Vera Carmi Movies
- 1955
Amiel per la Pelle (Friends for Life) is largely told from a child's-eye point of view. The heroes of the piece are Mario (Geronimo Meynier) and Franco (Andrea Seire), young classmates and inseparable buddies. After several "Our Gang"-style adventures, the boys' friendship is threatened when Mario reveals a secret that Franco confided in him. The film originally ended on a somber note, though reportedly some prints contained a happier finale. The performances by the two young stars are appealingly natural; conversely, the adult players, especially Luigi Tosi, tend to go overboard. Amiel per la Pelle was an entry in the Venice Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geronimo Meynier, Luigi Tosi, (more)
- 1953
Umberto Spadaro is the Chaplinesque hero of this Italian seriocomedy. Spadaro plays a humble Sicilian accountant who receives a large cash reward for his scrupulous honesty. Determined to have the first good time in his life, the accountant takes a vacation from his troublesome family. On his own, however, our hero falls prey to a lady con artist, who leaves him penniless. Seeking solace in religion, he joins a pilgrimage to the Vatican, but even this is an uncomfortable experience (literally, since his shoes don't fit). After a few more such misfortunes, the audience is tempted to yell back at the screen, "Aw - give the guy a break." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Umberto Spadaro, Vera Carmi, (more)
- 1952
The Italian Island of Procida is set in a remote penal colony. Claudio Gora stars as Paul, a disillusioned surgeon who is serving a 20-year-sentence for the murder of his faithless fiancee. Vowing never again to do anything in the service of mankind, Paul changes his tune when a plane crash-lands near the prison. After saving the life of one of the passengers, a little girl, Paul's faith in humanity is restored by the love of the girl's older sister (Vera Carmi). The plot is complicated by a jailbreak, wherein Paul is forced to protect his new love from the lecherous advances of fellow prisoner Mania (Carlo Ninchi). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudio Gora, Carlo Ninchi, (more)
- 1950
The Italian O Sole Mio is set during WW II. Opera star Tito Gobbi is cast as an American lieutenant of Italian heritage who parachutes into Naples in order to help the local resistance movement. Posing as a black marketeer, the American helps weed out the traitors and fence-sitters. He also secures a singing job with a Nazi-controlled radio station. This story development not only enables Tito Gobbi to logically burst into song at frequent intervals, but also furthers the plot: Gobbi's songs are actually coded messages to the Allies! It sounds silly, but at least O Sole Mio is more believable than that 1942 Hollywood film wherein Eleanor Powell tap-dances in Morse Code. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tito Gobbi, Carlo Ninchi, (more)
- 1949
This docu-drama offers glimpses from the lives of people enjoying a carefree Sunday afternoon upon a sunny Roman beach and features the film debut of Marcello Mastroianni. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1948
Il Fiacre N. 13 is based on the novel of the same name by Xavier Montepin. The title translates as Cab No. 13, and the two-part story ("Il Castigo" and "Delitto") concerns the various amorous occupants of that cab. Several of the leading actors essay multiple roles to detail the intrigues arising from the many furtive glances, stolen kisses, and forbidden assignations. The film didn't do too well when first released in Italy but had better luck in South America. A French-language version of Il Fiacre N. 13 was lensed simultaneously, with some of the same cast members. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcel Herrand, Ginette Leclerc, (more)
- 1947
Anything for a Song exists primarily as a showcase for the miraculous singing talents of opera star Ferruccio Tagliavini. The nonsensical story casts Tagliavini as the son of a wealthy eggplant processor (no kidding!) who elects to foresake the family business and try his luck as a singer. His father does everything in his power to prevent our hero from succeeding in his chosen profession. Forced to return home to raise enough money for a blind girl's operation, Tagliavini may well have to marry a woman of his family's choosing to do so. But there's a happy ending, as if there was any doubt. By the time Anything for a Song was released in the US, Ferruccio Tagliavini was firmly entrenched at New York's Metropolitan Opera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ferruccio Tagliavini, Luisa Rossi, (more)
- 1946
Farewell, My Beautiful Naples (Adio, Mia Bella Napoli) was the first postwar effort by director Mario Bonnard, whose career had begun in 1909 (and would continue well into the early '60s!) Set at the turn of the century, the story concerns a young composer named Carlo Sanna (Fosco Giachetti) who falls in love with an American tourist named Roberta Sullivan (Vera Carmi). Complicating things is temperamental opera star Yvonne (Clelia Matania), who has set her cap for the handsome Sanna. The plot is an excuse for a cinematic sightseeing tour of Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi and Capri. At 100 minutes, Farewell, My Beautiful Naples was a bit too long for American tastes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fosco Giachetti, Vera Carmi, (more)
- 1945
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
- Starring:
- Carlo Campanini, Vera Carmi, (more)
