Pola Negri
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Pola Negri (; born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and
femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...
roles. She was also acknowledged as a
sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive and often synonymous with sexuality. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British St ...
of her time. Raised in the
Congress Kingdom of Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established wh ...
, Negri's childhood was marked by several personal hardships: After her father was sent to
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, she was raised by her single mother in poverty, and suffered
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
as a teenager. Negri recovered, and went on to study ballet and acting in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Poland, becoming a well-known stage actress there. In 1917, she relocated to Germany, where she began appearing in silent films for the Berlin-based UFA studio. Her film performances for UFA came to the attention of Hollywood executives at
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
, who offered her a film contract. Negri signed with Paramount in 1922, making her the first European actress to be contracted in Hollywood. She spent much of the 1920s working in the United States appearing in numerous films for Paramount, establishing herself as one of the most popular actresses in American silent film. In the 1930s, during the emergence of sound film, Negri returned to Europe, where she appeared in multiple films for
Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
Films and UFA, and also began a career as a
recording artist A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...
. She made only two films after 1940, her last screen credit being in
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
's ''
The Moon-Spinners ''The Moon-Spinners'' is a 1964 American mystery film starring Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach and Peter McEnery in a story about a jewel thief hiding on the island of Crete. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, the film was loosely based upon a 1962 ...
'' (1964). Negri spent her later life largely outside the public sphere. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1951, and spent the remainder of her life living in
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Texas. In 1987, aged 90, she died of pneumonia secondary to a brain tumor for which she refused treatment.


Early life

Negri was born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec on 3 January 1897 in Lipno,
Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(present-day Lipno, Poland), the only surviving child (of three) of a Polish mother, Eleonora Kiełczewska (died 24 August 1954). According to Negri, her mother came from impoverished Polish nobility, with her family having lost their fortune over support of
Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. Negri's father, Juraj Chalupec (Polish transcription Jerzy Chałupec or Chałupiec, died 1920), was an itinerant Romani- Slovak tinsmith from Nesluša. After her father was arrested by the Russian authorities for revolutionary activities and sent to
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, she and her mother moved to
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, where they lived in poverty, with her mother supporting them by working as a cook. Chałupiec was raised Catholic by her mother, who was a lifelong practicing Catholic. In her youth, Chałupiec was accepted into Warsaw's Imperial Ballet Academy. Her first dance performance was in the '' danse des petits cygnes'' in
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
's ''
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...
''; she worked her way up to a solo role in the Saint-Léon ballet ''
Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...
''. However, a bout with tuberculosis forced her to stop dancing; she was sent to a
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...
in
Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...
to recover. During her three-month convalescence, she adopted the pseudonym ''Pola Negri'', after the Italian novelist and poet Ada Negri; "Pola" was short for her own name, Apolonia (sometimes spelled Apollonia).


Career


Polish theatre and film

After Negri returned from the sanatorium, she successfully auditioned at the Warsaw Imperial Academy of Dramatic Arts. Alongside her formal schooling at the academy, she took private classes outside with renowned Polish stage actress and professor Honorata Leszczyńska. She made her theatrical debut before her graduation at The Small Theatre in Warsaw on 2 October 1912. She made her stage debut in 1913 in Gerhardt Hauptmann's ''Hannele'' in Warsaw and appeared the following year in her first film, ''Niewolnica zmysłów''. She continued to perform there while finishing her studies at the academy, graduating in 1914. Her graduating performance was as Hedwig in
Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
's ''
The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It explores the complexities of truth and illusion through the story of a family torn apart by secrets and the intrusion of a ...
'', which resulted in offers to join a number of the prominent theatres in Warsaw. By the end of World War I, Negri had established herself as a popular stage actress. She made an appearance at the Grand Theatre in ''Sumurun'', as well as in the Small Theatre (
Aleksander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Partitions of Poland, period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works ...
's ''Śluby panieńskie''), and at the Summer Theatre in the Saxon Garden. She debuted in film in 1914 in ''Slave to her Senses'' (''Niewolnica zmysłów''). She appeared in a variety of films made by the Warsaw film industry, including '' Bestia'' (''Beast'', released in the US as ''The Polish Dancer''), ''Room No. 13'' (''Pokój nr 13''), ''His Last Gesture'' (''Jego ostatni czyn''), ''Students'' (''Studenci''), and ''The Wife'' (''Żona'').


