Elissa Landi
Encyclopedia
Elissa Landi was an Italian
born actress who was popular in Hollywood film
s of the 1920s and 1930s. Rumoured to be a descendant of Emperor
Franz Joseph of Austria, she was noted for her aristocratic bearing.
Born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt in Venice
, Landi was raised in Austria
and educated
in England
. From 1928 to 1936, Landi was married to John Cecil Lawrence, and from 1943 to 1948, to Curtis Kinney Thomas (1905-2002).
Her first ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her first novel at the age of twenty. She would return to writing during lulls in her acting career. She joined the Oxford Repertory Company at an early age, appearing in many British and American stage successes.
During the 1920s she appeared in British, French
, and German
films before travelling to the United States
to appear in a Broadway
production of A Farewell to Arms
. She was signed to a contact by Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox
) in 1931.
She played the heroine in Cecil B. De Mille's The Sign of the Cross
(1932), but was overshadowed by Claudette Colbert
who played the flashier role of Poppea. She was paired successfully with some of the major leading men, such as David Manners
, Charles Farrell
, Warner Baxter
, and Ronald Colman
in romantic dramas such as Body and Soul
(1931) before appearing in the box office hit The Count of Monte Cristo
(1934) with Robert Donat
.
Her contract with Fox was abruptly cancelled in 1936 as a result of her refusal to accept a particular role. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
signed her to a contract and after a couple of romantic dramas she played the cousin of Myrna Loy
in the very popular After the Thin Man
(1936). After only two more films she retired, in 1943.
She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943, and dedicated herself to writing, producing six novels and a series of poems.
She died from cancer
in Kingston, New York
, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, Massachusetts
.
Elissa Landi has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 1615 Vine Street.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
born actress who was popular in Hollywood film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s of the 1920s and 1930s. Rumoured to be a descendant of Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Franz Joseph of Austria, she was noted for her aristocratic bearing.
Born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Landi was raised in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and educated
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. From 1928 to 1936, Landi was married to John Cecil Lawrence, and from 1943 to 1948, to Curtis Kinney Thomas (1905-2002).
Her first ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her first novel at the age of twenty. She would return to writing during lulls in her acting career. She joined the Oxford Repertory Company at an early age, appearing in many British and American stage successes.
During the 1920s she appeared in British, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
films before travelling to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to appear in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway concerning events during the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The book, which was first published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance...
. She was signed to a contact by Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
) in 1931.
She played the heroine in Cecil B. De Mille's The Sign of the Cross
The Sign of the Cross (film)
The Sign of the Cross is a pre-Code epic film released by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Waldemar Young and Sidney Buchman, and based on the original 1895 play by Wilson Barrett....
(1932), but was overshadowed by Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
who played the flashier role of Poppea. She was paired successfully with some of the major leading men, such as David Manners
David Manners
David Manners was a Canadian - American film actor.Born Rauff de Ryther Daun Acklom in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Manners came to Hollywood at the beginning of the talking films revolution after studying acting with Eva Le Gallienne, and acting on stage with Helen Hayes...
, Charles Farrell
Charles Farrell
Charles Farrell was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor...
, Warner Baxter
Warner Baxter
Warner Leroy Baxter was an American actor, known for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona , for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1928–1929 Academy Awards. Warner Baxter started his movie career in silent movies...
, and Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
in romantic dramas such as Body and Soul
Body and Soul (1931 film)
Body and Soul is a film directed by Alfred Santell. The story is about Royal Air Force pilots and stars Charles Farrell, Elissa Landi, Humphrey Bogart, and Myrna Loy...
(1931) before appearing in the box office hit The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934 film)
The Count of Monte Cristo is a film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, and Louis Calhern...
(1934) with Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
.
Her contract with Fox was abruptly cancelled in 1936 as a result of her refusal to accept a particular role. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
signed her to a contract and after a couple of romantic dramas she played the cousin of Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
in the very popular After the Thin Man
After the Thin Man
After the Thin Man is a 1936 American film, starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, and James Stewart, that is the sequel to the film The Thin Man. The movie presents Powell and Loy as Dashiell Hammett's characters Nick and Nora Charles. The film was directed by W. S...
