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 Naked Maja is a 1958 Italian-American co-production made by S.G.C., Titanus, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists. This historical film recounting of the romance between the painter Francisco Goya and the Duchess of Alba was directed by Henry Koster, and produced by Silvio Clementelli and Goffredo Lombardo. The screenplay was by Norman Corwin, Giorgio Prosperi and Albert Lewin based on a story by Oscar Saul and Talbot Jennings. The music score was by Angelo Lavagnino and the cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno.
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.
The City Stands Trial is a 1952 Italian crime drama film directed by Luigi Zampa and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Silvana Pampanini and Paolo Stoppa. It is based on a revisiting of the Cuocolo murders and the struggle for control of Naples by the Camorra in the early 1900s. It is considered to be Zampa's most accomplished film. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome and on location in Naples. It was entered into the 3rd Berlin International Film Festival.
Mario Bonnard was an Italian actor and film director.
An Adventure of Salvator Rosa is a 1939 Italian historical adventure film directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Gino Cervi, Luisa Ferida and Rina Morelli. It is set in seventeenth century Naples, then occupied by Spain, where a famous artist celebrated for his paintings of the rich leads a double life as a secret defender of the poor and oppressed.
Ugo Ceseri was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in forty two films between 1931 and his death in 1940. In 1934 he appeared in the play 18 BL, an attempt to create a mass theatre by the Fascist government of Italy. The play was directed by Alessandro Blasetti and featured 2,000 amateur actors.
Unjustified Absence is a 1939 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Max Neufeld and starring Alida Valli, Amedeo Nazzari and Lilia Silvi. A girl leaves school to marry a doctor, but becomes annoyed by his constant absences and decides to secretly resume her studies.
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.
Ginevra degli Almieri is a 1935 Italian historical drama film directed by Guido Brignone, starring Elsa Merlini and Amedeo Nazzari. Merlini had spotted Nazzari during a stage play, and lobbied for his casting in his film debut. Nazzari went on to be a leading star of Italian cinema. It is set in Florence in the fifteenth century.
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.
Sleeping Beauty is a 1942 Italian drama film directed by Luigi Chiarini and starring Luisa Ferida, Amedeo Nazzari and Osvaldo Valenti. The film was screened at the 1942 Venice Film Festival. It is based on a 1919 play by Pier Maria Rosso di San Secondo. It belongs to the movies of the calligrafismo style.
The Two Sergeants is a 1936 Italian historical drama film directed by Enrico Guazzoni and starring Evi Maltagliati, Gino Cervi and Mino Doro. It was based on the play The Two Sergeants by Theodore d'Aubigny, which has been made into films several times. It is set in the Napoleonic Wars. The film marked the debut of Alida Valli who had until recently been a student of the Centro sperimentale di cinematografia. Valli went on to be a leading star of Italian cinema.
Torment is a 1950 Italian melodrama film directed by Raffaello Matarazzo and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Yvonne Sanson and Annibale Betrone. The film's sets were designed by Ottavio Scotti. It was part of a group of popular melodramas featuring Nazzari and Sanson that were released in the post-war years.
The Ten Commandments is a 1945 Italian drama film directed by Giorgio Walter Chili. It features an ensemble of Italian actors in episodes based on the Ten Commandments.
Scampolo is a 1941 Italian comedy film directed by Nunzio Malasomma and starring Lilia Silvi, Amedeo Nazzari and Carlo Romano. The story is based on a play by Dario Niccodemi which has been adapted for the screen a number of times.
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.
The Taming of the Shrew is a 1942 Italian comedy film directed by Ferdinando Maria Poggioli and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Lilia Silvi and Lauro Gazzolo. It is based on William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew, with the setting updated to modern-day Rome.
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.
