Lissi Arna (1900-1964) was a beautiful, exotic-looking German silent screen actress. She became a star opposite the popular action star Harry Piel, and had a brief Hollywood career. Usually she was cast as a femme fatale or a fallen woman. Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5480. Photo: Mondial-Film / GFP / National. Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5892. Photo: Mondial Film A.G. Austrian postcard. Photo: Lux-Film. Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 6134; distributed in Italy by Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze. Photo: Verleih Philipp & Co. Dark-skinned Exotic Beauty Lissi Arna (or Lissy Arna) was born as Elisabeth Arndt in Berlin in 1904. She attended a trade school and then started to work for a house broker. Meanwhile she also appeared as an extra in silent shorts like Der Katzensteg/The Cat's Gang Plank (Max Mack, 1915) before she was engaged by comedian Ottchen Mücke as partner for his series of short films, directed by Rudi Bach. The public liked her and she even got her own short, Lissys Flimmerkur/Lissy's Short Flicker (Rudi Bach, 1919). Her first real feature film was Abenteuer einer Nacht/Night's Adventures (1923), directed and produced by action star Harry Piel. The next two years she lived with relatives in New York and her film career was interrupted. When she returned it was again Harry Piel who offered her the female lead in his film Abenteuer im Nachtexpress/Adventures in the Night Express (1925, Harry Piel). This film paved the way for a great career. She played in dozens of silent crime films, comedies and farces during the following years. Das Frauenhaus von Rio/The Women House of Rio (Hans Steinhoff, 1927) starring Vivian Gibson moulded her image as a dark-skinned exotic beauty definitely. She used her femme fatale charisma successfully in films like Die Elf Teufel/The Eleven Devils (Zoltan Korda, Carl Boese, 1927) with Gustav Fröhlich, Schinderhannes/The Prince of Rogues (Kurt (later: Curtis) Bernhardt, 1928) featuring Hans Stüwe, the British production The Physician (Georg Jacoby, 1928) and as a proletarian prostitute in Jenseits der Straße/Beyond the Street (Leo Mittler, 1929), which Ines Walk at the now obsolete website Filmzeit.de mentioned as her most memorable role. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3091/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Kiesel, Berlin. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3249/2, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Scheider, Berlin. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3523/2, 1928-1929. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4199/2, 1929-1930. Photo: Atelier Manassé, Wien. French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 656. The Newest European Import In 1930 Lissi Arna went to Hollywood, together with director Wilhelm Dieterle (later William Dieterle). Highly publicised as the newest European import. She was contracted by RKO and played William Boyd's German fiancee in the World War I melodrama Beyond Victory (John S. Robertson, 1931). The film was an obvious attempt at duplicating the success of Universal's antiwar statement All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930) but fell far short of such lofty expectations and did little for her. Apparently her role was severely cut prior to release. In Hollywood, she went on to play in several German-language versions of American pictures like Die Maske fällt/The Costume Falls (William Dieterle, 1930) and Dämon des Meeres/Demon of the Sea (Michael Curtiz, 1930). In 1931 she returned to Germany and achieved her last great successes with the Edgar Wallace adaptation Der Zinker/The Squeeker (Martin Fric, Carl Lamac, 1931) with Karl Ludwig Diehl, and the mountain drama Berge in Flammen/Mountains on Fire (Karl Hartl, Luis Trenker, 1931). The arrival of sound film obviously had hurt her career. She moved over to work in the theatres of Berlin. Her further film works were confined to supporting roles in films like Zu neuen Ufern/To New Shores (Douglas Sirk, 1937) starring Zarah Leander. Lissi married the physician Dr. Kleiber in 1939 and then retired completely from the film business. She lived with her husband in Venezuela till his death in the late 1950s. She returned to Germany, and in 1962 she played for the last time in a film, Das Leben beginnt um acht/Life Starts at Eight (Michael Kehlmann, 1962) with O.E. Hasse. In 1964, Lissi Arna died of cancer in her hometown, Berlin. She was 63. Arna was interred at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Friedhof in Westend. Wikipedia notes that her grave has not been preserved. French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 684. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5457/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Vitaphone. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5917/1, 1930-1931. Sent by mail in the Netherlands in 1931. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6325/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Atelier Binder, Berlin. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 152/4, 1932. Photo: Aafa Film. Lissi Arna and Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender in Theodor Körner (Carl Boese, 1932). Sources: Ines Walk (Filmzeit.de; now obsolete), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Hans J. Wollstein (AllMovie), Wikipedia (German) and IMDb.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 100. Photo: Star, Paris. Junie Astor (1911-1967) was a French actress who was highly popular in the late 1930s. