Amina Pirani Maggi was born in Verona, Italy on 15 January 1892 and was a frequent presence on Italian movie screens during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Her acting career began in the theater, however, and she worked extensively on stage from as early as at least the 1910s and appeared in many leading roles.
Already close to 40 when she began appearing in films, Amina was never able to achieve the same kind of success in films as she'd had on the stage. Her roles were nearly always small and very often uncredited, but as a consummate professional, she always made the most of her limited screen-time and managed to make an impression. Due to her heavily build and large nose, Amina was often cast in comedic roles, but also appeared in dramatic parts, playing many diverse characters such as mothers, maids, prison guards, nuns or nosy gossips. From the late 1950s and onwards, she started to be credited more frequently, even though her roles still remained small.
Amina Pirani Maggi disappeared from the movie screens in the mid 1960s, and she died in Rome in 1979. Unfortunately, a lot of her films from the 1930s and 40s are currently unavailable, but will hopefully be unearthed in the future. There are surely also quite a few undocumented roles for her to be discovered.
Source for biographical informations: "Luci sulla città: Verona e il cinema" (2002) by Paolo Romano and Giancarlo Beltrame
FILMOGRAPHY
- Come le foglie (uncredited) .... Elena
- Darò un milione (uncredited) .... Patroness
- Vecchia guardia (uncredited) .... The mayor's wife
1936 - La damigella di Bard (uncredited) .... The countess
1939 - I grandi magazzini (uncredited) .... Department store customer
- Montevergine (credited) .... Maria
- Un'avventura di Salvator Rosa (uncredited) .... Duchess Isabella's companion
1940 - Cuori nella tormenta (credited) .... Gilda, Teresa's mother
- Lucrezia Borgia (uncredited) .... Beatrice
- Oltre l'amore (poster credit) .... Elisa (role unconfirmed)
1941 - Il bravo di Venezia (uncredited) .... Gossiping woman by the well
- Il cavaliere senza nome (credited?) .... Elena, the nurse-maid (role unconfirmed)
- Il re si diverte (credited?) .... Berarda, Gilda's maid
- Teresa Venerdì (uncredited) .... Impatient woman in line at the post office
1942 - La mecca dei desideri (Short film) (credited) .... The wife
- Una storia d'amore (credited as A. Pirani Maggi) .... Boarding house landlady
1943 - La Fornarina (uncredited) .... Mamma Rosa
- Rita da Cascia (uncredited) .... Nun
1945 - L'innocente Casimiro (uncredited) .... Casimiro's mother
1949 - Napoli eterna canzone (credited as Amina Pirani Maggio) .... Mario's mother
1950 - Amori e veleni (credited) .... Marta, the housekeeper
- Il monello della strada (credited as Anna Pirani Maggi) .... Agnese
- Vita da cani (uncredited) .... Landlady
1951 - Amo un assassino (credited) .... Giovanna, the cleaning lady
- Bellezze in bicicletta (credited as Annina Pirani Maggi) .... Bus passenger
1952 - Altri tempi - segment "Il processo di Frine" (uncredited) .... Spectator at the trial
- Chi è senza peccato (uncredited) .... Prison matron
- When in Rome (credited) .... Dove Silesto
1953 - La lupa (uncredited) .... Midwife
- Stazione Termini (uncredited) .... Woman at telegram office
- Vortice (uncredited) .... Prison matron
1954 - La campana di San Giusto (poster credit) .... Role?
