
Acting
Cesare Gravina
Born — Died
1858-01-23 — 1954-09-16
Place of birth
Naples, Italy
Known for
Acting
Credits
53 titles
From Wikipedia Cesare Gravina (23 January 1858 – 16 September 1954) was an Italian actor of the silent era. He appeared in 60 films between 1912 and 1929. He was born in Naples, Italy. Gravina was an orchestra conductor in his native Italy. As the conductor at La Scala, among the noted vocalists he worked with were Mary Garden and Enrico Caruso. At some point he left music to become a character actor, sharing his reasons for the career change with no one. As the owner of many theatres in South America, Gravina was financially secure enough to retire from motion pictures by 1924, but he preferred to remain in acting.
Known for
7.1The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.
The Phantom of the Opera
1925
6.5In 15th century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923
7.3When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
The Man Who Laughs
1928
7.3When housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.
Greed
1924
6.4The daughter of a wealthy man secretly marries a man below her station— one whom her father violently disapproves of. The father, in an excess of parental concern, separates the lovers by sending his daughter away so that she might forget her lover, unaware of their married state. During this time, she gives birth to a daughter. After some months, the young mother returns to her family manor and presents her father with his new granddaughter, which causes a most unfortunate scene. Unbeknownst to the young woman, her enraged father falsely accuses his son-in-law of theft and has him incarcerated in order to separate the lovers in an irrational attempt to force his daughter to forget this "unworthy" young man.
The Family Secret
1924
6.5A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.
Foolish Wives
1922
Film credits
1920s · 39 titles
7.1The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.
The Phantom of the Opera
1925
6.5In 15th century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923
7.3When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
The Man Who Laughs
1928
7.3When housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.
Greed
1924
6.4The daughter of a wealthy man secretly marries a man below her station— one whom her father violently disapproves of. The father, in an excess of parental concern, separates the lovers by sending his daughter away so that she might forget her lover, unaware of their married state. During this time, she gives birth to a daughter. After some months, the young mother returns to her family manor and presents her father with his new granddaughter, which causes a most unfortunate scene. Unbeknownst to the young woman, her enraged father falsely accuses his son-in-law of theft and has him incarcerated in order to separate the lovers in an irrational attempt to force his daughter to forget this "unworthy" young man.
The Family Secret
1924
6.5A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.
Foolish Wives
1922
6.2A nobleman posing as a necktie salesman falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer, although he's already wed to the daughter of his country's war minister.
Merry-Go-Round
1923
6.9Blizzard, deranged from a childhood operation in which both his legs were needlessly amputated after an accident, becomes a vicious criminal, and eventually mob leader of the San Francisco underworld.
The Penalty
1920
8.0Jacqueline Floriot is driven from her home by her husband Louis, a deputy attorney of Paris, because of his unjust suspicions regarding her relations with another man. Floriot forbids Jacqueline to see her baby boy, who is dangerously ill, and when informed that the boy believes her dead, she attempts suicide.
Madame X
1920
6.1Fortune hunters from all over the country rushing to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.
The Trail of '98
1928
8.0When Leonard Higgins, a cartoonist, meets Prince Hendryx, ruler of the small nation of Vulgaria, he offers to help save the country by advertising the nonexistent crop, the peanut.
How to Handle Women
1928
9.0A French orphan who grew up in a convent sets out to see Paris. It turns out that she is the heir to a fortune but doesn't know it, and has been lured to Paris by one of the heirs who does know who she is; he plans to swindle her out of her inheritance so he can have everything.
The Rose of Paris
1924
8.0After inheriting a newspaper in a small country town, Carmel Lee leaves her home in the city to take charge of it. She soon discovers that the town is terrorized by a band of bootleggers, who abduct and later kill the local sheriff. With the aid of Professor Pell, who has been recently fired as school superintendent, Carmel makes a public issue of the sheriff's murder, editorializing in her paper for justice and reform. Pell and Carmel are kidnapped by the bootleggers, but Carmel escapes and alerts the police. The bootleggers are arrested, the sheriff's murder in solved, and Abner Fownes, a politician and one of the town's leading citizens, is uncovered as the leader of the gang.
Contraband
1925
Donovan Steele returns to Quebec to be married and finds his fiancée in the arms of another man. This shatters his faith in God and woman alike, and he takes to the wilderness, becoming known as 'the man who denies God."
A Woman's Faith
1925
10.0Dave Henderson, an orphan who has become the beneficiary of a rich man's will, falls in with race-track crooks Martin Tydeman and Bokky Sharvan who bilk him out of his $100,000 inheritance. In retaliation, Dave steals the money from Tydeman's safe, but is caught and sentenced to five years in jail. In prison, Dave becomes friendly with Millman, who is about to be released, and reveals the money's hiding place to him, arranging to rendezvous at the end of Dave's term. Once released, Dave is hounded by members of Tydeman's gang as well as the police, who are waiting for him to retrieve his bounty.