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Lissi Arna (1900-1964) was a beautiful, exotic-looking German silent screen actress. She became a star opposite the popular action star Harry Piel, and had a brief Hollywood career. Usually she was cast as a femme fatale or a fallen woman. Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5480. Photo: Mondial-Film / GFP / National. Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5892. Photo: Mondial Film A.G. Austrian postcard. Photo: Lux-Film. Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 6134; distributed in Italy by Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze. Photo: Verleih Philipp & Co. Dark-skinned Exotic Beauty Lissi Arna (or Lissy Arna) was born as Elisabeth Arndt in Berlin in 1904. She attended a trade school and then started to work for a house broker. Meanwhile she also appeared as an extra in silent shorts like Der Katzensteg/The Cat's Gang Plank (Max Mack, 1915) before she was engaged by comedian Ottchen Mücke as partner for his series of short films, directed by Rudi Bach. The public liked her and she even got her own short, Lissys Flimmerkur/Lissy's Short Flicker (Rudi Bach, 1919). Her first real feature film was Abenteuer einer Nacht/Night's Adventures (1923), directed and produced by action star Harry Piel. The next two years she lived with relatives in New York and her film career was interrupted. When she returned it was again Harry Piel who offered her the female lead in his film Abenteuer im Nachtexpress/Adventures in the Night Express (1925, Harry Piel). This film paved the way for a great career. She played in dozens of silent crime films, comedies and farces during the following years. Das Frauenhaus von Rio/The Women House of Rio (Hans Steinhoff, 1927) starring Vivian Gibson moulded her image as a dark-skinned exotic beauty definitely. She used her femme fatale charisma successfully in films like Die Elf Teufel/The Eleven Devils (Zoltan Korda, Carl Boese, 1927) with Gustav Fröhlich, Schinderhannes/The Prince of Rogues (Kurt (later: Curtis) Bernhardt, 1928) featuring Hans Stüwe, the British production The Physician (Georg Jacoby, 1928) and as a proletarian prostitute in Jenseits der Straße/Beyond the Street (Leo Mittler, 1929), which Ines Walk at the now obsolete website Filmzeit.de mentioned as her most memorable role. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3091/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Kiesel, Berlin. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3249/2, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Scheider, Berlin. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3523/2, 1928-1929. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4199/2, 1929-1930. Photo: Atelier Manassé, Wien. French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 656. The Newest European Import In 1930 Lissi Arna went to Hollywood, together with director Wilhelm Dieterle (later William Dieterle). Highly publicised as the newest European import. She was contracted by RKO and played William Boyd's German fiancee in the World War I melodrama Beyond Victory (John S. Robertson, 1931). The film was an obvious attempt at duplicating the success of Universal's antiwar statement All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930) but fell far short of such lofty expectations and did little for her. Apparently her role was severely cut prior to release. In Hollywood, she went on to play in several German-language versions of American pictures like Die Maske fällt/The Costume Falls (William Dieterle, 1930) and Dämon des Meeres/Demon of the Sea (Michael Curtiz, 1930). In 1931 she returned to Germany and achieved her last great successes with the Edgar Wallace adaptation Der Zinker/The Squeeker (Martin Fric, Carl Lamac, 1931) with Karl Ludwig Diehl, and the mountain drama Berge in Flammen/Mountains on Fire (Karl Hartl, Luis Trenker, 1931). The arrival of sound film obviously had hurt her career. She moved over to work in the theatres of Berlin. Her further film works were confined to supporting roles in films like Zu neuen Ufern/To New Shores (Douglas Sirk, 1937) starring Zarah Leander. Lissi married the physician Dr. Kleiber in 1939 and then retired completely from the film business. She lived with her husband in Venezuela till his death in the late 1950s. She returned to Germany, and in 1962 she played for the last time in a film, Das Leben beginnt um acht/Life Starts at Eight (Michael Kehlmann, 1962) with O.E. Hasse. In 1964, Lissi Arna died of cancer in her hometown, Berlin. She was 63. Arna was interred at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Friedhof in Westend. Wikipedia notes that her grave has not been preserved. French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 684. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5457/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Vitaphone. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5917/1, 1930-1931. Sent by mail in the Netherlands in 1931. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6325/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Atelier Binder, Berlin. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 152/4, 1932. Photo: Aafa Film. Lissi Arna and Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender in Theodor Körner (Carl Boese, 1932). Sources: Ines Walk (Filmzeit.de; now obsolete), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Hans J. Wollstein (AllMovie), Wikipedia (German) and IMDb.
