Tullio Carminati (1892-1971) was an Italian stage and film actor with a long-standing career from the 1910s to the 1960s. He played in Italian, German, American, British and French films as well as on Italian, American and British stages.
Spanish card by La Novela Semanal Cinematográfica, no. 76. Photo: A. Badodi, Milano.
Italian postcard. Photo: Fotocolore, Torino.
Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica. Photo: Ambrosio Film. Tullio Carminati with the outfit and hairdo of
Romanticismo (1915).
Italian postcard by Edizione Bettini, Roma, no. 128.
Italian postcard by Edizione Bettini, Roma, no. 199.
A modern, refined and sensible actor
Tullio Carminati was born as
Count Tullio Carminati de Brambilla in Zara, Austrian-Hungarian Empire (now Zadar, Croatia) in 1892 (1894, according to
IMDb and
Wikipedia).
He ran away from school and joined a theatre company which soon ran into financial trouble. Disinherited and chased from the house by his father, he had to start working as an actor. He managed to get employed by
Alfredo de Sanctis in 1907, during a Dalmatian tour by the latter. In 1909 Carminati arrived in Rome. By the mediation of actor
Gustavo Serena, Carminati met
Ferruccio Garavaglia, the first actor of the Compagnia Stabile Romana, which resided at the Teatro Argentina and which accepted him as an extra.
The company director,
Ettore Paladini, was not convinced of Carminati’s talent and restricted him to modest parts. In 1910 actress
Emma Gramatica discovered him while giving guest performances at the Argentina. She admired his elegance and spontaneity and convinced the management to give him
Jeune premier parts.
Under this flag, star actor and director
Ermete Novelli noticed him in 'La fiamma' and hired him in 1912 for his own company. Novelli became his teacher who taught him to give a balanced and natural performance and the taste for simple and touching solutions. Under the aegis of Novelli, Carminati transformed into a modern, refined and sensible actor, free of affectation.
Soon,
Marco Praga hired Carminati for his Compagnia stabile of the Teatro Manzoni in Milan and let him play in various modern plays by
Gabriele D’Annunzio,
Dario Niccodemi, Praga himself, and others. During a tour in South America and back in Milan, the focus was more on the lighter repertory.
Italian postcard by IPA CT, no. 742. Photo: Ambrosio. Publicity still for
Romanticismo (1915). Count Vitaliano Lamberti (
Tullio Carminati) is arrested by the Austrians, while his mother (
Mary Cléo Tarlarini) and his wife (
Helena Makowska) cannot help. Caption: 'Lasciate almeno delle nostre donne la libertà di morire di dolore' (At least permit our women the liberty to die of sorrow!).
Italian postcard by IPA CT, no. 747. Photo: Ambrosio. Publicity still for
Romanticismo (1915).
Helena Makowska (Anna Lamberti),
Tullio Carminati (Count Vitaliano Lamberti) and
Domenico Serra (Giacomino) in
Romanticismo (Carlo Campogaliani, 1915). The caption: 'Giacomino fa dei debiti..., ma sa dove refonirsi' (Giacomino makes debts... but knows where to find funds to repay them).
Italian postcard by IPA CT, no. 752. Photo: Ambrosio.
Tullio Carminati in
Romanticismo (1915).
Italian postcard by IPA CT Duplex, no. 1704. Photo: Film Società Anonima Ambrosio Torino. V. Uff.
Tullio Carminati in the Italian historical propaganda film
Val d'Olivi (Eleuterio Rodolfi, 1916), based on the novel by Anton Giulio Barrili (1873). Caption: Don Flaviano Delaiti (Carminati) informs himself about the duchess.
Italian postcard by IPA CT Duplex, no. 5108. Photo: Tiber Film.
Hesperia,
Tullio Carminati and
André Habay in
L'aigrette (Baldassarre Negroni, 1917). Caption: 'Claudio, Enrico e Susanna. Tragico colloquio' (Claudio, Enrico and Susanna. Tragic conversation). The countess of Saint-Servant (Ida Carolini Talli) has raised her son Enrico (Tullio Carminati) to be proud of his name and title, and to cherish honour and virtue, symbolised by the feather of her aigrette. In reality, the countess is hunted by creditors, and the castle is falling apart. Enrico falls in love with Susanne Leblanc (Hesperia), wife of a banker, and in return, she loads him with money in order to restore the castle. Her husband Claudio (André Habay) is not so happy with this kind of charity...
French postcard. Caption: 'Le pardon' (Forgiveness). Photo:
Tullio Carminati and
Ida Carloni-Talli in
L'aigrette/The Egret (Baldassarre Negroni, 1917).
