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Annie Bos | |
|---|---|
 Bos in the film Majoor Frans (1916) | |
| Born | Johanna Bos 10 December 1886 |
| Died | 3 August 1975 (aged 88) Leiden, Netherlands |
| Years active | 1913–1924 |
| Spouse(s) | Cornelis Loeff (1926-?) |
Johanna "Annie" Bos (10 December 1886 – 3 August 1975) was a Dutch theater and silent film actress, known as Holland's first movie star and diva.
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound. In silent films for entertainment, the plot may be conveyed by the use of title cards, written indications of the plot and key dialogue lines. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, the introduction of synchronized dialogue became practical only in the late 1920s with the perfection of the Audion amplifier tube and the advent of the Vitaphone system. The term "silent film" is a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent-film era that existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a pianist, theater organist—or even, in large cities, a small orchestra—would often play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the intertitle cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the video did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experience.
Bos started her acting career in Antwerp, but soon returned to the Netherlands and made her theater debut in 1909. She played mostly bit parts, until she was discovered by movie director Maurits Binger. Binger had just opened his movie studio Hollandia and contracted Bos as the leading lady of the movies. She made her first film appearance in the film De Levende Ladder. Over the next years, she became a well recognized actress, being nicknamed "the Dutch Asta Nielsen".
Antwerp is a city in Belgium, and is the capital of Antwerp province in Flanders. With a population of 520,504, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium, and with 1,200,000 the second largest metropolitan region after Brussels.
A bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television.
Maurits Binger was a Dutch film director, producer and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed 39 films between 1913 and 1922 and is considered one of the pioneers of fictional films in the Netherlands. Binger's studio and base of operations was in Haarlem, North Holland. Between 1919 and 1923 he was managing director of Anglo-Hollandia an attempt to break into the larger British market. There is a film institute in the Netherlands in his name. He is sometimes referred to as Maurice Binger.
In 1916, Bos starred in Majoor Frans (1916) and became Holland's first star. She got opportunities to choose her own film roles and attempted to prove her acting skills by playing roles with opposite characters. However, when Hollandia neared bankruptcy in 1920, the studio was renewed and the new movie directors fired Bos, saying she was too old. Bos was offered a contract in the United States, where she was known for her role in the Dutch film Een Carmen van het Noorden (1919), which was released internationally. She arrived in New York City in 1921, where she discovered the studio she was contracted to, didn't exist anymore.
Bos stayed in the United States, attempting to get a film contract, but had no success. After playing a small role opposite Pearl White in the American film Without Fear (1922), she travelled to Germany, but didn't have any luck there either. In 1924, she moved back to the Netherlands, where an old friend gave her the lead in Mooi Juultje van Volendam (1924). The film flopped and was removed from cinemas after one week. Bos felt she didn't belong in the new film industry anymore and returned to theater. She acted in the play Madame DuBarry, which got critical claim.
Pearl Fay White was an American stage and film actress. White began her career on the stage at the age of six, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serials.
Bos finally retired in 1925, to marry Cornelis Loeff. She was soon forgotten by the public. Her death in 1975 reached only one newspaper. Actress Willeke van Ammelrooy portrayed her in a play in 2006.
Willy Geertje van Ammelrooij, known as Willeke van Ammelrooy, is a Dutch actress and director.