French postcard by Massilia. Photo: Filma Albatros. Junie Astor in Les Bas-fonds/The Lower Depths (Jean Renoir, 1936). Junie Astor (1911-1967) was a French actress who was highly popular in the late 1930s. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Polish postcard by Edition Victoria PW, no. 209. 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. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK-3134. Photo: Czerwonski / HD-Film / NF. Gardy Granass (1930) is a retired German actress, who appeared in around forty films and television series. During the 1950s she starred in many popular but forgettable comedies and Heimat (rubble) films.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 23E. Photo: Sam Lévin. Blonde French actress Michèle Morgan (1920) was a classic beauty. She has been one of her country's most popular leading ladies for over five decades. The delicate, sophisticated, and detached star was especially noted for her large, expressive eyes. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit (Casa Editr. Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze), no. 3068. Photo: Dear Film. Publicity still for Appassionatamente/Passionately (Giacomo Gentilomo, 1954). French actress Myriam Bru (1932) appeared in some 15 European film productions of the 1950s. She was the wife of Horst Buchholz. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Russian postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. M 74663, 1962. Russian actor Vitali Konyayev (1937) is honuored as a People’s Artist of Russia. He appeared in a dozen films and also worked as a director and acting teacher. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3419/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Atelier Manassé, Wien. Hungarian actor Ernst (or Ernö) Verebes (1902-1971) was a popular and elegant matinée idol of the German cinema in the silent and early sound period. Sadly his career was broken by the Nazis. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Beata Tyszkiewicz (1938) is one of Poland’s quintessential film beauties and she is referred to as 'the First lady of the Polish cinema'. Exclusively working for the cinema, she appeared in more than 100 films. East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 190/69, 1969. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 279/69, 1969. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 176/70, 1970. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Linke. Distinguished Ladies Beata Maria Helena Tyszkiewiczówna-Kalenicka was born in Wilanów, Poland in 1938. She has aristocratic roots. Her father was Count (in Polish Hrabia) Krzysztof Maria Tyszkiewicz and her mother was Barbara Rechowicz. At 16, Beata made her film debut in Zemsta/The Revenge (1956, Antoni Bohdziewicz, Bohdan Korzeniewski), based on the classic play by Aleksander Fredro. She was still going to school at the time. In the years 1957-1958 she studied at the Warsaw Academy of Dramatic Arts, and then worked for TV. She played a supporting part in Samson (Andrzej Wajda, 1961), set in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. The famous director would become her first husband. During the 1960s, she became well-known through her portrayal of distinguished ladies in costume dramas like Wojciech Has’ Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie/The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) starring Zbigniew Cybulski, and Lalka/The Doll (1968). The Doll was adapted from the Polish novel, Lalka by Boleslaw Prus. She played a princess in her husband’s Western-style war epic Popioly/The Ashes (Andrzej Wajda, 1965) with Daniel Olbrychski, and later played in his Pszystko na sprzedaz/Everything for Sale (Andrzej Wajda, 1969). The latter was filmed in memory of Zbigniew Cybulski who was killed the previous year by a moving train. The star died tragically at the peak of his career, just like the ‘invisible’ and much-talked-about protagonist of the film. Tyszkiewicz went to work abroad and appeared in Belgium in the drama De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen/The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (André Delvaux, 1969) featuring Senne Rouffaer, and in Russia in Dvoryanskoe gnezdo/A Nest of Gentry (Andrey Konchalovskiy, 1969), based on a novel by Ivan Turgenev. East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2965. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 103/71, 1971. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Big East-German card by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 127/71, 1971. Retail price: 0,50 MDN. A Humorous, Male-fantasy Set After A Mythical World War III During her career, Beata Tyszkiewicz has appeared in more than 100 films. She worked with such leading directors as Márta Mészáros on Útközben/On the Move (1979) with Delphine Seyrig, and Krzysztof Zanussi at Kontrakt (1980) starring Leslie Caron. On TV she was seen in the popular war series Polskie drogi/Polish Fates (Janusz Morgenstern, 1976). The series shows the different reactions of Polish people to the Nazi invasion of Germany in 1939 and to the later occupation. In France she played in the biopic Édith et Marcel/Edith and Marcel (Claude Lelouch, 1983) about the ill-fated romance of boxing champion Marcel Cerdan and singer Édith Piaf. A huge success was the Polish Sci-Fi film Seksmisja/Sex Mission (Juliusz Machulski, 1984). Eleanor Mannikka at AllMovie: “Co-writer and director Juliusz Machulski has come up with a hybrid sex sci fi comedy that defies categorization - a humorous, male-fantasy that is set after a mythical World War III, in a surviving underground world