Pina Menichelli was the most bizarre and perverse of the Italian divas. She is a striking presence in her handful of films. With her contorted postures and disdainful expression, she would have been typed as a vamp by Hollywood, but in Italy she seems to be more dangerous to herself than to any potential victim. La Tigre Reale (1916) is a weird melodrama, full of unlikely twists and turns, but one is held, mesmerized, by the fascinating and enigmatic Menichelli. She was also one of the divas featured in Peter Delpeut's recent film Diva Dolorosa (1999)

©2001, by Greta de Groat. All Rights Reserved

Last revised April 12, 2005