Carmen Boni

Maria Carmela Bonicatti was born on 8 April 1901 in Rome to a colonel and Teresa Rovere di Bergeggi. Her birth date has also been given as 17 April 1904.{{Cite web|url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2004063318.html|title=Boni, Carmen, 1904-1963 - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies | Library of Congress, from LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)|first=The Library of|last=Congress|website=id.loc.gov|accessdate=24 February 2024}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.bfi-staging.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f159c29|title = Carmen Boni}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3pZAAAAMAAJ&q=Maria+Carmela+Bonicatti|title=Italian Film: A Who's who|isbn=9780899507613|last1=Stewart|first1=John|year=1994|publisher=McFarland }}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVUOAQAAMAAJ&q=Maria+Carmela+Bonicatti|title = L'Encyclopédie du cinéma|isbn = 9782040106034|last1 = Boussinot|first1 = Roger|year = 1980| publisher=Éditeur non identifié }} Her brother was the cinematographer Mario Bonicatti.

In 1919, Bonicatti made her film debut in Ave Maria, gratia plena!, which was directed by Diana Karenne. She took on the stage name Carmen Boni, which was suggested by Karenne, and in the following years mostly played young, naïve girls in Italian comedies and romances and quickly advanced to leading roles, often directed by Guglielmo Zorzi.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgQ6AQAAIAAJ&q=carmen+boni+1919|title = Bianco e nero|year = 1978}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s8WmDgAAQBAJ&q=carmen+boni+augusto+genina&pg=PA56|title=A Companion to Italian Cinema|isbn=9781444332285|last1=Burke|first1=Frank|date=17 April 2017|publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}

In 1924, she acted in The Beautiful Wife, directed by Augusto Genina. They married and she became his muse, appearing in most of his films throughout the course of their marriage, including The Hearth Turned Off (1925), The Last Lord (1926), and Goodbye Youth (1927). Boni attracted international attention for her role in The Last Lord, which led to her receiving an offer from Germany to take on the leading role in Agitated Women (1927) alongside Asta Nielsen and Gustav Fröhlich.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FQ5AQAAIAAJ&q=carmen+boni+augusto+genina|title = History of the Film|last1 = Bardèche|first1 = Maurice|last2 = Brasillach|first2 = Robert|year = 1945}}

She remained in Germany{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZY1ZAAAAMAAJ&q=carmen+boni+augusto+genina|title = Struggles of the Italian Film Industry During Fascism, 1930-1935|isbn = 9780835716550|last1 = Mancini|first1 = Elaine|year = 1985| publisher=UMI Research Press }} and starred in films such as The Prisoners of Shanghai (1927), The Story of a Little Parisian (1928), Love's Masquerade (1928), Princess Olala (1928), The Adjutant of the Czar (1929), Latin Quarter (1929), and Katharina Knie (1929).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un5ZAAAAMAAJ&q=carmen+boni+augusto+genina|title=100 années Lumière: Rétrospective de l'œuvre documentaire des grands cinéastes français de Louis Lumière jusqu'à nos jours|year=1991|publisher=Intermédia |isbn=9782906737327}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.steffi-line.de/archiv_text/nost_film20b40/152_boni_carmen.htm#name_info2|title = Carmen Boni}}

With the advent of talkies, Boni's career in Germany came to an end due to the language barrier. She returned to Italy, where she made her talkie debut in The Call of the Heart (1930). In France, she starred in The Woman Dressed As a Man (1932).

Boni and Genina divorced in 1934, which also effectively ended their professional collaboration together. Boni attempted suicide shortly after their divorce, and married the French actor and songwriter Jean Rigaux in 1936.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cineartistes.com/fiche-Carmen+Boni.html|title=Carmen Boni - CinéArtistes.com|website=www.cineartistes.com|accessdate=24 February 2024}} She did not appear in any films until The Count of Monte Cristo – Part 2: Retribution (1943). Her final screen appearance was in Man to Men (1948).{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqILAQAAMAAJ&q=comtesse+tamberlani|title = The New York Times Film Reviews|year = 1949}}

Boni died on 18 November 1963 in a traffic accident; another car crashed into hers on the Place des Ternes when she was on her way to have lunch with Rigaux.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLsYAAAAIAAJ&q=carmen+boni+november+18|title=Film Actors Guide: Western Europe|isbn=9780810810440|last1=Parish|first1=James Robert|year=1977|publisher=Scarecrow Press }}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xqUYAQAAIAAJ&q=carmen+boni+november+18|title=The Ultimate Directory of Silent and Sound Era Performers: A Necrology of Actors and Actresses|isbn=9780810835474|last1=Doyle|first1=Billy H.|year=1999|publisher=Scarecrow Press }}

• Passion for People (1921)
• La dama de Chez Maxim's (1923)
• The Hearth Turned Off (1925)
• The Prisoners of Shanghai (1927)
• Venus in Evening Wear (1927)
• Goodbye Youth (1927)
• Agitated Women (1927)
• The Merry Farmer (1927)
• Love's Masquerade (1928)
• Princess Olala (1928)
• Scampolo (1928)
• The Story of a Little Parisian (1928)
• Katharina Knie (1929)
• The Adjutant of the Czar (1929)
• Latin Quarter (1929)
• The Woman Dressed As a Man (1932)
• The Count of Monte Cristo (1943)
• Man to Men (1948)

• {{IMDb name|0094529}}
• [http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/762/carmen-boni Photographs and literature]

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Category:1901 births

Category:1963 deaths

Category:Italian film actresses

Category:Italian silent film actresses

Category:Actresses from Rome

Category:20th-century Italian actresses