Cesare Gravina (23 January 1858 – 16 September 1954) was an Italian actor of the silent era who appeared in more than 70 films between 1911 and 1929.
Born in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, 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
A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In the New Testament, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary ...
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 theaters in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
, Gravina was financially secure enough to retire from motion pictures by 1924, but he preferred to remain in acting.
Madame Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...
Hulda from Holland
''Hulda from Holland'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by John B. O'Brien that was produced by Famous Players Film Company and released by Paramount Pictures. It stars Mary Pickford, then the biggest movie star in America. The stor ...
'' (1916) - Apartment Neighbor (uncredited)
* ''
Less Than the Dust
''Less than the Dust'' is a 1916 American silent feature film produced by and starring Mary Pickford with a release by Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. John Emerson directed and Eric von Stroheim was one of the assistant di ...
The Fatal Ring
''The Fatal Ring'' is a 1917 American action film serial directed by George B. Seitz. Silentera.com reports that the UCLA Film and Television Archive may have a complete print.
Cast
Chapter titles
# ''The Violet Diamond''
# ''The Crushing Wa ...
'' (1917)
* '' Miss Nobody'' (1917) - 'Daddy' Crespi
* '' Let's Get a Divorce'' (1918) - Head Waiter
* ''The Mysterious Client'' (1918) - Ton Cavallo
* ''The Street of Seven Stars'' (1918) - Minor Role
* '' Marriage For Convenience'' (1919) - Lazzare
* ''Mothers of Men'' (1920) - Mr. Schultz - Gaston Glass
* ''
Scratch My Back
''Scratch My Back'' is the eighth studio album (and fifteenth album overall) by English musician Peter Gabriel, his first in eight years. It was released in February 2010. The album, recorded at Air Lyndhurst and Real World Studios during 2009, ...
'' (1920) - Johoda
* '' The Penalty'' (1920) - Art Teacher (uncredited)
* '' Madame X'' (1920) - Victor
* ''From Now On'' (1920) - Tony Lomazzi
* '' The Leopard Woman'' (1920) - Arab (uncredited)
* ''
Beach of Dreams
''Beach of Dreams'' is a 1921 American silent adventure film directed by William Parke and starring Edith Storey, Noah Beery and Jack Curtis.St. Romain p.110 It is based on the 1919 novel '' The Beach of Dreams'' by Henry De Vere Stacpoole.
...
Foolish Wives
''Foolish Wives'' is a 1922 American erotic silent drama film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures under their Super-Jewel banner and written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. The drama features von Stroheim, Rudolph Christians, ...
'' (1922) - Cesare Ventucci
* ''
Daddy
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...
Greed
Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'' (1925) - Manager (uncredited)
* ''
Fifth Avenue Models
''Fifth Avenue Models'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Svend Gade and starring Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, and Josef Swickard. It was produced and released by Universal Pictures.
Plot
As described in a review in a ...
'' (1925) - Ludani's Tenement Neighbor
* ''
An Enemy Of Men
''An Enemy Of Men'' is a 1925 American silent melodrama film directed by Frank R. Strayer from an original script by Douglas Bronston. It stars Dorothy Revier, Cullen Landis, and Caesare Gravina, and was released by Columbia Pictures on July ...
'' (1925) - Tony Caruso
* '' The Man in Blue'' (1925) - Tony Sartori
* ''
Don Dare Devil
''Don Dare Devil'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Clifford Smith (director), Clifford Smith and written by Wyndham Gittens. The film stars Jack Hoxie, Cathleen Calhoun, Duke R. Lee, William Wels ...
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
'' (1926) - Count Davigny
* '' The Midnight Sun'' (1926) - Opera Director
* ''
The Blonde Saint
''The Blonde Saint'' is a 1926 American silent romantic adventure film directed by Svend Gade. It was produced by Sam E. Rork and released through First National Pictures. Lewis Stone and Doris Kenyon star and young newcomer Gilbert Roland i ...
'' (1926) - Ilario
* ''
The Magic Garden
''The Magic Garden'' is the second album by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1967 (see 1967 in music). A concept album, it tells the story of a couple's love and the end of their relationship. In more recent discussions of the ...
The Divine Woman
''The Divine Woman'' (1928) is an American silent film directed by Victor Sjöström and starring Greta Garbo. Produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Only a single nine-minute reel and an additional 45-second excerpt are currently know ...
'' (1928) - Gigi
* ''
The Trail of '98
''The Trail of '98'' is a 1928 American silent action-adventure/drama film featuring Harry Carey and Dolores del Río about the Klondike Gold Rush. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called “Fantom S ...
'' (1928) - Henry Kelland - Berna's Grandfather
* ''
The Man Who Laughs
''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in England beg ...