Otello Toso Movies

A dated melodrama set around the year zero in the Christian calendar, Desert Desperadoes by director Steve Sekely focuses on a caravan trying to reach the city of Alexandria under adverse conditions. The caravan is headed by a wealthy merchant (Akim Tamiroff) and appears to be carrying a precious infant along with lesser cargo. Roman soldiers provide an escort, and when the caravan picks up a sensual woman stranded in the middle of nowhere, the merchant begins to take a manly interest in her. His attentions compete with those of a Roman soldier, as the caravan continues along its eventful journey. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

An adulterous couple is forced to take responsibility for their actions in this tense drama from Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bardem. Maria Jose (Lucia Bose) is a beautiful woman whose husband Miguel (Otello Toso) is a wealthy and powerful businessman. Juan (Alberto Closas) is a mathematics instructor at a Spanish college who is distantly related to Miguel, and owes his position to Miguel's influence. Juan was also Maria Jose's boyfriend when they were younger, and now they're carrying on an affair behind Miguel's back. One night, while driving home from an assignation, Juan and Maria Jose accidentally run over a man on a bicycle; the stranger quickly dies, and the lovers speed away rather than deal with the consequences. But over the next few days, Juan's conscience begins to bother him, and finds it hard to bear the knowledge that he took another man's life. Maria Jose is also troubled, but for different reasons; Rafa (Carlos Casaravilla), a devious socialite, infers to Maria Jose that he knows about her secret life, but she's not certain he he's just speaking about her infidelity or her role in the cyclist's death. A major critical success in Spain, Muerte de un Ciclista (aka Death Of A Cyclist) was released in Europe in 1955, the same year director Bardem published a controversial essay on the decline in Spanish cinema under the rule of Franco. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Gina (Irene Genna), a provincial Italian lass, is whisked away to the Big City upon entering a beauty contest. When she loses, the financially strapped Gina takes a job as a photographer's model. It would seem from the evidence presented in the film that the "modelling agency" is actually a front for a prostitution ring. The heavily American prints of Verginita don't make this clear, but they can't censor the gleam in the agency-owner's Otello Toso eye. At any rate, it turns out that Gina needs rescuing from her new profession, and confectionery salesman Franco (Leonardo Cortese) is just the fellow for this assignment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dishonored is set in Rome in 1870, not long before the national revolution spearheaded by Italian patriot Garibaldi. The story concentrates on a pair of revolutionists, one of whom turns out to be a Judas-like spy. Banking on his friendships within the movement, the villain lies, cheats and kills with impunity, only to be brought down by the person who formerly regarded him as his best friend. Dishonored takes a bit too long to get started, but once the plot wheels have been set in motion, events move along at a feverish pace. Antonio Vilar and Otello Tisaro play the leading roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two Anonymous Letters (originally Duo Lettere Anomine) was the first postwar directorial effort by Italian filmmaker Mario Camerini. While his colleagues were immersed in neorealism, Camerini relies on traditional cinematic techniques in unfolding his story of a star-crossed wartime romance. When her sweetheart Bruno (Andrea Checchi) joins the Italian army, Gina (Clara Calamai), bored by her lack of social life, weds Tullio (Otello Toso). She comes to regret her decision when Tullio proves to be a Nazi collaborationist. Casting her lot with the Resistance movement, Gina is forced into a difficult decision when the safety of ex-lover Bruno is endangered by the treachery of Tullio. Completed in 1945, Two Anonymous Letters was released in the U.S. in 1947, with English-language subtitles provided by erudite film critic Herman G. Weinberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide