Clara Calamai (7 September 1909 – 21 September 1998) was an Italian film actress.
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Career
Calamai was born in Prato, in the region of Tuscany, on 7 September 1909.
Calamai's first acting role was in the 1938 war film Pietro Micca, directed by Aldo Vergano.
In Alessandro Blasetti's The Jester's Supper (1942), Calamai briefly appeared topless in a scene. The scene is commonly credited with being the first time that an actress had appeared topless in an Italian sound film, although Vittoria Carpi showed a bare breast for a moment in the 1941 film La corona di ferro (The Iron Crown), which was also directed by Blasetti. Calamai stated in a later interview that the original script did not have the character revealing herself this way and did not want to do the scene, but felt compelled by the director to do it and gave in when she was promised a closed set.
Her most remembered role was in the film Luchino Visconti's Ossessione (1943), in which she played Giovanna, the ill-fated female protagonist.
Calamai was offered the lead role in L'adultera (The Adulteress, 1946, directed by Duilio Coletti), after Anna Magnani, originally cast in the part, "was visibly five months' pregnant when she arrived on the set." Calamai was awarded the Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) in 1946 for best actress for her performance in the film.
