Elena Sangro in Maciste all inferno (1925)
Italian poster postcard by Giulio Bolaffi Editore, Torino. Design: Lugati. Elena Sangro in Maciste all inferno / Maciste in Hell (Guido Brignone, 1925)
Elena Sangro (1896-1969) was one of the main actresses of the Italian cinema of the 1920s. Despite the general film crisis then, she made one film after another. She was also one of D'Annunzio's mistresses, who dedicated to her the poem 'Alla Piacente'.
After acting lessons at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Elena Sangro debuted on stage in 'La cena delle beffe' by Sem Benelli and 'Patria' by Sardou. Baron Kanzler introduced her to director Enrico Guazzoni who gave the young actress the lead of his film Fabiola (1918). After the success of the film, more roles followed such as La Gerusalemme liberata (another epic by Guazzoni also in 1918), Primerose (Mario Caserini, 1919, with Thea antagonist), La principessa Zoe (Diego Angeli, 1919) and a series of films in which her cousin Giorgi Fini was her partner: Il più forte amore (1920), Il fauno di marmo (Mario Bonnard, 1921) and L'eredità di Caino (Giuseppe Maria Viti, 1921). Fini, alas, died very young. Sangro is a singer who sacrifices herself for an unworthy man in L'onesto mondo (Torello Rolli 1921), and she is a proud and patriotic princess in Saracinesca (Augusto Camerini, Gaston Ravel, 1922), set in papal Rome. Also in 1922, she played in the pro-Montenegro drama Non c'è resurrezione senza morte, based on the memories of Vladimir Popovic, directed by Edoardo Bencivenga and personally produced by Sangro. A pro-Montenegro group, headed by D'Annunzio, promoted the film. A few years ago the film was found, restored, and presented at the Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy. She then starred in Triboulet (Febo Mari, 1923), a period piece on the infamous loves of King Francis I of France (Achille Vitti). He falls in love with Gilletta (Sangro), unknowing she is his daughter, born from an extramarital affair. Gilletta was raised by the court buffoon Triboulet (Umberto Zanuccoli). She is in love with Manfredo (Giovanni Schettini), who has to endure several adventures to liberate Gilletta from the king's clutches.
Elena Sangro played the proud Poppea in the epic Quo vadis? (Gabriele D'Annunzio/Georg Jacoby, 1924), the seductive Proserpina in the fantastic comedy Maciste all'inferno / Maciste in Hell (Guido Brignone, 1925), so dear to the young Fellini, and the amazone Sarah in Maciste nella gabbia dei leoni (Guido Brignone, 1926). She was the seductress opposite Carmen Boni and Walter Slezak in Addio giovinezza (Augusto Genina, 1927) and she played an actress in Germany in Villa Falconieri (Richard Oswald 1928) starring Maria Jacobini. Elena Sangro finished her career in silent film as the spicy Madonna Orietta in the heavily censored Boccaccesca (Alfredo De Antoni 1928). In the sound era, Sangro returned to the stage and sang under the pseudonym of Lilia Flores. Occasionally she played small parts in films, as in the period piece L'abito nero da sposa (Luigi Zampa 1945). In the early 1940s, Sangro shot various art documentaries, with Anton Bià. The last job of this restless woman was president of Associazione dei Pionieri del Cinema, an initiative begun in the early 1960s to safeguard this important part of film history.
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Le dive del silenzio), Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema italiano, 1923-1931) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Elena Sangro in Maciste all inferno (1925)
Italian poster postcard by Giulio Bolaffi Editore, Torino. Design: Lugati. Elena Sangro in Maciste all inferno / Maciste in Hell (Guido Brignone, 1925)
Elena Sangro (1896-1969) was one of the main actresses of the Italian cinema of the 1920s. Despite the general film crisis then, she made one film after another. She was also one of D'Annunzio's mistresses, who dedicated to her the poem 'Alla Piacente'.
After acting lessons at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Elena Sangro debuted on stage in 'La cena delle beffe' by Sem Benelli and 'Patria' by Sardou. Baron Kanzler introduced her to director Enrico Guazzoni who gave the young actress the lead of his film Fabiola (1918). After the success of the film, more roles followed such as La Gerusalemme liberata (another epic by Guazzoni also in 1918), Primerose (Mario Caserini, 1919, with Thea antagonist), La principessa Zoe (Diego Angeli, 1919) and a series of films in which her cousin Giorgi Fini was her partner: Il più forte amore (1920), Il fauno di marmo (Mario Bonnard, 1921) and L'eredità di Caino (Giuseppe Maria Viti, 1921). Fini, alas, died very young. Sangro is a singer who sacrifices herself for an unworthy man in L'onesto mondo (Torello Rolli 1921), and she is a proud and patriotic princess in Saracinesca (Augusto Camerini, Gaston Ravel, 1922), set in papal Rome. Also in 1922, she played in the pro-Montenegro drama Non c'è resurrezione senza morte, based on the memories of Vladimir Popovic, directed by Edoardo Bencivenga and personally produced by Sangro. A pro-Montenegro group, headed by D'Annunzio, promoted the film. A few years ago the film was found, restored, and presented at the Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy. She then starred in Triboulet (Febo Mari, 1923), a period piece on the infamous loves of King Francis I of France (Achille Vitti). He falls in love with Gilletta (Sangro), unknowing she is his daughter, born from an extramarital affair. Gilletta was raised by the court buffoon Triboulet (Umberto Zanuccoli). She is in love with Manfredo (Giovanni Schettini), who has to endure several adventures to liberate Gilletta from the king's clutches.
Elena Sangro played the proud Poppea in the epic Quo vadis? (Gabriele D'Annunzio/Georg Jacoby, 1924), the seductive Proserpina in the fantastic comedy Maciste all'inferno / Maciste in Hell (Guido Brignone, 1925), so dear to the young Fellini, and the amazone Sarah in Maciste nella gabbia dei leoni (Guido Brignone, 1926). She was the seductress opposite Carmen Boni and Walter Slezak in Addio giovinezza (Augusto Genina, 1927) and she played an actress in Germany in Villa Falconieri (Richard Oswald 1928) starring Maria Jacobini. Elena Sangro finished her career in silent film as the spicy Madonna Orietta in the heavily censored Boccaccesca (Alfredo De Antoni 1928). In the sound era, Sangro returned to the stage and sang under the pseudonym of Lilia Flores. Occasionally she played small parts in films, as in the period piece L'abito nero da sposa (Luigi Zampa 1945). In the early 1940s, Sangro shot various art documentaries, with Anton Bià. The last job of this restless woman was president of Associazione dei Pionieri del Cinema, an initiative begun in the early 1960s to safeguard this important part of film history.
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Le dive del silenzio), Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema italiano, 1923-1931) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.