Cirano di Bergerac (1923)

Tonight, the screening of the Franco-Italian historical film Cirano di Bergerac / Cyrano de Bergerac (1923) will be the opening event of Le Giornate del Cinema Muto or the Pordenone Silent Film Festival. We will follow the 44th Giornate during the whole festival. Director Augusto Genina based his film on Edmond Rostand's often-filmed play 'Cyrano de Bergerac'. Pierre Magnier starred as Cyrano de Bergerac, the gentleman with the unusually long nose, Linda Moglia played his beautiful but unreachable niece Roxane, and Angelo Ferrari played his friend and rival in love, Christian de Neuvillette. Will Cyrano ever find love? Enjoy the festival!


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 226. Photo: UCI. Linda Moglia as Roxane and Angelo Ferrari as Christian de Neuvillette in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923), based on Edmond Rostand's famous play 'Cyrano de Bergerac'.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: The witty remarks by Cyrano cause for hilarity among the populace present at the theatre.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: Before the duel.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: Jokingly, Cyrano ironises the presumptuous Gascogne noble, before duelling with him.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: A tale by Cyrano.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac and Angelo Ferrari as Christian de Neuvillette in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: Cyrano addresses to Roxane his most ardent words of love by the lips of Christian, who, incapable of inventing such words, memorises them thanks to Cyrano.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: Hidden between the foliage in the garden, Cyrano suggests to Christian the magic, sublime words that the latter isn't capable of inventing and that, aside from Roxane's delicate inhibitions.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Linda Moglia as Roxane and Angelo Ferrari as Christian de Neuvillette in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: Christian joins the baluster, finally embracing Roxane. He bends towards her mouth to receive the kiss from her, who has bent because of the sweet words Cyrano lent him.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Linda Moglia as Roxane and Angelo Ferrari as Christian de Neuvillette in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923). Caption: The nice phrases of Christian he learned from Cyrano, have conquered and seduced Roxane.

A brave and eloquent gentleman doted on an unusually long nose

Cirano di Bergerac / Cyrano de Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) traces the classical story by Edmond Rostand about the strong, witty and eloquent gentleman, a poet, in 17th-century France. Cirano, a leader filled with plenty of charisma and bravado, has only one flaw: an unusually long nose. The play was inspired by a real person, Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinen (1619-1655), an author known for his swordsmanship and large nose, but the play is a fictionalisation of his life that follows the broad outlines of it.

Future film director Mario Camerini wrote the script for the silent film version. Cirano di Bergerac was shot in 1922. French stage and screen actor Pierre Magnier played Cirano di Bergerac (Cyrano de Bergerac). Magnier would act in over 100 films and was also known for La roue (Abel Gance, 1923) and La règle du jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939).

Whoever challenges Cyrano for his nose will meet his sword. As Cyrano cannot have his beautiful niece Roxana (Roxanne) (Linda Moglia) because of his looks, he secretly helps young Christian de Neuvillette (Angelo Ferrari) to seduce her using Cyrano's poetic words. Christian and Roxane secretly marry before he goes to war, together with Cyrano. From the camp, Cyrano writes Roxane poetic letters in Christian's name, which increase her love for the young man, so much that she visits the camp and declares to Christian she would even love him if he were not beautiful anymore, hurting Christian's feelings.

Just as Cyrano is about to confess to Roxane his fraud, Christian is shot, and he dies in Roxane's arms, content that Roxane really loves him. Five years later, like always, Cyrano visits Roxane in the convent where she has retired. This day, his old enemies have mortally wounded him, but he covers the wound with his hat. When Cyrano is once more reciting Christian's last letter and can do so from the head, Roxane discovers Cyrano was the true author of all of Christian's poetry and understands. It is too late. Cyrano dies reciting his lines.

