Amalia Pellegrini was a generica-actress who was active in Italian films from the mid 1930s and until the end of the 1950s.
A diminutive lady with a characteristic face dominated by a large nose and winning smile, she was most often cast as maids, but also played her fair share of grandmothers, nuns, old noblewomen etc. She mostly appeared in uncredited bit parts, but always knew how to make the most of her limited screen-time and managed to land roles in films by several of the most well-known directors, such as Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini, Luigi Comencini and Alessandro Blasetti.
In the 1950s, Amalia's name began to appear more frequently in the on-screen credits, though for the most part, her roles didn't become much bigger. One notable exception was the comedy Piccola posta (1955), in which she had a memorable part as a rich old woman that Alberto Sordi keeps trying to murder in order to inherit her money. Around the same time she also appeared with Sordi in various other roles.
According to IMDb and Italian Wikipedia, she was born on 16 June 1873 in Vigevano - the source for which appears to be the Pavia e dintorni website. According to this website, "others" (whoever that's supposed to be) say she was born in Pavia in 1877. IMDb and Wikipedia also list her as having died on 13 September 1958 in New York of all places, which seems highly unlikely to be correct.
Filmography
- Il cappello a tre punte .... Maid (uncredited)
1938 - Voglio vivere con Letizia .... Housekeeper (uncredited)
1939 - I grandi magazzini .... Department store customer (uncredited)
1940 - Una romantica avventura .... Maid (uncredited)
1941 - Il prigioniero di Santa Cruz .... Maria, the maid (uncredited)
- L'elisir d'amore .... Woman at the party (uncredited)
1942 - Il romanzo di un giovane povero .... Maddalena (uncredited)
- Odessa in fiamme .... Detained woman of Bessarabia (uncredited)
- Un garibaldino al convento .... Nun (uncredited)
1942 - Dagli Appennini alle Ande .... Rosita (uncredited)
- Il fidanzato di mia moglie .... Woman in the taxi (uncredited)
1944 - La Fornarina .... Marozia (uncredited)
- Sorelle Materassi .... The Swedish lady's maid (uncredited)
1945 - Lo sbaglio di essere vivo .... Adriano's neighbor (uncredited)
- Roma città aperta .... Boarding house maid (uncredited)
1946 - Un giorno nella vita .... Sister Scolastica (credited)
- Voglio bene soltanto a te! .... Rossi's maid (uncredited)
1948 - Il barone Carlo Mazza .... Woman at the funeral (uncredited)
1949 - Catene .... Woman who delivers secret message (uncredited)
- Fabiola .... Woman at the feast (uncredited)
- Monastero di Santa Chiara .... Aunt Ines (uncredited)
1950 - Faddija - La legge della venedetta .... Annarita's grandmother (credited)
- Prima comunione .... Guest at Carloni's house (uncredited)
1951 - Bellissima .... Grandmother at Cinecittà (credited)
- Io sono il Capataz .... Old woman by the well (uncredited - uncertain identification)
- La famiglia Passaguai .... One of the three gossips (credited)
- La vendetta del corsaro .... Nun (uncredited)
- Signori, in carrozza! .... Train station employee (uncredited)
1952 - Altri tempi - segment "Una selezione di canzoni del tempo" .... The grandmother (credited)
- Città canora .... Amalia, the maid (credited as "A. Pellegrini")
- Cuore forestiero .... Donna Carmela (credited)
1953 - Pane, amore e fantasia .... Matteo's grandmother (uncredited)
- Puccini .... Concierge (uncredited)
1954 - Amori di mezzo secolo - segment "Dopoguerra 1920" .... Alberto's aunt (uncredited)
- I tre ladri .... Witness at the trial (uncredited)
- Maddalena .... Filomena, the maid (uncredited)
- Pane, amore e gelosia .... Matteo's grandmother (uncredited)
- Peccato che sia una canaglia .... Old woman with luggage at the train station (credited)
- Questa è la vita - segment "Marsina stretta" .... Adele, the professor's maid (credited)
- Spettacolo fuori programma (TV movie) .... Wardrobe keeper (credited)
- Un americano a Roma .... Old woman watching TV (uncredited)
- Un giorno in pretura .... The old rich woman (credited as "Amelia Pellegrini")
1955 - Bravissimo .... The maestro's mother (credited)
- L'intrusa .... Amelia, the priest's sister (uncredited)
- La bella mugnaia .... Donna Dolores' maid (credited)
- Piccola posta .... Donna Virginia (credited)
- Prigionieri del male .... Woman by the ex-voto (uncredited)
1956 - Cime tempestose (TV mini-series) - ep. 3 .... Old woman at the ball (credited)
- Mio figlio Nerone .... Agrippina's maid (credited as "Amelia Pellegrini")
- Moglie e buoi... .... Bevilacqua's maid (credited)
1957 - A vent'anni è sempre festa .... role? (poster credit)
- La nonna Sabella .... Donna Valentina (uncredited)
- Totò, Vittorio e la dottoressa .... Hospital sister (uncredited)
1958 - Amore e chiacchiere .... Old woman requesting pension (uncredited)
- Ballerina e buon Dio .... Grandmother (uncredited)
1959 - The Nun's Story .... Nun (uncredited)
- Amicizia (1938) - Wikipedia as Curious peasant woman
- L'orologio a cucù (1938) - ANICA
- Il carnevale di Venezia (1939) - ANICA .... Curious old woman in the window
- Il ladro (1939) - ANICA .... Old woman with umbrella
- Un mare di guai (1939) - ANICA .... Procuress
- La canzone rubata (1940) - ANICA
- Rosa di sangue (1940) - ANICA .... Mamita
- Il signore a doppio petto (1941) - ANICA
- I due Foscari (1942) - ANICA .... Old woman in hotel
- Il ponte sull'infinito (1942) - Cinematografo.it .... Boarding house landlady
- Labbra serrate (1942) - ANICA .... D'Anzi's maid
- Dente per dente (1943) - ANICA
- Gelosia (1943) - ANICA .... Friend of the marchese of Roccaverdina
- I dieci comandimenti (1945) - ANICA
- La storia di una capinera (1945) - ANICA
- Canto, ma sottovoce... (1946) - ANICA .... Old refugee
- Le vie del peccato (1946) ANICA .... Pinna's maid
- Sperduti nel buio (1947) - ANICA .... Assunta, the maid
- Santo disonore (1950) - ANICA .... Commoner at the trial
- Carcerato (1951) - ANICA
- Sentiero dell'odio (1951) - ANICA .... Angela, the grandmother
- Il romanzo di un giovane povero (1958) - ANICA .... Countess Giovanna
- Harlem (1943) - Listed at Cinematografo.it and IMDb with no role given. I couldn't find anyone that look like her.
- Graziella (1954) - Listed by ANICA with no role given. IMDb and Wikipedia list her with playing a noblewoman, but I couldn't find her anywhere. The print I watched was very bad, though, so I might possibly have missed her.
- L'ultimo amante (1955) - Listed at IMDb as playing an old guest at the institute, but she doesn't play this role and doesn't appear anywhere else either. It's possible that someone has confused her with the somewhat similarly named Amelia Perrella.