Italian actress (1915–1998)
Clara Calamai
Born (1915-09-07 ) 7 September 1915Died 21 September 1998(1998-09-21) (aged 89) Burial place
Monumental Cemetery of Rimini Other names Clara Mais Occupation Actress Spouse
Leonardo Bonzi
(
m. ;
ann. )
Clara Calamai (7 September 1915 – 21 September 1998) was an Italian actress.
Career
Calamai was born in
Prato ,
Tuscany , on 7 September 1915.
[1]
[2]
Calamai's first acting role was in the 1938 war film
Pietro Micca , directed by
Aldo Vergano .
In
Alessandro Blasetti 's
The Jester's Supper (1942), Calamai briefly appeared topless in a scene. The scene is commonly credited with being the first time that an actress had appeared topless in an Italian sound film,
[3]
[4] although Vittoria Carpi showed a bare breast for a moment in the 1941 film
La corona di ferro (The Iron Crown ), which was also directed by Blasetti. Calamai stated in a later interview that the original script did not have the character revealing herself this way and did not want to do the scene, but felt compelled by the director to do it and gave in when she was promised a closed set.
[4] Nevertheless, many people reportedly saw the film many times because of the topless scene.[
citation needed ]
Her most remembered role was in the film
Luchino Visconti 's
Ossessione (1943), in which she played Giovanna, the ill-fated female protagonist.
[2]
[5]
Calamai was offered the lead role in
L'adultera (The Adulteress , 1946, directed by
Duilio Coletti ), after
Anna Magnani , originally cast in the part, "was visibly five months' pregnant when she arrived on the set."
[6] Calamai was awarded the
Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) in 1946 for
best actress for her performance in the film.
She played a prostitute in
Luchino Visconti 's
Le notti bianche (1957) and appeared in
Le streghe (1967).
After years of retirement, she returned in 1975 to appear in the horror film
Profondo rosso (Deep Red , directed by
Dario Argento ) as the eccentric matriarch, Marta.
Personal life
On 19 May 1945 she married explorer, and documentary film maker Count Leonardo Bonzi with whom she had two daughters. The marriage was annulled in November 1959, and she lived with Captain of Aviation Valerio Andreoni.
Calamai died in Rimini on 21 September 1998.
[1]
[2] Calamai is buried in the
Monumental Cemetery of Rimini . In September 2022, a stele dedicated to her was unveiled in the cemetery behind the funerary monument of
Federico Fellini .
[7]
[8]
Partial filmography
Pietro Micca (1938, directed by
Aldo Vergano ) - La contessa de Lassere
Il destino in tasca (1938, directed by Gennaro Righelli)
They've Kidnapped a Man (1938, directed by
Gennaro Righelli )
Ettore Fieramosca (1938, directed by
Alessandro Blasetti ) - Fulvia
I, His Father (1939, directed by
Mario Bonnard ) - Renata
The Fornaretto of Venice (1939, directed by
Duilio Coletti ) (doppiata da
Tina Lattanzi ) - Olimpia Zeno
L'eredità in corsa (1939, directed by
Oreste Biancoli ) - Lilli
The Silent Partner (1939, directed by
Roberto Roberti ) - La moglie di Prado
Le sorprese del vagone letto (1940, directed by
Gian Paolo Rosmino ) - La canzonettista
Boccaccio (1940, directed by
Marcello Albani ) - Giannina, falso Boccaccio
Captain Fracasse (1940, directed by Duilio Coletti) (doppiata da
Tina Lattanzi ) - Iolanda De Foix
Goodbye Youth (1940, directed by
Ferdinando Maria Poggioli ) - Elena
Manovre d'amore (1940, directed by Gennaro Righelli) - Agnese, l'istitutrice
Caravaggio (1941, directed by
Goffredo Alessandrini ) - Madonna Giaconella
Il re del circo (1941, directed by
Hans Hinrich ) - Bianca
I mariti - Tempesta d'amore (1941, directed by
Camillo Mastrocinque ) - Clara Ferri
Light in the Darkness (1941, directed by
Mario Mattoli ) - Amelia Gioiosi
Brivido (1941, directed by
Giacomo Gentilomo ) - Federica Usticky
Pirates of Malaya (1941, directed by
Enrico Guazzoni ) - Ada
