
Acting
Nita Naldi
Born 1894-11-12 · New York City, New York, USA
From Wikipedia Nita Naldi (November 13, 1894 – February 17, 1961), born Mary Dooley, was an American silent film actress. She was usually cast in the role of the femme fatale/vamp, a persona first popularized by actress Theda Bara. After first entering vaudeville, Naldi debuted on Broadway in 1918 as a chorus girl at the Winter Garden in The Passing Show of 1918. Her appearance in that production led to more stage jobs. Soon she found herself in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 and 1919. At this time she adopted the name Nita Naldi, which was an homage to a childhood friend named Florence Rinaldi. She continued working on Broadway, and after a well received performance in The Bonehead, she was offered a stint with well-known producer William A. Brady. Brady cast her in his play Opportunity in 1920. Naldi was asked to perform in a short film with Scottish comedian Johnny Dooley (no relation). She quit the film after realizing that Dooley had romantic intentions with another woman. She was then offered a role in A Divorce of Convenience with Owen Moore. After those two films, she had small roles in several independent films before being selected for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) with John Barrymore. The role in the film would give Naldi much prestige. During the production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Barrymore and Naldi became friends, and remained friends for many years, with Barrymore lovingly calling her the Dumb Duse. Naldi was selected by Spanish author Vicente Blasco Ibáñez for the role of Dona Sol in the film version of his novel Blood and Sand (1922). Naldi was signed by Famous Players-Lasky for the role, and it became her first pairing with screen idol Rudolph Valentino. The film was a major success, for it gave Naldi the image of a vamp, which would follow her for the rest of her life. Naldi and Valentino were never romantic, and she would be one of the few to befriend his wife Natacha Rambova, though that friendship would sour when the Valentinos divorced. Thanks to the financial reverses caused by her retirement from films, as well as the Depression, Naldi filed bankruptcy in 1932. She went back to the stage with Queer People and The Firebird in 1933. The press had been critical of her weight since 1924, but reviews to her appearances in both plays were especially harsh this time around—so harsh in fact that Naldi filed suit against one paper in 1934 for $500,000. The suit was dismissed in 1938. In 1942, Naldi was considered for For Whom the Bell Tolls but did not receive the part. She never made another film. That same year she began appearing in a revue in New York with Mae Murray reciting the 1897 poem "A Fool There Was" in full kitsch. In 1952, she had a notable role in the play In Any Language, co-starring the legendary stage actress Uta Hagen. In 1955, she coached Carol Channing how to vamp, for Channing's new musical The Vamp. Channing would be nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for that role. Naldi spent her final years in New York City, where she died of a heart attack in her apartment at the age of 66. She was buried in the family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York. For her contribution to the film industry, Nita Naldi was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6316 Hollywood Blvd.
Acting credits
6.5The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.
The Ten Commandments
1923
8.0Richard Boyd, a wealthy idler who has inherited the Boyd Shipping Company, decides to prove himself to his fiancée, Pauline. A fleet of ships on which the company has an option is coveted by Oriental merchant-tycoon J. Young. Aided by Andrew Dunn, general manager of the Boyd concern, Young has Boyd and Pauline shanghaied; and Sam, his Negro valet, follows. Following a spectacular shipwreck, the couple are rescued; there is a race between a hydroplane and a motorboat; but after a series of exploits in Young's stronghold, Richard, aided by Sam, gets the ships and the girl.
Reported Missing
1922
6.7A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1920
9.0Angela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa. She leaves an Aunt, a brother, Grandma, and her longtime boyfriend back in Centerville. Despite seeing major movie stars around every corner, and knocking on every casting office door in town, at the end of her first day she is still unemployed. To her horror, when she arrives back at their hotel, she finds that Grandpa has been cast in a movie by William DeMille and quickly becomes a star during the ensuing weeks. Her family, worried that Angela and Grandpa are getting into trouble, come to Hollywood to drag them back home. In short order Aunt, Grandma, brother, boyfriend and even the parrot become superstars, but Angela is still unemployed...
Hollywood
1923
5.6Rodrigo, an impoverished Italian nobleman takes a job with a New York antique dealer he met overseas. Swearing off women, Rodrigo focuses on his job. But complications arise when he falls in love with his friend's secretary-- and his friend's wife looks to make a date with him.
Cobra
1925
5.0In the Kentucky hills, a schoolteacher becomes caught in a bitter feud between a widower, his crippled son, and a reclusive hermit. Accusations and jealousy drive her into hiding, leading to love and revenge. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this 1926 romantic drama is now considered lost and remains one of the BFI’s most sought-after missing films.
The Mountain Eagle
1926
5.8Juan is the son of a poor widow in Seville. Against his mother's wishes he pursues a career as toreador. He rapidly gains national prominence, and takes his childhood sweetheart Carmen as his bride. He meets the Marquis' daughter Doña Sol and finds himself in the awkward position of being in love with two women, which threatens the stability of his family and his position in society. He finds interesting parallels in the life of the infamous bandit Plumitas when they eventually meet by chance.
Blood and Sand
1922
9.0No synopsis available yet.
The Model From Montmartre
1926
7.0A documentary of Hollywood's first great Latin Lover, the contradictions in his personal life, and his premature death.