From Now On
1920
10.0Two ranchers get together to fight a common enemy and fall in love.
Burning the Wind
1929
9.0Ma McGregor, big-hearted owner of a race-track hot dog stand, goes turf crazy and spends her savings on a stable of five horses, including Tarcutta; and hires "Losing" Jones as trainer.
The Hot Dog Special
1924
8.0Because of her sister's betrayal and subsequent death, Norma Bennett takes a vow to make all men pay. She becomes a night club favorite and is courted by John Hurd, who is the man who ruined her sister. Dr. Phil Ordway is in love with her, but she refuses his offer of marriage. When she discovers the identity of John as her sister's betrayer, she takes a gun and goes to the cabaret to shoot him, but he dies by another's hand. She then agrees and weds Dr. Ordway.
An Enemy of Men
1925
7.1Against the backdrop of Vienna's hidebound caste system, aristocrat and army officer Nicki is attracted to peasant Mitzi, although he knows it cannot last. Acquiescing to familial pressure, he ultimately gives her up to marry the more socially acceptable – albeit crippled – heiress Cecelia. Mitzi, for her part, is heartbroken and must resign herself to marrying churlish butcher Schani Eberle.
The Wedding March
1928
8.0No synopsis available yet.
The Midnight Sun
1926
7.2[For 9 minute surviving fragment] Lucian, a soldier in Paris, is to ship out for Algiers at 9 that evening. He stops by for a last meal with his love, Marianne. He may be worried that when he leaves she will find another soldier to love. They argue then embrace and, when the clock strikes midnight, he is still in her arms. Is desertion in the cards? Can the relationship survive the military demands and a soldier's obligations? A lost film.
The Divine Woman
1928
7.5A pickpocket falls in love with a newspaperman. When he is sent off to war and she disguises herself as a boy, joins a gang and sets out to save him.
The Humming Bird
1924
7.0The honeymoon of Prince Nicki in the Alps, and the wedding of Mitzi and Schani. Mitzi still loves Nicki, and jealous Schani decides once again to kill the prince. Schani shoots at Nicki, but Cecilia throws herself in front of Nicki. Schani becomes a fugitive and goes into hiding. Nicki and Mitzi meet one last time, where Mitzi tells Nicki that she will go to a convent. Nicki goes off to war, where he is killed. Sequel to von Stroheim's The Wedding March released only in Europe. The only known copy was destroyed in a fire at the Cinémathèque Française in 1959.
The Honeymoon
1929
9.0Jack Bannister returns to his home in South America, bringing with him some Wyoming cowboys. At a fiesta, he meets Menocal, an old friend, who is murdered moments later by Bud Latham, an American bandit under the protection of the local sheriff, a rascal named Berengo. Jack sets out after Latham and finds the killer trailing another outlaw, José Remado. Jack catches up with Latham and whips him in a brutal fight.
Don Dare Devil
1925
The beautiful Serafina is captured by Balthasar's pirates on an island near Cuba, but the redoubtable José Armando arrives from Spain to effect her rescue.
The Road to Romance
1927
8.0God's Country and the Law is a 1921 American silent drama film produced by Pine Tree Pictures and distributed by Arrow Films. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Fred C. Jones and Gladys Leslie in the leading roles. It was adapted from the 1915 novel God’s Country and the Woman by James Oliver Curwood,which had been previously filmed under that title in 1916.
God's Country and the Law
1921
7.0Nan Carey ( Betty Compson ), a shoplifter, is caught by the police but acquitted through the influence of Lazare ( Lucien Littlefield ), a crooked lawyer, who places her with a gang of crooks. Posing as the Brockton family, they move to a seaside home, where they plan to steal the jewel collection of the Palmers, their neighbours. Nan wins the confidence of the family by flirting with Tom ( Kenneth Harlan ), who becomes infatuated and wants to go away with her, but she refuses him. Tom is caught red-handed in the Brockton mansion attempting to steal their jewels while Nan is making a success of the Palmer robbery.
Cheating Cheaters
1927
10.0Steve Brant, an ex-pugilist who owns a small circus, makes crude advances toward Doraldina, a lovely equestrienne; and when she resists him, he angrily beats her horse.
The Circus Cyclone
1925
7.0Believing her husband to be unfaithful, Helene Savelli takes her son, Jackie, to the Holdens' farm and dies shortly afterward. The Holdens keep Jackie, but he eventually goes to the city when the elderly couple lose their farm and retire to the poorhouse. Jackie next is befriended by Cesare Gallo, a sidewalk musician who was also the teacher of Paul Savelli--now a famous violinist. A chance meeting with Savelli by Jackie reunites him with Gallo just before the old man dies. Savelli takes Jackie home with him, happily discovers the boy to be his son, and restores the farm to the Holdens.
