Tamara Ä orÄ'ević (born Italina Lida Kravanja, 7 July 1907 â€" 10 May
1979), known professionally as Ita Rina, was a Slovenian film actress
and beauty queen. She was one of the major film stars in Germany and
Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s and the early 1930s. Rina retired
from her career shortly after her wedding in 1931, when she changed
her religion from Roman Catholic to Serbian Orthodox and her name to
Tamara Ä orÄ'ević.Ita Rina was born on 7 July 1907 in the small town
of DivaÄ a (then Austro-Hungarian Empire, later Yugoslavia, now
Slovenia) as Italina Lida Kravanja. She was called Ida Kravanja for
short. The first daughter of Jožef and Marija Kravanja, Rina had a
younger sister Danica. Shortly after the outbreak of the World War I,
the family moved to Ljubljana, where Rina matriculated in 1923. She
was not a good student; she repeated the third grade of elementary
school. However, her dream was to be an actress.In October 1926,
Slovenski narod (Slovenian People) magazine organized a beauty
pageant, and Rina entered the competition. She was crowned Miss
Slovenia and was to travel to the final event for Miss Yugoslavia,
which was supposed to be held on 20 December 1926 in Zagreb. However,
her mother did not want to let her go to Zagreb. After a group visit
from the Slovenian delegation, Marija Kravanja relented.
Unfortunately, when Rina arrived in Zagreb, the jury was already
choosing the most beautiful of three finalists. She was, however,
noticed by Adolf Müller, the owner of Balkan Palace cinema in Zagreb.
He immediately sent her photographs to German film producer Peter
Ostermayer. As her mother did not want to let her go to Berlin, Rina
ran away from home.Rina arrived in Berlin in 1927. Shortly after she
had her first audition, following which she had classes in acting,
diction, dancing, driving and riding. She made her debut in the 1927
film What Do Children Hide from Their Parents, directed by Franz
Osten. After several small film roles in 1927 and 1928, the critics
finally noticed her in the 1928 film The Last Supper. The same year,
Rina met her future husband Miodrag Ä orÄ'ević, a student. Her big
breakthrough came the following year, in the film Erotikon, directed
by Gustav Machatý. She starred in the leading female role, Andrea.
The great success of the film upset some moral and Christian
organizations. The Catholic Abbot Battleme, wrote: "... First, they
lie next to each other, and then one to another ... It is true that
the cover hides their figures, but it certainly does not hide their
movements... The protagonists are shown in particularly long shots,
especially Ita... A viewer can recognize her excitement, then her
expression of anxiety mixed with longing, then the pain and at the
end... I blush while describing the scenes". This was, however, the
best advertisement for the film, and the beginning of Rina's career.
1979), known professionally as Ita Rina, was a Slovenian film actress
and beauty queen. She was one of the major film stars in Germany and
Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s and the early 1930s. Rina retired
from her career shortly after her wedding in 1931, when she changed
her religion from Roman Catholic to Serbian Orthodox and her name to
Tamara Ä orÄ'ević.Ita Rina was born on 7 July 1907 in the small town
of DivaÄ a (then Austro-Hungarian Empire, later Yugoslavia, now
Slovenia) as Italina Lida Kravanja. She was called Ida Kravanja for
short. The first daughter of Jožef and Marija Kravanja, Rina had a
younger sister Danica. Shortly after the outbreak of the World War I,
the family moved to Ljubljana, where Rina matriculated in 1923. She
was not a good student; she repeated the third grade of elementary
school. However, her dream was to be an actress.In October 1926,
Slovenski narod (Slovenian People) magazine organized a beauty
pageant, and Rina entered the competition. She was crowned Miss
Slovenia and was to travel to the final event for Miss Yugoslavia,
which was supposed to be held on 20 December 1926 in Zagreb. However,
her mother did not want to let her go to Zagreb. After a group visit
from the Slovenian delegation, Marija Kravanja relented.
Unfortunately, when Rina arrived in Zagreb, the jury was already
choosing the most beautiful of three finalists. She was, however,
noticed by Adolf Müller, the owner of Balkan Palace cinema in Zagreb.
He immediately sent her photographs to German film producer Peter
Ostermayer. As her mother did not want to let her go to Berlin, Rina
ran away from home.Rina arrived in Berlin in 1927. Shortly after she
had her first audition, following which she had classes in acting,
diction, dancing, driving and riding. She made her debut in the 1927
film What Do Children Hide from Their Parents, directed by Franz
Osten. After several small film roles in 1927 and 1928, the critics
finally noticed her in the 1928 film The Last Supper. The same year,
Rina met her future husband Miodrag Ä orÄ'ević, a student. Her big
breakthrough came the following year, in the film Erotikon, directed
by Gustav Machatý. She starred in the leading female role, Andrea.
The great success of the film upset some moral and Christian
organizations. The Catholic Abbot Battleme, wrote: "... First, they
lie next to each other, and then one to another ... It is true that
the cover hides their figures, but it certainly does not hide their
movements... The protagonists are shown in particularly long shots,
especially Ita... A viewer can recognize her excitement, then her
expression of anxiety mixed with longing, then the pain and at the
end... I blush while describing the scenes". This was, however, the
best advertisement for the film, and the beginning of Rina's career.
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