Maria Corda

Hungarian Maria Corda (1898-1975) was an immensely popular star of the silent cinema of Austria and Germany. The pretty, blonde actress was a queen of the popular epic spectacles of the 1920s, which were often directed by her husband, Alexander Korda.


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 523. Publicity still for The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 640-1. Photo: d'Ora.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 640-2. Photo d'Ora.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 804. Photo: d'Ora.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 53/3. Photo: Hisa. Publicity still for Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei/The Last Days of Pompeii (Carmine Gallone, Amleto Palermi, 1926). Collection: Didier Hanson.


French postcard by Europe, no. 315. Photo: Mercure Film. Maria Corda as Helen of Troy in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).

The Slave Queen

María Corda (sometimes spelt as Korda) was born María Antónia Farkas in Déva, Hungary in 1898. She began her acting career in the theatres of Budapest in the early days of World War I. Soon after Hungary became an independent state she began to work in the film industry as well.

As Antónia Farkas she made her first film appearance in Se ki, se be/Not In, or Out (Sándor Korda aka Alexander Korda, 1919). In 1919 she married her director, but she would always write her last name differently to differentiate herself from her husband. He featured her in Fehér rózsa/The White Rose (Alexander Korda, 1919), Ave Caesar! (Alexander Korda, 1919) and A 111-es/Number 111 (Alexander Korda, 1919).

She followed Korda when he journeyed to Vienna to join the Sascha Film Company. There Korda made her a star of the European silent cinema. Under his guidance, she took part in epic films like Samson und Delila/Samson and Delilah (Alexander Korda, 1922) and Die Sklavenkönigin/The Slave Queen (Mihály Kertész aka Michael Curtiz, 1924).

Set in ancient Egypt, Die Sklavenkönigin recounts the oppression of the Jews under the despotic rule of Pharaoh Menapta. Against this backdrop is played the romantic story of Hebrew girl Merapi (Maria), the ‘Moon of Israel’, and Prince Seti (Adelqui Migliar aka Adelqui Millar), heir to the Egyptian throne.

Die Sklavenkönigin was intended for an American release that same year, under the title Moon of Israel. That release was suppressed by Cecil B. DeMille, who worried that his own The Ten Commandments would be compared unfavourably. In 1927 Moon of Israel finally arrived in the American cinemas, director Michael Curtiz had been hired by Warner Bros., largely on the strength of this one film.


Romanian postcard. Photo: Dorian-Film. Maria Corda and Adelqui Migliar in Die Sklavenkönigin/The Moon of Israel (Mihaly Kertesz aka Michael Curtiz, 1924).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 349. Photo: Palermi Films / La Fotominio. Maria Corda and Ruggero Ruggeri in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 352. Photo: Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano. Maria Corda (probably)in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by C. Chierichetti, Milano. Photo: Grandi Films, Roma. Maria Corda as Nydia in Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei/The Last Days of Pompeii (Carmine Gallone, Amleto Palermi, 1926).



Italian postcard by C. Chierichetti, Milano. Photo: Grandi Films, Roma. Victor Varconi as Glaucus and Maria Corda as Nydia in Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei/The Last Days of Pompeii (Carmine Gallone, Amleto Palermi, 1926).


Former Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Croatian) postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no. 59. Photo: Pan Film, Zagreb. Maria Corda and Alfred Abel in the German film Der Gardeoffizier/The Guardsman (Robert Wiene, 1927), based on the play 'A testör' by Ferenc Molnár. The man kneeling and begging for forgiveness is Abel. The man in the back may be Anton Edthofer, who plays a critic.


Former Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Croatian) postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no. 62. Photo: Pan Film, Zagreb. Maria Corda in Der Gardeoffizier/The Guardsman (Robert Wiene, 1927).

Box Office Queen

In the mid-1920s, Maria Corda had become a darling of the public and a sure guarantee for success at the box office. To her hits belong Das unbekannte Morgen/The Unknown Tomorrow (Alexander Korda, 1923) with Werner Krauss, Jedermanns Frau/Everybody's Woman (Alexander Korda, 1924), and Madame wünscht keine Kinder/Madame Doesn't Want Children (Alexander Korda, 1926) with Harry Liedtke.

Her popularity was so huge that Austrian investors refused their grant for the Italian film Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei/The Last Days of Pompeii (Carmine Gallone, Amleto Palermi, 1926) unless the leading part would be recast with Maria Corda. And of course, that’s what finally happened.

Desperately seeking his independence, Alexander Korda moved to Berlin to form his own company Korda-Film, and Maria moved with him to the German capital. There Korda directed his wife in Eine DuBarry Von Heute/A Modern DuBarry (Alexander Korda, 1926).

Corda played Toinette, a saucy, somewhat amoral scullery maid. Bouncing from bed to bed, Toinette becomes the mistress of Count Martel (Alfred Gerasch) and, ultimately, the King of Andalia (Jean Bradin).

