Rina De Liguoro

Rina De Liguoro (1892-1966) was the last diva of the Italian silent cinema of the 1920s. She had her breakthrough in 1924 as the sensual, untamed Roman empress Messalina, and the beautiful countess continued her glittering career in such epics as Quo Vadis (1924), Casanova (1927) and Cecil B. DeMille's notorious box office flop Madam Satan (1930).


Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 381.


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 475.


German postcard by Ross-Verlag, Berlin, no. 699/6,1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Brückmann. Rina De Liguoro in Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3046/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3902/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Pinto Roma.


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 431. Photo: Studio G.L. Manuel Frères.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 477. Photo: Pinto, Roma. The card refers to her status as a countess.

Messalina

Rina De Liguoro was born as Elisabetta Caterina Catardi in Firenze (Florence), Italy, in 1892. She studied piano with Maestro Luigi Finizio, graduating at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Naples. She made her debut as a pianist at the age of twenty-five and soon became a valued concert performer.

In 1918, she married Count Wladimiro De Liguoro, son of film director and producer Giuseppe De Liguoro. They had a daughter, Regana, born the following year. Later, Wladimiro De Liguoro would direct several of her films. After a concert in 1920, Rina was invited to visit a film set. During this visit, she appeared as an extra in La Principessa Bebé/The Princess Baby (Lucio D'Ambra, 1920). This was the start of a prolific film career.

She had her breakthrough with the lead role in the historical epic Messalina/The Fall of an Empress (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924), in which she played the sensual, untamed third wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. De Liguoro became the last diva of the Italian silent cinema with notable films like Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924) also starring Emil Jannings, Elena Sangro and Lillian Hall-Davis, and Gli ultimi giorni di Pompeii/The Last Days of Pompeii (Carmine Gallone, Amleto Palermi, 1926) with Victor Varconi and Maria Corda. There were several attempts in early Fascist Italy to recapture the success of the historical epics of the previous decade. Quo vadis? was produced by the ambitious Unione Cinematografica Italiana. D'Annunzio, the son of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, was considered a rising director and also wrote the film's screenplay.

The production ran seriously over budget, and additional financing had to be raised from Germany. The film was a critical and commercial failure on its release, effectively ending the career of its producer Arturo Ambrosio who had been one of the major figures of early Italian cinema. In the late 1920s, De Liguoro performed in Germany, Austria and France. A masterpiece was the French historical drama Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927). The film portrays the life and adventures of Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798). Star was the legendary Russian actor Ivan Mozzhukhin. Among the cast and the crew of the film were several Russian émigrés who had come to France following the Russian Revolution.

She also appeared in the French-German silent film drama Cagliostro (Richard Oswald, 1929). It depicts the life of the eighteenth-century Italian occultist Alessandro Cagliostro (Hans Stüwe), based on a novel by Johannes von Gunther. The film survives but is incomplete. Her last silent Italian film was Assunta Spina (Roberto Roberti, 1930), a remake of the classic version of 1915, starring Francesca Bertini.



Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 738. Photo: Rina De Liguoro dying in the final scene of Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 393. Photo: Rina De Liguoro in Bufera/Storm (Wladimiro De Liguoro, 1926).


Italian postcard by G. Vettori, Bologna, no. 941. Photo: U.C.I. Publicity still for Quello che non muore/What does not die (Wladimiro De Liguoro, 1926).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 882. Photo: Pinto, Roma.

Laurel & Hardy

In 1930, Rina De Liguoro was invited to go to Hollywood. As Countess De Liguoro, she appeared in films like the box office success Romance (Clarence Brown, 1930) starring Greta Garbo and the flop Madam Satan (Cecil B. DeMille, 1930). Wikipedia about the latter: "Madam Satan has been called one of the oddest films DeMille made and certainly one of the oddest MGM made during its 'golden age.' The film originally featured Technicolor sequences that are now lost."

De Liguoro also acted in Spanish-language versions of American films, including Politiquerías (James W. Horne, 1931), the alternate language version of the Laurel & Hardy comedy Chickens Come Home (1931) in which she replaced Mae Busch.