Ernst Lubitsch and German silent film career

Negri's popularity in Poland provided her with an opportunity to move to Berlin, Germany in 1917, to appear as the dancing girl in a German revival of
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
's theatre production of ''Sumurun''. In this production, she met
Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...
,1978 interview with Pola Negri
, Polanegri.com; accessed 29 March 2015.
who at the time was producing comedies for the German film studio UFA. Negri was first signed with Saturn Films, making six films with them, including ''Wenn das Herz in Haß erglüht'' (''If the Heart Burns With Hate'', 1917). After this, she signed to UFA's roster; some of the films that she made with UFA include ''Mania'' (1918), '' Der Gelbe Schein'' (''The Yellow Ticket'', also 1918), and ''Komtesse Doddy'' (1919). In 1918, Lubitsch convinced UFA to let him create a large-scale film with Negri as the main character. The result was ''
Die Augen der Mumie Ma ''Die Augen der Mumie Ma'' (English: ''The Eyes of the Mummy'' or ''The Eyes of the Mummy Ma'') is a 1918 German silent horror film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The film stars Pola Negri as Ma, Emil Jannings as Radu, and Harry Liedtke as Wendl ...
'' (''The Eyes of the Mummy Ma'', 1918), which was a popular success and led to a series of Lubitsch/Negri collaborations, each larger in scale than the previous film. The next was ''Carmen'' (1918, reissued in the United States in 1921 as ''Gypsy Blood''), which was followed by '' Madame DuBarry'' (1919, released in the U.S. as ''Passion''). ''Madame DuBarry'' became a huge international success, brought down the American embargo on German films, and launched a demand that briefly threatened to dislodge Hollywood's dominance in the international film market. Negri and Lubitsch made three German films together after this, ''
Sumurun ''Sumurun'' (a.k.a. ''One Arabian Night'') is a 1920 German silent film directed by Ernst Lubitsch based on a pantomime by . Plot A company of travelling performers arrive at a fictional oriental city. It includes the beautiful dancer Yannaia, ...
'' (aka ''One Arabian Night'', 1920), '' Die Bergkatze'' (aka ''The Mountain Cat'' or ''The Wildcat'', 1921), and ''Die Flamme'' (''The Flame'', 1922), and UFA employed Negri for films with other directors, including '' Vendetta'' (1919) and ''
Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...
'' (1921), many of which were purchased by American distributors and shown in the United States. Hollywood responded to this new threat by buying out key German talent, beginning with the procuration of the services of Lubitsch and Negri. Lubitsch was the first director to be brought to Hollywood, with
Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...
calling for his services in her costume film ''Rosita'' (1923). Paramount Pictures mogul
Jesse Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer Film producer, motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life ...
saw the premiere of ''Madame DuBarry'' in Berlin in 1919, and Paramount invited Negri to come to Hollywood in 1921. She signed a $3,000 a week contract with Paramount and arrived in New York in a flurry of publicity on 12 September 1922. This made Negri the first-ever Continental star to be imported into Hollywood, setting a precedent for imported European stars that included Vilma Bánky,
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...
, and
Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
, among many others. ''The Hot Dog'', a Cleveland monthly publication, in its own promotional advertisement for Paramount in February 1922, claimed Negri's true name was Paula Schwartz, and that she was Jewish, which was completely untrue.


