"Born in Poland, made in Germany, stolen by Hollywood"

There are many reasons why a relationship remains strong over the years, and complete compatibility of taste in music and arts is a major factor - and this is a shining example of why Madam Arcati and I have lasted twelve years together this month.

For when the esteemed Madame announced he had managed to find a clip of silent screen vamp Pola Negri singing Wagner, I could have whooped with joy! A perfect addition to our burgeoning collection of all things camp here at Dolores Delargo Towers...

Pola Negri - Richard Wagner parody

The lovely Fraulein Negri was a wonderfully exotic addition to the Art Deco silent movie era - she left her native Hungary early in her career, and was "discovered" by Hollywood while residing in Weimar Berlin. Her career blossomed in glamorous big-budget silents alongside the megastars of the day such as Rudolph Valentino (with whom she had a much-publicised affair), but the Depression and the rise of the talkies were not kind to her career. Controversially on her return to Germany she became a firm favourite actress of Adolf Hitler (despite being anti-Nazi herself), and the "Nazi connection" led to much vilification among her peers, including Tallulah Bankhead, despite the fact that the German authorities were in fact investigating her alleged Jewish background.

After leaving Germany and later the occupation of France, she returned to Hollywood, where she made a few more movies before retiring in the 1940s. Pola Negri maintained her flamboyant persona to the end of her life and was often compared to Norma Desmond, a character role she had famously turned down - which became the most famous and iconic screen moment for her friend and rival Gloria Swanson. She lived to the ripe old age of 90, and when she died in 1987 her body was laid out wearing a yellow golden chiffon dress with a golden turban to match. A magnificent lady!

Pola! Pola! Pola! - the Pola Negri Appreciation site