Anita Farra
Italian postcard by Rizzoli & C., Milano, 1942. Photo: Pesce.
Anita Farra (1905–1979) was an Italian actress and scriptwriter, who also worked in Spain.
Born in Venice in 1905, Farra began attending small theater companies in the region, her arrival at the cinema would only take place in 1936 with the film Bertoldo, Bertoldino and Cacasenno, under the direction of Giorgio Simonelli. The career of the film actress consisted of about 31 films, in the period of about 40 years, but was extremely discontinuous, Farra would never be able to get out of secondary parts and would abandon work for the big screen in 1975, continuing to work in the theater. She also did occasional performances in radio programs of the thirties and forties by EIAR and RAI. Farra often worked in Spain, also participating in the screenplay for the film Buongiorno, Madrid! (Gian Maria Cominetti, 1943), starring Maria Mercader.
In the spring of 1943, Farra went to Spain for a series of Italo-Hispanic co-productions, such as Dora, la espia (1943), staring the diva of Italian silent cinema: Francesca Bertini. Her parts became considerably bigger. Her travel and work companions were Emilio Cigoli, Felice Romano, Franco Coop, Nerio Bernardi and Paola Barbara (who was already in Madrid with her husband, the director Primo Zeglio). After finishing the commitment with the production, the group of Italian actors, considering the wartime travel conditions and the state of order in Italy, decided to remain in the Spanish capital pending the end of the war. They were contacted by a representative of the 20th Century Fox who offered them the opportunity to work on the dubbing, in Italian, of the films of the American company, to make sure that at the end of the war, the films could be inserted in the circuits of the Italian cinemas, considering the shutdown of the dubbing plants in Rome. The group of actors set to work in a studio in Madrid, where several American films are dubbed, including How Green Was My Valley, Charley's Aunt, The Mark of Zorro, Suspicion, and The Lodger. These films arrived in Italy following the American Allied troops liberating Italy, and after a while they were distributed for viewing in public cinemas. In the middle of 1945 the actors returned to Rome, where they resumed their usual work within a short time.
After the war, Farra would continue act in films but much less than before, and alternating Italian and Spanish films. She played e.g. a friend of Paola (Lucia Bosé) In Michelangelo Antonioni's Cronaca di un amore (1950). Her last part Farra had as the mother of the leading character (played by Enrico Montesano) in Amore vuol dir gelosia (Mauro Severino, 1975).
NB While Italian Wikipedia writes Farra died August 7, 1979 in Madrid, IMDB and English Wikipedia state she died August 4, 2008 (age 103), in Predappio, Italy.
Source: Italian WIkipedia, IMDB.
Anita Farra
Italian postcard by Rizzoli & C., Milano, 1942. Photo: Pesce.
Anita Farra (1905–1979) was an Italian actress and scriptwriter, who also worked in Spain.
Born in Venice in 1905, Farra began attending small theater companies in the region, her arrival at the cinema would only take place in 1936 with the film Bertoldo, Bertoldino and Cacasenno, under the direction of Giorgio Simonelli. The career of the film actress consisted of about 31 films, in the period of about 40 years, but was extremely discontinuous, Farra would never be able to get out of secondary parts and would abandon work for the big screen in 1975, continuing to work in the theater. She also did occasional performances in radio programs of the thirties and forties by EIAR and RAI. Farra often worked in Spain, also participating in the screenplay for the film Buongiorno, Madrid! (Gian Maria Cominetti, 1943), starring Maria Mercader.
In the spring of 1943, Farra went to Spain for a series of Italo-Hispanic co-productions, such as Dora, la espia (1943), staring the diva of Italian silent cinema: Francesca Bertini. Her parts became considerably bigger. Her travel and work companions were Emilio Cigoli, Felice Romano, Franco Coop, Nerio Bernardi and Paola Barbara (who was already in Madrid with her husband, the director Primo Zeglio). After finishing the commitment with the production, the group of Italian actors, considering the wartime travel conditions and the state of order in Italy, decided to remain in the Spanish capital pending the end of the war. They were contacted by a representative of the 20th Century Fox who offered them the opportunity to work on the dubbing, in Italian, of the films of the American company, to make sure that at the end of the war, the films could be inserted in the circuits of the Italian cinemas, considering the shutdown of the dubbing plants in Rome. The group of actors set to work in a studio in Madrid, where several American films are dubbed, including How Green Was My Valley, Charley's Aunt, The Mark of Zorro, Suspicion, and The Lodger. These films arrived in Italy following the American Allied troops liberating Italy, and after a while they were distributed for viewing in public cinemas. In the middle of 1945 the actors returned to Rome, where they resumed their usual work within a short time.
After the war, Farra would continue act in films but much less than before, and alternating Italian and Spanish films. She played e.g. a friend of Paola (Lucia Bosé) In Michelangelo Antonioni's Cronaca di un amore (1950). Her last part Farra had as the mother of the leading character (played by Enrico Montesano) in Amore vuol dir gelosia (Mauro Severino, 1975).
NB While Italian Wikipedia writes Farra died August 7, 1979 in Madrid, IMDB and English Wikipedia state she died August 4, 2008 (age 103), in Predappio, Italy.
Source: Italian WIkipedia, IMDB.