Paramount period

Negri ended up becoming one of the most popular Hollywood actresses of the era, and certainly the richest woman of the film industry at the time,Biskupski, M.B.B. (2010) ''Hollywood's War With Poland 1939–1945'', p. 12, University Press of Kentucky; living in a mansion in Los Angeles modeled after the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. While in Hollywood, she started several ladies' fashion trends, some of which are still fashion staples today, including red painted toenails, fur boots, and turbans.Taylor, Angela. "Pola Negri's Memoirs: Best Roles Were Played in Real Life", ''The New York Times'', 24 April 1970, p. 30. Negri was a frequent photography subject of Hollywood portrait photographer Eugene Robert Richee, and several photographs of her were taken during this period. Negri's first two Paramount films were '' Bella Donna'' (1923) and '' The Cheat'' (1923), both of which were directed by
George Fitzmaurice George Fitzmaurice (13 February 1885 – 13 June 1940) was a French-born film director and Film producer, producer. Career Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage. Beginning in 1914, and continuing until his death in 1940 ...
and were remakes of Paramount films from 1915. Her first spectacle film was the
Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of Silent film, silent films through 1940. Brenon was among the e ...
-directed '' The Spanish Dancer'' (1923), based on the
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
novel ''Don César de Bazan''. The initial screenplay was intended as a vehicle for
Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...
before he left Paramount and was reworked for Negri. '' Rosita'', Lubitsch's film with Mary Pickford, was released the same year and happened to be based on '' Don César de Bazan''. According to the book ''Paramount Pictures and the People Who Made Them,'' "Critics had a field day comparing the two. The general opinion was that the Pickford film was more polished, but the Negri film was more entertaining." Initially Paramount used Negri as a mysterious European femme fatale and a clotheshorse as they had done with
Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...
and staged an ongoing feud between the two actresses, which actor
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
recalled in his autobiography as "a mélange of cooked-up jealousies and quarrels." Negri was concerned that Paramount was mishandling her career and image and arranged for her former director Ernst Lubitsch to direct her in the critically acclaimed '' Forbidden Paradise'' (1924). It was the last time the two worked together in any film. By 1925, Negri's on-screen continental opulence was starting to wear thin with some segments of the American audience, a situation parodied in the Mal St. Clair-directed comedy '' A Woman of the World'' (1925), in which Negri starred. In 1926, Negri starred in '' The Crown of Lies'' and '' Good and Naughty'', the former of which earned an unfavorable review in ''
Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan m ...
'' magazine, which deemed it an "impossible Pola Negri vehicle. If you have nothing else to do—see this and suffer with Pola." Paramount transitioned into casting Negri in international peasant roles the following year in films such as the Mauritz Stiller-directed and
Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...
-produced '' Hotel Imperial'' (1927), in an apparent effort to give her a more down-to-earth, relatable image. Although ''Hotel Imperial'' reportedly fared well at the box office, her next film ''
Barbed Wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...
'' (1927), directed by Rowland V. Lee, and a number of subsequent films did not, reportedly due to negative publicity about her behavior at
Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...
's funeral (she fainted a few times and cried exaggeratedly) and her rebound marriage to Georgian prince Serge Mdivani, although her films continued to fare well internationally. Negri defended herself, saying: "It is difficult for a foreigner coming to America...I had been told so much what not to do. It was particularly difficult for me, a Slav. My emotion seemed exaggerated to Americans. I cannot help that I haven't the Anglo-Saxon restraint and tact." In 1928 Negri was earning $10,000 a week, and was directed by Rowland V. Lee in another three films ('' The Secret Hour'', ''
Three Sinners ''Three Sinners'' (1928) is a silent film directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Pola Negri, and co-starring Warner Baxter, Olga Baclanova, and Paul Lukas. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Picture ...
'', and '' Loves of an Actress''), before making her last film for
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
, '' The Woman from Moscow'', with Norman Kerry. Negri claimed in her autobiography she opted not to renew her contract with Paramount, choosing to retire from films and live as a wife at the Château de Rueil- Seraincourt, near Vigny that she owned and where she had married her second husband. The same year, her short volume featuring reflections on art and film, ''La Vie et Le Rêve au Cinéma'' ( English: ''Life and Dreams of the Cinema''), edited by Albin Michel, was published. By 1929, she had reportedly earned $5 million.