The Adventuress from the Floor Above (1941, directed by
Raffaello Matarazzo ) - Biancamaria Rossi
The Jester's Supper (1942, directed by
Alessandro Blasetti ) - Ginevra
The Queen of Navarre (1942, directed by
Carmine Gallone ) - Isabella del Portogallo
La guardia del corpo (1942, directed by
Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia ) - Adriana
Le vie del cuore (1942, directed by Camillo Mastrocinque) - La baronessa Emilia Carpineti
Ossessione (1943, directed by
Luchino Visconti ) - Giovanna Bragana
Enrico IV (1943, directed by
Giorgio Pàstina ) - Matilde Spina / Frida
A Little Wife (1943, directed by
Giorgio Bianchi ) - Isa
Farewell Love! (1943, directed by
Gianni Franciolini ) - Laura Acquaviva
The Materassi Sisters (1944, directed by Ferdinando Maria Poggioli) - Peggy
La resa di Titì (1945, directed by Giorgio Bianchi) - Paola De Marchi
Due lettere anonime (1945, directed by
Mario Camerini ) - Gina
The Adulteress (1946, directed by Duilio Coletti) - Velca
The Tyrant of Padua (1946, directed by
Max Neufeld ) - Tisbe
Il mondo vuole così (1946, directed by Giorgio Bianchi) - Carla
Last Love (1947, directed by
Luigi Chiarini ) - Maria, la canzonetista
When the Angels Sleep (1947, directed by
Gilberto Gascon ) - Elena
Prelude to Madness (1948, directed by
Gianni Franciolini (doppiata da
Lydia Simoneschi ) - Elena Leonardi
Romanticismo (1949, directed by
Clemente Fracassi ) - Giuditta Ansperti
Sicilian Uprising (1949, directed by Giorgio Pàstina) - Elena Di Caltabellotta
The Phantom Musketeer (1952, directed by
Max Calandri ) - Marina Venier
Carne inquieta (1952, directed by
Silvestro Prestifilippo ) - Marchesa di Francavilla
Le notti bianche (1957, directed by Luchino Visconti) - La prostituta
Afrodite, dea dell'amore (1958, directed by Mario Bonnard) - Stenele
Tom Jones (1960,
TV Mini-Series )
Le streghe (1967, directed by Luchino Visconti) - Ex-actress (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Profondo rosso (1975, directed by
Dario Argento ) - Marta
La peccatrice (1975, directed by
Pier Luigi Pavoni ) - Michele's Mother (final film role)
References
^
a
b
"Una stele sulla tomba della Calamai" [A stele on Calamai's tomb].
Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 31 August 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2024 .
^
a
b
c
"Rimini celebra Clara Calamai. Dal 7 settembre una rassegna, una mostra e una cerimonia dedicata alla grande attrice italiana" [Rimini celebrates Clara Calamai: From 7 September, a review, an exhibition and a ceremony dedicated to the great Italian actress]. Comune di Rimini (in Italian). 30 August 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2024 .
^ Il Mereghetti - Dizionario dei Film 2008 , p. 556
^
a
b Forgacs, David (2002). "Sex in the Cinema". In Reich, Jacqueline; Garofalo, Piero (eds.).
Re-viewing Fascism: Italian Cinema, 1922-1943 . Indiana University Press. pp. 159–61.
ISBN
0-253-34045-4 .
^
"The Dying Diva: Violent Ends for Clara Calamai in Ossessione and Profondo Rosso" . Forum Italicum: A Journal of Italian Studies . 42 (2): 296–312. 2008.
doi :
10.1177/001458580804200204 .
S2CID
164517587 . Retrieved 29 October 2020 .
^ Lane, John Francis (23 September 1998). "From Nudity to Neo-realism". The Guardian . p. 20.
^
"Rimini celebra Clara Calamai. Dal 7 settembre una rassegna, una mostra e una cerimonia dedicata alla grande attrice italiana" [Rimini celebrates Clara Calamai: From 7 September, a review, an exhibition and a ceremony dedicated to the great Italian actress]. Comune di Rimini (in Italian). 30 August 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2024 .
^
"Una stele sulla tomba della Calamai" [A stele on Calamai's tomb].
Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 31 August 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2024 .
External links
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