Luigi Cimara 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
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)
Il Destino was released outside of Italy as Damsel of Bard. Emma Grammatica stars as Naria, the wife of Franco, the Count of Bard (Luigi Simari). Though she does not love her husband, Naria is loyal to family tradition, refusing any and all erstwhile lovers to keep up appearances. Things change dramatically halfway through the story, by which time the Damsel of Bard has suffered nobly in a stunning variety of gorgeous gowns. Though beautifully photographed, Il Destino proved a bit too stately and stodgy for American tastes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luigi Cimara
Hot on the heels of Dinero ed Amore, Loyalty of Love was the second of two Guido Brignone-directed films released within same week. Like the earlier picture, Loyalty is a historical drama. During the period in which Italy was under Austrian rule, Count Federico (Nerio Bernardi) fights tirelessly to free his people from oppression. The Count's wife Teresa (Marta Alba) remains loyally by his side, even when he is unfaithful to her, which is often. Federico doesn't realize how important Teresa is to him, nor how much he loves her, until it's almost too late. At time of the release of Loyalty of Love, star Marta Alba had transferred her base of operations to New York, where she starred in Broadway production of Tovarich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marta Abba, Elsa De Giorgi, (more)