But the silent cinema days were over and Rina De Liguoro could play only minor parts in Hollywood. She decided to try again a career as a piano player.

She returned to Italy in 1939. There she appeared in a few films, including Ritrovarsi/Lost and Found (Oreste Palella, 1947) and Buffalo Bill a Roma/Buffalo Bill in Rome (Giuseppe Accatino, 1949).

Her last role was that of Princess of Presicce, Burt Lancaster's table companion at the ball in Il Gattopardo/The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963). Rina De Liguoro died in 1966 in Rome, Italy. She had demanded to be buried in her costume for Messalina.


Italian postcard by B&G, B, no. 11. Signed Rina De Liguoro. Photo: Rina De Liguoro as the title character in the epic film Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924).


Italian postcard (reproduction). Photo: publicity still for Savitri Satyavan (Giorgio Mannini, 1925), according to Wikipedia 'India's first international co-production', with De Liguoro as the goddess Savitri.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: still for Quo vadis? (1924).


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 388. Photo: Rina De Liguoro and Celio Bucchi in Bufera/Storm (Wladimiro De Liguoro, 1926). Bufera is a mountain drama about a woman seduced and abandoned by a rude mountain man, leaving her with a child. When finally her life seems to retake thanks to another, kinder man, the first one reappears. Luckily a mountain storm (hence the title of the film) will swallow the inconvenient intruder.


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 865. Photo: Pinto, Roma. Rina De Liguoro as Anita Garibaldi in Anita/Il romanzo d'amore dell'eroe dei due mondi (Aldo De Benedetti, 1926).


Italian postcard, no. 3519. Photo: Rina De Liguoro as Corticelli in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Italian postcard by Ed. Vettori, Bologna, no. 3522. Photo: Rina De Liguoro and Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).

Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Le dive del silenzio - Italian), Hans J. Wollstein (AllMovie - Page is now defunct), Cristiano Ruggero (Find A Grave), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 22 March 2025.

La via del peccato (1925)

Despite the title and an all-star cast, the Italian silent drama La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925) is quite an incoherent and tame film. The postcards promise wild scenes in the underworld with femme fatales and Apache dance, but none of it can be seen in the film. Whatever happened between filming and the premiere?


Italian postcard by Edizione G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 340. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Rina de Liguoro in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 355. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Rina De Liguoro and Lido Manetti in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 361. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Rina de Liguoro and Lido Manetti in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 362. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Rina de Liguoro and Lido Manetti in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 364. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Emilio Ghione and Kally Sambucini in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925). Sambucini's first name is misspelt on the card.

A terrible nightmare

For La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (1925), A.P. film had contracted an all-star cast. There are even two divas in the film, Soava Gallone and Rina De Liguoro. But also stars like Ruggero Ruggeri, Gustavo Serena, Mario Bonnard, Cecyl Tryan, Luigi Serventi, Lido Manetti (later known in the US as Arnold Kent), Mary-Cléo Tarlarini and Lamberto Picasso, appear in the film.

Ruggero Ruggeri stars as Marco Selva, who presumedly died in prison. After six years, he suddenly returns home and finds his fiancee Giovanna (Soava Gallone) married to his best friend (Gustavo Serena). He concocts a ruse to separate her from her husband and children and he nearly manages to do so. She is almost in doubt whether to give in, following her ex-lover to America.

While Marco is booking a cabin, Giovanna falls asleep and has a terrible nightmare. Her house is destroyed, and her husband and she have died. Their children first well cared for, grow up and become reckless, caught by adventures and morbid passions. They gradually descend into vice, even crime, leading to the woman (probably Diomira Jacobini) being assassinated by her companions and the man (probably Lido Manetti) being killed by the guillotine. Awakened, Giovanna decides to flee from her old flame and returns home, while. Marco leaves for faraway places to construct a life of his own.

