Elisa Cegani Movies

The absurdist comedy of Maruizio Nichetti dominates this fluffy story about "moon men" who interfere with television reception in Milan and get everyone who comes in any kind of contact with them to abandon their dull, dreary routines and start doing a lively Scottish jig -- dancing for the pleasure of it. As this "contagion" spreads, media executives try their best to contain it and get people back to doing what they are supposed to be doing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The harbor of Trieste, at the head of the Adriatic, has at various times been an independent state, a port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, part of Yugoslavia, and part of Italy. This film, set in 1917 when the city was still Austrian, examines the last days of the life of a fading nobleman (Alain Cuny) of Italian/Austrian lineage, and the change in that city's fortunes which his death prefigures. Only two years later, Trieste was ceded to Italy. This Italian movie is based on the novel La Rosa Rossa by Perantonio Quarantotti Bambini. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this Italian bedroom farce, a humble village peasant has managed to remain a bachelor despite the fact that he has fathered numerous illegitimate children. The trouble begins when he finds himself entangled in a fight over water rights. Though others attempt to blame him, the clever fellow manages to come out clean and solve the conflict by fathering two more children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Alessandro Blasetti used an all-star Italian cast for this satirical comedy that pokes fun at the selfishness of humans and uses one character to link a series of comic vignettes. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This biblical epic chronicles the rocky relationship between David the giant-killer and Saul, King of the Israelites who listens to the subversive whispers of his jealous wife and ultimately loses his life. This is one of a series of Bible tales. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One of the many Italian sword-and-sandal adventure stories roughly depicting historical events -- sometimes too graphically -- this drama by director Lionello de Felice has its merits. The action moves along at a good clip, as Constantine's (Cornel Wilde) rise to power is depicted, amidst battling armies and political intrigue. All the well-publicized, old Roman entertainments such as feeding Christians to the lions are shown in more detail than might be necessary, leading to one of the main points of featuring Constantine at all -- he was the emperor who gave Christians the freedom to worship as they pleased. His cronies and his enemies, his loves and his successes all have their moment in the sun. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Sophia Loren was twenty-one years old when she starred in this lightly spicy comedy. Antoinette (Loren) is an attractive young woman who is adjusting her stockings one day when a passing news photographer snaps her picture. To Antoinette's shock, the picture appears on the front page of one of Rome's biggest newspapers, and she's angered and embarrassed by the attention; soon, she finds herself fighting off the lustful attentions of Corrado (Marcello Mastroianni), the photographer who turned her into an unwitting cheesecake star, and Count Gregorio (Charles Boyer), a nobleman who tells Antoinette that he can make her a movie star. However, while the Count's attentions have little to do with any real effort to bring her to stardom, in time Corrado finds himself genuinely falling in love with the beautiful Antoinette. Fortuna Di Essere Donna was released in the United States under the titles Lucky To Be A Woman and What A Woman! ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Told in pageantlike fashion, Casa Ricordi is the story of the Ricordi family, the most prestigious music publishers in all Italy. It was the Ricordis who, for better or worse, came up with the "royalty" concept, paying artists (and their families) for their work in perpetuity. As the family's fortune grows, the Ricordis rub shoulders with the musical glitterati of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Verdi, Donizetti, Puccini, Bellini and Rossini. Naturally, this allows the film to showcase some of these composers' most famous works--and in true Hollywood-by-the-Mediterranean fashion, the principal influence for these compositions are the various members of the Ricordi family. The soundtrack of Casa Ricordi reverberates with the voices of such musical immortals as Tito Gobbi, Renata Tibaldi, Mario Del Monaco and Gianni Poggi, among many others. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

La Nemica (The Enemy) is based on the popular 1920s stage play by Dario Nicodemi. The central character is Duchess Anna de Nemi (Elisa Cegani), who for reasons that no one can understand seems to despise Roberto (Frank Latimore),one of her two sons. All the more confusing is that everyone else likes the boy. Only after his brother Gastone (Giacomo Verlier) is killed in battle does Roberto learn the dark secret behind his mother's animosity. And it is only then that any sort of reconciliation can be realized. La Nemica is one of several European films made by Hollywood expatriate Frank Latimore, and one of the few that isn't a straightforward adventure yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Italian anthology is comprised of five separate episodes. In the first tale, two impoverished parents must leave their baby because they cannot afford to feed it. The second concerns two aristocrats who have fallen into poverty and end up reunited when they both are cast as extras in a movie. The third tale centers upon a priest as he attempts to counsel a suicidal woman. The next tale looks at a happy cabby. Finally, a beautiful woman tries to evade an obsessed stalker with a video camera. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An all-star cast graces this Italian "omnibus" feature. The film consists of eight short stories, each based on nostalgic literary efforts. Linking the various stories is bookseller Aldo Fabrizi, who passes the time by reading the works dramatized herein. In "The Excelsior Ball," dancer Alba Arnova arouses the libido of several observers. In "Less Than a Day," a three-hour train delay wreaks havoc on the romance between Arnova and Andrea Checchi. In "Sardinian Drummer Boy," the title character (Enzo Cerusico) becomes an unexpected hero on the battlefield. In "Matter of Interest," two farmers (Arnoldo Foa and Folco Lulli) quarrel over a compost pile. In "The Idyll," two very young people (Maurizio Di Nardo and Geraldina Pariniello) fall in love. "Potpourri of Songs" delivers on its title through the musical versatility of Barbara Florian and Elio Pandolfi. "The Trial of Frine" finds accused murderess Gina Lollobrigida being defended by colorful lawyer Vittorio De Sica. And in "The Trap," an accusatory husband (Amedeo Nazzari) drives his far-from-innocent wife (Elis Cegani) into an act of extreme desperation. Also known as In Olden Days, Altri Tempi was distributed worldwide by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several years of wartime austerity, the Italian film industry returned to spectacle with Fabiola. French actress Michele Morgan plays the title role, the daughter of a Roman aristocrat (Michel Simon) during the takeover by Emperor Constantine. As a reaction to Constantine's Christian conversion policy, many old-line Romans are persecuting the city's Christian community, killing the believers off before Constantine marches into town. Fabiola is loyal to her Christian-sympathizing father but is irresistibly drawn to a Roman gladiator (Henri Vidal). All works out for the best when it is revealed that the gladiator is secretly working on behalf of Constantine. Originally released in 1949 at a length of 183 minutes, the French/Italian co-production Fabiola was distributed to the U.S. two years later in a 96-minute version, retaining the action highlights but cutting the plot footage to incomprehensible ribbons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lancieri di Savola (Savoy Lancers) is a ponderous costume drama, elevated somewhat by the performances of stars Elisa Cegani and Amedeo Nazari. Cegani plays Countess Speranza, who has never gotten over the fact that her family forbade her to marry the love of her life, dashing Lancer Lieutenant Solaro (Nazari). Circumstance and coincidence throw the Countess and the lieutenant back together from time to time, but since she is now the wife of a baron, the best she can hope for is a furtive, clandestine relationship. After Solaro is killed in WWI, the Countess remains forever faithful to the memory of her lost love. Top-heavy with symbolism, Lancieri di Savoia seems to go on for years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide