Liana Orfei

Acting

Liana Orfei

Born 1937-01-07 · San Giovanni in Persiceto, Italy

Liana Orfei (San Giovanni in Persiceto, June 6, 1937). Belonging to the famous Orfei circus dynasty, Liana is a multifaceted figure in Italian entertainment, capable of successfully ranging between circus, cinema, theater, and television. Active on the big screen primarily between the 1950s and 70s, she acted in approximately forty films, working with masters of the caliber of Federico Fellini (in the documentary The Clowns), Orson Welles, Mario Monicelli, and Dino Risi. Her versatility led her to perform in highly diverse genres, from commedia all'italiana to Westerns, and even horror and science fiction. In television, her participation in the musical television drama Scaramouche (1965) is well-remembered. She made her debut in the ring at just two years old as a clown (under the name Lacrima). In 1960, together with her brothers Nando and Rinaldo, she founded her own circus characterized by colossal and innovative productions, such as "Circorama" and the "Circus of the Thousand and One Nights"—the latter born from an idea by Fellini with costumes by Oscar winner Danilo Donati. In 1984, to respond to the industry's crisis, she founded the Golden Circus, an international festival that remains a reference point for circus arts today. In the theatrical field, she collaborated with distinguished names such as Eduardo De Filippo and Emma Gramatica, returning to the stage even in more recent years (in 2005 with the musical Se il tempo fosse un gambero). She was also a singer and entrepreneur: in the 1980s, she founded the theme park Divertimondo in Rimini, inspired by the emerging major amusement parks.

Acting credits

La Dolce Vita poster
8.0

Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.

La Dolce Vita

1960

Diamonds Are a Man's Best Friend poster
4.5

Amazing Italian movie written and directed by Vittorio Sala and starring Félix Marten, Liana Orfei and Gastone Moschin. An adventurer steals a valuable diamond known as "Mountain of Light" from the museum. A band of gangsters gets on his trail to take his loot. It's going to be a long battle.

Diamonds Are a Man's Best Friend

1966

The Clowns poster
6.8

Fellini exposes his great attraction for the clowns and the world of the circus first recalling a childhood experience when the circus arrives nearby his home. Then he joins his crew and travel from Italy to Paris chasing the last greatest European clowns still live in these countries. He also meets Anita Ekberg trying to buy a panther in a circus.

The Clowns

1970

Pirates of the Coast poster
5.7

Luis de Monterey is a ship captain who is pitted against a crafty pirates.

Pirates of the Coast

1960

Mill of the Stone Women poster
6.1

Hans von Arnam travels to a Flemish village to study a strange carousel located in an old windmill that displays famous murderesses and other notorious women from history. Professor Gregorius Wahl, owner of the windmill, warns Hans to stay away from his mysterious daughter Elfi, in order to keep Hans from discovering the horrible secret shared by the Professor and Elfi's Doctor.

Mill of the Stone Women

1960

Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile poster
5.7

Chronicles the rise and fall of the woman who eventually became known as Queen Nefertiti.

Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile

1961

The Devil in Love poster
5.8

Two devils from Hell are sent to Earth to cause trouble. Belfagor and his faithful sidekick Adramalek must start a war between Rome and Florence in 1478.

The Devil in Love

1966

Casanova '70 poster
6.4

The amorous adventures of Andrea Rossi-Colombotti, an army officer who finds pleasure with beautiful women in life-threatening situations.

Casanova '70

1965

The Prophet poster
5.4

In this comedy, a guru’s groupie plans to seduce him so she can number him among her many conquests.

The Prophet

1968

Beach Types poster
6.8

Four penniless friends from a small theatre troupe go to Taormina, a famous Italian beach resort, to forget their troubles.

Beach Types

1959

How, When, and with Whom poster
8.0

Paola, wife of a wealthy Turinese industrialist, meets Alberto, a friend of her husband, who emigrated to Argentina and has returned for business reasons. After a few days, Alberto confesses his love to Paola, but she resists. However, during a vacation in Sardinia, having waited in vain for the arrival of her husband, she gives in to Alberto's wishes.

How, When, and with Whom

1969

Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti poster
9.0

A documentary on the history of Italy's peplum genre.

Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti

1977

Adventure at the Motel poster
4.3

A series of sketches about people who have illicit affairs in a motel: among them a starlet and a pilot, two bit Casanovas, an industry manager and his secretary.

Adventure at the Motel

1963

Mario Verdone: Il critico viaggiatore poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Mario Verdone: Il critico viaggiatore

2024

The Tartars poster
6.0

The Tartars and the Vikings maintain a fragile peace in the harsh landscape of the Russian Steppe. When the leader of the Vikings, Oleg, declines to accompany the Tartars on a campaign against the Slavs, there is an explosion of violence. After Oleg kills the Tartar leader and kidnaps his daughter, the dead man's brother, Burandai, retaliates by holding Oleg's wife, Helga, hostage. The stalemate can be resolved only on the battlefield.

The Tartars

1961

The Avenger poster
6.3

Aeneas leads escapees from the Trojan war to new land in Italy, and must deal with new threats to his people.

The Avenger

1962

The Giant of Metropolis poster
4.7

Obro the muscleman goes to Atlantis and sinks a death-ray king who knows the secret of immortality.

The Giant of Metropolis

1961

Hercules, Samson & Ulysses poster
5.3

Two strongmen set out to hunt down a murderous sea monster. Their ship is wrecked and they end up in the Holy Land where Hercules is assumed to be Samson who is a wanted man. The two team up to survive.

Hercules, Samson & Ulysses

1963

Attack of the Moors poster
9.0

Rik Battaglia is sent by the king of France to the border with Spain, where the heirs to the throne are staying in a castle-fortress. The Spaniards and Arabs struggle to control the border, while the Moorish Princess (Chelo Alonso) discovers she is not who she thought she was.

Attack of the Moors

1959

Damon and Pythias poster
4.7

Damon is a thief who begins to question his beliefs after he meets Pythias, a liberal Athenian who believes all men are brothers.

Damon and Pythias

1962

Django Kills Softly poster
5.4

Django arrives in the town of Santa Anna at the behest of a man named Sanders who'd been trying to buy safe passage for his cargo from a Mexican bandit named El Santo. Django finds that Sanders has been killed and that his rival, a man named Thompson, is now trying to deal with El Santo. Django, after a brief involvement with a beautiful young widow named Linda -- who has information on a lost gold mine -- becomes entangled in this situation by agreeing to escort a shipment through El Santo's territory.

Django Kills Softly

1967

Rage of the Buccaneers poster
5.1

Gordon, The Black Pirate, battles the slavery trade.

Rage of the Buccaneers

1961

Our Husbands poster
6.0

Three episodes about Italian husbands and their relationships.

Our Husbands

1966

Extraconiugale poster
7.0

Three anthological segments about sexcapades and erotic fantasies in middle-class Italy.

Extraconiugale

1964