Luisa Ferida, real surname Manfrini, was an Italian stage and film actress. She was one of divas in Italian cinema during decade 1935–1945 and she was the highest paid movie star of that period. The actress was famous as a films diva and she is remembered for her tragic death; in fact during the period of anti-fascist vendettas, immediately after Italian Civil War, she was assassinated, as was later proved by the Milan Court of Appeal, by shooting following a summary trial carried out by some partisans: she was shot with her lover, the actor and member of Decima Flottiglia MAS Osvaldo Valenti, as accused of alleged and hypothetical participation in war crimes and torture in connection with so-called Koch gang, facts of which she was then deemed innocent after the war. Therefore a war pension was allocated to the mother, who had no other source of income.
The Iron Crown is a 1941 Italian adventure film written and directed by Alessandro Blasetti, starring Massimo Girotti and Gino Cervi. The narrative revolves a sacred iron crown and a king who is prophesied to lose his kingdom to his nephew. It blends motifs from several European myths, legends and modern works of popular fiction. The film won a Coppa Mussolini award, which is the ancestor to the Golden Lion.
Amedeo Nazzari was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. Although he emerged as a star during the Fascist era, Nazzari's popularity continued well into the post-war years.
Wild Blood is an Italian biographical drama film directed in 2008 by Marco Tullio Giordana.
Osvaldo Valenti was an Italian film actor. Valenti starred in several successful Italian movies of the late 1930s and early 1940s, such as the famous The Iron Crown and The Jester's Supper. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1928 and 1945. He and his lover, Luisa Ferida, were executed by partisans in Milan, Italy, due to their links with Fascism. Their story was portrayed in the 2008 film Wild Blood.
The Captain's Daughter is a 1947 Italian historical adventure film directed by Mario Camerini and starring Irasema Dilián, Amedeo Nazzari and Vittorio Gassman. It was one of a number of ambitious historical epics made in the wake of the successful 1946 film The Black Eagle. The film's sets were designed by the art director Piero Filippone. It was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. It is based on the 1836 novel of the same name by Alexander Pushkin, which is set in Russia during the reign of Catherine II. It takes place during the Cossack Rebellion.
Nobody's Children is a 1951 French-Italian melodrama film directed by Raffaello Matarazzo and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Yvonne Sanson and Françoise Rosay. It is one of a series of melodramas co-starring Nazzari and Sanson, which were very popular at the box office. The owner of a marble quarry falls in love with the daughter with one of his employees, and they have a baby together. However his mother attempts to sabotage the relationship with tragic consequences.
Who is Without Sin is a 1952 Italian melodrama film by Raffaello Matarazzo and starring Yvonne Sanson, Amedeo Nazzari and Françoise Rosay. It is an adaptation of the novel Geneviève by Alphonse de Lamartine. It was part of a series of romantic melodramas that Nazzari and Sanson appeared in during the 1950s.
Catene is a 1949 Italian melodrama film directed by Raffaello Matarazzo. It had an impressive commercial success, being seen by 6 million people, one in eight Italians of the time, and was followed by a series of six other successful films directed by Matarazzo and featuring the couple Amedeo Nazzari and Yvonne Sanson. The film was remade in 1974.
The Castiglioni Brothers is a 1937 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Corrado D'Errico and starring Camillo Pilotto, Ugo Ceseri and Amedeo Nazzari. It was based on a play of the same title by Alberto Colantuoni. The film's sets were designed by the art director Guido Fiorini.
The Jester's Supper is a 1942 Italian historical film directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Osvaldo Valenti and Clara Calamai. It was based on a play of the same title by Sem Benelli, which had later been turned into an opera by Umberto Giordano. Like the play, the film is set in the 15th century Florence of Lorenzo the Magnificent and portrays a rivalry that leads to a series of increasingly violent practical jokes.
The Innkeeper is a 1944 Italian historical comedy film directed by Luigi Chiarini and starring Luisa Ferida, Armando Falconi and Osvaldo Valenti. The film is an adaptation of Carlo Goldoni's 1753 play The Mistress of the Inn, one of a number of times the work has been turned into films. It belongs to the movies of the calligrafismo style.
Knights of the Desert is a 1942 Italian adventure film directed by Gino Talamo and Osvaldo Valenti. It starred Valenti, Luisa Ferida and Luigi Pavese. The film was based on a novel by Emilio Salgari with a screenplay by Federico Fellini and Vittorio Mussolini, the son of Italy's dictator Benito Mussolini. It was produced by the Rome-based ACI which was run by Vittorio Mussolini. Valenti and Ferida were romantically linked, and co-starred in several films together.
The Count of Brechard is a 1938 Italian historical drama film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Luisa Ferida, and Ugo Ceseri. It was adapted from the Giovacchino Forzano play. The film's sets were designed by the art director Virgilio Marchi.
The Last Dance is a 1941 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque and starring Elsa Merlini, Amedeo Nazzari and Renato Cialente. It is considered to be in the tradition of White Telephone films, popular during the Fascist era. It is based on a play by the Hungarian writer Ferenc Herczeg and features Merlini in a dual role as mother and daughter.
The Night of Tricks is a 1939 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Carlo Campogalliani and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Dria Paola and Maurizio D'Ancora.
Beyond Love is a 1940 Italian historical drama film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Alida Valli, Amedeo Nazzari and Osvaldo Valenti. It is based on the 1829 novella Vanina Vanini by Stendhal.
Fedora is a 1942 Italian historical drama film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque and starring Luisa Ferida, Amedeo Nazzari and Osvaldo Valenti. It is based on the 1882 play of the same title by Victorien Sardou.
Harlem is a 1943 Italian sports crime film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Massimo Girotti, Amedeo Nazzari and Vivi Gioi. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Guido Fiorini. The former world heavyweight champion Primo Carnera appears in a small role. It is also known by the alternative title of Knock Out.
Tomb of the Angels is a 1937 Italian drama film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Luisa Ferida, and Antonio Gradoli. Roberto Rossellini co-wrote the screenplay and served as assistant director. It was shot on location in the Apuan Alps in Liguria, and is set amidst the marble quarries of the area. It marked an early attempt at realism in Italian cinema, anticipating neorealism of the postwar era. It is similar in style to Walter Ruttmann's Steel of 1933, in it celebrated Italy's industrial strength in line with the propaganda of the Mussolini regime.