- Questa è la vita - segment "Marsina stretta" (uncredited) .... Nosy woman chatting with the doorman
- Se vincessi cento milioni - segment "Il pensionato" (uncredited) .... Signora Anastasi
1955 - Buonanotte... avvocato! (credited as Pirani Maggi) .... Countess Pirani
- L'angelo bianco (credited) .... Prison matron
- La donna più bella del mondo (uncredited) .... Nora
- Porta un bacione a Firenze (credited) .... Agnese
- Torna piccina mia! (uncredited) .... Teresa, the maid
1956 - Ci sposeremo a Capri (credited) .... Aunt Agnese
- Il cavaliere dalla spada nera (credited) .... Marco's mother
- Totò lascia o raddoppia? (uncredited) .... Television viewer
1957 - Ascoltami (credited as Amina Pierani Maggi) .... Giulia's colleague
- Il corsaro della Mezza Luna (credited) .... Gertrude, the nurse-maid
- L'ultima violenza (credited) .... Cleaning lady
1958 - Amore e guai... (uncredited) .... Nun on the train
- L'amore nasce a Roma (uncredited) .... Silvia's mother
- La Maja desnuda (uncredited) .... Maid
- Le dritte (uncredited) .... Rina's mother
1959 - Il mondo dei miracoli (credited) .... Member of the acting troupe
- Simpatico mascalzone (credited as A. Pirani-Maggi) .... Signora Assunta
1960 - Fontana di Trevi (uncredited) .... Woman in record store
- La banda del buco (credited) .... Signorina Brambilla, the secretary
1961 - Rosmunda e Alboino (credited but not found)
1963 - Zorro e i tre moschettieri (credited) .... Disapproving woman at the ball
1964 - Soldati e caporali (credited as Anna Maria Pirani Maggi) .... Signora Olga
More Amina!
Here's a long list of further titles that Amina is supposed to appear in, but for which I've not been able to find copies...
- Televisione (1931) Cinematografo.it as Signora Ridon
- Il treno delle 21.15 (1933) ANICA
- Luci sommerse (1934) ANICA
- Seconda B (1934) ANICA as Signora Renzi
- Giuseppe Verdi (1938) ANICA as Chestnut seller
- Mille lire al mese (1938) ANICA as Magda's mother
- Bionda sottochiave (1939) ANICA
- L'ospite di una notte (1939) ANICA as Caterina
- Leggenda azzurra (1940) ANICA
- Manon Lescaut (1940) ANICA as Gossiping noblewoman at the ball
- Mare (1940) ANICA as Fisherman's wife
- L'amore canta (1941) ANICA
- Caravaggio, il pittore maledetto (1941) ANICA
- Ridi pagliaccio! (1941) ANICA as Prison nun
- Villa da vendere (1941) ANICA as Concierge
- La pantera nera (1942) ANICA as Signora Simmons
- Perdizione (1942) ANICA
- Una signora dell'Ovest (1942) ANICA
- Soltanto un bacio (1942) ANICA as Anna's aunt
- Ultimo addio (1942) ANICA
- Una volta alla settimana (1942) ANICA as Signora Maria
- Il ponte sull'infinito (1942) Cinematografo.it as Marta
- La statua vivente (1943) ANICA
- La storia di una capinera (1945) ANICA
- Vietato ai minorenni (1945) ANICA
- Felicità perduta (1946) ANICA
- Il marito povero (1946) ANICA
- Arrivederci papà! (1948) ANICA as Nanna, the housekeeper
- La figlia del mendicante (1950) ANICA
- Sambo (1950) ANICA as Fortune-teller
- Vogliamoci bene! (1950) ANICA as Signora Silvestri
- Abracadabra (1952) ANICA
- Tormento di anime (1953) ANICA as Sora Peppina
- La prigioniera di Amalfi (1954) ANICA
- I calunniatori (1956) ANICA
- Mamma sconosciuta (1956) ANICA as Landlady
No Amina!
Like always with little-known actors with large online filmographies, there are some titles that various sources list them as appearing in, but in which they are actually nowhere to be found. I couldn't find Amina in the following films, but maybe others will have more luck...
- L'argine (1938) Listed by ANICA as playing "A woman of the people". There is one woman that resembles Amina, but she's too fat for it to be her in my opinion.
- Il canto della vita (1945) Listed by ANICA with no role given.
- La carrozza d'oro (1952) Listed by ANICA with no role given.
- Menzogna (1952) Listed by ANICA as playing "Nunziata, the maid". There is a maid that resembles Amina in build and hairstyle, but the face looks different to me.
- Guai ai vinti (1954) Listed by ANICA as playing "Woman in mourning" but I couldn't find her in the admittedly poor version I watched.
- Torna! (1954) Listed by ANICA with no role given.