In 1923, the film won an award at the Turin festival. Afterwards, the whole film was stencil-coloured in Pathé-color. This took three years to complete, delaying the film's release until 1925. The colouring process involved cutting stencils for each frame of the film, one for each of up to four colours. This was done in Paris by Mme. Marie-Berthe Thuillier, the most famous stencil-colour artist. She projected each frame onto a ground glass screen and traced with a Pantograph. These stencils were then used to apply colours to black-and-white prints in a process similar to silk-screening. Each shot was processed separately, so different colour palettes could be used for each shot. In 1999, this colour version was fully restored by Film Preservation Associates for ARTE, in collaboration with Avid Shepard, and with post-production by Lobster. Kurt Kuenne composed new music, executed by the Olympia Chamber Orchestra led by Timothy Brock.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) with Linda Moglia as Roxane and Angelo Ferrari as Christian de Neuvillette. Caption: Roxane and Christian de Neuvillette marry.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) with Linda Moglia as Roxane and Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) with Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac. Caption: During the siege of Arras, Cyrano writes to Roxane on behalf of Christian the most ardent words an enamoured heart could have suggested.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) with Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac. Caption: Cyrano writes...


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923), based on Edmond Rostand's play 'Cyrano de Bergerac'. Caption: Songs of a distant homeland.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) with Linda Moglia as Roxane and Angelo Ferrari as Christian de Neuvillette. Caption: Defying danger, Roxane joins Christian at Arras, where he is camping with the soldiers.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) with Linda Moglia as Roxane and Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923) with Linda Moglia as Roxane and Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac. Caption: A few cronies of the Duke de Guiche have treacherously hit Cyrano. He still has the force to go to his beloved Roxane, and involuntarily, he reveals his heroic sacrifice.


Publicity still for Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 2025. Credit: FPA Classics, Paris. Pierre Magnier in Cirano di Bergerac / Cyrano de Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb. For those who can't join the festival, a DVD of Cirano di Bergerac has been released by Absolute Medien, together with ARTE.

Angelo Ferrari

Italian actor Angelo Ferrari (1897-1945) appeared in nearly 200 films. He started his career in Italian silent films and later got a strong foothold in German cinema.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1447/1, 1926-1928. Photo: Schlosser & Wenisch. Signed: 'Sinceramente [Sincerely], Angelo Ferrari. 1926.'


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1447/3, 1926-1928. Photo: Oertel, Berlin. Signed: 'Gentile signorina Susi Schuurmann, Angelo Ferrari. 1926.'


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/5. Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion. Henny Porten and Angelo Ferrari in Meine Tante - deine Tante (Carl Froehlich, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3342/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Jacobi, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3435/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.

Love-is-stronger-than-death story

Angelo Ferrari was born in Fara Gera d’Adda in Lombardia, Italy in 1897. In 1913 and 1914, the young Ferrari became the roll skate champion in Italy.

Thomas Staedeli at Cyranos: "Ferrari was spotted by the actress Diana Karenne". She provided the role of a prince for him in the silent film Sofia di Kravonia (Ernesto Maria Pasquali, 1916).

In the late 1910s, he continued with Italian silent films like La serata d'onore di Buffalo/The Gala Night for Buffalo (Carlo Campogalliani, 1916) and Il veliero della morte/The Veil of Death (Carlo Campogalliani, 1917). These films were all produced by the pioneering production company Pasquali Film.

After doing military service between 1916 and 1918, Ferrari worked with well-known director Augusto Genina on I tre sentimentali/The Three Sentimentals (1920), L'incatenata/The Chained Woman (1921) and Un punto nero/The Black Point (1922). Ferrari starred with diva Francesca Bertini in the drama La donna nuda/The Naked Woman (1922), based on a play by Henry Bataille. The film was directed by Roberto Roberti – Sergio Leone’s father,

With another Italian diva, Rina De Liguoro, he appeared in Savitri Satyavan (Giorgio Mannini, 1923). This was the first international co-production of India. The love-is-stronger-than-death story sees Savitri (De Liguoro), the daughter of King Ashwapati and a goddess, fall for Satyavan (Ferrari) who is destined to die within a year. He is killed by a tree and his soul is gathered by the god Yama (Gianna Terribili-Gonzales) but he returns to life and there is a happy ending for the lovers. Some nudity and other 'erotic' images were removed in India to satisfy the censors.


Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Imperiale, no. 4 out of 6 cards. Photo: Pasquali / Vay Film / J. Verdaguer / Prod. Armando Vay, Milano. Diana Karenne and Diana Karenne in Sofia di Kravonia (Ernesto Maria Pasquali, 1916), based on the book by Anthony Hope.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 107. Photo: La Fotominio. Publicity still for La donna nuda/The Naked Woman (Roberto Roberti, 1922) with Francesca Bertini.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 115. Photo: La Fotominio. Publicity still for La donna nuda/The Naked Woman (Roberto Roberti, 1922) with Francesca Bertini.


Italian postcard. Photo: UCI. Publicity still for the Franco-Italian historical film Cirano di Bergerac/Cyrano de Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923), based on Edmond Rostand's famous play Cyrano de Bergerac. Caption: the nice phrases of Christian which he learned from Cyrano have conquered and seduced Roxane. Linda Moglia played Roxanne.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Rina de Liguoro and Angelo Ferrari in Savitri Satyavan (Giorgio Mannini, 1923), India's first international co-production.

France, Germany, Italy

Angelo Ferrari appeared with Geneviève Félix in the French production L'engrenage/The Gear (Maurice Kéroul, Max Reichmann, 1923) before gaining a foothold in the German film business.

His breakthrough role in Germany was as an elegant count in the drama Die grüne Manuela/The Green Manuela (Ewald André Dupont, 1923). The film's plot bears several similarities to 'Carmen'. Lucie Labass played a gypsy dancer, who becomes involved with Spanish smugglers. It was the first time director Dupont worked with the cinematographer Werner Brandes and the art director Alfred Junge who were to become important collaborators with him.

In the silent German cinema, Ferrari acted in successful films like Prater (Peter Paul Felner, 1924) with Henny Porten, Die Motorbraut/The Motor Bride (Richard Eichberg, 1925) with Lee Parry and the Kammerspiel Eifersucht/Jealousy (Karl Grune, 1925) opposite Lya de Putti.

He returned to Italy for another hit, Cirano di Bergerac/Cyrano de Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1925), a film version of Edmond Rostand's famous play. He played the handsome Christian, who is eager to declare his love for the fair Roxanne (Linda Moglia), but he doesn't have the gift for words that Cyrano (Pierre Magnier) does.

In Germany, he then appeared in dozens of films including Rosen aus dem Süden/Roses From the South (Carl Froelich, 1926) opposite Henny Porten, Orientexpress/Orient Express (Wilhelm Thiele, 1927 with Lil Dagover, and the comedy Kopf hoch, Charly!/Heads Up, Charley (Willi Wolff, 1927) with Marlene Dietrich in a supporting role.

Later followed Die Sünderin/The Sinner (Mario Bonnard, 1927) featuring Elisabeth Pinajeff, the German-Italian drama Villa Falconieri (Richard Oswald, 1928) with Maria Jacobini, and the war drama Richthofen (Peter Joseph, 1929). In his German films, Ferrari often played roles such as an officer, a marquis or a prince.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 694/6, 1919-1924. Photo: Westi. Henny Porten and Angelo Ferrari in Pratertraum/Prater. Die Erlebnisse zweier Nähmädchen (Peter Paul Felner, 1924).


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 740. Photo: Treuhand-Film / Mondial A.G. Publicity still for In Treue stark/In Faithful Strong (Heinrich Brandt, 1926) with Margarete Lanner.


Italian postcard, no. 338. Photo: S.A. Stefano Pittaluga. Francesca Bertini and Angelo Ferrari in Mein Leben für das Deine/Odette (Luitz-Morat, 1928), based on Victorien Sardou's play 'Odette', and released in Italy under the same title. Bertini had already played in 1916 in an Italian version of Odette and would do it again in the sound era in a French version of Odette (1935).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1376/1, 1927-1928.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3630/1, 1928-1929.

The age of the talkies

Angelo Ferrari’s first sound film was La donna di una notte/The Woman of One Night (Marcel L’Herbier, 1930) featuring the diva of the silent Italian cinema Francesca Bertini. It was an alternate language version of La femme d'une nuit (Marcel L’Herbier, 1930), also starring Bertini.