Later films; return to UFA

Negri's initial 1928 retirement turned out to be short-lived. She miscarried and later learned that her husband was gambling her fortune away on speculative business ventures, which strained their relationship. She went back to acting when an independent production company offered her work in a British film production that was to be distributed by Gaumont-British. Initially the film was to be a filmed version of
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
's '' Caesar and Cleopatra'', and Shaw offered to alter the play to suit the film. When the rights proved to be too expensive, the company settled on an original story and hired German ''Kammerspielfilm'' director
Paul Czinner Paul Czinner (30 May 1890 – 22 June 1972) was a Hungarian-born British writer, film director, and producer. Biography Czinner was born to a Jewish family in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. After studying literature and philosophy at the Universi ...
to direct. The resulting film, '' The Way of Lost Souls'' (also known as ''The Woman He Scorned''), was released in 1929; it was Negri's final silent film. Negri returned to Hollywood in 1931 to begin filming her first talking film, '' A Woman Commands'' (1932). The film itself was poorly received, but Negri's rendition of the song "
Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
", the centerpiece of the film, became a sizable hit in the sheet music format. The song became a minor standard and was covered by many other performers, including
Russ Columbo Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist, and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madne ...
,
Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...
and
Keely Smith Dorothy Jacqueline Keely (March 9, 1928The reference work ''The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet'' gives Smith's date of birth as March 9, 1932. – December 16, 2017), professio ...
. Negri went on a successful vaudeville tour to promote the song. She then was employed in the leading role of the touring theatre production ''A Trip to Pressburg'', which premiered at the Shubert Theatre in New York. However, she collapsed after the final curtain at the production's stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, due to gallbladder inflammation, and was unable to complete the tour. Negri returned to France to appear in ''Fanatisme'' (Fanaticism, 1934), a historical costume film about
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
. The film was directed by the directorial team of Tony Lekain and Gaston Ravel and released by Pathé. It was her only French film. After this, actor-director
Willi Forst Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German language, German-speaking film audiences, as ...
brought Negri to Germany to appear in the film ''Mazurka'' (1935). The film was considered ''"artistically valuable"'' (German: ''künstlerisch wertvoll'') by the Reichsfilmkammer. ''Mazurka'' gained much popularity in Germany and abroad and became one of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's favorite films, a fact that, along with her admiring comments about the efficiency of the German film industry, gave birth to a rumor in 1937 of Negri having had an affair with Hitler. Negri sued ''Pour Vous'', the French magazine which had circulated the rumor, for libel, and won. ''Mazurka'' was remade (almost shot-for-shot) in the U.S. as ''
Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...
'' (1937), starring Kay Francis. After the success of ''Mazurka'', Negri's former studio, the now
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
-controlled UFA, signed Negri to a new contract. Negri lived in France while working for UFA, making five films with the company: '' Moscow–Shanghai'' (1936), ''Madame Bovary'', '' Tango Notturno'' (both 1937), ''Die fromme Lüge'' (" The Secret Lie", 1938), and ''Die Nacht der Entscheidung'' (" The Night of Decision", 1938). After the Nazis took over France, Negri fled back to the United States. During her flight, she spent some days in Portugal. She stayed in Monte Estoril, at the Hotel Atlântico, between 28 June and 30 June 1940. The following day she moved to
Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...
's Hotel Palácio. She sailed to New York from Lisbon, Portugal, and initially lived by selling off jewelry. She was hired in a supporting role as the temperamental opera singer Genya Smetana for the 1943 comedy '' Hi Diddle Diddle''. After the success of this film, Negri was offered numerous roles which were essentially rehashes of her role in ''Hi Diddle Diddle'', all of which she turned down as derivative. In 1944, Negri was engaged by booking agent Miles Ingalls for a nationwide vaudeville tour. According to her autobiography, she also appeared in a Boston supper club engagement in 1945 for a repertoire centered around the song "Paradise", and retired from the entertainment business altogether.