On our postcards, there are no pictures of Ruggero Ruggeri or Diomira Jacobini. The film's publicity stills rather focused on Rina De Liguoro as a femme fatale. They also show Emilio Ghione and Kally Sambucini, who were famous for their underworld characters Za-la-Mort and Za-la-vie. Most postcards seem to deal with Giovanna's dream.

Reportedly, the filmmakers had spiced up the nightmare with lurid scenes of the underworld and even nudity. The result was immediately annulled by the Italian censor. All sinful scenes were cut. It made the film that finally was presented in the cinemas quite incoherent and tame and it was not a success. Perhaps someday a restoration of the film including the censored scenes, may raise a new appreciation for this film. Anyway, Soava Gallone and Emilio Ghione were much more successful in their subsequent film, La cavalcata ardente/The Fiery Cavalcade (Carmine Gallone, 1925), a historical melodrama about the conquest of Naples by Garibaldi.


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 365. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Soava Gallone and Gustavo Serena in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 369. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Rina de Liguoro and Emilio Ghione performing a 'danse apache' in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 370. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Rina de Liguoro and Emilio Ghione performing a 'danse apache' in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 387. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Soava Gallone and Gustavo Serena in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 398. Photo: La Fotominio / A.P. Film. Emilio Ghione, Kally Sambucini, Rina De Liguoro and Lido Manetti in La via del peccato/The Way of Sin (Amleto Palermi, 1925).

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

Messalina

At Il Cinema Ritrovato 1924, a preview of a new restoration will be shown of Enrico Guazzoni's silent classic Messalina starring diva Rina De Liguoro. This spectacular epic premiered a hundred years ago and was an international success. Unfortunately, only a badly printed, sonorised version of the film was available for a long time. The notorious Roman Empress Messalina, the third wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, has proved endlessly fascinating to writers, painters, sculptors and composers of both ballet and opera. She has been portrayed on screen from as early as 1910.


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 738. Rina De Liguoro dies in the final scene of Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni 1924).


Italian postcard by Ed. Falci, La Fotominio, no. 385. Rina De Liguoro as the Roman empress Messalina in Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924).


Italian postcard by B & G, B, no. 11. Signed by Rina De Liguoro. Rina De Liguoro is the title character in the epic film Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924).


Italian postcard by Ed. Falci, La Fotominio. The Italian king Victor Emmanuel III and the princesses Jolanda and Giovanna visited the shooting in 1923 of the Italian silent epic Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924), starring (Countess) Rina De Liguoro.

Messalina (1924)

Claudius (Augusto Mastripietri) is acclaimed emperor after the murder of Caligula (Nello Carotenuto) by the praetorians, whose leader, Marcus, is in love with his wife, the immoral Messalina (Rina De Liguoro). She often leaves the imperial palace to roam the infamous areas in search of fleeting adventures and, during a raid, is rescued by Ennius (Gino Talamo), a Persian slave, with whom she falls in love.

She thus becomes the rival of Mirit (Gianna Terribili Gonzales), priestess of Isis, who blackmails the slave for her favours. Emperor Claudius, meanwhile, foils a plot to overthrow him hatched by Marcus and has him killed. To gain his freedom, Ennius participates in a quadriga race, but Mirit, annoyed by his refusal, arranges to poison the precious horses he is counting on for victory. Without the trained animals, Ennius topples over during the race and risks being killed by the gladiators, and it is Messalina who intervenes and brings him to safety.

Instead, Ennius loves Mirit's slave Egle (Lucia Zanussi), who is tortured by Mirit but at last saved by Ennius and his strongman friend Tigrane (Adolphe Trouché), who delivers Mirit to her own lions. The empress hatches a plot against her husband with the help of Caius Silvius. When this is discovered, Silvius is publicly humiliated and chased, while Messalina prefers to kill herself before being reduced in chains by the praetorians.