Daddy
1923
7.0A wild dancer in a cheap Seville cafe, Mariposa is taken to New York by Señor Sprott, a prominent theatrical producer. Billed as "The Charmer," Mariposa becomes the toast of two continents. Among her most ardent admirers are Ralph Bayne, a millionaire playboy, and his chauffeur, Dan Murray, both of whom first met her in Spain. Madly in love with Bayne, Mrs. Sedgwick invites Mariposa and her mother to a weekend party in a deliberate attempt to humiliate the beautiful dancer. Bayne quickly realizes that Mariposa is out of place in high society, and, determining to make her his mistress, takes her home with him. Mrs. Sedgwick unexpectedly arrives at Bayne's swank suite ( followed by her suspicious husband), and Mariposa protects the society woman's reputation at the cost of her own.
The Charmer
1925
10.0Playboy novelist Sebastian Maure falls for Ghiirlaine Bellamy, a product of a wealthy--and puritanical--society family, a girl so prim and proper that she's known as "The Blonde Saint". One night at a dinner party, she informs Maure that she is engaged to young VIncent Pamfort and is leaving for England the next day to marry him. Maure tricks her into meeting him onboard a boat going to Palermo, and before they get there she suddenly grabs her and jumps overboard. They wind up in a fishing village on a small island and before long find themselves caught up in a cholera epidemic and a local criminal gang.
The Blonde Saint
1926
8.0Captain Manning, a seasoned salt, is ordered to remove his battered ship, the Swallow, from the town's harbor because of a superstition connected with it. The captain, who lives alone, visits the Mariner's Home and relates the story of how he came into possession of the schooner. Manning was the first mate on the yacht of a wealthy man when it encountered the Swallow at sea. He went on board, accompanied by the drug-addicted son of his employer, and discovered a mutinous crew and a disabled captain fighting for control of the ship. Manning took charge and brought the ship safely to port, after successfully putting down the mutineers by humiliating their leader, who had kept them in fear by practicing voodoo in the ship's hold. Manning later married the captain's daughter. Now he controls the ship.
Those Who Dare
1924
7.210-year-old Toby runs away from his abusive uncle to join the Big Top.
Circus Days
1923
9.0A model in an expensive clothing shop quarrels with another model, and an expensive gown is ruined. In order to pay for it, she asks her father, an artist, for the money. In order to get the money, the father gets mixed up with art thieves
Fifth Avenue Models
1925
6.0Young Austrian girl Marie Helmar, is left penniless by the death of her father and disgraced by Prussian officer Captain Von Pfaffen, she flees to the safety of her French cousins, the De La Mottes. There she falls in love with their eldest son Gerome. On the night before their wedding, Marie sends a letter to Gerome confessing her indiscretion with the Prussian, but the letter is returned unopened. Soon after, she recognizes a new household servant to be Von Pfaffen, who demands that Marie disclose war secrets in return for his silence about her past. Torn, she passes on false information, which disgraces the Prussian. In revenge, he attempts to kill Marie, but she shoots him in self-defense. Shaken by remorse, Marie presents Gerome with her confession, which, he then reveals, he had read the night of their wedding. Their life thus unclouded, Marie announces she is expecting Gerome's child.
Mothers of Men
1920
Triumph of the daughter of a cheated mine owner over a renegade and her love for the superintendent.
Flower of Night
1925
9.0A woman (Ruth Clifford) dedicates her life to her ungrateful younger sister (Laura La Plante), a brilliant violinist. “…a real gem of a photoplay…[Laura La Plante] does about the best work of her career in this role. She acts without showing she is acting, and she makes human and lovable the most trying character she has yet been called upon to essay.” – Moving Picture World.
Butterfly
1924
7.0Three girls from a small town win a trip to Monte Carlo. The trip was sponsored by their local newspaper, which sends along its ace reporter Bancroft as their "chaperone".
Monte Carlo
1926
8.0Story about a little boy and girl that meet in a beautiful garden and the little girl promises the boy that some day she would meet him there again. He goes off to study the violin in Italy and when he returns he finds the girl in the garden.
The Magic Garden
1927
1910s · 14 titles
4.5The story of a Japanese woman and the tragedy that ensues when she loves an American naval officer.
Madame Butterfly
1915
NRAt the death of John Gower, his widow and daughter, Mildred, find themselves with only a few thousand dollars, as the family lived almost up to the limit of Cower's income. Mildred's mother tells her it is necessary that she marry money. Mildred is fond of Stanley Baird, but her hopes in this direction are shattered by the announcement of his engagement to another woman. Mrs. Gower marries Presbury, an elderly man who thinks she is wealthy, and when he learns the truth he begins taunting Mildred until she is willing to do anything to escape from her humiliating position.
