Former French actress Cathia Caro (1943) was a young, delicate beauty. At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, she starred in French and especially Italian films, opposite such stars as Totò, Peppino De Filippo and Aldo Fabrizi.
![Cathia Caro]()
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 735. Photo: Lucienne Chevert.
Cathia Caro was born in Rouen, France, in 1943. Caro first appeared on the big screen in the title role of the film Isabelle a peur des homes/Isabelle Is Afraid of Men (Jean Gourguet, 1957). At the time she was only 14 years old.
She then played the daughter of Arletty and the girlfriend of Jean-Paul Belmondo in the comedy Un drôle de dimanche/What a Sunday (Marc Allégret, 1958). Mario Gauci at IMDb: “A pleasant enough effort, then, if strictly minor (and, ultimately, pretty forgettable) fare.”
In the following years she was particularly active in Italy. She played in well known films such as the comedy Arrangiatevi!/You're on Your Own (Mauro Bolognini, 1959) with Peppino De Filippo, Estate violent/Violent Summer (Valerio Zurlini, 1959) with Eleonora Rossi Drago, and especially the entertaining satire Tartassati/The Over-taxed (Steno, 1959) with Totò and Aldo Fabrizi.
![Cathia Caro]()
French postcard by Editions P.I, Paris, no. 938, offered by "Les Carbones Korès Çarboplane". Photo: Lucienne Chevert.
![Cathia Caro]()
French postcard by Editions P.I, Paris, no. 916, offered by "Les Carbones Korès Çarboplane". Photo: Bernard & Vauclair.
In 1959 Cathia Caro made headlines when she attempted suicide. She had a troubled relationship with the boxer Tiberio Mitri.
At the beginning of the 1960s, her career had a boost with the peplum I giganti della Tessaglia/The Giants of Thessaly (Riccardo Freda, 1960). Mario Gauci at IMDb: “Riccardo Freda's involvement here ensures that this is one of the better peplums, even if the result is rather static and hokey overall.”
That year she also co-starred with Peppino De Filippo and Ugo Tognazzi in Genitori in blue-jeans/Parents in blue jeans (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1960).
In the following year she made her final film, the mediocre peplum Il trionfo di Maciste/Triumph of Maciste (Tanio Boccia, 1961) with bodybuilder Kirk Morris. She was only 18 when she retired from the film industry.
![Maurizio Arena and Cathia Caro]()
Italian postcard for Piaggio by Ed. Pontedera. Maurizio Arena and Cathia Caro on a scooter, c. 1960. Caro and Rena played together in e.g. Simpatico mascalzone/Likeable rascal (Mario Amendola, 1959), and Il principe fusto/The Stem Prince (1960), directed by Arena himself.
Tomorrow, twelve more postcards with stars on a Vespa in EFSP's Dazzling Dozen.
Sources: Geoffroy Caillet (Les Gens du Cinéma – French), Mario Gauci (IMDb), AllMovie, Wikipedia (Italian and French) and IMDb.
French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 735. Photo: Lucienne Chevert.
Isabelle Is Afraid of Men
Cathia Caro was born in Rouen, France, in 1943. Caro first appeared on the big screen in the title role of the film Isabelle a peur des homes/Isabelle Is Afraid of Men (Jean Gourguet, 1957). At the time she was only 14 years old.
She then played the daughter of Arletty and the girlfriend of Jean-Paul Belmondo in the comedy Un drôle de dimanche/What a Sunday (Marc Allégret, 1958). Mario Gauci at IMDb: “A pleasant enough effort, then, if strictly minor (and, ultimately, pretty forgettable) fare.”
In the following years she was particularly active in Italy. She played in well known films such as the comedy Arrangiatevi!/You're on Your Own (Mauro Bolognini, 1959) with Peppino De Filippo, Estate violent/Violent Summer (Valerio Zurlini, 1959) with Eleonora Rossi Drago, and especially the entertaining satire Tartassati/The Over-taxed (Steno, 1959) with Totò and Aldo Fabrizi.
French postcard by Editions P.I, Paris, no. 938, offered by "Les Carbones Korès Çarboplane". Photo: Lucienne Chevert.
French postcard by Editions P.I, Paris, no. 916, offered by "Les Carbones Korès Çarboplane". Photo: Bernard & Vauclair.
Static and Hokey
In 1959 Cathia Caro made headlines when she attempted suicide. She had a troubled relationship with the boxer Tiberio Mitri.
At the beginning of the 1960s, her career had a boost with the peplum I giganti della Tessaglia/The Giants of Thessaly (Riccardo Freda, 1960). Mario Gauci at IMDb: “Riccardo Freda's involvement here ensures that this is one of the better peplums, even if the result is rather static and hokey overall.”
That year she also co-starred with Peppino De Filippo and Ugo Tognazzi in Genitori in blue-jeans/Parents in blue jeans (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1960).
In the following year she made her final film, the mediocre peplum Il trionfo di Maciste/Triumph of Maciste (Tanio Boccia, 1961) with bodybuilder Kirk Morris. She was only 18 when she retired from the film industry.
Italian postcard for Piaggio by Ed. Pontedera. Maurizio Arena and Cathia Caro on a scooter, c. 1960. Caro and Rena played together in e.g. Simpatico mascalzone/Likeable rascal (Mario Amendola, 1959), and Il principe fusto/The Stem Prince (1960), directed by Arena himself.
Tomorrow, twelve more postcards with stars on a Vespa in EFSP's Dazzling Dozen.
Sources: Geoffroy Caillet (Les Gens du Cinéma – French), Mario Gauci (IMDb), AllMovie, Wikipedia (Italian and French) and IMDb.