This final liaison very nearly topples the Andalian government, but Toinette manages to survive this ordeal without a hair out of place, though she does cry and cry a lot when things don't go her way. This film landed Korda his Hollywood contract, and he and Maria travelled to the US.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1074/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1074/4, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1074/6, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1633/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Fox.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1823/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3397/2, 1928-1929. Photo: Defina / First National.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 5807. Photo: Lux Film Verleih / Aafa.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 5808. Photo: Lux Film-Verleih / Aafa.

Oblivion

Maria Corda’s one truly successful Hollywood film performance was in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927). Setting the standard for his later light-hearted biopics The Private Life of Henry VIII and Rembrandt, Korda steadfastly refused to take any of The Private Life of Helen of Troy seriously.

Maria Corda played the title character as a fetchingly underdressed coquette, oblivious to all the political turmoil she's causing when she allows the handsome Paris (Ricardo Cortez) to kidnap her. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1928, the year of the Awards' inception, in the category of Best Title Writing.

Other Hollywood productions with Corda like the early sound film Love and the Devil (Alexander Korda, 1929) enjoyed little success. She finished her Hollywood career when the sound came to stay because her English was limited.

She returned to Europe where she appeared in the silent comedies Der moderne Casanova/A Modern Casanova (Max Obal, 1928) and Die Konkurrenz platzt/The Competition Bursts (Max Obal, Rudolf Walther-Fein, 1929), both opposite Harry Liedtke.

In Germany, she made one more sound film: Rund um die Liebe/All Around Love (Oskar Kalbus, 1929) with Elisabeth Bergner. In 1930 Maria Corda divorced Alexander Korda and she would never make another film.

She moved to New York where she wrote novels. The formerly celebrated film goddess fell into oblivion. The later years of her life were spent in the vicinity of Geneva, Switzerland. Maria Corda died there in Thônex in 1976. She was 77.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 37. Photo: publicity still for The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927) with Ricardo Cortez.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3684/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Defina. With Ricardo Cortez in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3399/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Defina. Publicity still of Maria Corda and Ricardo Cortez as Helena and Paris in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


French postcard by Europe, no. 316. Photo: Mercure Film.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 61. Photo: Franz Lowy.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3472/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Defina.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3818/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Süd-Film.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4046/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Defina.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4368/1, 1929-30. Photo: Defina / First National. Back of the card: Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4555/1 (?), 1929-1930. Back of the card: ink stamp of Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 347.

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), J. A. Aberdeen (Hollywood Renegades Archives), Allure, Wikipedia and IMDb.

L'uomo più allegro di Vienna (1925)

Maria Corda, Ruggero Ruggeri and Victor Varconi star in the Italian silent film L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (1925). Amleto Palermi directed and produced the film with his Palermi Films. G.B. Falci and A. Traldi both produced a series of attractive postcards of the film.


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano. Photo: S.A.I.C. Ruggero Ruggeri in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano. photo: S.A.I.C. / Palermi Films. Maria Corda and Victor Varconi in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925). Caption: Il Congedo/The Goodbye.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 345. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda and Victor Varconi in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).

Quite moralistic but also modern

The plot of L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925) is quite moralistic but also modern. Katy, a young girl (Maria Corda) is easily attracted to a fancy life by a gigolo, William (Victor Varconi). Her father Max Bluck (Ruggero Ruggeri), a happy-go-lucky leader of a jazz band, energetically manages to subtract her from danger, even if all the relatives think he is a good-for-nothing.

Hungarian Maria Corda (1898-1975) was an immensely popular star of the silent cinema of Austria and Germany. The pretty, blonde actress was a queen of the popular epic spectacles of the 1920s, which were often directed by her husband, Alexander Korda.

Ruggero Ruggeri (1871-1953) was one the most important Italian stage actors of the first half of the twentieth century, who often performed the plays by Pirandello. He did perform in films too, both in silent and sound films. Nowadays, he is best remembered as the voice of Jesus in the Don Camillo films.

Handsome Victor Varconi (1891–1976) was a highly successful matinee idol of the Hungarian-Austrian and German silent cinema in the 1910s and early 1920s. Later he was the first Hungarian actor to become a Hollywood star until the sound film completely altered the course of his career.

In addition to Corda, Ruggeri and Varconi, Gianna Terribili Gonzales played Katy's mother, Loulou. Cinematography was by Vittore Armenise, while art direction was by Nino Macarones and Vittorio Cafiero.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 341. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 343. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 345. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda and Victor Varconi in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 349. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda and Ruggero Ruggeri in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).

Set in the louche dens of Vienna with its brutish visitors

L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925) was produced by Palermi's company A. P. Films (Almeto Palermi Films), while S.A.I.C. distributed it. On 25 November 1925, the film had its premiere in Rome.

At the time, the Milanese journal La rassegna del teatro e del cinematografo wrote that the plot seemed like a modernised Rigoletto, as a very moral tale about a father who in vain tries to prevent his daughter from dishonour, and also commented that the story was not entirely innocent, set in the louche dens of Vienna with its brutish visitors. The journal concluded the film was like a true restaurant dish: good meat but with an indigestible sauce.

