Rafaela Ottiano

Rafaela Ottiano

Born: March 2, 1888
Died: August 14, 1942
in Venice, Italy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rafaela Ottiano (4 March 1888 – 18 August 1942) was an Italian-born American stage and film actress.

Born in Venice, Italy, she emigrated with her parents to the United States, and was processed at Ellis Island, in 1910. Ottiano established herself as a stage actress in Europe before arriving in Hollywood in 1924 and appearing in American motion pictures. Ottiano's first film was in the John L. McCutcheon-directed drama The Law and the Lady (1924) opposite actors Len Leo, Alice Lake, and Tyrone Power, Sr.

Ottiano was part of the original 1928 Broadway cast of the Mae West hit play Diamond Lil and reprised her role as Rita when the play was made into a film as She Done Him Wrong (1933), directed by Lowell Sherman. Throughout the 1930s, Rafaela Ottiano would often specialize in roles as sinister, maleveolent, or spiteful women, such as her role in the Tod Browning-directed horror film The Devil-Doll (1936), opposite Lionel Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan.

Other notable film roles for Ottiano include Lena in As You Desire Me (1932) with Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Erich von Stroheim, Owen Moore, and Hedda Hopper; Mrs. Higgins in the Shirley Temple musical-comedy Curly Top (1935); as a matron in the crime-drama Riffraff (1936), starring Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy; and as Suzette, Greta Garbo's devoted maid, in the Edmund Goulding-directed drama Grand Hotel (1932). When Grand Hotel was turned into a Broadway Musical in 1989, her character was renamed Rafaela Ottiano in honor of the actress.

Ottiano's last film was the musical comedy I Married an Angel (1942), starring Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. During her career in film, she appeared in approximately 45 motion pictures, opposite such actors as Barbara Stanwyck, Conrad Nagel, Peter Lorre, Zasu Pitts, and Katharine Hepburn.

Ottiano lived in the Times Square area during the Prohibition Era and never married. She died in 1942 in East Boston, Massachusetts of intestinal cancer at the age of 54.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Rafaela Ottiano, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies for Rafaela Ottiano...