While Enrico Guazzoni shot Messalina in 1923, its Roman premiere took place in March 1924, while foreign premieres (Finland, Austria) already took place in January 1924. La rivista cinematografica (10-6-1924): "Excellent is the Countess Rina de Liguoro in the part of Messalina, a part so fit to her and cancelling the bad impression of her in a film some time ago of which we better don't speak anymore. For once the scissors of the censor have been mild towards the historical feats, so we can enjoy Messalina the corrupt, the depraved, the beautiful... we won't say more. Who hasn't gone yet, go and judge for yourself. Messalina is the triumph of the Italian cinematography, the pride of Enrico Guazzoni, and the Renaissance of our art."

Indeed, despite the decadence of Italian cinema in the early 1920s, Messalina was well-received in and outside of Italy. It was the only Italian silent film shown in the new Soviet Union. In the Anglosaxon world, the film was presented as The Fall of an Empress. Rina De Liguoro had her breakthrough as the sensual, untamed Roman empress. The beautiful countess continued her glittering career in such epics as Quo Vadis (1924), Casanova (1927) and Cecil B. De Mille's notorious flop Madam Satan (1930).


Italian postcard by Ed. Falci, La Fotominio, no. 386. Rina De Liguoro as the Roman empress Messalina in Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 738. Rina De Liguoro in Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924).


Belgian postcard by Anvers Palace. Photo: Rina De Liguoro in Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924).


Belgian postcard (flip side). Publicity for the film Messalina (Enrico Guazzoni, 1924) at the Antwerp-based cinema Anvers-Palace.

The Opera Messaline (1899)

French postcard by A. Bergeret, Nancy. Caption: Messaline et Harès. Postcard mailed in 1906.


French postcard by A. Bergeret, Nancy. Caption: Hélion et Harès. Postcard mailed in 1906.

One of the earliest stage productions to feature the fall of the empress was 'The Tragedy of Messalina' (1639) by Nathanael Richards, where she is depicted as a monster. As well as plays, the story of Messalina was adapted to ballet and opera. The postcards above were made for the French opera 'Messaline' by Isidore de Lara, which premiered in 1899 in Monte Carlo. Yet, the A. Bergeret cards were for a production starring Belgian singer Jane Dasthy as Messalina. It was performed at least from late 1902 onward, e.g. at Montpellier, Nimes, Avignon, Ghent, Nantes, and Nice. Dhasty continued in later years with the opera in Lyon (1908) and Besançon (1909) but without the previous success.

In this opera, Empress Messalina is hated by all and many satirical songs about her circulate. Harès, one of the protest singers is brought to her, he is young and beautiful and so… Afterward, he is dumped by her and while looking for new adventures she meets in a tavern Helion, a sturdy gladiator, who saves her from the attacking mob. Harès witnesses this and realizes Messalina is about to start an affair with his own brother Helion. Later on, Hares discovers the love nest of Messalina and Helion. Quickly she hides Helion and her servants bound and gag Hares and throw him into the Tiber. Hares survives thanks to nearby boatmen but swears to kill the empress. Helion, who up till now didn’t realize his lover is the empress, goes to the imperial box at the circus to complain and discovers his beloved is the hated empress. She manages to seduce him again. Messalina warns him outside is a man who is waiting to kill her. He kills the intruder who storms in and of course, the other is his own brother. Out of his mind of grief, Helion jumps into the arena where the beasts will kill him.

The operatic tragédie lyrique 'Messaline' (Messalina) was composed by Isidore de Lara. The librettists were Paul Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand. It premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 21 March 1899 and was received enthusiastically. In the same year 'Messaline' was also performed at Covent Garden in London. 'Messaline' was de Lara's most successful opera. Subsequent productions were performed throughout Europe, including the first opera by an Englishman to be mounted at La Scala in Milan in 1901. According to the journal L'art dramatique et musical au XXe siècle, when in 1901 the opera was performed at the Scala for just one time, fans and acolytes of Arrigo Boito, whose Nerone was planned to be performed the year after (it would take several more years, until 1924 to be precise!), sensed competition and interrupted the performance with barking and growling. Nevertheless, the opera was a triumph and the author and singers were called back several times. Other notable performances of 'Messaline' took place at the Paris Opéra in 1903 (with Emma Calvé in the lead), in Warsaw in 1904, and in Cairo in 1907. The opera made its United States premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on 22 January 1902. The opera remained a regular part of the repertory, particularly in France, until 1943.

