Tina Lattanzi Movies
Italian actress Tina Lattanzi has appeared on stage and screen, but made her greatest impact in her country as a dubbing artist who gave voice to such stars as Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, and Barbara Stanwyck in the Italian versions of their films. She initially established her acting reputation on-stage during the 1920s and made her film debut in Rubacuori (1931). Lattanzi most often played well-born, sophisticated women. Even after films became her career's main focus, Lattanzi never completely gave up the stage and appeared in both Italy and in South American tours. Lattanzi died at the age of 99 in her home in Milan. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1976
In this Italian mystery, a detective journeys into the rarified world of the idle rich to look into a puzzling murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
- 1968
One of two thrillers starring Carroll Baker and directed by Umberto Lenzi, this one was released in the United States as Paranoia, the original title of the second one. Katherine West (Baker) is a wealthy alcoholic who travels to her late husband's Italian villa from New York. Soon, a slimy conman named Peter (Lou Castel) and his girlfriend Eva (Colette Descombes) move in on Katherine, taking advantage of her confused state with sex, drugs, and blackmail. One scene has the hapless Katherine served a toad for dinner, and there are some interesting moments, but this is clearly the lesser of the two films. The annoying score was composed by Piero Umiliani. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carroll Baker, Lou Castel, (more)
- 1961
According to the Greeks, the Minotaur was a legendary half-man, half-bull who lived on Crete and demanded the sacrifice of humans, according to the scripters of this typical Italian costume drama, the real story is about twin sisters (both played by Rosanna Schiaffino), one evil and one pure-hearted. This story has the Minotaur as a secondary figure, all bull, who stands up on his hind legs to indicate his god-like status. The real hero is Theseus (Bob Mathias) who ultimately kills the Minotaur (for the Greeks, too) because he has fallen in love with the good sister and has to save her from being sacrificed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Mathias, Rosanna Schiaffino, (more)
- 1959
In this frothy romantic outing, a brainy gal from Texas heads for Italy after winning a television quiz show. There she encounters a down-on-his-luck Italian prince who pursues her because she looks wealthy (she isn't). Of course, she doesn't realize that he his also broke and merry mix-ups ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1953
Le Infedeli is graced by two internationally popular leading ladies: Italy's Gina Lollobrigida and Sweden's Mai Britt. The two actresses are but small portions of a larger plot mosaic, all about keeping up appearances no matter what the provocation. A group of "respectable" people are all partly responsible for the suicide of a servant girl. They are pounced upon by a wily blackmailer (Pierre Cressoy), who knows that these people will pay dearly rather than inform on themselves or others. The villain's comeuppance may seem a bit extreme, but it's undeniably satisfying. This Carlo Ponti-Dino DeLaurentiis production also features Irene Papas and Marina Vlady. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, May Britt, (more)
- 1953
The time is 1860: the place, northern Italy. The hero (Massimo Serato) is a young nobleman by day, a masked bandit by night. He uses his ill-gotten gains to finance a revolution against the government (these were turbulent times in Italy's history). In addition, he is between two lovers: Laura di Cassano (Tina Lattanzi), who knows him only as the Count of St. Elmo, and Bianca Barbieri (Nelly Corradi), who knows him only as the bold-and-dashing bandit. Good performances and a particularly well-paced climax compensate for the film's occasional dead spots. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nelly Corradi, Massimo Serato, (more)
- 1951
Silvana Mangano portrays a fickle club chanteuse who must choose between the love of two men (Raf Vallone and Vittorio Gassman). She chooses neither, entering a convent for the sake of convenience. This overwrought drama was produced by Dino de Laurentiis, and reworked by five screenwriters including such respected names as Dino Risi and Franco Brusati, but comes up as a soggy soap-opera rather than an imposing star-vehicle. Nino Rota's fine score and the always watchable Mangano are its only saving graces. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, (more)
- 1949
