyard in Hove, Sussex. With Isabella Wood, he had one child. His last film appearance as Mr. Lawrence in Little Women (Mervyn LeRoy, 1949) was released posthumously.

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Tony Fontana (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.