Retirement and final appearances

In 1948, director
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...
approached Negri to appear as Norma Desmond in the film ''
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
'' (1950), after
Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...
,
Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...
,
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...
,
Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...
, and
Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...
declined the role. Negri reportedly declined the role and was aghast that Paramount could even suggest that she was a "has been". She also felt that the screenplay was not ready and that
Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered f ...
, who was slated to play the Joe Gillis character at the time, was not a good choice for the character. The role of Gillis eventually went to
William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...
, and
Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...
accepted the role of Norma Desmond.Pola Negri FAQ
Polanegri.com; accessed 17 May 2014.
Negri came out of retirement to appear in the
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
film ''
The Moon-Spinners ''The Moon-Spinners'' is a 1964 American mystery film starring Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach and Peter McEnery in a story about a jewel thief hiding on the island of Crete. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, the film was loosely based upon a 1962 ...
'' (1964), which starred
Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...
and
Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...
. Negri's appearance in the film as eccentric jewel collector Madame Habib was shot in London over the course of two weeks. While she was filming ''The Moon-Spinners'' she made a sensation by appearing before the London press at her hotel in the company of a feisty cheetah, which had also appeared in the film, on a steel chain leash. The same year, she received an honorary award from the German film industry for her film work, followed by a Hemis-Film award in San Antonio in 1968. In 1970 she published her autobiography ''Memoirs of a Star'', published by Doubleday. She made an appearance at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
on 30 April 1970, for a screening event in her honor, which featured her film ''A Woman of the World'' (1925) and selections from her films. Negri was a guest of honor at the 1972 screening of ''Carmen'' held at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. In 1975, director
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...
approached Negri to appear as the Contessa Sanziani in '' A Matter of Time'', but Negri did not accept due to poor health. In 1978, Billy Wilder directed ''
Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...
'', and although Negri does not appear in the film, the title character was reportedly based largely on her. Her final high-profile coverage in her lifetime was for a "Where Are They Now?" feature on silent film stars, which appeared in ''Life'' magazine in 1980.


Personal life

Negri's first marriage was with Count Eugeniusz Dąbski, and proved to be short-lived. Negri married Dąbski in St Mary's Assumption Church in
Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...
on 5 November 1919, thus becoming Countess Apolonia Dąbska-Chałupec. After a long separation period, Negri and Dąbski's union was dissolved in 1922. After she began working in the United States, she made headlines and gossip columns with a string of celebrity love affairs, most notably with film stars
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
, Rod La Rocque, and
Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...
. Negri had met Chaplin while in Germany, and what began as a platonic relationship became a well-publicized affair and marriage speculation which received the headline "The Queen of Tragedy to Wed the King of Comedy." The relationship soured, and Negri became involved for a time with actor Rod La Rocque, who appeared as her leading man in ''Forbidden Paradise'' (1924). Negri met Rudolph Valentino at a costume party held by Marion Davies and
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
at the San Simeon estate and was reportedly Valentino's lover until his death in 1926. She caused a media sensation at his New York funeral on 24 August 1926, at which she "fainted" several times, and according to actor Ben Lyon, arranged for a large floral arrangement that spelled "P-O-L-A" to be placed on Valentino's coffin. The press dismissed her actions as a publicity stunt. At the time of his death and for the remainder of her life, Negri claimed Valentino was the love of her life. Just before the Wall Street crash of 1929,
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
estimated Negri's personal worth at $5 million. Negri soon married again, to the Georgian self-styled "Prince" Serge Mdivani. This action caused public opinion in the United States to sour against her because it happened so quickly after Rudolph Valentino's death. Negri and Mdivani were married on 14 May 1927 (less than nine months after Valentino's death); shortly after she became pregnant, and Negri, who always wanted a child, started taking better care of her health and even considered retiring from movies in order to be a housewife and mother. However, she reportedly suffered a miscarriage. She grieved the loss of her child for the rest of her life; she and Mdivani divorced on 2 April 1931. While residing at the Ambassador Hotel in New York in April 1932, Negri performed with
Russ Columbo Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist, and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madne ...
in George Jessel's variety revue at the Schubert Theatre and was briefly involved with Columbo. After her film ''A Woman Commands'' premiered in Hollywood, Columbo performed Negri's signature song "
Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
" with his orchestra and dedicated the song to her. Columbo also recorded and released the song as a 78 rpm single that year with slightly altered lyrics, and the single became a huge sensation with audiences across the country. When Negri returned to the United States in the early 1940s, she became close friends with Margaret West, an oil heiress, former radio star, and vaudeville actress, whom she had originally met in the 1930s. The two became housemates, sharing a beachfront home in Los Angeles with Negri's then-88-year-old mother, and later in Bel Air. Negri, who remained a devout Catholic in her later life, spent her time raising funds for Catholic charities with both her mother and West. On 12 January 1951, Negri became a naturalized citizen of the United States. After the death of Negri's mother in 1954 of pancreatic cancer, in 1957, Negri and West relocated from Los Angeles to a suite in the Menger Hotel,
San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
and later to a large home in Olmos Park, Texas. Negri lived with West until the latter's death of heart failure in 1963. Negri moved out of the home she had shared with West into a townhouse located at 7707 Broadway in San Antonio, where she spent the remainder of her years, largely out of the public eye. Some scholars, such as Emily Leider, a Rudolph Valentino biographer, have suggested that Negri was
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
, and that she and West, who lived together from 1948 to 1963 were romantic partners. Negri biographer Sergio Delgado contests this, though he notes in his 2016 book ''Pola Negri: Temptress of Silent Hollywood'', that there is "strong anecdotal evidence" that Negri was bisexual.