of women only. Before the terrible onslaught of the final war, two scientists were frozen in a state of suspended animation with the intention of thawing them out in three years. When they are released from their ice-bound sleep, 50 years have passed instead and they find themselves the only two males in a female society that has thus far reproduced only in the test tube.” Other successes were the comedies Vabank II czyli riposta/ Point of No Return (Juliusz Machulski, 1985), and Kingsajz/King Size (Juliusz Machulski, 1988) with Jerzy Stuhr. Tyszkiewicz appeared in international films and TV-series, including 30 Door Key (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1991) starring Iain Glen, and La petite apocalypse/The Little Apocalypse (Costa-Gravas, 1993). In 1998 she received her star on Aleja Gwiazd (Stars Avenue) in Łódź. Although the reputation of the Polish cinema diminished since then, she kept working steadily in films and TV series. On TV, she is a jury member on Poland's Dancing with the Stars (aka Taniec z gwiazdami). She has two daughters: actress and assistant director Karolina Wajda (1967), and actress Wiktoria Padlewska (1977) with her second husband Jacek Padlewski. Her third husband was Witold Orzechowski. Lately, Beata Tyszkiewicz was seen in the popular romantic comedy Listy do M./Letters to Santa (Mitja Okorn, 2011) and the comedy 100dniówk@ (Alessandro Leone, 2013) with her old colleague Daniel Olbrychski. American trailer for Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie/The Saragossa Manuscript (1965). Source: Mindfuckarchives (YouTube). A scene from De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen/The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (1966), with Senne Rouffaer and Beata Tyszkiewicz. Source: Zaychatina (YouTube). German trailer for Seksmisja/Sex Mission (1984). Source: Rami8184 (YouTube). Sources: Eleanor Mannikka (AllMovie), Film Polski (Polish), Wikipedia and IMDb.
A blog about cinema, film stars and vintage postcards.
Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919) was the first star of the Russian silent cinema. Only 26, the ‘Queen of Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. Although she worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and a hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist. Russian postcard, no. 111. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Russian postcard, no. 134. A woman of outstanding beauty Vera Kholodnaya (Russian: Вера Холодная, and also romanised as Vera Kholodnaia and Vira Kholodna) was originally named Vera Vasilyevna Levchenko. She was born into a respectable well-to-do family in Poltava, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) in 1893. Her whole family enjoyed acting in plays. At the age of ten, she was sent to Moscow to live with her widowed grandmother. There she attended the elite Perepelkina Grammar school. The girl dreamed of a career in classical ballet and even enrolled at the Bolshoi Theatre ballet school. That changed in 1908, when Vera attended a performance of the film Francesca da Rimini, with ballerina Vera Komissarzhevskaya in the title role. She was deeply impressed with Komissarzhevskaya's artistry and now was set on becoming an actress. In 1910, the 17-years old Vera married student Vladimir Kholodny, one of the first Russian car racers. Later he became the editor of the magazine AVTO. Vera would often accompany him in races which resulted in road accidents. She also adopted his surname, which translates as ‘the cold one’. Their daughter Eugenia Kholodnaya was born in 1912, and they adopted another daughter, Nonna Kholodnaya, a year later. After her husband was drafted to fight in World War I, she decided to venture into film acting. She first approached Vladimir Gardin, a leading Russian film director, who cast her in a minor role in his grand production of Anna Karenina (Vladimir Gardin, 1914) with Mariya Germanova in the title role. Then director Yevgeni Bauer was looking for a woman of outstanding beauty for a new film. When Kholodnaya was introduced to him, Bauer reportedly was spellbound by the small, intense woman with her commanding grey eyes and mop of black hair. Bauer at once approved her for the part, the lead role in the Ivan Turgenev adaptation Pesn torzhestvuyushchey lyubvi/The Song of the Triumphant Love (1915, Yevgeni Bauer). This mystical love drama was a major box-office hit, and Kholodnaya signed a three-year contract with the Khanzhonkov studio. The impatient Bauer immediately made another film with his new discovery, Plamya Neba/Flame of the Sky (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915). It was a typical melodrama about the guilty love of a young woman married off to an old widower and his son. In the end, the lovers perish from a thunderbolt. Her next picture was Deti veka/The Children of the Age (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915), a drama with pretensions to reveal social problems. Bauer’s death in 1917 robbed the Russian cinema of one of its great talents, and Kholodnaya of her discoverer. Soon followed more films for her which were made by other directors. At first, Kholodnaya imitated the acting of Asta Nielsen, but gradually she developed her own style. Another tremendous success was the tragic melodrama Mirazhi/The Mirages (Pyotr Chardynin, 1915). Her extravagant costumes and large grey eyes made her an enigmatic screen presence which fascinated audiences all over Russia. Russian postcard, no. 108. Collection: Didier Hanson. A Who is Who of the Russian silent cinema. In a circle from left: actor Vladimir Maksimov (with bear), actress Vera Kholodnaya, actor Vitold Polonsky, actor Ivan Khudoleyev, actor Ivan Mozzhukhin, director Petr Cardynin and actor Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 75. