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Helena Makowska


Foto: Alexander Binder (1888-1929)

1893 - 1964

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The actress Helena Makowska was born as Elena Woyniewicz in the Russian Kriwoi Rog.

When her family moved to Warsaw she was able to gain a foothold on stage there and she impersonated smaller roles at the beginning.
Finally she went to Italy at the age of 19 where she became established as a stage actress in Milan, among others also as an opera singer in "Un ballo in maschera" (14).
She also began her film career in Italy and she impersonated numerous roles during the 10s in moives like "Il sogno di un tramonto d'autunno" (11), "Romanticismo" (15), "Tempesta d'anime" (16), "Da boxeur a detective" (16), "La gioconda" (16), "Straccetto" (16), "Tormento" (17), "Caino" (18) and "Centocelle" (19).

She continued her career on stage and in movies in the 20s and she took part in the productions "La signora innamorata" (20), "La verita nuda" (21) and "Rabagas" (22).

She went to Germany in 1922 where she also got regular engagement in German silent movies.
She played roles in movies like "Sterbende Völker" (22), "Die vom Zirkus" (22), "Frauenmoral" (23), "Die vier letzten Sekunden des Quidam Uhl" (24), "Taras Bulba" (24), "Der Schrecken des Meeres" (24), "Moderne Ehen" (24) and "Das Geheimnis einer Stunde" (25).

When she had to leave Germany because of her Polish citizenship - a reaction of Germany against the "Optanten" politics in Poland - she continued her career in Italy and Poland, primarily at the theater. Beside it she only appeared in few movies like "Czerwony blazen" (26) und "Kochanka Szamoty" (27).

In the following years she exclusively appeared on stage and occasionally in operas like "Carmen" (32) but her career was interrupted by the invasion of Germany in Poland. She got arrested by the Gestapo in November 1939 and she remained in imprisonment till 1943. Thank to an exchange of prisoners she was released in April 1943 whereupon she emigrated to England.
There she was able to continue her stage career and after World War II her tours led her to Germany, Belgium and France.

She settled down in Italy in 1947 and after more than 20 years she acted again in front of the camera for the movie "Fabiola" (49). With "Quo Vadis?" (51), "The Barefoot Contessa" (54), "La viglia dei sogni" (54) and "Arrivederci Firenze" (58) followed her last cinematical works.

Helena Makowska was among others married with the actor Karl Falkenberg.


Other movies with Helena Makowska:
La collana della felicita (16) Il dossier n. 7 (16) Val d'olivi (16) Eva nemica (16) L'apostolo (16) Tramonto triste (16) Fiaccola sotto il moggio (16) La leggenda di Pierette (16) Il fiacre n. 13 (17) Lucciola (17) Il Fauno (17) Amleto (17) La tartaruga (18) Folgore (18) Addio giovinezza! (18) Il prinicpe dell'impossibile (19) Il principe Zilah (19) Dopo il perdono (19) La spada di Damocle (19) La dame en gris (19) Fugge la gloria (20) La dama e il mistero (21) Il dolce veleno (21) L'ombra della colpa (21) Idilliotragico (22) Maciste e la figlia del re dell'argento (22) Judith (23) Der Tiges des Zirkus Farini (23) Quarantäne (23) Maciste contro Maciste (23) Frauen im Sumpf (24) Liebet das Leben (24) Die blonde Hannele (24) Kiedy kobieta zdradza meza (24) Der Schuss im Pavillon (25) 

 
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