Under the Southern Cross | |
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Directed by | Guido Brignone |
Written by | Luigi Chiarelli Arrigo Colombo Jacopo Comin Marisa Romano |
Produced by | Giorgio Carini |
Starring | Antonio Centa Doris Duranti Enrico Glori Giovanni Grasso |
Cinematography | Arturo Gallea Aldo Tonti |
Edited by | Giuseppe Fatigati |
Music by | Renzo Rossellini |
Production company | Mediterranea Film |
Distributed by | CINF |
Release date |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian |
Under the Southern Cross (Italian: Sotto la croce del sud) is a 1938 Italian drama film directed by Guido Brignone and starring Antonio Centa, Doris Duranti and Enrico Glori. [1] The film is set in Italian-occupied Abyssinia following the recent Italian victory there. [2] It was one of a sequence of eight films set in Italy's African Empire during the Fascist era that were released between 1936 and 1939. [3] The film is a propaganda piece designed to support Fascist policy on empire and concerns about inter-racial romances.
It was shot at the Tirrenia Studios in Tuscany and on location in the Galla Territory of Italian Ethiopia.
Marco the owner of a coffee plantation in Abyssinia, is trying to play his part in building the new Italian Empire. He becomes concerned however that his Italian staff, in the absence of their wives and families, are becoming overly attracted to native woman. His junior partner Paolo has to resist the allures of Mailù, an attractive young Middle Eastern woman.
Doris Duranti was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 43 films between 1935 and 1975. She had a years-long affair with Alessandro Pavolini, a Fascist politician who in 1945 was executed by Italian partisans; his body was then hung with that of Benito Mussolini.
At Sword's Edge is a 1952 Italian swashbuckler film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and starring Frank Latimore, Milly Vitale and Pierre Cressoy. It was shot at Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Mario Chiari and Gianni Polidori.
Sun is a 1929 Italian silent drama film directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Marcello Spada, Vasco Creti and Dria Paola. The film was set around the planned draining of the Pontine Marshes by Benito Mussolini's Fascist government. It was shot partly on location, which added a sense of realism. Mussolini was impressed by the result and described it as "the dawn of the Fascist film".
Dria Paola (1909–1993) was an Italian stage and film actress. She played the female lead in Alessandro Blasetti's late silent Sun (1929). In 1930 she starred in the first Italian sound film The Song of Love.
The Vow is a 1950 Italian melodrama film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Doris Duranti, Giorgio De Lullo and Maria Grazia Francia. It is based on a play of the same title by Salvatore Di Giacomo. Future star Sophia Loren played a small, uncredited role. It was shot at the Scalera Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Piero Filippone.
The Great Appeal is a 1936 Italian war film directed by Mario Camerini and starring Camillo Pilotto, Roberto Villa and Lina d'Acosta. It is sometimes known by the alternative title The Last Roll-Call.
Sentinels of Bronze is a 1937 Italian war film directed by Romolo Marcellini and starring Fosco Giachetti, Giovanni Grasso and Doris Duranti.
Alfredo Varelli was an Italian film actor whose career spanned more than six decades. Varelli was born Alfredo Ciavarella and debuted in Alessandro Blasetti's 1934 film Vecchia guardia. He emerged during the Fascist era, but most of his work was post-Second World War. He played a leading role in the 1942 historical drama The Jester's Supper. Varelli is also known for playing "Lucan" in Quo Vadis (1951). His last role was in the film Roseanna's Grave, released posthumously in 1997.
The Daughter of the Green Pirate is a 1940 Italian adventure film directed by Enrico Guazzoni and starring Doris Duranti, Fosco Giachetti and Camillo Pilotto. It was shot partly at the Pisorno Studios in Tirrenia with sets designed by the art director Piero Filippone. The film was based on a novel by Emilio Salgari.
Mother Earth is a 1931 Italian drama film directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Leda Gloria, Sandro Salvini and Isa Pola. It was made at the Cines Studios in Rome. Along with Blasetti's other early films, it shows a strong influence of Soviet-style realism. A country landowner decides to sell up and move to the city, but later has a change of heart. It was part of Fascist Italy's promotion of rural over urban values.
Kif Tebbi is a 1928 Italian silent war film directed by Mario Camerini. The film portrays the Italo-Turkish War. A young Italian-educated Libyan nobleman is summoned to fight for the Ottoman Empire when war breaks out in 1911, but eventually decides to change sides and support Italy.
The Cavalier from Kruja is a 1940 Italian war film directed by Carlo Campogalliani and starring Doris Duranti, Antonio Centa and Leda Gloria. The film portrays the 1939 Italian invasion of Albania. It was made as a propaganda work in support of the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.
The Fornaretto of Venice is a 1939 Italian historical drama film directed by Duilio Coletti and starring Roberto Villa, Elsa De Giorgi and Clara Calamai. It is an adaptation of the 1846 play of the same title by Francesco Dall'Ongaro, which has been adapted into films on several occasions. It was made at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome.
Tortured Soul is a 1919 Italian silent film directed by Mario Caserini and starring Maria Jacobini, Andrea Habay and Alberto Collo. Alessandro Blasetti, a leading Italian director of the Fascist era, had his first contact with filmmaking by appearing as an extra.
The Peddler and the Lady is a 1943 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Aldo Fabrizi, Caterina Boratto and Anna Magnani.
The Ungrateful Heart is a 1951 Italian melodrama film directed by Guido Brignone and starring Carla Del Poggio, Frank Latimore and Gabriele Ferzetti. It takes its name from the Neapolitan song "Core 'ngrato". It was released in West Germany in 1953.
White Amazons is a 1936 Italian white telephone comedy film directed by Gennaro Righelli and starring Paola Barbara, Luisa Ferida and Doris Duranti. Screwball in style, it is part of the tradition of schoolgirl comedies of the Fascist era.
Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche (ENIC) was an Italian film production and distribution entity that operated between 1935 and 1956.