The Price She Paid
1917
7.0Harmony Wells, a gifted violinist, moves to Paris to complete her musical education. Her money soon disappears, and she is forced to live in an inexpensive pension house, where she meets Dr. Peter Byrne, a promising American surgeon who has come to Paris to study. The doctor falls in love with Harmony and proposes, but although she returns his love, she refuses him, determined to pursue her career.
The Street of Seven Stars
1918
3.0Young Hindu woman Radha, becomes best friends with Captain Raymond Townsend during his service in India, but he soon goes back to England to tend to the estate of an uncle who has just died. Then, Ramlan, the sword maker who raised Radha, is arrested for taking part in an anti-British uprising, and before he goes to jail, he decides to tell Radha the story of her birth, her real father, Captain Brooke, died of a drug overdose, and her destitute mother then entrusted her to Ramlan. After learning about her background, Radha goes to England to claim her rightful inheritance from the estate of her late grandfather, who is also Raymond's uncle. Raymond is delighted to discover that his Hindu friend is really a white woman, and after dividing the estate with Radha, he brings the fortune back together by marrying her.
Less Than the Dust
1916
NRA bit too immature for marriage, Cyprienne allows her pretty head to be turned by an egotistical fop. The girl demands that her husband Prunelles grant her a divorce, but he devises a scheme to bring her back into the matrimonial fold.
Let's Get a Divorce
1918
9.0Barbara Rand is blinded when she leaps through a window to escape an assailant. Her sister, Natalie, reluctantly abandons her fiancé, Ned Gardiner, and marries Oliver Landis, who can provide the money needed for Barbara's operation. Unaware that Oliver was Barbara's attacker, Natalie blames his business partner, Howard Pollard, who was with Barbara on the night she was injured. Natalie holds Howard at gunpoint, but when her husband arrives, he promises to deal with the villain making sure Howard falls to his death. Upon Barbara’s release from the hospital, Oliver tries to blind her once. Natalie threatens him with a pistol, but Oliver wrests it away from her. He then realizes that he can no longer hide his guilt from Natalie or the police and shoots himself. Barbara has been avenged, and Natalie is free to marry Ned.
Marriage for Convenience
1919
NRA silent romantic drama film directed by Hugh Ford and Edwin S. Porter
The White Pearl
1915
NRHulda, a plucky Dutch girl, brings her three little brothers from Holland to America to live with their rich Uncle Peter. Hulda finds love with a poor artist.
Hulda from Holland
1916
1.0After being unfaithful to "The Stranger", who committed a murder on her account, Cherry Millard, known as "The Siren", leaves to work in a dance hall in the Western town of Nugget. When Burt Hall arrives in town to deliver a will to the heirs of Bruce McClade, he is captivated by Cherry, who learns of Burt's mission. Discovering that the will dictates that Dr. Langdon, a friend of the family, is to receive $25,000, Cherry decides to impersonate Langdon's daughter Rose and thus gain possession of the money. In the meantime, The Stranger, who has been freed from jail, returns, recognizes Cherry as The Siren and kills her. This frees Burt from her evil spell, and The Stranger, now insane, follows The Siren's spirit into the desert.
The Siren
1917
5.2Holding a grudge against Robert Torrens and his wife, who live in Italy, a member of the Mafia kidnaps their infant daughter Lois. Fifteen years later, after having been raised by Italian peasants, Lois, now called Peppina, dresses as a boy and stows away on a ship to America in order to avoid a marriage to a particularly loathsome count. While aboard ship she befriends Hugh Carroll, an assistant district attorney, who arranges first-class transportation for the "boy." In New York, she once again meets her kidnapper, who fled to America after the crime. He forces Peppina to maintain the masculine disguise and to pass counterfeit bills for him, for which she is arrested. Peppina gladly exposes the kidnapper's operation to the authorities, one of whom, Hugh, recognizes her as the "boy" he met on the ship. Then, once the kidnapper has been apprehended, Peppina is reunited with her parents, after which she and Hugh, who has finally discovered that she is female, get married.
Poor Little Peppina
1916
NRA silent movie serial directed by George B. Seitz.
The Fatal Ring
1917
A young lover is visiting the married woman he is wooing. the two sweeps cleaning the chimney are cramping his style, so he gives them some money to go away. When the woman's husband returns home unexpectedly, she hides him in the chimney.
Butalin spazzacamino per amore
1912
4.0Italian comedy about a guy who won't be dragged OUT of bed.
Friscot Does a Rest Cure
1912
A man emerges from the bank with his wallet full. He drops it on the ground. A workman spots it and tries to give it back. Fearing he is about to be mugged, the first man flees, with the second pursuing.
Butalin troppo onesto
1912