Eye for detail, realism and style
In 1914 Tullio Carminati made his début in the Italian silent cinema. His first film appearance was in
La mia vita per la tua/My life for yours (1914), starring
Maria Carmi and directed by
Emilio Ghione. When the Manzoni company stopped in 1915, Carminati signed a contract with the Ambrosio company of Turin, playing in the propaganda film
Romanticismo/Romanticism (Carlo Campogalliani, Arrigo Frusta, 1915), in which he was the Italian aristocrat fighting the Austrians during the
Risorgimento.
His co-actress was
Elena Makowska who had her breakthrough in this film. Carminati would be paired with Makowska in several other Ambrosio films, as in
Val d’Olivi/Val of Olives (Eleuterio Rodolfi, 1915), again set at the
Risorgimento. Carminati also did a few films with actress
Madeleine Céliat, such as
Davanti alla legge/In Front of the Law (Carlo Campogalliani, 1916). In 1916 Carminati joined the theatre company of
Lyda Borelli and
Ugo Piperno. He played in 'Nozze dei Centauri' (Wedding of the Centaurs), 'La donna nuda' (The Naked Woman) and 'Amanti'(Lovers). But soon Carminati left again and focused on film acting, with titles like
Tramonto triste/Sad Tramonte (Giuseppe Pinto, 1916) and
L’articolo IV/The article IV (Gennaro Righelli, 1917). At Tiber Film, he played in a series of films directed by
Augusto Genina in 1916-1918:
Kalidaa – la storia una mummia/Kalidaa - The History of a Mummy (1917),
Il trono e la seggiola/The Throne and the Chair (1918) and in particular the successful films
Il presagio/The Premonition (1916) and
La menzogna/The Lie (1916), both with
Vera Vergani.
By now Carminati had become a real film star, his face and shape endlessly reproduced on postcards, posters and photos, in particular his kiss from
Il presagio. Between 1917 and 1922 Carminati acted in twelve star vehicles with the Italian diva
Hesperia, such as
L’aigrette/The Egret (1917),
La donna dei cuori/The Woman of the Hearts (1917) and
La donna abbandonata/The Abandoned Woman (1917), all directed by her husband
Baldassarre Negroni. In the late 1910s, Carminati also played with
Maria Jacobini in
La via più lunga/The Longest Street (Mario Caserini, 1918) and he made a few films with
Gemma and
Bianca Stagno Bellincioni. In 1919 Carminati founded his own film company, Carminati-Film. He produced five films with it in 1919-1920, all directed by
Enrico Roma, but in the end, he was forced to dissolve the company. All in all, Carminati played in some 37 Italian silent films between 1914 and 1924.
After some failures in the cinema, Carminati was forced to return to the stage. There he became extremely successful with his own company, together with
Alda Borelli, Lyda's sister, in 1920 and 1921. Carminati’s plays were known for their eye for detail, realism and style and their lack of frivolous overdoing. He played elegant and refined characters, full of spirit and wit. However, his part as Armand in
Alexandre Dumas fils' 'La dame aux camélias' (Camille) was considered as too cold.
When Borelli left the company in 1921, Carminati became the director and first actor of
Eleonora Duse’s company. Here he directed three dramas of which he played only in one, 'Cosí sia' (Such is) by
T. Gallarati Scotti. United Artists producer
Joseph Schenck spotted him and offered him to come to Hollywood to play in a series of films, but after the failure of Carminati-Film and because of his workload at the theatre, Carminati had his doubts. When Duse went on tour to the US, Carminati joined the theatre company of
Lucio d’Ambra and
Mario Fumagalli, appearing in plays by
Luigi Pirandello,
Roberto Bracco and
Sem Benelli. Carminati did only a few films in those years including
Mensch gegen Mensch/Person against Person (Hans Steinhoff, 1923), shot in Germany with
Alfred Abel in the lead. Between 1924 and 1925 Carminati did a series of plays with
Italia Almirante Manzini and
Lina Tricerri, including the very successful comedy 'Le nozze di Leporello' (The Wedding of Leporello) by
Luigi Almirante.
Italian postcard by Ed. Vettori, Bologna. Photo: probably publicity still for
L'articolo IV (Gennaro Righelli, 1918) with
Maria Jacobini and
Tullio Carminati.
Italian postcard. After they acted together in
L'aigrette (1917),
Diomira Jacobini and
Tullio Carminati acted together a few times at Tiber Film, but with Jacobini always in supporting parts, e.g. in
La via della luce (1917) and
La via più lunga (1918).
Italian postcard by Vettori, Bologna, no. 21.
Italian postcard, no. 74. Sent by mail in 1924. At the company Tiber Film, Carminati acted in a series of films directed by
Augusto Genina in 1916-1918, in particular the successful films
Il presagio (1916) and
La menzogna (1916), both with
Vera Vergani.
Italian postcard, no. 86. Photo:
Tullio Carminati and
Vera Vergani in
Il presagio/The Premonition (Augusto Genina, 1916).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, no. 2 in a series of 6 'cromos. Photo: Verdaguer / FAI.