Jane Dhasty, singer from the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, was announced to sing the role of Messaline for the first time on 21 January 1902 in Montpellier. Yet, it took till the end of the year to materialize. In late December 1902 Dhasty sang the lead in 'Messaline' at the Grand-Théâtre in Montpellier (so a year before the Paris premiere!). The local press was full of praise of the spectacle and considered the scenes with their voluptuous sumptuous sets in dark, bluish or purple tones worthy of the paintings by Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse. Yet, apart from Dasthy, there was little praise for the cast and the action seemed chaotic. Dhasty would also sing the part (probably all in 1903) in Nimes, Avignon, Ghent, Nice and Nantes.

Dasthy sang in Nantes the role from 12 December 1903, with Mézy as Hares and Abonil as Helion. The show in Nantes was an enormous success, according to the press. Sets were by M. Guillot, mise-en-scène by M. Viroux. A special festive evening was organised in early January 1904, also to celebrate Dasthy’s appointment to Officier de l’ordre, in which Lara thanked everybody. It is possible that the well-known postcard producer A. Bergeret from Nancy made a series of postcards on the opera with Dhasty after the success in Nantes. This could also mean Mezy and Abonil are visible on the postcards, next to Dasthy.


French postcard by A. Bergeret & Cie, Nancy. Caption: Viens aimer... Postcard mailed in 1906.


French postcard by A. Bergeret, Nancy. Caption: Mort de Harès. Postcard mailed in 1904.

Messaline (1910)

French postcard.

Madeleine Roch (1883–1930) was a reputed French 'tragédienne' from the Comédie-Française, who between 1909 and 1913 acted in a series of 11 Film d'Art-like historical films at Pathé Frères, including Messaline (Ferdinand Zecca, Henri Andréani, 1910). Roch entered the Comédie-Française in 1903 and was Sociétaire there between 1912 and 1930. She stopped film acting in 1912. In 1930 Roch gave her last stage performance and died in the same year.

In Messaline (Ferdinand Zecca, Henri Andréani, 1910), the empress (Madeleine Roch) leads a double life, secretly looking for pleasures in the city of Rome. She meets Manus (Louis Ravet), who is betrothed to Thysla (Madeleine Céliat) and is an honest Roman. When Manus rescues her from the mob, she falls in love with him. When he refuses her love, she has him arrested and imprisoned.

Thysla witnesses the arrest and finds out Messalina ordered it. During an orgy Messalina tries to seduce him, but fails. Narcissus and Vitellius warn Claudius (Jean Jacquinet) of the Empress' behaviour. Thysla implores Claudius to give her her bethrothed back. When Manus refuses Messalina a last time, she orders him to be strangled, but Claudius arrives just in time to reunite the couple, and orders the death of Messalina instead. In the US, the film was known as The Justice of Claudius.

Messalina (1951)

West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, no. 525. Photo: Filmsonor / Gallone / Allianz-Film. Maria Felix in Messalina/The Affairs of Messalina (Carmine Gallone, 1951).


German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 405. Photo: Allianz Film. Maria Félix in Messalina (Carmine Gallone, 1951).

Energetic, fiery femme fatale María Félix (1914–2002) was an icon of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She was considered one of the most beautiful film actresses of her time, and one of the erotic myths of the Spanish-language cinema. She debuted in Italy with Incantesimo Tragico/Tragic Spell (Mario Sequi, 1951) opposite Rossano Brazzi. In the same year, she filmed Messalina (Carmine Gallone, 1951), with French actor Georges Marchal, Memo Benassi, Delia Scala and Erno Crisa.

