Carlo Campanini Movies

This romantic Italian anthology film is comprised of six episodes that deal with a century of love. The first vignette, "Garibaldin," set in 1854, follows a rebellious priest who attempts to sway others to his beliefs. "Pendolin" examines a philandering wife's affair with a hotel porter who really only wanted to give her her lost earrings. "Purification" follows an honorable soldier who refuses to convey his commanding officer's last words to his unworthy girlfriend. In the fourth episode, "Golden Wedding," an elderly couple celebrate their wedding anniversary and discover mutual disillusionment. "The Last Ten Minutes" examines the efforts of a priest and a condemned man to conceal the truth about the man's crime from his wife. Finally, in "Amore," which is set in 1954, a father tries to persuade his daughter's husband to stay married to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a stage play by Eduardo Scarpetta, Il Turco Napoletano is retooled into a vehicle for Italian comedian Toto. The star plays a girl-happy dolt who assumes the identity of a missing Turkish gentleman. With stolen identification papers, the oafish impostor enters the home of a wealthy man who'd hired the Turk to protect his wife and daughter. What our hero doesn't know--but everybody else does--is that the real Turk is a eunuch. To avoid the scissors of the censors, Il Turco Napoletano is presented as a play-within-a-play, so it isn't really happening after all. The film was lensed by Oscar-winning Hollywood cinematographer Karl Struss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The English-language title of this wacky comedy is It Was Him...Yes! Yes! "Him" Walter Milani, is played by Walter Chiari, a singular comic actor who was touted by American critics as a "new" star, even though he'd been successfully plugging away in European films since 1947. Chiari plays a meek-and-mild clerk in a department store who discovers that his boss (Carlo Campanini) is mortally afraid of him. It seems that the boss is plagued by nightmares, in which Malani appears as a "villain" who doles out ridicule and humiliation. With the help of a psychiatrist, the boss comes to grips with his inner fears, while the hapless Milani reacts in confusion as all sorts of favors and kindnesses are heaped upon him. The dream sequences are cleverly rendered send-ups of every Freudian symbol in the book. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Voice of Love is primarily a showcase for the splendid singing of Italian musical favorite Gino Bechi. Sagaciously, Bechi is cast as a professional singer who loves Countess Luisa Diana (Annette Bach). He carries on a courtship by telephone, as logical a means as any to have the star burst into song at a moment's notice. In true operetta fashion, the story occasionally shifts to the backstairs romance between Bechi's butler (Carlo Campanini) and the countess' maid (Laura Gore). The fun really begins when circumstances dictate that the singer and countess impersonate their respective servants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Valentina Cortese's star continued to rise with the period melodrama Bullet for Stefano (Il Passatore). Cortese plays Barbara, whose wedding is interrupted when dashing brigand Stefano (Rossano Brazzi) kills the groom and abducts the bride. Eventually, Stefano tires of Barbara, and casts her aside. But she is not to be dispensed with so easily. Rallying the peasantry, Barbara sets the wheels in motion for Stefano's destruction. Curiously, despite his wretched behavior, there is a certain amount of sympathy for Stefano, who is a thief only because he wishes to help the poor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in 1946 as Il Bandido, The Bandit came to the U.S. in 1949 on the strength of the worldwide popularity of star Anna Magnani. The title character is Ernesto (Amadeo Nazzari), who turns to crime after suffering shell shock during WW II. Magnani plays Ernesto's faithful girlfriend Lydia. Their relationship is as foredoomed as Ernesto himself, who comes to grief through an extreme act of self-sacrifice. The Bandit was the third directorial effort of Alberto Lattuada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Lady is Fickle is another in a brief series of movie vehicles for internationally renowned opera star Ferrucio Tagliavini. The star plays Ferrucio Landini, a provincial schoolmaster who aspires to become an opera singer. He is helped in this endeavor by his pal Christopher (Carlo Campanini), the chauffeur for an operatic impresario Carlo Micheluzzi. Ferrucio's singing career almost ends before it begins when he "misplaces" his infuriated girlfriend (Fioretta Dolfi), who is neither the demure nor forgiving type. Some distance removed from a classic, The Lady is Fickle is nonetheless an adequate star vehicle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

His Young Wife is a genteel Italian comedy about the pitfalls of romance. Middle-aged clerk Travet (Carlo Campanini) is the husband of young and very pretty Rosa (Vera Carmi). When Rosa begins a harmless flirtation with Travet's boss (Gino Cervi), rumors begin flying. The upshot of this tempest in a teapot is a fistfight between Travet and his "rival," culminating in the clerk's dismissal. But salvation is at hand in the form of Travet's son-in-law (Domenico Gambino) whom the clerk had previously dismissed as a low-life. Realizing that he's been too hasty in all his judgments, Travet willingly accepts a job at his son-in-law's bakery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Italian drama, a wealthy snob of a college girl is the head of her sorority, but turns out to be a wretched student. To save herself from failing chemistry (she had already failed almost every other class), the girl makes a pass at her handsome professor. The girl finds a rival in another co-ed who also wants the professor. Things are tense for a while, but when the rival is involved in an accident, it is the socialite who shares her blue blood for a life-saving transfusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide