Marcella Albani

Acting

Marcella Albani

Born December 7, 1899

Died May 11, 1959 · aged 59

Forgotten today, Marcella Albani was an idol of the European cinema in the final years of the 1920s, making dozens of films in five different countries (Italy, Germany, Austria, France and Czechoslovakia). After sound came, her popularity declined and she turned to writing. One of her novels "La Città dell'amore" was even adapted for the big screen by Mario Franchini, her husband. She went on acti…

Known For

The Fight for the MatterhornThe Fight for the Matterhorn · 1934
The Fight for the Matterhorn
1934
MovieDrama
Sounded version of the 1928 film 'Der Kampf ums Matterhorn'. The added sound track included music composed by Schmidt-Boelckeb and dubbed dialogs by different actors. This version is slightly shorter than the silent film due to the disappearance of the movie titles. The story, based on the novel by Carl Haensel recreates the struggle between Edward Whymper and Jean-Antoine Carrel for the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. In 1938 two new versions of the movie were filmed under the direction of Luis Trenker, who acted again in the role of Carrel. One version was shot in German (Der Berg ruft) and the other in English (The Challenge).
Devil of the MatterhornDevil of the Matterhorn · 1932
Devil of the Matterhorn
1932
MovieDramaHistory
English-language, dubbed sound and partly re-edited version of Der Kampf ums Matterhorn. During an early, unsuccessful attempt at climbing the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper finds himself rescued by an italian guide, Jean Antoine Carrel. The two men quickly build a friendship and agree to reach the peak together. However, local villagers plot to divide the alliance of Whymper and Carrel and both men join rival teams as they set out in a race to conquer the mountain. A mountaineering drama based on the novel by Carl Haensel and inspired in the dramatic true story of Edward Whymper, who led the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865.
Vertauschte GesichterVertauschte Gesichter · 1931
Vertauschte Gesichter
★ 9.01931
MovieDrama
The Fight for the MatterhornThe Fight for the Matterhorn · 1928
The Fight for the Matterhorn
★ 8.21928
MovieDrama
Struggle for the Matterhorn (German: Der Kampf ums Matterhorn) is a 1928 German-Swiss silent drama film co-directed by Mario Bonnard and Nunzio Malasomma and starring Luis Trenker, Marcella Albani, and Alexandra Schmitt. The film is part of the popular cycle of mountain films of the 1920s and 1930s. Art direction was by Heinrich Richter. Based on a novel by Carl Haensel, the film depicts the battle between British and Italian climbers to be the first to climb the Matterhorn. Trenker later remade the film as The Challenge in 1938.
StradivariusStradivarius · 1935
Stradivarius
★ 9.01935
Movie
A French-language version of Stradivari (1935).
Behind the AltarBehind the Altar · 1927
Behind the Altar
★ 10.01927
MovieDrama
Wilhelm Dieterle’s strong and manly art and Marcella Albani’s suave charm intermingle here in a splendid natural setting, to depict a drama where love and duty, compassion and hate, purity and crime merge together in a very interesting story.
Before the JuryBefore the Jury · 1931
Before the Jury
★ 10.01931
MovieDramaMystery
During a reception in a villa, wealthy banker Calandri is killed in the park with a gunshot. The gamekeeper Barra is immediately arrested, but he declares himself innocent. During the trial it turns out that the defendant had threatened the victim, guilty of courting his sister-in-law. But the deposition of a journalist present at the party soon leads to discover the existence of a dense network of equivocal relations between the victim, the guests and the servants. This judicial setting drama is allegedly the second Italian sound film after "The Song of Love", made using the RCA Photophone recording technique, and is also considered to be the first Italian detective film, a precursor to the later genre of Giallo films.
Their SonTheir Son · 1929
Their Son
★ 9.01929
MovieDrama
The son of a Countess runs away to join the circus and becomes a great trapeze artist. He returns years later and falls in love with a young woman.

Filmography

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Before the JuryBefore the Jury · 1931
Before the Jury
★ 10.01931
MovieDramaMystery
During a reception in a villa, wealthy banker Calandri is killed in the park with a gunshot. The gamekeeper Barra is immediately arrested, but he declares himself innocent. During the trial it turns out that the defendant had threatened the victim, guilty of courting his sister-in-law. But the deposition of a journalist present at the party soon leads to discover the existence of a dense network of equivocal relations between the victim, the guests and the servants. This judicial setting drama is allegedly the second Italian sound film after "The Song of Love", made using the RCA Photophone recording technique, and is also considered to be the first Italian detective film, a precursor to the later genre of Giallo films.

Leda Astorri

Souls AflameSouls Aflame · 1926
Souls Aflame
★ 8.01926
MovieDrama
In a Swiss winter resort, Lydia Boysen, who has just divorced from her husband, meets the young ski instructor Dagfin Holberg. It doesn't take long before they both fall in love with each other. One day her ex-husband Axel shows up, not long after he had tried to set Lydia up with the much older, rich Turkish man Sabi Bey. A little later, Alex Boysen is found lying dead in the snow. Dagfin and Lydia suspect each other of killing Boysen. To protect Lydia, Dagfin takes all the blame. Not entirely unselfish, he receives full support in his actions from Sabi Bey, who also promises to help Dagfin escape. The Turkish general hopes to get closer to his goal in this way and finally win Lydia over. Lydia, in turn, is ready to sacrifice herself for Dagfin. In order to be sure of Sabi Bey's support for the fugitive Dagfin, she follows the Muslim despot, who was once responsible for a massacre of Armenians and only narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, to his castle in southern Germany.
The Last PerformanceThe Last Performance · 1928
The Last Performance
★ 8.01928
MovieDrama
The impressive cast is headed by the great Heinrich George as Boris Stroganoff, an opera composer and conductor who’s also a notorious lothario. Albani is ballet dancer Viola Suroff, who’s put her career aside to look after her partner Maxim Sadi, a baritone with unspecified health issues that have kept him off stage. Stroganoff sets his sights on Viola and offers her a job in the corps de ballet for his new opera The Boyar, which she accepts provided Maxim is also hired. However, dancer Margot (called Myrra in the French version) maintains a seething passion for Stroganoff, as does Countess Geschow (called Countess Ziska on this print), both of whom are resentful when watching his interactions with Viola. Jealousies run high on opening night between all the characters and Stroganoff is shot mid-performance, but who is the killer: Maxim, Margot, or Geschow?I

Viola Suroff