The Adventures of Martin Eden
Title: The Adventures of Martin Eden
Released: February 26, 1942
Type: Movie
Author writes about his experiences sailing at sea, struggles to get his work published.
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Topper Returns
Title: Topper Returns
Character: Lillian
Released: March 21, 1941
Type: Movie
Topper is once again tormented by a fun-loving spirit. This time, it's Gail Richards, accidentally murdered while vacationing at the home of her wealthy friend, Ann Carrington, the intended victim. With Topper's help, Gail sets out to find her killer with the expected zany results.
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Victory
Title: Victory
Character: Madame Makanoff
Released: December 21, 1940
Type: Movie
A hermit's idyllic life on an island is disturbed by the arrival of a bunch of cutthroats.
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The Long Voyage Home
Title: The Long Voyage Home
Character: Bella
Released: November 16, 1940
Type: Movie
The crew of the merchant ship Glencairn hope to survive a transatlantic crossing during World War II. Adapted from four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays.
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A Little Bit of Heaven
Title: A Little Bit of Heaven
Character: Mme. Lupinsky
Released: October 10, 1940
Type: Movie
A child from the New York tenements sings on a radio quiz show and is eventually hired to a big-bucks contract, which allows her and her family to move into a posh apartment, with all the usual problems that accompany sudden wealth.
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Vigil in the Night
Title: Vigil in the Night
Character: Mrs. Henrietta Sullivan
Released: February 5, 1940
Type: Movie
A good nurse ruins her career by covering up for her sister's careless mistake.
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Paris Honeymoon
Title: Paris Honeymoon
Character: Fluschotska
Released: January 27, 1939
Type: Movie
A Texas millionaire travels to Europe to meet his girlfriend, a European countess. He stops in a rustic mountain village and meets a beautiful peasant girl. He falls in love with her, then must decide if he wants her or the rich countess.
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Suez
Title: Suez
Character: Maria De Teba
Released: October 28, 1938
Type: Movie
Ferdinand de Lesseps, disappointed in love, is sent as a junior diplomat to the Isthmus of Suez, and realizes it's just the place for a canal.
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Marie Antoinette
Title: Marie Antoinette
Character: Louise - Marie's Maid (uncredited)
Released: August 26, 1938
Type: Movie
The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.
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I'll Give a Million
Title: I'll Give a Million
Character: Barmaid
Released: July 27, 1938
Type: Movie
After saving a tramp from suicide, a millionaire takes his clothing and disappears. Word is out that he will give a million dollars to anyone who is kind to a tramp.
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The League of Frightened Men
Title: The League of Frightened Men
Character: Dora Chapin
Released: May 25, 1937
Type: Movie
Nero Wolfe agrees to investigate a series of murders that seem to be tied in with a past Harvard hazing prank that went awry.
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Maytime
Title: Maytime
Character: Ellen
Released: March 26, 1937
Type: Movie
An opera star's manager tries to stop her romance with a penniless singer.
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Seventh Heaven
Title: Seventh Heaven
Character: Madame Frisson
Released: March 25, 1937
Type: Movie
A Parisian sewer worker longs for a rise in status and a beautiful wife. He rescues a girl from the police, lives with her in a barren flat on the seventh floor, and then marches away to war.
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That Girl from Paris
Title: That Girl from Paris
Character: Nikki's Personal Maid (uncredited)
Released: December 31, 1936
Type: Movie
Nikki Martin, a beautiful French opera star, stows away on an ocean liner in hopes of escaping her jealous fiancee. Once aboard, she joins an American swing band and falls in love with its leader, who, after hearing her sing, eventually comes to reciprocate her feelings.
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Mad Holiday
Title: Mad Holiday
Character: Ning
Released: November 13, 1936
Type: Movie
A temperamental film star's vacation turns deadly when he uncovers a murder.
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Anthony Adverse
Title: Anthony Adverse
Character: Signora Bovino
Released: August 26, 1936
Type: Movie
Based on the novel by Hervey Allen, this expansive drama follows the many adventures of the eponymous hero, Anthony Adverse. Abandoned at a convent by his heartless nobleman father, Don Luis, Anthony is later mentored by his kind grandfather, John Bonnyfeather, and falls for the beautiful Angela Giuseppe. When circumstances separate Anthony and Angela and he embarks on a long journey, he must find his way back to her, no matter what the cost.
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The Devil-Doll
Title: The Devil-Doll
Character: Malita
Released: July 10, 1936
Type: Movie
Wrongfully convicted of a robbery and murder, Paul Lavond breaks out of prison with a genius scientist who has devised a way to shrink humans. When the scientist dies during the escape, Lavond heads for his lab, using the shrinking technology to get even with those who framed him and vindicate himself in both the public eye and the eyes of his daughter, Lorraine. When an accident leaves a crazed assistant dead, however, Lavond must again make an escape.
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Riffraff
Title: Riffraff
Character: Matron (as Rafaelo Ottiano)
Released: January 3, 1936
Type: Movie
Fisherman Dutch marries cannery worker Hattie. After he is kicked out of his union and fired from his job he leaves Hattie who steals money for him and goes to jail. He gets a new job, foils a plot to dynamite the ship, and promises to wait for Hattie.
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We're Only Human
Title: We're Only Human
Character: Mrs. Anderson
Released: December 27, 1935
Type: Movie
A cop, who plays by his own rules, brings down a notorious gangster.
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Remember Last Night?
Title: Remember Last Night?
Character: Mme. Bouclier
Released: October 28, 1935
Type: Movie
After a night of wild partying at a friend's house, a couple wake up to discover the party's host has been murdered in his bed.
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Curly Top
Title: Curly Top
Character: Mrs. Higgins
Released: July 26, 1935
Type: Movie
Wealthy Edward Morgan becomes charmed with a curly-haired orphan and her pretty older sister Mary and arranges to adopt both under the alias of "Mr. Jones". As he spends more time with them, he soon finds himself falling in love with Mary.