(1936). After only two more films she retired, in 1943.
She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943, and dedicated herself to writing, producing six novels and a series of poems.
She died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...
.
Elissa Landi has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 1615 Vine Street.
Filmography
- LondonLondon (1926 film)London is a British silent film, directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish. The film was adapted by Wilcox from a short story by popular author Thomas Burke...
(1926) - Bolibar (1928)
- UndergroundUnderground (1928 film)Underground is a British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Brian Aherne, Elissa Landi, Cyril McLaglen, and Norah Baring. An electrician and a porter both fall in love with a shop girl they meet on the London Underground....
(1928) - Synd (1928)
- The Inseparables (1929)
- The Betrayal (1929)
- The Parisian (1930)
- Knowing Men (1930)
- The Price of Things (1930)
- Children of ChanceChildren of Chance (1930 film)Children of Chance is a 1930 British crime film directed by Alexander Esway and starring Elissa Landi, Mabel Poulton, John Stuart and John Longden.-Cast:* Elissa Landi - Binniel Lia Monta* Mabel Poulton - Molly* John Stuart - Gordon...
(1930) - Body and SoulBody and Soul (1931 film)Body and Soul is a film directed by Alfred Santell. The story is about Royal Air Force pilots and stars Charles Farrell, Elissa Landi, Humphrey Bogart, and Myrna Loy...
(1931) - Always Goodbye (1931)
- WickedWicked (1931 film)Wicked is an American black and white prison melodrama musical film, the story of woman who commits murder while trying to save her bandit husband and bears a child in prison. The movie is also known as Condannata in Italy and Malvada in Spain...
(1931) - The Yellow TicketThe Yellow TicketThe Yellow Ticket is a 1931 drama film based on a play by Michael Morton, produced by the Fox Film Corporation and directed by Raoul Walsh. The film starred Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and featured Boris Karloff...
(1931) - Devil's Lottery (1932)
- The Woman in Room 13 (1932)
- A Passport to Hell (1932)
- The Sign of the CrossThe Sign of the Cross (film)The Sign of the Cross is a pre-Code epic film released by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Waldemar Young and Sidney Buchman, and based on the original 1895 play by Wilson Barrett....
(1932) - The Warrior's Husband (1933)
- I Loved You Wednesday (1933)
- The Masquerader (1933)
- By CandlelightBy CandlelightBy Candlelight is an Austrian play by Siegfried Geyer and Karl Farkas. In 1933, it was filmed by director by James Whale, and starring Elissa Landi, Paul Lukas, Nils Asther, and Dorothy Revier...
(1933) - Man of Two Worlds (1934)
- Sisters Under the Skin (1934)
- The Great Flirtation (1934)
- The Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte Cristo (1934 film)The Count of Monte Cristo is a film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, and Louis Calhern...
(1934) - KönigsmarkKoenigsmark (1935 film)Koenigsmark is a British-French film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Elissa Landi, John Lodge, Pierre Fresnay, Frank Vosper, and Cecil Humphreys....
(1935) - Enter MadameEnter MadameEnter Madame is an American romantic comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent, starring Elissa Landi and Cary Grant, and released by Paramount Pictures....
(1935) - Without Regret (1935)
- The Amateur GentlemanThe Amateur Gentleman (1936 film)The Amateur Gentleman is a 1936 British drama film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Elissa Landi, Gordon Harker and Margaret Lockwood, with music by Richard Addinsell. It is based on the 1913 novel The Amateur Gentleman by Jeffrey Farnol...
(1936) - Mad Holiday (1936)
- After the Thin ManAfter the Thin ManAfter the Thin Man is a 1936 American film, starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, and James Stewart, that is the sequel to the film The Thin Man. The movie presents Powell and Loy as Dashiell Hammett's characters Nick and Nora Charles. The film was directed by W. S...
(1936) - The Thirteenth Chair (1937)
- CorregidorCorregidor (1943 film)Corregidor is an American war film directed by William Nigh and starring Otto Kruger, Elissa Landi, and Donald Woods. The film is set in December 1941 through May 1942 during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.-Cast:...
(1943)