120 Matches Found

Rigoletto

This tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda. The opera's original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to the curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter had been seduced by the Duke with Rigoletto's encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda likewise falls in love with the Duke and eventually sacrifices her life to save him from the assassins hired by her father.

Rigoletto

5.0 1946
The Dream of Butterfly

Italian filmmaker Carmine Gallone was still in his "operetta" mode when he helmed 1938's Il Sogno di Butterfly (Dream of the Butterfly) Maria Cebotari plays opera diva Rosa Belloni, currently starring in a production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. The plot thickens when Rosa's backstage life begins to mirror the travails of the character she is portraying. The climax comes when Harry Peters (Fosco Giachetti), the American father of Rosa's illegitimate child, returns after four years with his new wife in tow, leading inexorably to a doleful ending both on- and offstage. Critics complained about the substandard photography in Il Sogno di Butterfly, but this might have been due to poor laboratory work.

The Dream of Butterfly

5.0 1939
The Jester's Supper

In Florence, at the time of Lorenzo de Medici, known also as Lorenzo the Magnificent, the aristocrat brothers Chiaramantesi rule with an iron fist the streets of the city. Ruthless and fierce, the two brothers have chosen as their special victim the innocent and harmless Giannetto. Even though determined to not react to the cruel pranks of the brothers, Giannetto is forced to take a stand when Ginevra, a beautiful girl that works in the Chiaramantesi household, is dragged into the game. To defend his honor and protect the girl, Giannetto works out a fiendish plot that will end in blood and madness.

The Jester's Supper

5.9 1942
Papà

An unknown Menichelli, a young and lively beauty, is desired by two stars of the Italian scene: Ruggero Ruggeri and Amleto Novelli. This breezy story based on an comedy unreleased in Italy at that time is built around Ruggeri, who plays the role of a playboy father who wants to turn into the family delights rejoining his son until then neglected. Novelli, a little uncomfortable in a role that would have required ten years less, is the good-hearted rustic son. Pina Menichelli, adorned with flowers, wanders about on her bicycle, between not only two men, but also two lifestyles. In this role, she shows off a naturalness that will surprise people who know her only for her decadent performances. Sometimes, though, a dark glimpse reveals the character of the actress, that will stand out in the imagination of the public.

Papà

5.9 1915
Mister Max

Vittorio De Sica, heir to a large sum of money and owner of a newspaper vending stall, makes enough money out of his business to take a vacation at a fashionable resort. He is given a cruise ticket by an aristocrat who is an old school friend, and is mistaken for the aristocrat when he uses a camera that has his friends name on it. Assia Noris plays a maid who falls in love with him because of who he is and not who others think he is. Happy ending comes when De Sica marries Noris, who is more real than the pampered society belles he has been partying with.

Mister Max

6.3 1937
I, His Father

An ex-boxer has trained his own son and leads him on to win the middle-weight championship of Italy. But the boy falls easy prey to a woman of light morals and renounces the hard work of sport to follow her to a winter luxury resort and at a certain moment, offers to marry her but she, not wanting to give up an advantageous connection, turns him down, advising the youth to not change the nature of their relationship. Then, the boy feeling the entire baseness of his situation, returns home to his parents who welcome him back with joy and takes up again a commitment to sport.

I, His Father

5.0 1939
Hanno rapito un uomo

A Russian grand duchess, in order to avoid a marriage imposed on her by her family, pretends to have fallen in love with a movie actor and tells her relatives that she has married him. When they arrive, they are able to meet the grand duchess's supposed husband, as she has forced the actor to play the thankless role. But from the pretense and the often awkward incidents it causes, a lively and genuine affection develops between the two protagonists. And the grotesque episode ends with a real wedding.

Hanno rapito un uomo

5.0 1938