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 120. Photo: Ossip Runitsch and Vera Kholodnaya in Na altar krasoty/To the Altar of Beauty (Pyotr Chardynin, 1917). Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 132. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. Only about 10 minutes of this film are known to exist. The rest of the film is believed to be lost. Russian postcard, no. 143. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Сказка любви дорогой/Tale of dear love (?, ?) with Vladimir Maksimov. Russian postcard, no. 145. Photo: Ivan Khudoleyev, Ossip Runitsch and Vera Kholodnaya in Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918). Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 146. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. The Queen of Screen The melodrama Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (Yevgeni Bauer, 1916) became one of the most popular films in Vera Kholodnaya’s career. After this film, she was called ‘the Queen of Screen’. The author of this title was the famous singer Alexander Vertinsky who venerated the actress and frequented her house. In 1916 Khanzhonkov’s company started making the film Pierrot with Vertinsky and Kholodnaya playing the leads. Unfortunately, the film was never completed. By the time of the Russian Revolution, a new Kholodnaya film was released every third week. U kamina/By the Fireplace (1917), based on a popular romance, was another resounding commercial success. The film ran in cinemas until 1924 when the Soviet authorities ordered to destroy the Kholodnaya features. During the Russian Civil War, the Bolshevik authorities requested film companies to produce less melodrama and more adaptations of classics. Accordingly, Kholodnaya was cast in a screen version of Tolstoy's Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (Cheslav Sabinsky, 1917). Her acting abilities in this film were applauded by Stanislavsky, who welcomed Vera to join the troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre. Her last box-office sensation was Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (Pyotr Chardynin, Cheslav Sabinsky, 1918). Like many of her films, it was based on a Russian traditional love song. By that time, Kholodnaya turned from just a popular and admired actress into a legend of the Russian cinema. She decided to move with her film company to Odessa. There she died at the age of 25 in the 1918 flu pandemic. A director with whom she had worked for several years filmed her grand funeral. Ironically, this seems to be her best-known film today. The other five extant films with Vera Kholodnaya are Deti veka/The Children of the Age (1915), Mirazhi/The Mirages (1915), Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (1916), Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (1918), and Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (1918). Official Russian records state that Vera Kholodnaya died of the Spanish flu. While that seems quite likely, there is much speculation about her death. Оther stories claim she was poisoned by the French ambassador with whom she reportedly had an affair and who believed that she was a spy for the Bolsheviks. Her husband, Vladimir Kholodny, died 2 months after her. Her mother, Yekaterina Sleptsova, also died shortly after her. Her life was dramatised in Nikita Mikhalkov's film Raba lyubvi/A Slave of Love (1975), and director Oleg Kovalov made a documentary on her life, Ostrov Myortvykh/Island of the Dead (1992). A year later, her image was depicted on a postage stamp and in 2003 a life-size bronze statue of her was erected in Odessa, Ukraine, created by the artist Alexander P. Tokarev. Russian postcard distributed in France by BPA, Rueil, no. 140. Vera Kholodnaya in Posledneiye tango/The last tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918). Russian postcard, no. 47. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 93. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 118. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 143. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Sources: Jessica Keaton (Silence is platinum), KinoTV.com (German), Russia-IC, Wikipedia and IMDb. And a special thanks to Didier Hanson for sending us the scans of his postcards!
A blog about cinema, film stars and vintage postcards.
A Danish postcard featuring a publicity still of Klaus Kinski from the film ‘And God Said to Cain,’ 1970. The images in this post were culled from a large collection I found online at a site called Filmstar Postcards—and once I started digging through the site’s massive alphabetical list, I couldn’t tear myself away. Historically, postcards have been used as promotional vehicles for everything and everyone. The vintage postcards in this post are of European origin with most hailing from Germany, France or Italy. Of the astounding array of postcards cataloged by the site, I was most taken with images that captured the faces of the famous before they were well known. For instance, in the “B” section I found a rather astonishing Hungarian postcard of Bela Lugosi that shows a young, dashing looking future Dracula in a white suit staring stoically into the camera with a cigarette between his lips. While most of the celebrity postcards are of the stars of yesteryear, there were a few of more contemporary actors/performers such as Asia Argento, Grace Jones and Serge Gainsbourg. Check them all out below! British postcard of Grace Jones. French postcard of Marianne...
