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.
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.
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.
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.
L'angelo bianco is a 1955 Italian melodrama film directed by Raffaello Matarazzo. It is the sequel to Nobody's Children (1951). According to the author Louis Bayman, this couple of films "sealed director Raffaello Matarazzo's reputation as king of the Italian melodramatists".
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.
The Canal of the Angels is a 1934 Italian drama film directed by Francesco Pasinetti and starring Maurizio D'Ancora, Anna Ariani and Ugo Gracci. The film is shot in semi-documentary style. In a poor neighborhood of Venice, a young boy becomes aware of his mother's adultery.
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 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.
Mad Animals is a 1939 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and starring Totò, Luisa Ferida and Calisto Bertramo. It was made at the Titanus Studios in Rome.
When the Angels Sleep is a 1947 Spanish-Italian drama film directed by Ricardo Gascón and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Clara Calamai and Maria Eugénia. In Italian the film's title is Quando gli angeli dormono.
Melancholic Autumn is a 1958 Italian-Spanish melodrama film directed by Raffaello Matarazzo and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Yvonne Sanson and Mercedes Monterrey. It was part of a popular series of romantic dramas pairing Nazzari and Sanson. The film's sets were designed by the art director Sigfrido Burmann.
The Intruder is a 1956 Italian melodrama film written and directed by Raffaello Matarazzo and starring Amedeo Nazzari and Lea Padovani. It is loosely based on the stage drama La moglie del dottore by Silvio Zambaldi.
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.
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.
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.
Big Shoes is a 1940 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Dino Falconi and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Lilia Silvi and Elena Altieri. It is based on a play by Sándor Hunyady which had previously been turned into a 1939 Hungarian film Istvan Bors.
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.
