Olga Vittoria Gentilli

Olga Vittoria Gentilli (19 July 1888 – 29 May 1957) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in around forty films during the Fascist era and immediate post-war years. She generally played supporting roles in films such as Naples of Olden Times (1938). Quote “Olga Vittoria Gentilli never fell short of her reputation for refined elegance; this judgment, by which her admirers believe they praise her, is actually her most decisive condemnation. Content to offer a compliant audience her physical qualities (she is beautiful—they say, a beauty, we add, cold and banal, stereotyped, coarse: dear to the fat novelists of sensuality of our Renaissance—far from the beauty that is harmony of spirit and body, concrete life, the individual’s conquest, not dead matter), Gentilli does not put any effort into interpretation: she changes clothes but does not renew herself spiritually.” “Olga Vittoria Gentilli’s personality is limited and frail: her originality reduces to very few gestures, almost always insufficient to enliven an entire drama. And when she wanted or had to study, instead of delving into herself, instead of seeking within herself the source of true artistic life, she resorted to an external imitation, achieving mediocre success with a skill not supported by inner emotion.” “I know Olga Vittoria Gentilli is a polite actress who dresses, or undresses, on stage with exquisite good taste; but I believe she is more suited to very strong roles, or to very naive ones; I do not see her as the Duchess of Danzica, she who is distinction personified. I could be wrong; but it’s better to avoid a disappointment…” Internal link