French postcard by E.D.U.G., Paris, no. 177. Photo: Sam Lévin. Charming French actress Pascale Audret (1936-2000) starred in over 25 films between 1955 and 1968, but her success never crossed over internationally. One of her most high profile films was La Fayette (1961) opposite Orson Welles. Her daughter Julie Dreyfus was a co–star of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and Inglourious Bastards. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 1019. Photo: Intran Studio. Jean Servais (1910-1976) was a Belgian leading man of French films of the 1930s who reverted to melancholy-looking character parts in the 1950s. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3825/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Binz / Prag-Film. German-Baltic theatre and film actress Marina von Ditmar (1914) was a popular film star of the Third Reich.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3585/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Binz, Berlin. The Austrian-German actor Wolf Albach-Retty (1906-1967) is nowadays best known as the father of Romy Schneider, but during the 1930s he was a popular leading man of the German cinema. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
French postcard by E.D.U.G., Paris, no. 387. Photo: Sam Lévin. Pouty-lipped, blonde Annette Vadim (1936-2005) was a Danish-born starlet and socialite. She was the second wife of Svengali-like French film director Roger Vadim, who tried unsuccessfully to turn her into another Brigitte Bardot. Yet, her brief film career included interesting films like Vadim's Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959) and Et mourir de plaisir (1960), and Roberto Rossellini’s Anima nera (1962). For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 64, Photo: G.L. Manuel Frères. Distinguished, attractive, athletic Jean Angelo (1875-1933) was a superstar of the French silent cinema. He was the ultimate leading man of several adventure films of the 1920s. Jean Renoir and Jacques Feyder are among the noted directors that Angelo has worked with. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3622/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa. German-Baltic theatre and film actress Marina von Ditmar (1914) was a popular film star of the Third Reich.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3845/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa. German actress Hannelore Schroth (1922-1987) made her film debut at the age of nine and had a long and successful career in both theatre and cinema. She starred in Unter den Brücken/Under the Bridge (Helmut Käutner, 1945), one of the most beautiful love stories of German cinema – without any trace of propaganda. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
French postcard Ind. Cinematogr, no. 41. Madeleine Robinson (1917-2004) was a French-Czech, later naturalized Swiss actress. Determinedly independent, she was known for the intensity of her performances but also for her fiery temperament off stage and screen. From 1934 on, she played in 80 films and in numerous TV productions and stage plays and became one France’s most respected actresses. Her film career included several masterpieces like Une si jolie petite plage/Riptide (1949), Dieu a besoin des hommes/God Needs Men (1950) and Orson Welles’ Le Procès/The Trial (1962).
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK-3714. Photo: Rhombus / Herzog-Film / Dittner. Beautiful German actress Susanne Cramer (1936-1969) was known for her film career but also for her tumultuous private life. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Vintage collectors card, no. A 55. Photo: publicity still for Manèges/The Cheat (Yves Allégret, 1950). French actress Simone Signoret (1921-1985) was given the ‘star build-up’ in the postwar years. She went on to become one of the great film actresses of the French cinema and won a BAFTA, an Oscar and many more awards. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
French postcard, no. 57. Photo: Pathé. Stocky, balding Bernard Blier (1916-1989) was one of France's most versatile and sought-after character actors. His complete filmography includes 138 titles, both comedies and dramas, in France and in Italy.
