Mario Bonnard

Mario Bonnard 24 December 1889 22 March 1965 was an Italian actor and film director Bonnard was born and died in Rome He began his cinematic career as an actor becoming a popular romantic lead in numerous silent films made before World War I In 1917 he ventured into film directing for the first time Before the arrival of sound films he worked for a period in Germany in films directed by Luis Trenker Back in Italy in 1932 he became a prolific director working with the major stars of the time as Assia Noris Elsa Merlini Amedeo Nazzari and Luisa Ferida Il feroce Saladino 1937 was the most popular of his films of the 1930s During the war he continued to work In the post World War II period his films ranging from comedies to period dramas enjoyed much success However today hes no longer well known One of his last films was The Last Days of Pompeii 1959 An illness made him leave production early so the film was completed by Sergio Leone His brother was the composer Giulio Bonnard who frequently wrote film scores for Marios productions