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961
9.0During a carnival in Venice, Horace Pierpont, a wealthy American (Lewis Stone), falls in love with Fay Kennion (Virginia Valli). Their romance is derailed when she goes over to his apartment and finds the vampy Fifi (Nita Naldi) there. Fay goes down to Algiers, where she marries a former sweetheart, Dr. Alan Mortimer (Edward Earle).
The Lady Who Lied
1925
9.0While working in Siad Coury’s coffeehouse in a Syrian neighborhood of New York City, Syrian immigrant Anna Ayyob falls in love with reporter, Howard Fisk, who is investigating a jewel smuggling ring. When she discovers that her co-worker, “The Baron,” is involved with international thieves Count and Countess Rostoff, Anna telephones Howard with the information, but the Baron attacks her. During the encounter, she believes she accidentally kills him, and disappears. Three years later, after anonymously writing a widely popular novel called Anna Ascends, based on her own life, Anna again meets Howard Fisk. To save Howard’s sister, Bessie Fisk, from marrying Count Rostoff, Anna exposes the jewel thief and confesses to the Baron’s murder. Fortunately, Howard’s investigation discloses that the Baron is very much alive. Her named cleared, Anna marries Howard.
Anna Ascends
1922
8.0Youth meets Ambition and leaves Love, his mother, and his small-town roots for the big city. There, in his search for Experience, he meets Pleasure and hangs out at the Primrose Path with the likes of Temptation and Intoxication. Back home, Youth's mother dies, and Love tries unsuccessfully to reach him. When Youth's money runs out his newfound friends all leave him and he sinks into a life of drug addiction, aided by Habit.
Experience
1921
7.0Spanish coquette Tula Moliana finds herself encumbered with two husbands, and to get a divorce from the first, Senator Wakefield, she engages Jim Blake, the fiancé of Helen, the senator's daughter, to be her correspondent. Jim agrees to help her but finds himself entangled in a web of deceit and has difficulty in making excuses to Helen for the numerous adventures in which he becomes involved, especially when a jealous rival pursuing Tula threatens his life. Matters are cleared up when Helen discovers he has been victimized, and Tula accepts her first husband. This film is lost.
A Divorce of Convenience
1921
7.8Documentary short film depicting the filmmaking activity at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, featuring dozens of stars captured candidly and at work.
A Trip to Paramountown
1922
9.0Although Susan Branch is herself without finances, she has many wealthy friends who supply her with clothes and gay times. She is in love with struggling author Nick Lansing, who also attracts the interests of Susan's chief patron, Ursula Gillow, and is persuaded by Ellie Vanderlyn to marry him for at least a year's happiness. Their marriage falls apart when their wedding gifts are spent; they become involved with the Vanderlyns' domestic affairs; and Ursula decides she wants Nick for herself. However, the lawyer handling the Lansings' divorce proceedings brings them back together, and Nick sells his novel. A lost film.
The Glimpses of the Moon
1923
10.0A disgruntled 18th century Bostonian who while wishing that he was a pirate, dons the clothes and play-acts the part. He is mistaken for the real pirate, Dixie Bull. More importantly, Errol "slays" the villain and puts his foot upon the pirate's head. This is more than enough and he heads back home to his unappreciated wife
Clothes Make the Pirate
1926
NRAssuming that he has killed the husband of the woman he also loves, Judson Clark flees through a blizzard to a lonely cabin, where he nearly dies. When he recovers, he has lost his memory and is believed to be dead until an actress recognizes 'the young doctor'.
The Breaking Point
1924
10.0Edith sets out to prove that a wife can never be fooled by her husband - but will she succeed?
You Can't Fool Your Wife
1923
10.0Marie, a cashier at the Viennese Grottenbahn (Grave Railway) Zum Walfisch, and Baron Christian von B. fall in love, but the dancer Valette, who always wears a mask over her face, interferes in their relationship. Christian eventually follows Valette to Paris. When he tears the golden mask from her face, he is shocked to discover that Valette is disfigured by an illness. He returns to Vienna to die, but Marie is able to save him at the last moment. In this film, the ride through the Grottenbahn is associated with a journey into the inner self.
Die Pratermizzi
1926
8.0A nobleman seeks to rescue his bride, who has been kidnapped by his former lover and a bandit.
A Sainted Devil
1924
7.0During his wife's absence, Andrew Dorsey is snared by Vivian Hepburn, owner of a crooked gambling house, and her silent partner, Guy Tarlow. Dorsey loses so much money that Vivian persuades him to give her one of his firm's checks for a large sum of money. Hearing her husband's confession, Marion Dorsey, returned from Europe, determines to retrieve the check.
Lawful Larceny
1923
10.0A foppish Londoner joins the Royal Canadian Mounties and tries to break a smuggling ring.
Channing of the Northwest
1922
10.0At a reception given at the Rogers mansion in his honor, Somerset Carroll surprises the guests by saying he would aid a female convict reported to have escaped. Later he does just that when he finds the girl in the library, taking her to his own house. There she reveals herself to be socialite Helen Rogers, playing a game with him on the advice of her guests. He then declares himself a crook, holding the real Carroll prisoner, with the intention of robbing the Rogers mansion. She follows and shields "The Magnet" from the police, the real Carroll having escaped and notified them, and through her interference he eludes his would-be captors.
The Last Door
1921
8.0Wall Street financier Frederick Searles goes bankrupt, prompting his mercenary wife to marry their eldest daughter Needa to the wealthy, disreputable John Davis Warren, despite Needa's love for Hugh Stanton.
The Common Sin
1920