Dutch postcard by Takken, no. 3092. Photo: Filmex NV. Publicity still for Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin/Sissi: The Young Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1956). Romy Schneider (1938-1982) was one of the most beautiful and intelligent actors of her generation. More than 30 years after her death she still has an immense popular appeal. German singer and actress Magda Schneider (1909-1996) is best known as the mother of film star Romy Schneider, but in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s s she herself starred in some 40 films. First she appeared on the screen as a charming Wiener mädel (Viennese girl) and after the war she often played the understanding mother or aunt. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
French postcard by S.E.R.P., Paris, no. 15. Photo: Studio Harcourt. French actress and singer Danielle Darrieux (1917) is an enduringly beautiful, international leading lady. From her film debut in 1931 on she progressed from playing pouty teens to worldy sophisticates. In the early 1950s she starred in three classic films by Max Ophüls, and she played the mother of Catherine Deneuve in five films! For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 125, Photo: Bavaria Filmkunst. Heli Finkenzeller in Alarmstufe V/Alarm level V (Alois Johannes Lippl, 1941). German stage and film actress Heli Finkenzeller (1914-1991) had her greatest successes in popular Ufa comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. After the war, she often played mother roles. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit., no. 4423. Photo: Scalera Film / Pesce. Publicity still for Noi Vivi/We the Living (Goffredo Alessandrini, 1942). It was an adaptation of We the Living, the debut novel (published 1936) of the Russian American novelist Ayn Rand. Italian actor Fosco Giachetti (1900–1974) was the leading man in several fascist propaganda films of the 1930s and 1940s. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
British postcard by Beagles & Co., no. 157e. Photo: Reville Studios. British actor Owen Nares (1888-1943) was the heartthrob actor of his generation, both in films and on stage in the West End. The later 1910s and early 1920s were his golden period and he romanced such British film stars as Isobel Elsom and Lilian Hall-Davis. During the 1930s he became a character actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of Myself, and Some Others (1925).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 484/4, 1919-1924. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin. German actor Ernst Hofmann (1890-1944) was one of the most attractive actors of the German silent cinema. in the 1910s He was the producer and star of Der Knabe in Blau (1918), the first film by legendary director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3492. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Arthur Grimm / Arca-NF-Film. German actress Hannelore Schroth (1922-1987) made her film debut at the age of nine and had a long and successful career in both theatre and cinema. She starred in Unter den Brücken/Under the Bridge (Helmut Käutner, 1945), one of the most beautiful love-stories of the German cinema – without any trace of propaganda. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
French postcard by Editions P.I., no. FK 3096. Photo: Joachim G. Jung / Ufa. Voluptuous, visually stunning Italian film actress Eleonora Rossi Drago (1925–2007) played princesses and temptresses throughout Italian cinema of the 1950s and 1960s. She never found the international cross-over fame destined for Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, but she earned respect as a fine actress playing leading roles in films by famous directors like Michelangelo Antonioni, Luigi Comencini and Valerio Zurlini. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
French postcard by Cinemagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 604. Hans Stüwe as Iwan Wolkoff in in Anastasia, die falsche Zarentochter (Arthur Bergen, 1928). Hans Stüwe (1901-1976) was a German singer and opera director. From 1926 on he was also a big film star in Germany. Four times he was the film partner of Ufa diva Zarah Leander. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Dutch postcard by HEMO. Photo: Eagle Lion. British Academy Award-winning actor David Niven (1910-1983) impersonated the archetypal English gentleman, witty, naturally charming, and immaculate in dress and behaviour, but he also had a dash of light-hearted sexual roguishness. He is probably best known for his role as the punctuality-obsessed adventurer Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (1956). For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 939. Photo: Lux Film Verleih. German actress Evi Eva (1899-1985) was a popular star of the silent cinema. Later, the once-famous actress lived in very poor conditions. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
British postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3971/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa. Lars Hanson (1886-1965) was a highly successful Swedish film and stage actor mostly remembered for his motion picture roles during the silent film era, both in Scandinavia and Hollywood. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards .
British postcard in the Film Stars and Their Pets series by Valentine's Postcards, no. 7113 L, ca. 1934. Flower-like British-American actress Heather Angel (1909-1986) was in high demand both in British films and in Hollywood throughout the 1930s. In 1937, she began playing Phyllis Clavering in the popular serial about Bulldog Drummond. After the war she mainly worked for television. Heather Grace Angel was born in Headington, Oxford, England, in 1909. She was brought up on a farm near Banbury, and was the younger of two sisters. Her mother was born Mary Letitia Stock, and her father was Andrea Angel, an Oxford University chemistry lecturer who was killed in the Silvertown explosion in 1917 and posthumously awarded the Edward Medal. Angel was trained at the London Polytechnic of Dramatic Arts. She made her professional debut at age 17, at the Old Vic in 1926 and later appeared with touring companies. Her Broadway debut came in December 1937, in Love of Women at the Golden Theatre. She also appeared in The Wookey (1941–1942). Angel appeared in many British films before going to