Christina Montt
Encyclopedia
Cristina Montt was a Chilean film star of silent and early sound films.
. Her granduncle, Manuel Montt
, was twice president of Chile
. Two other uncles also served as presidents of the South American nation.
Cristina moved to Los Angeles and became friendly with the big names in the film industry of the time. She first appeared in motion pictures in the United States in 1924. She performed in about 10 films between 1924 and 1938. For the most part her roles were very small.
On July 5, 1927 she announced her engagement to Mario Morano. He was also from an aristocratic South American family and worked in the film industry. Their romance began in Hollywood. Morano's real name was Mario Albuquerque De Maranhoa. He was the son of a Brazilian jurist. Morano came to the US in early 1927 after serving in the Brazilian diplomatic service. The planned wedding was cancelled only a few months later, in August. Cristina said that their Latin temperaments would make their marriage inadvisable.
(1924) of Frank Lloyd
, and portrayed "Señorita González" in Rose of the Golden West, with Mary Astor
. Her final roles were "Suzie" in Sam Wood's
Madam X
(1937), and uncredited ones in I'll Give A Million (1938) and Suez
(1938).
In July 1928 Cristina Montt joined actors Al Jolson
, Carmel Myers
, and other motion picture persons for an event to benefit the United Jewish Appeal. It was held at the Breaker's Club in Santa Monica, California
.
In 1935 she appeared in municipal court in Los Angeles, California
on a drunken driving charge. The judge gave her a thirty day suspended sentence after she proved that she had recently suffered a nervous breakdown. It was reported that Cristina was 34 years of age and was the widow of a former Chilean ambassador to Japan.
Cristina Montt died of coronary failure in Hollywood on April 22, 1969.
Early life
She was born in Chile in 1895 into the well-known, political Montt familyMontt family
The Montt family of Chile became politically influential during the 19th century, and played a very significant role in Chilean politics; it is still important...
. Her granduncle, Manuel Montt
Manuel Montt
Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861.-Biography:...
, was twice president of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Two other uncles also served as presidents of the South American nation.
Cristina moved to Los Angeles and became friendly with the big names in the film industry of the time. She first appeared in motion pictures in the United States in 1924. She performed in about 10 films between 1924 and 1938. For the most part her roles were very small.
On July 5, 1927 she announced her engagement to Mario Morano. He was also from an aristocratic South American family and worked in the film industry. Their romance began in Hollywood. Morano's real name was Mario Albuquerque De Maranhoa. He was the son of a Brazilian jurist. Morano came to the US in early 1927 after serving in the Brazilian diplomatic service. The planned wedding was cancelled only a few months later, in August. Cristina said that their Latin temperaments would make their marriage inadvisable.
Career
She worked for First National Pictures. Her film career lasted until the late 1930s. She played the Infanta of Spain in The Sea HawkThe Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1915. The story is set over the years 1588–1593, and concerns a retired Cornish sea-faring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a ...
(1924) of Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd was a film director, scriptwriter and producer...
, and portrayed "Señorita González" in Rose of the Golden West, with Mary Astor
Mary Astor
Mary Astor was an American actress. Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.She eventually made a successful transition to talkies, but almost...
. Her final roles were "Suzie" in Sam Wood's
Sam Wood
Samuel Grosvenor "Sam" Wood was an American film director, and producer, who was best known for directing such Hollywood hits as A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and The Pride of the Yankees...
Madam X
Madame X (1937 film)
Madame X is a drama film, a sanitized remake of several Pre-Code films of the same name. It was directed by Sam Wood with additional direction by Gustav Machatý .-Plot:...
(1937), and uncredited ones in I'll Give A Million (1938) and Suez
Suez (film)
Suez is a 1938 film account of the building of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps, played by Tyrone Power. It was so highly fictionalized that de Lesseps' descendants sued for libel....
(1938).
Later life
On August 27, 1927, the engagement of Cristina Montt and Mario Marano, both of the films and each representing families high in South American political circles, was broken, after existing only for a few months. Miss Montt said that she and Marano had decided their temperaments would make their marriage inadvisable.In July 1928 Cristina Montt joined actors Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
, Carmel Myers
Carmel Myers
Carmel Myers was an American actress who worked chiefly in silent movies.Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of an Australian rabbi and Austrian Jewish mother. Her father became well-connected with California's emerging film industry, and introduced her to film pioneer D. W. Griffith,...
, and other motion picture persons for an event to benefit the United Jewish Appeal. It was held at the Breaker's Club in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.
In 1935 she appeared in municipal court in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on a drunken driving charge. The judge gave her a thirty day suspended sentence after she proved that she had recently suffered a nervous breakdown. It was reported that Cristina was 34 years of age and was the widow of a former Chilean ambassador to Japan.
Cristina Montt died of coronary failure in Hollywood on April 22, 1969.
Filmography
- The Sea HawkThe Sea HawkThe Sea Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1915. The story is set over the years 1588–1593, and concerns a retired Cornish sea-faring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a ...
(1924) - The Infanta of Spain - Circe, the Enchantress (1924) - uncredited (aka Circe)
- The Fast Set (1924) (uncredited)
- Rose of the Golden West (1927) - Señorita González
- El Último de los Vargas (1930)
- Alma de Gaucho (1930) - Dona Cristina
- Fifty Fathoms Deep (1931) - Conchita
- Three on a Honeymoon (1934) - uncredited (Fortune Teller in Algerian Cafe)
- Madame XMadame X (1937 film)Madame X is a drama film, a sanitized remake of several Pre-Code films of the same name. It was directed by Sam Wood with additional direction by Gustav Machatý .-Plot:...
(1937) - uncredited (Suzie) - I'll Give a Million (1938) - uncredited (Streetwalker)
- SuezSuez (film)Suez is a 1938 film account of the building of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps, played by Tyrone Power. It was so highly fictionalized that de Lesseps' descendants sued for libel....
(1938) - uncredited (Maid)
External links
- The New York Times: "Montt-Marano Engagement Broken" (August 27, 1927)
- Genealogical chart of Montt family