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One Frightened Night
Title: One Frightened Night
Character: Elvira
Released: May 1, 1935
Type: Movie
Eccentric tycoon Jasper Whyte hosts a dinner at his mansion and announces that he will divide his money and give each guest a million dollars before the stroke of midnight. When his long-lost granddaughter suddenly arrives, Whyte changes his mind and proclaims that she will receive his entire fortune. A second lady appears at the estate, claiming that she is actually Whyte's granddaughter, Doris Waverly, and the first woman is found murdered in her room! With each guest possessing a motive, the mystery of the killer's identity briskly unfolds through a stirring series of surprises.
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The Florentine Dagger
Title: The Florentine Dagger
Character: Lili Salvatore
Released: March 30, 1935
Type: Movie
A playwright descended from the Borgia family becomes a murder suspect.
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The Lottery Lover
Title: The Lottery Lover
Character: Gaby's Maid
Released: February 5, 1935
Type: Movie
A crew of young military-school cadets are enjoying their first weekend in Paris. Frank Harrington, a girl-shy cadet, wins the lottery which "They" have organized, an Frank wins the right to woo the star of the Folies Bergere, Gaby Aimee, with her garter serving as proof of conquest. Meanwhile Frank has found the one girl-of-his-heart, Patty, and this serves to complicate matters.
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Enchanted April
Title: Enchanted April
Character: Francesca
Released: February 1, 1935
Type: Movie
Mrs. Lotty Wilkins is an unhappily wife whom's life husband and romance have departed. In order to possibly salvage some of the missing elements in her life she rents an old Italian mansion and sharing it with three women. Here the four women plan to spend the month of April away from the cares of home, husbands and the everyday monotony.
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Great Expectations
Title: Great Expectations
Character: Mrs. Joe
Released: October 22, 1934
Type: Movie
A young boy, Pip, encounters an escaped prisoner, Magwitch, and steals food for him. After the convict is captured, Pip meets the reclusive Miss Havisham and her niece, Estella, eventually becoming friends with the girl. Wealth comes to Pip via a mysterious benefactor and he goes off to London for an education. As adults, Pip and Estella become romantic, and Pip learns the identity of his patron.
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A Lost Lady
Title: A Lost Lady
Character: Rosa
Released: September 29, 1934
Type: Movie
A bitter woman who thinks she'll never love again marries, only to fall for a brash young man.
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The Last Gentleman
Title: The Last Gentleman
Character: Retta Barr, Judd's wife
Released: April 27, 1934
Type: Movie
In New England circa 1933, a niece is reported missing and presumed dead and Cabot Barr (George Arliss) summons his relatives to the family estate for a memorial service. Once there, Barr taunts each one, claiming their only interest in him is his money, and sends them away when the report about the niece proves to be false. Only niece Marjorie, who has ridiculed one of his pet eccentricities, seems to be the object of any sentimental affection.
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Mandalay
Title: Mandalay
Character: Madame Lacalles
Released: February 10, 1934
Type: Movie
Abandoned by her lover, a woman becomes the main "hostess" in a decadent nightclub, but tries to put her past behind her on a steamer to Mandalay.
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Female
Title: Female
Character: Della, Alison's Maid (Uncredited)
Released: November 11, 1933
Type: Movie
Alison Drake, the tough-minded executive of an automobile factory, succeeds in the man's world of business until she meets an independent design engineer.
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Ann Vickers
Title: Ann Vickers
Character: Mrs. Feldermans
Released: September 26, 1933
Type: Movie
After a love affair ending in an abortion, a young prison reformer submerges herself in her work. She then falls for a controversial and married judge and scandal looms again.
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Bondage
Title: Bondage
Character: Miss Trigge
Released: April 22, 1933
Type: Movie
Judy Peters is about to be sentenced after she has pled guilty to her third offense of prostitution, when Dr. Nelson interrupts and tells her story to the court. (Mubi.)
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She Done Him Wrong
Title: She Done Him Wrong
Character: Russian Rita
Released: February 9, 1933
Type: Movie
New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more men friends than you can imagine. One of them is a vicious criminal who’s escaped and is on the way to see “his” girl, not realising she hasn’t exactly been faithful in his absence. Help is at hand in the form of young Captain Cummings, a local temperance league leader.
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The Washington Masquerade
Title: The Washington Masquerade
Character: Mona Farrell
Released: July 9, 1932
Type: Movie
An honest, talented and well respected attorney defeats a corrupt incumbent U.S. Senator. After a very good start he has to face the subtle temptations and innocent looking traps of Washington.
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Night Court
Title: Night Court
Character: Evil Tongued Neighbor (uncredited)
Released: June 4, 1932
Type: Movie
A corrupt night court judge tears an innocent young family apart in his efforts to elude a special prosecutor.
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As You Desire Me
Title: As You Desire Me
Character: Lena
Released: May 28, 1932
Type: Movie
Bar entertainer Zara is a discontented alcoholic who is pursued by many men but lives with novelist Carl Salter. One day, Tony shows up on Salter's estate claiming that Zara is actually Maria, the wife of his close friend Bruno, claiming that her memory was destroyed during World War I. Zara doesn't remember but leaves with Tony to Salter's dismay. Bruno, now an officer in the Italian Army, tries to coax Maria's memory back on his large estate. No one is really sure if Zara is Maria, and when Salter shows up with a mental case from Trieste that he claims is the real Maria, everyone on Bruno's estate is desperately searching for the truth.
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Grand Hotel
Title: Grand Hotel
Character: Suzette
Released: May 25, 1932
Type: Movie
Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through worry, scandal, and heartache.
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Married?
Title: Married?
Character: Maid
Released: February 17, 1926
Type: Movie
A couple endure 365 days of marriage in order to inherit money.