Anielka's Altar of Love (unpublished autobiography), 1925 with Her Letter to Producer Jimmy Starr (October 29, 1929) by Elter, Anielka, 1901-1958

Quarto. While this manuscript is unpublished, Jimmy Starr secured a copyright in 1925. Anielka's 58 page typed autobiography is on her career before her films for Sacha Kolowrat in Austria when Elinor Glyn chose her to play the Bolshevik girl in The Only Thing (1925) and in the same year was in The Merry Widow with John Gilbert, Mae Murray and Ully Marshall in The Merry Widow directed by Erich Von Stoheim. Her story was transcribed using her broken English in the offices of Hollywood producer, actor and gossip columnist, Jimmy Starr. It describes her early history in Czechoslovakia, and Poland as World War I approached. She married a young soldier who was inducted into the Austrian army. In her visit to the Italian front, the 1915 movie Trilby which starred Clara Kimball Young played continuously for over a month at Montebello (she said they watched it so many times they were able to memorize the sub-titles). As often happens in war, she found herself alone and dressed disguised as a young boy and remained undetected. After the war's end and facing near starvation, she was offered a role in a film by the Hungarian Director Michael Curtiz (spelled here as Kartess). Then, Frederick Zelnick offered her a role in a short "The Hell of Virgins" [1919]. There is much on the silent era in Europe. The typed letter signed thanks Jimmy Starr for being so nice to her. She then notes that most of her pictures were currently in Europe though the techniques of filmmaking were far behind that in America. Signed by her and giving her Torino, Italy address. Housed within a brown folder.