At the time, Messalina (1951) was the most expensive film of the Italian cinema. It was a co-production between France, Italy and Spain. It was shot at the Cinecittà studios in Rome with sets designed by the art directors Gastone Medin and Vittorio Nino Novarese. It was part of a growing trend of epic historical films of the 1950s. The story of Messalina (1951) is again set in Rome in 44 A.D. and again concerns the amorous and political intrigues of the evil Messalina and her eventual hounding to death. Thirsty for power and pleasure, Messalina changes lovers as quickly as she eliminates her enemies, such as the proverbial Valerius. She even manages to convince the emperor Claudius, terrified by a false oracle, that to save him she must remarry her lover Caius Sylvius. But the plan with which she plans to seize the imperial throne will turn against her.

The reputation of Messalina, the third wife of Emperor Claudius, as being murderous and sexually rapacious is mainly based upon the histories of Suetonius and Tacitus while Juvenal in his sixth satire was also far from complimentary. Historians assume that some accounts were politically biased character assassinations in which historical facts were mixed with gossip. The historical figure and her fate were often used in the arts to make a moral point, but there was often as well a prurient fascination with her sexually liberated behaviour.

However, Maria Felix is perfect in the role. Messalina increased the international profile of the sensual, smouldering actress and probably paved the way for her French films including Jean Renoir's classic French Cancan. Director Carmine Gallone is known for his notorious propaganda film Scipio Africanus (1937) which was made to justify Italy's invasion of Abyssinia. That film featured Camillo Pilotto as Hannibal and Memo Benassi as Cinna and both also appear in this film. Benassi, in particular, is excellent as Claudius. There is also very good support from the French actors Jean Chevrier as Valerius, Germaine Kerjean as the 'witch' and Jean Tissier, suitably flamboyant as Mnester.

Messalina (1951) is beautifully shot by Anchise Brizzi and the excellent, understated score is by Renzo Rossellini. Brog Miller at IMDb: "The gladiatorial combats are generally well handled and the obligatory one-sided 'Christians versus Lions' contest has an unusual twist, to say the least. Historically inaccurate to be sure but extremely watchable. Maria is mean, moody and magnificent".


German film brochure by Illustrierte Film-Bühne, no. 1397. Maria Félix in Messalina (Carmine Gallone, 1951).


Austrian film brochure by Neues Filmprogramm, no. 2216. Photo: Oefram / Emo-Bistolfi. Belinda Lee as the notorious Roman Empress Messalina in Messalina Venere Imperatrice (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1960). The German distribution title by Oefram-Film was Messalina Kaiserin und Kurtisane.

Sources: Brog Miller (IMDb), Gallica, Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.

Casanova (1927)

The closing event of Le giornate del Cinema Muto, the Pordenone Silent Film Festival, is Casanova/The Loves of Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927) in a new 4k restoration from the Cinémathèque française. The Orchestra San Marco di Pordenone will perform the world premiere of Günter Buchwald’s score for this silent classic. Casanova (1927) features the legendary Russian star Ivan Mozzhukhin in his most famous role as the well-known Venetian adventurer, lover, poet, inventor, and libertine. Tomorrow, 10 October, there will be a replica of tonight's event.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3948/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1604/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Deulig. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1604/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Deulig. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4621/2, 1929-1930. Photo: Ufa. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 928. Photo: Société des Cineromans / Micheluzzi-Verleih / Cine Alliance Film. Diana Karenne in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).

Always in the service of women

Casanova shows Ivan Mozzhukhin at his best and most light-hearted. In the film he makes everything seem easy. As you can notice on the postcards, his name was spelled Ivan Mosjoukine in French, Iwan Mosjukin in German, and Ivan Mosjoukine in English.

The film is a far-from-accurate biopic of the legendary Italian lover. Casanova is episodic in structure, almost like a collection of short stories. Venice, 1760. Giovanni Giacomo Casanova, the unscrupulous and impecunious philanderer deluxe is in danger of the rope. From Venice, he travels to Russia and is received at the Russian court as Monsieur Dupont, a French dressmaker. But his amours in St. Petersburg are not exactly pleasing to the mighty Catherine.

Casanova feels that there is trouble in store when a screen falls revealing him embracing Countess Maria Mari. The great admirer of fair ladies then is ordered by Catherine to be imprisoned. Casanova believes that almost any moment his end may come. His nerve does not fail him, however, for when he is ordered to report under escort to Catherine, he slips into a conveyance in which is the Countess and drives away pursued by the infuriated Count.

