Caterina Boratto (15 March 1915 – 14 September 2010) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 50 films between 1936 and 1993.

Caterina Boratto
Boratto in the movie The Peddler and the Lady (1943)
Born(1915-03-15)15 March 1915
Turin, Kingdom of Italy
Died14 September 2010(2010-09-14) (aged 95)
Rome, Italy
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active1936–1993
SpouseArmando Ceratto
ChildrenMarina Ceratto and Paolo Ceratto

Life and career

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Born in Turin, Boratto studied at the Musical Lyceum in her hometown with the purpose of becoming a singer; noted by Guido Brignone, she made her debut in To Live, alongside Tito Schipa. Thanks to the film's success, she immediately became a star in the Telefoni Bianchi genre, and also got a seven-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which eventually dissolved because of World War II.[1][2]

In 1943, Boratto lost two brothers, the partisan Renato and the soldier Filiberto, killed in the massacre of the Acqui Division. In 1944, she married a doctor, Armando Ceratto, with whom she had two children. Except for a film in 1951, she basically retired from show business for twenty years before accepting to play two key roles in and Juliet of the Spirits by Federico Fellini, who had known her in the set of The Peddler and the Lady, where he had served as screenwriter. Starting from the second half of the 1960s, Boratto resumed appearing in films with some regularity, and from the late 1970s, she also became very active on television, being cast in dozens of TV series.[1][2]

Filmography

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Boratto in Story of a Cloistered Nun (1973)
Year Title Role Notes
1937 To Live Paola - sua figlia
1937 Marcella Marcella
1938 Chi è cchiu' felice 'e me! Rina Carlo
They've Kidnapped a Man La Granduchessa Sonia
1939 The Sons of the Marquis Lucera Giannina
1942 Story of a Poor Young Man [it] Margherita
1943 Measure for Measure Isabella
The Peddler and the Lady Elsa Bianchini
1951 Double Cross Clara Vanzetti
1963 La signora misteriosa
1965 Juliet of the Spirits Giulietta's mother
1966 Me, Me, Me... and the Others Luigia, Peppino's Sister-in-law
Pardon, Are You For or Against? Agnese Frustalupi
1967 Don't Sting the Mosquito Marchioness Filangeri
The Tiger and the Pussycat Delia
Stasera mi butto Countess Eugenia
Pronto... c'è una certa Giuliana per te Aunt Amelia
1968 Danger: Diabolik Lady Clark
1969 The Lady of Monza Sister Francesca Imbersaga
Castle Keep Red Queen
1970 Una storia d'amore Marco's Mother
Angeli senza paradiso Princess Vorokin
1972 Hector the Mighty Ecuba
The House of the Doves Virginia
Lady Caroline Lamb
1973 La ragazza fuoristrada Silvia Marino
Story of a Cloistered Nun Mother of Carmela
1974 Summer to Remember The Princess
1975 Footprints on the Moon Boutique Owner
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom Signora Castelli
1977 Per questa notte
1978 First Love Lucy
1979 The House by the Edge of the Lake Kira - witch by the lake
1981 Uno contro l'altro, praticamente amici Mamma di Franco Colombo
1982 That Night in Varennes Madame Faustine
Ehrengard Countess von Gassner
1984 Claretta Giuseppina Petacci
1985 Amici miei – Atto III Amalia Pecci Bonetti
1988 32 December Carlotta Tricarico (segment "La gialla farfalla")
Phantom of Death Robert's Mother
1989 The Sleazy Uncle Passante che aiuta Luca
1992 Once Upon a Crime Madame de Senneville

Further reading

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  • Paolo Ceratto; Franco Prono. Caterina Boratto: Una regalità completa. Daniela Piazza Editore, 2014. ISBN 9788898623280.
  • Marina Ceratto. Caterina Boratto, la donna che visse tre volte. Edizioni Sabinae, 2016. ISBN 9788898623280.

References

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  1. ^ a b Enrico Lancia, Roberto Poppi. "Boratto, Caterina". Dizionario del cinema italiano, Le Attrici. Gremese Editore, 2003. pp. 43–4. ISBN 888440214X.
  2. ^ a b Massimo Novelli (16 September 2010). "Addio all'algida Caterina diva dei Telefoni Bianchi". La Repubblica. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
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