Death

Pola Negri died on 1 August 1987, aged 90 at the Northeast Baptist Hospital in
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Texas. Her death was caused by pneumonia for which she had been rushed to the hospital a week earlier; however, she was also suffering from a brain tumor, for which she had refused treatment for two years. At her wake at the Porter Loring Funeral Home in San Antonio, her body was placed on view wearing a yellow golden chiffon dress with a golden turban to match. Her death received extensive coverage in her hometown newspapers ''San Antonio Light'', and ''San Antonio Express-News'', and in publications such as ''The Washington Post'', ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The New York Times'',
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
, and '' Variety''. Negri was interred in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles next to her mother Eleonora, who died in 1954 from pancreatic cancer. As Negri had no children or siblings, she left most of her estate to St. Mary's University, in Texas, including a collection of memorabilia and several rare prints of her films. St. Mary's University also set up a scholarship in her name. In addition, a generous portion of her estate was given to the Polish nuns of the Seraphic Order.


Legacy

Negri has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
for her contribution to Motion Pictures at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard. She was the 11th star in Hollywood history to place her hand and foot prints in front of
Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre, known as the Chinese colloquially and officially billed as TCL Chinese Theatre for sponsorship reasons, is a movie palace on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Unite ...
.''Life is a Dream in Cinema''
by Pola Negri, Polish Cultural Institute.com, retrieved 13 November 2013.
She received a star in Poland's
Walk of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
( pl) in
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
and Poland's post office issued a postage stamp honoring her in 1996. The Polish Film Festival of Los Angeles remembered her with the Pola Negri Award, given to outstanding film artists, and the Pola Negri Museum in Lipno gives a Polita award for outstanding artist achievement. Negri, with
Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...
and
Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...
, were the actresses whose eyes were combined to form the
Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
's logo, a stark, black and white close up of the composite eyes set as repeated frames in a strip of film. It was created by Festival Founder and Artistic Director Michael Kutza. Negri (portrayed by an uncredited dancer/actress) makes a cameo appearance in the TV film '' Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies''. In the film,
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...
and
Claire Lieberman Claire Lieberman is an American artist known especially for her sculpture and installations, which explore the relationship between play and violence in contemporary culture. Her expansive body of work also includes prints, photographs, and a ser ...
attend a Hollywood party, where they spot Negri dancing with Valentino. In 2006, a feature-length documentary about Negri's life, '' Pola Negri: Life Is a Dream in Cinema'', premiered at the Seventh Annual Polish Film Festival of Los Angeles. The film was directed by Negri's biographer, Mariusz Kotowski, and includes in-depth interviews with
Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...
and
Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...
, who starred in Negri's final film ''
The Moon-Spinners ''The Moon-Spinners'' is a 1964 American mystery film starring Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach and Peter McEnery in a story about a jewel thief hiding on the island of Crete. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, the film was loosely based upon a 1962 ...
'' (1964). ''Pola Negri: Life Is a Dream in Cinema'' has played at Negri retrospective screenings in Europe and the U.S., most notably at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
in New York and at the
Cinémathèque Française A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typically ...
in Paris. Kotowski wrote a Polish-language biography of Negri titled ''Pola Negri: Legenda Hollywood'' (English title: ''Pola Negri: Hollywood Legend''), released in Poland on 24 February 2011, and an English-language biography ''Pola Negri: Hollywood's First Femme Fatale'', published by the University Press of Kentucky on 8 April 2014.Pola Negri newspage
; updated 26 November 2013.
Kotowski produced a 3-disc
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
compilation of early Negri films, ''Pola Negri, The Iconic Collection: The Early Years'' (2011). A large black and white portrait of Negri hangs in the small chapel of the Seraphic Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi Congregation, next to Poland's patron, at Shrine of Our Lady of
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
, at 138 Beethoven Street, in San Antonio. * * A 1924 portrait of Negri, by (1889–1954), son of Jan Styka, is part of the San Antonio Museum of Arts permanent collection. In November 2018, a monument to Pola Negri, was set at Our Lady of the Bright Mount Church,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. In 2021, a street in
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...
, where she briefly lived in 1920s, was named after her.