Hollywood. Heather was 20 years old when she landed a bit part for Bulldog Drummond (1929). Although she didn't know it at the time, she would become a staple of that particular series eight years hence. She made her real film debut in City of Song (Carmine Gallone, 1931) with Jan Kiepura. She had a leading role in Night in Montmartre (Leslie S. Hiscott, 1931), and followed this success with The Hound of the Baskervilles (Gareth Gundrey, 1932), based on the Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1933, she was signed to a Hollywood contract by Fox Studios, appearing in a handful of quality productions like Berkeley Square (Frank Lloyd, 1933) with Leslie Howard. Over the next few years, she played strong roles in such films as The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Stuart Walker, 1935) starring Claude Rains, The Three Musketeers (Rowland V. Lee, 1935), The Informer (John Ford, 1935) opposite Victor McLaglen, and The Last of the Mohicans (George B. Seitz, 1936). Paramount's Bulldog Drummond series got off to a start with Bulldog Drummond Escapes (James Hogan, 1937). Up-and-coming Ray Milland stars as soldier-of-fortune Hugh ‘Bulldog’ Drummond, who on this occasion comes to the aid of pretty heiress Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel). After the popular series ended, Angel was cast as Kitty Bennett in Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard, 1940), starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, and as the maid, Ethel, in Suspicion (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941) with Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. Angel was the leading lady in Time to Kill (Herbert I. Leeds, 1942), the first screen version of Raymond Chandler's The High Window. In Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944), she played the near-comatose and half-mad woman with the dead baby, one of the eight passengers of a lifeboat lost at sea after a U-boat attack. In 1944, Heather Angel filed a Petition for Naturalization as a citizen of the United States. Her film appearances in the years after the war were few. In fact, she wasn't seen again on the silver screen until The Saxon Charm (Claude Binyon, 1948). Later she returned to Hollywood to provide voices for the Walt Disney animated films Alice in Wonderland (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 1951) and Peter Pan (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 1953). From 1964 until 1965, she played a continuing role in the television soap opera Peyton Place. After that role, she played Miss Faversham, a nanny and female friend of Sebastian Cabot's character of Giles French in the situation comedy Family Affair (1966-1971). Her last screen appearance was in the TV mini-series, Backstairs at the White House (Michael O'Herlihy, 1979) when she played President Harry Truman's mother-in-law. In 1934, Heather Angel had married actor Ralph Forbes. After their divorce in 1937, Angel married Robert B. Sinclair, a film and television director in 1944. She lived quietly in her later years, working very occasionally. On 4 January 1970, an intruder broke into their Montecito, California home. When Sinclair attempted to protect Angel, the prowler killed Sinclair in Angel's presence, then fled. The prowler turned out to be a University of California--Santa Barbara (UCSB) graduate student, Billy McCoy Hunter. He was allegedly found with a knife and pistol when arrested. Wikipedia writes that the incident is believed to have been a failed burglary. Some sources mention her former co-star Henry Wilcoxon as her third husband, but according to Wikipedia they were only lifelong friends.. In 1986, Heather Angel died from cancer in Santa Barbara, California, and was buried in Santa Barbara Cemetery. She was 77. Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Denny Jackson (IMDb), TCM, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2709/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Tita Binz / Tobis. Gorgeous Charlotte Thiele (1918-2004) played cool blondes in German films of the 1930s and 1940s. The Ufa star was side-lined by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, after she had rejected his avances
French postcard by Editions P.I., no. 11. Photo: Studio Carlet Ainé. French film actress Josette Day (1914-1978) is best known as Belle in the unforgettable classic La belle et la bête/Beauty and the Beast (1946). She started her film career as a child and played during the 1930s and 1940s many leading parts in French films. In 1950 she ended her successful acting career, when she was only 36. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3422/1, 1941-1944. Conchita Montenegro (1911-2007) was a Spanish model, dancer, and stage and screen actress. She starred in several Spanish productions, but also in French, German and American films. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 4 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2875, 1967. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Balinski. Beautiful Polish actress Anna Prucnal (1940) was a star of the East-European cinema of the 1960s. From 1970 on she worked in France as an actress as well as a successful singer. Her role in the controversial and shocking film Sweet Movie (1974) caused her to be banned from her homeland for 15 years. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Vintage postcard in the Camera series by F.B.Z. Photo: Julius. Baroness Irene von Meyendorff (1916-2001) never planned to become a film star, but she appeared in more than 40 films. Unexpectedly, the breath-taking beautiful, ice-cold blonde became a star of the Ufa in the 1940s. Her beauty attracted Josef Goebbels, who got a harsh rebuff by her. After the war she played several parts in interesting German films and led a full, remarkable life. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Italian photo card. Italian actress Marina Berti (1924-2002) was a popular starlet of Italian films in the 1940s and early 1950s. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
German postcard, no. F 152. Handsome Christian Wolff (1938) was the young lover of many German films of the late 1950s. He started out in the controversial 'gay' film Anders als Du und Ich/The Third Sex (1957) and later became a popular TV star in the long running family series Forsthaus Falkenau (1989-2006). For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