Because La donna di una notte was edited without his consent, director L'Herbier asked for his name to be removed from the credits. It was still released in Rome and Milan for Christmas of 1931 with his name still appearing.

In the age of the talkies, Ferrari continued to play in well-known German pictures like Barcarole (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1935), Fridericus (Johannes Meyer, 1936), Der Mann der Sherlock Holmes War/The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (Karl Hartl, 1937) starring Hans Albers and Heinz Rühmann, and Tango Notturno (Fritz Kirchhoff, 1937) featuring Pola Negri.

But his parts had become smaller because of his lack of the German language. During the 1940s, Ferrari appeared in more than 50 German films, mostly in small, sometimes even uncredited parts. Some of his films were finished and released after the end of the war. The comedy Verlobte Leute/Engaged People, directed by Karl Anton and starring Axel von Ambesser, was filmed in 1945 but had its premiere in 1950 as Das Dementi in East Germany.

Angelo Ferrari was already five years dead by then. After a stroke, he died in Niederlehme, Germany in 1945, briefly before the end of World War II. He was 47.


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5002. Photo: HPF / Micheluzzi-Verleih.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4064/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Atelier Schrecker, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3116/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Hanni Schwarz.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3116/2, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Hanni Schwarz, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4848/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Atelier Ahrlé, Berlin.

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Janiss Garza (AllMovie), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 9 March 2024.

Meine Tante - deine Tante (1927)

Henny Porten and Angelo Ferrari are the stars of the German silent comedy Meine Tante - deine Tante/My Aunt, Your Aunt (Carl Froehlich, 1927). Henny Porten-Froelich-Produktion produced it and the Ufa distributed the film in Germany and ParUfaMet internationally.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/1 Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny-Porten-Film. Henny Porten in Meine Tante - deine Tante (Carl Froehlich, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/2. Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny-Porten-Film. Willi Allen and Henny Porten in Meine Tante - deine Tante (Carl Froehlich, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/3. Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny-Porten-Film. Henny Porten in Meine Tante - deine Tante/My Aunt, Your Aunt(Carl Froehlich, 1927).

Pretending he is unmarried

In Meine Tante - deine Tante/My Aunt, Your Aunt(Carl Froehlich, 1927) Henny Porten plays Helene, the wife of Edgar von Bocksdorff (Angelo Ferrari), whose uncle Bodo (Ralph Arthur Roberts) hates women. Bodo loves the muse of the music though, so when his first violin player becomes engaged to a woman, he engages his nephew, who performs in vaudeville houses.

Edgar goes to his uncle's castle, pretending he is unmarried, but his wife smuggles herself into the castle in men's clothes. She first pretends to become betrothed to the old man, but by forcing him to desperation, he accepts she marries his nephew instead.

Sturdy and blond Henny Porten (1890-1960) was one of Germany's most important and popular film actresses of the silent cinema. She became the quintessence of German womanhood, ladylike yet kindhearted and a not a little petit bourgeois. She was also the producer of many of her own films.

Italian actor Angelo Ferrari (1897-1954) appeared in nearly 200 films. He started his career in Italian silent films and later got a strong foothold in the German cinema.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/4. Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny-Porten-Film. Henny Porten in Meine Tante - deine Tante/My Aunt, Your Aunt (Carl Froehlich, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/5. Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny-Porten-Film. Henny Porten and Angelo Ferrari in Meine Tante - deine Tante/My Aunt, Your Aunt (Carl Froehlich, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 75/6. Photo: A. Schmoll, Berlin / Henny-Porten-Film. Henny Porten and Angelo Ferrari in Meine Tante - deine Tante/My Aunt, Your Aunt (Carl Froehlich, 1927).


German collectors card by Ross Verlag in the series Vom Werden Deutscher Filmkunst - Der Stumme Film, picture no. 118, Group 39. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still with Henny Porten and Ralph Arthur Roberts in Meine Tante - deine Tante (Carl Froehlich, 1927).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.