Phil Hall on Eleonora Duse
Phil Hall reviews the 1916 melodrama Cenere, starring diva Eleonora Duse, at Film Threat (the clip above was posted by stallano):
"If you say the name ‘Eleonora Duse’ today, there’s an excellent chance that you will be greeted with a blank stare. But a century ago, that name was recognized throughout the world. The great Duse was one of the most beloved and innovative actresses to grace the stage, and her fans included President Grover Cleveland and George Bernard Shaw. Indeed, Duse’s fame was so striking that she earned the distinction of being the first woman to be the subject of a Time Magazine cover story.
"Today, however, Duse’s name is virtually unknown to all but the most ardent historians of late 19th and early 20th century theater. If contemporary audiences want to see what the Duse phenomenon was all about, the only record of her acting comes from a 1916 Italian silent film called Cenere."
***
Duse died in 1924, a little over a year after fellow diva Sarah Bernhardt, who appeared in a handful of film productions in the 1910s, in addition to a single effort in the early ’20s. Bernhardt’s Les amours de la reine Élisabeth / Queen Elizabeth (1912) became a worldwide hit and added the prestige to the budding film industry.
Subscribe / Syndicate
Leave a Comment
Tags: Cenere, Classic Movies, Eleonora Duse, Phil Hall, Silent Films, Trailers
Comments
Leave a Reply
NOTE:
All comments are moderated and may take some time before they are posted. Different views and opinions are welcome, but courtesy is imperative. Rude/crass/bigoted comments and name-calling of any sort will be immediately deleted.
Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has no contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog and no information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