Casanova succeeds in returning to Venice, where he has other love affairs and consequently more trouble. He is always in the service of women, as he puts it in a letter to a man he has good-naturedly robbed. In the end, all his romancing catches up with him, and he is forced to choose between two women.

Though partly shot on location in Venice, Casanova was a French-German production. The production companies were Ciné-Alliance (France), Deulig Europa-Produktion (Germany) and Société des Cinéromans. Director Alexandre Volkoff was one of a significant number of film industry exiles who fled Russia following the Bolshevik takeover. Volkoff worked in France for many years, and also made films in Germany and Italy. He gave the film a wonderful visual style, with one long scene filmed in colour.

The film presented a pan-European cast. Casanova's delectable females include for instance French actress Suzanne Bianchetti as Catherine II the Great, Italian diva Diana Karenne as Maria Mari, Duchess de Lardi, Polish-born Rina De Liguoro as Corticelli, and German star Jenny Jugo as the lovely Therese who finally captures the protagonist's heart.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 83/1. Photo: Ufa. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 83/2. Photo: Ufa. Diana Karenne and Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927). This scene was shot near the Venice cemetery Isola di San Michele.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 83/4. Photo: Ufa. Ivan Mozzhukhin and Jenny Jugo in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 83/5. Photo: Ufa. Rina De Liguoro and Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 83/6. Photo: Ufa. Diana Karenne and Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3357/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa. Rina De Liguoro in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).

One of the true divas

Highlights of Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927) include the spectacular Carnival of Venice sequence and the splendiferous scenes within the palace walls of Czarina Catherine. Pictured on one of the Ross postcards above (no. 83/2) is a carnival scene with the Italian lover and his catch Maria, the Duchess de Lardi. The scene on the postcard was shot near the Venice cemetery Isola di San Michele.

Maria was played by Polish actress Diana Karenne, one of the true divas of Italian silent cinema. Between 1916 and 1920, Karenne fascinated European audiences with her eccentric dresses and make-up, and with her prima donna behaviour.

With its panoramic location photography and its lavish re-creation of decadent 18th century Venice, the visual style of Casanova is wonderful. The public follows Ivan Mozzhukhin through various chases, rescues, romantic liaisons, and hairbreadth escapes and this makes this silent version of Casanova a spectacular, picaresque epic.

Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "The film ran into some curious censorship troubles in the U.S., and as result, it was retitled Prince of Adventurers, with the main character rechristened as 'Roberto Ferrara'!"

However, the critic of The New York Times (30 April 1929), Mordaunt Hall, loved the film: "Only seven of the original fifteen or more reels are offered over here, but, except for a few passages that have been sheared too short to convey their full meaning, this picture still affords a good entertainment. In Paris, due to its extraordinary length, it was exhibited in two installments on different days. Although some of the episodes are humorously extravagant, the producers have caught the spirit of that eighteenth-century Italian poet and adventure."


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 133. Photo: Distr. S.A.G. Leoni. Diana Karenne in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no 134. Photo: Distr. S.A.G. Leoni. Diana Karenne and Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 136. Photo: Distr. S.A.G. Leoni. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Italian postcard by Ed. Vettori, Bologna, no. 3519. Rina De Liguoro in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Italian postcard by Ed. Vettori, Bologna, no. 3522. Rina De Liguoro and Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


French postcard by Europe, no. 175. Photo: Société des Cinéromans. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 928. Photo: Société des Cineromans / Micheluzzi-Verleih / Cine Alliance Film. Diana Karenne in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 929. Photo: Société des Cinéromans / Cine Alliance Film / Micheluzzi-Verleih. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 930. Photo: Ciné Alliance Film / Micheluzzi-Verleih / Societè des Cineromans. Ivan Mozzhukhin in Casanova (Alexandre Volkoff, 1927).

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Mordaunt Hall (The New York Times), Wikipedia, and IMDb.