Guido Celano Movies

The Flying Saucer is an irreverent satire of the worldwide fascination in space travel in the early 1960s. Alberto Sordi plays four roles in this slight tale of an invasion from Mars. The Martians decide to kidnap several "typical" Earthlings to help them understand our curious planet. The subjects are maddening enough to send the Martians hurtling off the planet as fast as their fat little pods will carry them. Flying Saucer gets off to a good start with a phony newsreel, wherein several interviewees offer the most fatuous opinions ever put on film; the rest of the film isn't able to match this opening, but there are isolated belly laughs along the way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This 1962 Biblical epic was adapted by Christopher Fry from the novel by Pär Lagerkvist. Anthony Quinn stars as Barabbas, the thief who was pardoned in place of Jesus. For the rest of his life, the guilt-ridden criminal tries to justify his existence and to determine his place in the scheme of things. Along the way he encounters the self-righteous pomposity of Pontius Pilate (Arthur Kennedy), the stoning of Sara (Katy Jurado), the gladiatorial sadism of Torvald (Jack Palance), and the burning of Rome. The film's unbilled Christ is played by Roy Magnano, the brother of Quinn's second-billed costar Silvia Mangano. Watch for the genuine solar eclipse during the Crucifixion sequence, an effect that director Richard Fleischer spent several days preparing for. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A routine Italian costume drama released via Universal Studios, this story is set in Egypt during the usual ancient period. The clichéd tale stars Linda Cristal as Akis, a seductive woman whose attractions are more than enough to qualify her as a source of romantic rivalry. She is sought after by two princes, Sbaku (John Drew Barrymore) and Ramsis (Armando Francioli) who are sworn enemies, not boding well for a long and healthy life span. A remote contender in the romance sweepstakes is Amosi (Pierre Brice), a physician at the court who seems to be the long-shot, but then appearances can be deceiving. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Vittorio Gassman and Alberto Sordi don ill-fitting military uniforms in this anecdotal Italian service comedy. They play a couple of World War I soldiers, adept at sidestepping duty and responsibility, but courageous to the core when in a pinch. The film strives for the boisterous feel of What Price Glory, but at 118 minutes the material wears rather thin. Still, the reputation of director Mario Monicelli helped this uneven production win a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. Originally released in Italy in 1959 as La Grande Guerra, The Great War was distributed in the U.S. two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Roy Rowland directs the musical Arrivederci Roma (The Seven Hills of Rome), intended as a showcase for the talents of famous operatic tenor Mario Lanza. American singer Marc (Lanza) gets into a fight with his girlfriend, Carol (Peggie Castle). He follows her to Rome in an attempt to win back her affections. On the train, he meets an Italian woman named Rafaella Marini (Marisa Allasio), who is supposed to be moving in with her uncle. Marc gives her a ride and they discover that the uncle has left for South America. With nowhere to go, Rafaella stays with Marc and his cousin Pepe Bonelli (Renato Rascel), which leads to eventual romance. The narrative allows for Lanza to do his serviceable impressions of popular singers like Perry Como, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, and many others. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too "Yankeefied" as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's hardly a coincidence that George Raft made so many films outside the U.S. when he began to have income-tax problems in the early 1950s. The Man From Cairo casts Raft as an American vacationing in Algiers. In short order, he becomes involved with a group of mercenaries who are searching for a fortune in gold that was lost somewhere in the desert during WW II. Gianna Maria Canale co-stars as a sexy nightclub chanteuse who, like everyone else in the film, isn't all she seems to be. This Italian-financed melodrama was released in Great Britain as Crime Squad. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Paul Gallico adapted his own short story Never Take No For an Answer in collaboration with his wife Pauline. Filmed on location in the Italian communities of Rome and Assissi, the film relates the simple story of 7-year-old war orphan Peppino (Vittorio Mannunta). When his beloved donkey falls ill, Peppino insists upon transporting the animal to the tomb of St. Francis, patron saint of animals. Denied permission by the local authorities, Peppino decides to take his case all the way to the Pope, and to that end embarks upon a grueling journey to the Vatican. Never Take No for an Answer was remade for television in 1973 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Maria Montez made her final screen appearance in the Italian-American co-production Thief of Venice. Montez is cast as Tina, an 8th-century Venetian tavern keeper, caught in the crossfire during the Italian city-state's war with Turkey. Aligning herself with naval officer Alfiere Lorenzo Contarini (Paul Christian), Tina does her best to prevent a Turkish takeover of Venice. First, however, she must neutralize the chief villain, scheming Scarpa the Inquisitor (Massimo Serato). Production values are quite impressive, even though the script (by Hollywood's Jesse Lasky Jr. and England's Michael Pertwee) is nothing special. Maria Montez died in 1951, a full year before the American release of Thief of Venice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Scorned Flesh first saw the light of day in Italy under the title Statua Vivente. Fosco Giachetti plays a sailor who intends to break a few female hearts while on leave. Putting the make on shy young Laura Solari, Giachetti at first regards the girl as yet another conquest. Imagine his surprise when he realizes he's actually fallen in love with her! On the eve of their wedding, Solari is killed, sending the grief-stricken Giachetti off on a bender. While drowning his sorrows in a seedy dive, he meets a hard-bitten woman who happens to be the exact double of his lost love (and who happens to also be played by Laura Solari). In Vertigo fashion, Giachetti tries to make his new girlfriend over in the image of his deceased fiance -- and like Vertigo, his efforts are doomed to tragic failure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi