Francesca Bertini

Actress

April 10, 1892 (93 years)

† October 13, 1985

Prato, Tuscany, Italy

Biography

Francesca Bertini (born Elena Seracini Vitiello; 5 January 1892 – 13 October 1985) was an Italian silent film actress. She was one of the most successful silent film stars in the first quarter of the twentieth-century.

Filmography

7.8

1900

Sister Desolata

The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.

7.2

Cabiria

Young Cabiria is kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in Carthage. Just as she's to be sacrificed to Moloch, Cabiria is rescued by Fulvius Axilla, a good-hearted Roman spy, and his powerful slave, Maciste. The trio are broken up as Cabiria is entrusted to a woman of noble birth. With Cabiria's fate unknown, Maciste punished for his heroism, and Fulvius sent away to fight for Rome, is there any hope of our heroes reuniting?

5.4

King Lear

Cordelia

Hand-tinted Italian verison of the Shakespeare Classic King Lear.

N/A

A sud niente di nuovo

No description available

8.0

La Femme d'une nuit

Princess Hélène of Lystrie

A lieutenant of the French navy, ready to kill himself in despair, renounces his project after spending a night with a beautiful stranger, the Princess of Lystrie.

5.8

Romeo e Giulietta

Giulietta

The 1912 Italian version of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.

6.5

Una ragazza di Praga

Gabriela

A woman from Czechoslovakia escapes her homeland after the occupation by the armies of Warsaw pact to Italy to tell the tale...

9.0

Odette

No description available

N/A

The Cinema Machine

Directed by a group of avant-garde filmmakers, the film is an investigation of the less edifying aspects of film industry.

6.7

The Suitcase of Dreams

A former silent film actor who has saved old movies of his time from destruction uses them to set up recreational performances at schools. After an accidental fire and the risk of prison, he meets a rich producer who helps him to build a film museum.

5.3

The Clemenceau Affair

Iza

The Clemenceau Affair (Italian: Il processo Clémenceau) is a 1917 silent Italian adventure film directed by Alfredo De Antoni. The film features the first onscreen performance from Vittorio De Sica.

8.0

La Possession

Jessie Cordier

La Possession is a 1929 French film directed by Léonce Perret.

3.5

The Merchant of Venice

Jessica

With a friend desperate for money, a merchant takes out a loan from a ruthless money-lender. Confident that his ships will soon be bringing him great wealth, the merchant willingly agrees to conditions of the loan that put him at great personal risk.

N/A

Bellissime

(archive footage)

Documentary consisting of archival footage that depicts the evolving conditions of Italian women during the first half of the 20th century.

5.8

The Lady of the Camellias

Margherita Gauthier

La Signora delle Camelie chronicles the tragic love story of courtesan Marguerite Gautier and provincial bourgeois Armand Duval. Armand’s father disapproves of the relationship and convinces Marguerite to leave Armand, making him believe that she has left him for another man.

9.0

La Ferita

Raymonde (Bertini) has had a passionate affair with Giacomo (Giorgio Bonaiti) and has a son with him. Life has taken a different turn, however, and Giacomo has married Elena (Mary Fleuron).

5.8

Salomé

La schiava

Based on Oscar Wilde's version of the story, what is noteworthy is the sheer luxury of the production, an attempt to capture the wild and weird Aubrey Beardsley illustrations that transfigure the work. The sets are elaborate, with stonework and palm trees and draperies. There seem to be dozens of dress extras, courtiers at Salome's dance and soldiers.

N/A

Tosca

Film version of the play.

8.0

Fedora

An Italian melodrama. Only the final reel survives.

9.0

You Belong to Me

Gisele

The frenetic pace of the edit was intended to match the action, based on Article 635 of the French criminal code stipulating that after 20 years on the run, a penal colony escapee can regain his freedom if he evades capture by the police.