Elissa Landi (December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Italian born actress who was popular in Hollywood films 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. 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 St. Description above from the Wikipedia article Elissa Landi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Фільмографія

• 1943Corregidor — Dr. Royce Lee Stockman
• 1937The Thirteenth Chair — Helen Trent
• 1936After the Thin Man — Selma Forrest Landis
• 1936Mad Holiday — Peter Dean
• 1936The Amateur Gentleman — Lady Cleone Meredith
• 1935Crimson Dynasty — Princess Aurore
• 1935Enter Madame — Lisa Della Robbia
• 1935Without Regret — Jennifer Gage
• 1934Man of Two Worlds — Joan Pemberton
• 1934Sisters Under the Skin — Blossom Bailey
• 1934The Count of Monte Cristo — Mercedes
• 1934The Great Flirtation — Zita Marishka
• 1933By Candlelight — Marie
• 1933I Loved You Wednesday — Vicki Meredith
• 1933The Masquerader — Eve Chilcote
• 1933The Warrior's Husband — Antiope
• 1932A Passport to Hell — Myra Carson
• 1932Devil's Lottery — Evelyn Beresford
• 1932The Sign of the Cross — Mercia
• 1932The Woman in Room 13 — Laura Ramsey
• 1931Always Goodbye — Lila Banning
• 1931Body and Soul — Carla
• 1931The Yellow Ticket — Marya Kalish
• 1931Wicked — Margot Rande
• 1930Children of Chance — Binnie
• 1930Knowing Men — Korah Hurley / Collette
• 1930The Price of Things — Anthea Mary Dayre
• 1930The Voice of Hollywood
• 1928Bolibar — Françoise-Marie / La Monita
• 1928Sin — Kersti
• 1928Underground — Nell
• 1927London — Alice Cranston

Ток-шоу, премії та інші появи (1)

• 1937Hollywood Party — Herself - the Hostess