Filmography


In Congress Poland and Regency Kingdom


In Germany (silent period)


Paramount period


International (sound period)


Last films (U.S.)


Discography

Negri released a total of ten 78 rpm singles. In 1931, she recorded seven gypsy folk songs in London accompanied by guitars and chorus, six of which were released as the sides of three records on Victor's His Master's Voice imprint. She recorded a French-language version of "Paradise" in Paris in 1933 with "Mes Nuits sont Mortes" as its flip side. (Sheet music was released for the English-language version, but the recorded version only appeared in the 1932 film, ''A Woman Commands'', and was never released as a record.) The remainder of Negri's recordings, cut from 1935 to 1938, centered around songs that she sang in her German sound films.Unknown author, liner notes of ''Pola Negri and Rudolph Valentino'' CD. Chansophone rance 1995, pp. 2,3.


See also

*
List of Poles This is a partial list of notable Polish people, Polish or Polish language, Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited. Physics *Miedziak Antal * Czesław Białobrzesk ...


Notes


References


Works cited

* * * * * * *Koszarski, Richard. 1976. ''Hollywood Directors: 1914-1940''.
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 76-9262. * * * *


Further reading

English * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Non-English * * * * * *


External links


Pola Negri Papers
St. Mary's University,
San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Chalupec, Barbara Apolonia (Pola Negri) (1897–1987)
at
Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
, Texas State Historical Association
Interview with Pola Negri
197
The Pola Negri Appreciation Site
polanegri.com
Caricature of Pola Negri
(1923) by
Miguel Covarrubias Miguel Covarrubias, also known as José Miguel Covarrubias Duclaud (22 November 1904 — 4 February 1957) was a Mexican painter, caricaturist, illustrator, ethnologist and art historian. Along with his American colleague Matthew W. Stirling, ...
at
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Pola Negri Film Festival
Polanegri.pl – website
Pola Negri
Moviecards, Postcards, Books, Photographs, Magazines. film.virtual-history.com
Pola Negri
profile, Culture.pl
Metadata Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive ...
*
Pola Negri
at BFI * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Negri, Pola 1897 births 1987 deaths People from Lipno, Lipno County Actresses from Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship People from Płock Governorate Polish Roman Catholics Polish emigrants to the United States 20th-century American actresses 20th-century Polish actresses 20th-century Polish women singers Actors from Bydgoszcz 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American film actresses American silent film actresses Deaths from pneumonia in Texas Naturalized citizens of the United States Polish Romani people Polish people of Slovak descent Polish film actresses Polish silent film actresses Polish stage actresses Romani actresses Paramount Pictures contract players California Republicans Texas Republicans Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)