This Italian musical drama was released to selected English-speaking theatres as The Holy Nun. The title character is played -- or, rather, sung -- by Eva Nova. Set in Naples, the film concerns a nun who can't quite get over the romantic entanglements of her previous life. Prominent in the cast is Cesare Danova, who went on to a substantial Hollywood career. Inexpensively filmed, Monaca Santa delivers full entertainment value within its modest limits. The music, which when all is said and done is this film's reason for being, was written by Ezio Carabella and Antonio Valli. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cesare Danova, Tina Lattanzi, (more)
- 1949
Set in the 19th century, Buried Alive is placed in context with the struggles of Italian patriot Garibaldi to bring unity and equality to his land. The hero is Giorgio (Piero Palermini), a pro-Garibaldi activist. The villain, Federico (Paul Muller), is not only a despot, but an ungrateful son: he murders his stepmother and throws his stepsister into a dungeon (hence the film's English-language title). Will justice prevail? The film served as an important stepping-stone to stardom for Milly Vitale, cast as the woebegone prisoner. Buried Alive didn't make much of an impression when it was distributed theatrically in the U.S., though it did show up with great frequency on television in the 1950s and 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Milly Vitale, Paul Muller, (more)
- 1938
Il Conte di Brechard was adapted by director Mario Bonnard from the popular play by Gioacchino Forzano. It all begins in the days before the French Revolution, when the titular count (Amedeo Nazzari) expels his servant Perault (Ugo Ceseri) from his estate. But after the Reign of Terror, positions are reversed and Perault returns triumphantly as the Count's master. Revelling in his newfound authority, Perault orders his own daughter Maria (Louisa Ferida) to marry the Count. The plan is to have Maria denounce her new husband, giving Perault an excuse to arrest his former employer and assume total control of the estate. The ex-servant's plans are thwarted when Maria falls genuinely in love with the likable aristocrat. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Amedeo Nazzari, Luisa Ferida, (more)
- 1938
Nerio Bernardi plays the title character in the stagebound Italian historical drama Giacomo Casanova. Apparently the son of legendary lover Casanova, Giacomo tries to emulate his father's sexual shenanigans. Instead he gets involved in robbery and murder, of which he is wholly innocent. Playing detective on his own, Giacomo exposes the actual culprit, thereby winning a place of honor in Italian high society. He makes up for lost time by romancing everything in skirts, from an innkeeper's daughter to a very married Duchess. Though tame by today's standards, Giacomo Casanova ran into considerable censorship trouble when released in the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leda Gloria, Tina Lattanzi, (more)
- 1937
Love and Money is the English-language title of this 1936 effort from the incredibly prolific Italian filmmaker Guido Brignone. Adapted from a stage fantasy by Luigi and Ivo Perilli, the film is set in 4th-century Florence. Heroine Ginerva (Elsa Merlini) is sold into marriage by her father, who hopes to exchange his daughter for a title and property. It isn't long before true love enters Ginerva's life, scotching her father's plans. Through faith in each other and the Almighty, hero and heroine prevail, while the villains are foiled by their own avarice and superstitions. Dinero ed Amore was released in Italy the same week as director Brignone's Loyalty of Love. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elsa Merlini, Tina Lattanzi, (more)
- 1932
German actress Mary Kid was the star of the Italian Rubacuori (Heart Stealer). The story concerns a prizefighter, played by Egon Stief, and his neglected wife, portrayed by Kid. The "heart stealer" of the title, enacted by Armando Falconi, comes between husband and wife. The story would seem to be pedestrian, but the critics were quite taken by the higher-than-usual production values and the three-dimensional performances. Dino Falconi, son of the film's star, collaborated on the screenplay with Gino Rocca, then the president of Italy's Artists' and Authors' Association. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1931
La Straniera (The Stranger) is a modernized adaptation of a novel by Alexandre Dumas. After promising to marry a wealthy American, a mysterious woman draws all of her money out of their bank account and abruptly disappears. The only clue the American has to the woman's whereabouts is a cryptic phone call, in which she states that she has "obtained justice from several people." What she means is that she has been busy exacting revenge against the entire male population, through means ranging from infidelity to murder. And why? Because her own mother was seduced and abandoned by a no-good philanderer years earlier. A French-language version of La Straniera was filmed simultaneously with the Italian version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