In addition, the Roman source Il Tevere wrote that the plot may have seemed sentimental and old hat, but Ruggero Ruggeri gave a modern, innovative performance to it, giving his character a life of its own, while Maria Corda was given ample space to excel side by side with him.

A print of L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna was restored by the Cineteca del Friuli, Gemona (Italy), in collaboration with the Hungarian National Film Archive in Budapest.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 402. Photo: La Fotominio. Gianna Terribili Gonzales as Loulou and Victor Varconi as William in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 350. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda and Ruggero Ruggeri in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 352. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 363. Photo: La Fotominio / Fotolux / Palermi Films. Maria Corda and Victor Varconi in L'uomo più allegro di Vienna/The Most Cheerful Man in Vienna (Amleto Palermi, 1925).

Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano, 1923-1931 - Italian), Cineteca del Friuli, and IMDb.

The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)

Hungarian actress Maria Corda played Helen of Troy in the American silent film The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927) with Ricardo Cortez as Paris. Husband Alexander Korda directed them, parodying the plot-line of historical epics of the era by transforming the classical characters into everyday people with modern problems.


French postcard by Europe, no. 312. Photo: Mercure Film. Maria Corda and Ricardo Cortez in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


French postcard by Europe, no. 313. Photo: Mercure Film. Maria Corda and Ricardo Cortez in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


French postcard by Europe, no. 314. Photo: Mercure Film. Ricardo Cortez as Paris in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


French postcard by Europe, no. 315. Photo: Mercure Film. Maria Corda as Helen of Troy in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


French postcard by Europe, no. 316. Photo: Mercure Film. Maria Corda as Helen of Troy in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).

A fetchingly underdressed coquette, oblivious to all the political turmoil she's causing

In the American historical epic The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927) stars Maria Corda as the legendary Queen Helen of Troy. The film was based on the 1925 novel of the same name by John Erskine and the play 'The Road to Rome' by Robert E. Sherwood, and it was adapted to screen by Carey Wilson with intertitles by Gerald Duffy, Ralph Spence, and Casey Robinson.

In response to her husband Menelaus' (Lewis Stone) lack of interest in her, Helena elopes with Paris (Ricardo Cortez) to Sparta. Menelaus, egged on by his henchman, starts a war with Paris, finally effecting the return of Helen. The time-honoured custom demands that he have the pleasure of killing her, but her seductive loveliness restrains him. And so at the end of the story, we find Helen engaging in a new flirtation with the Prince of Ithaca, while Menelaus happily goes fishing.

The cast also included George Fawcett as Eteoneus, Alice White as Adraste, Bill Elliott as Telemachus and Hungarian actor Károly Huszár, credited here as Charles Puffy, as Malapokitoratoreadetos.

The film was produced by Carey Wilson for Richard A. Rowland Productions and was distributed by First National Pictures. Director George Fitzmaurice started the film, was fired and replaced by Hungarian-born Alexander Korda. The remarkable costumes were designed by Max Rée. Special effects by Ralph Hammaras. The cinematography was done by Lee Garmes and Sid Hickox (Sydney Hickox).

In 1928, the year of the Academy Awards' inception, The Private Life of Helen of Troy was nominated for an Oscar. According to an author at IMDb, it was for 'Engineering Effects', what we call now Special Effects or Special Visual Effects. According to Wikipedia, it was nominated in the short-lived category of 'Best Title Writing'. Wikipedia is right, according to the database at Oscars.org, Gerald Duffy was nominated for WRITING (Title Writing). The category was dropped by the second Academy Awards. Gerald Duffy had died on 25 June 1928, and he was the first person to be posthumously nominated for an Academy Award.

The film was a significant success for Korda. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "Setting the standard for his later light-hearted biopics The Private Life of Henry VIII and Rembrandt, producer-director Alexander Korda steadfastly refuses to take any of The Private Life of Helen of Troy seriously. Maria Corda, wife of the director, plays the title character as a fetchingly underdressed coquette, oblivious to all the political turmoil she's causing."

Variety: "Helen [based on the novel by John Erskine] is all comedy. Satirizing ancient myth in general and Helen's affairs particularly, the titles are topical, while the music is mainly based on pop dance tunes. Wheeling the giant wooden horse inside the gates of Troy is accomplished to the strains of 'Horses, Horses, Horses', etc."

The Private Life of Helen of Troy survives only partially at the British Film Institute (BFI). Two sections from the beginning and end, running about 27–30 minutes in total, survive there.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 37. Photo: publicity still for The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 523. Maria Corda as Helen of Troy in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3216/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Defina / First National. Ricardo Cortez in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3399/1. Photo: Defina. Maria Corda and Ricardo Cortez as Helena and Paris in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3684/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Defina. Maria Corda and Ricardo Cortez in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3780/1, 1928-1929. Photo: First National. Maria Corda in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927).

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Variety,  Silent Era, Oscars.org (now defunct), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 19 August 2020.