Giovanni Schettini,
Hesperia and
Tullio Carminati in
El Vertigo, Spanish title for the Italian silent drama
Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
Elegance, openness and sobriety
Fed up with the decline of the Italian film world and deluded by the collaboration with
Italia Almirante Manzini and
Lina Tricerri, Tullio Carminati went to the US in 1925, without any clear prospects and without speaking the language properly. After some time, he managed to get a contract with United Artists and played a detective in his first American film:
The Bat (Roland West, 1926), with
Jack Pickford and
Louise Fazenda. This was followed by parts as the 'lover' in
The Duchess of Buffalo (Sydney Franklin, 1926) with
Constance Talmadge, and
Stage Madness (Victor Schertzinger, 1927) with
Virginia Valli. He then switched to Paramount where he reached fame with his part in
Honeymoon Hate (Luther Reed, 1927) with
Florence Vidor. He also acted in the
Pola Negri vehicle
Three Sinners (Rowland V. Lee, 1928).
With the advent of sound cinema, Carminati moved to New York and joined the company of
Basil Rathbone. Critics liked his elegance, openness and sobriety, while audiences loved his foreign accent and Latin lover image. His American stage career was confirmed with
Strictly Dishonorable by
Preston Sturges, which ran for two years 1930-1931 in some 725 shows. The continuous success of this play reopened the doors of Hollywood for Carminati. Until 1940, he continued to play in various films, like
Gallant Lady (Gregory LaCava, 1933),
Moulin Rouge (Sydney Lanfield, 1934) with
Constance Bennett, and
One Night of Love (Victor Schertzinger, 1934) with
Grace Moore.
In Europe, he played the male lead in the Franco-Italian production
Marcia nuziale/The Wedding March (Mario Bonnard, 1935), starring
Kiki Palmer. After another Broadway show, he acted in the romantic comedies
Let’s Live Tonight (Victor Schertzinger, 1934) with
Lilian Harvey, and
Paris in Spring (Lewis Milestone, 1935) with
Mary Ellis, establishing him as the mature Don Giovanni. In 1936 he acted in two British films by
Herbert Wilcox:
London Melody (1936) and
The Three Maxims (1936), both starring
Anna Neagle. In 1938, after a stay in Italy, he played again on Broadway in
By Candle Light, and in 1939 in the comedy
Stephen Jumel. In 1940 he played in Hollywood in
Sunset in Vienna (Norman Walker, 1940), with
Lilli Palmer, and in
Safari (Edward H. Griffith, 1940), with
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and
Madeleine Carroll.
In December 1941, a few days after the US declared war on Italy, Carminati was imprisoned. He was sent back to Italy in May 1942, because of anti-American activities. In the following year, he made his Italian cinema come-back in
La via torna/The Street Turns (Pier Luigi Faraldo, 1943) and he joined the company of
Elsa de Giorgi and
Elena Zareschi, performing in various plays before and after the liberation there. In 1946 he joined the company Morelli-Stoppa, for which he played in 'Antigone' (Jean Anouilh), directed by
Luchino Visconti. In 1953, after a stage absence of several years, Carminati returned to such plays as 'Il Ferro' (The Iron) by
Gabriele D’Annunzio.
From the late 1940s until 1963, Carminati acted in various films in Italy, Spain, France and the US. Memorable titles are
La Chartreuse de Parme/The Charterhouse of Parme (Christian Jaque, 1948) starring
Gérard Philipe,
La madonnina d’oro/The Golden Madonna (Ladislao Vajda, 1949) with
Phyllis Calvert,
La Beauté du diable/Beauty and the Devil (René Clair, 1950), the box office hit
Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953) with
Audrey Hepburn,
Giovanna d’Arco al rogo/Joan of Arc at the Stake (Roberto Rossellini, 1954) with
Ingrid Bergman,
War and Peace (King Vidor, 1956), the epic
El Cid (Anthony Mann, 1961) featuring
Charlton Heston. His final film was
The Cardinal (Otto Preminger, 1963). Tullio Carminati died in 1971 in Rome because of a brain haemorrhage. He was 78.
Italian postcard by Edizioni A. Traldi, Milano, no. 2. Photo: A. Badodi, Milano.
Italian postcard by Vettori, Bologna, no. 21.
British postcard in the Film Partners Series, London, no. P 151. Photo: Columbia. Publicity still for
One Night of Love (Victor Schertzinger, 1934) with
Grace Moore.
British postcard. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for
Paris in Spring/Paris Love Song (Lewis Milestone, 1935).
Italian postcard. Photo: Aser, Roma. Publicity still for
La vita torna (Pier Luigi Faraldo, 1943) in which Carminati had the male lead.
Sources:
Roberta Ascarelli (Italian - Treccani),
Vittorio Martinelli (Italian - Il cinema muto italiano), Wikipedia (
Italian and
English), and
IMDb.
This post was last updated on 2 September 2023.
