Elvy Lissiak Movies
- 1961
An uneven mix of right-on situations and two-dimensional characters or worse, La Giornata Balorda is all the more interesting because it was banned in Italy -- not because of sexual or anti-religious content, but because of its depiction of Italian society. David (Jean Sorel) is a poverty-stricken young man who has impregnated the woman he loves and now wants to marry her. The baby has already been born when David sets out to "buy" a job. His uncle, not a model of propriety, gets him introduced to a slick operator who really does not want to hire David at all. But the future employer's mistress takes one look at David and lets her lover know he just has to give him a job. Meanwhile, David is still stuck with the problem of getting the money together to "buy" his job, and he solves that in a rather creative manner. This story of networking among the non-yuppy population did not sit well with the Italian censors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Sorel, Lea Massari, (more)
- 1960
An attorney and his amorous daughters provide the focus of this drama. The story begins as the lawyer begins searching for his lost teenage daughter and learns that she has run away with an older man. He and his daughter's friend take off after the fugitive lovers. Along the way, the lawyer and the young girl become lovers themselves. Eventually, they discover that she has dumped the older man for a lover her own age; they then find her in bed with said lover and drag her home. There they discover that the lawyer's other daughter too is involved with a much-older man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriele Ferzetti, Jean Valerie, (more)
- 1953
The English title of this Italian melodrama is Ship of Damned Women. After murdering her illegitimate baby, Isabella (Tania Weber) pins the blame on her innocent cousin Consuelo (May Britt). Despite the strenuous efforts of her attorney-lover DeSylva (Ettore Manni), Consuelo is found guilty and shipped to a penal colony along with several other female prisoners. En route, the women mutiny, and the ship is sunk. Among the few survivors are Consuelo, her attorney, and through an improbable coincidence, Isabella. Likewise improbable, though eminently satisfying, is the film's finale. Featured in the cast is craggy-faced character actor Eduardo Cianelli, who returned to his native Italy after nearly 20 years in Hollywood to make a handful of films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kerima, Ettore Manni, (more)
- 1952
In this drama, set in Italy during 1889, a young doctor meets and falls for the daughter of a renowned medical professor. The professor does not approve of the affair and suggests that the young medic leave Rome. The physician then goes to Obetello, and there he discovers a radical, but successful treatment for malaria. Trouble ensues when he spurns the advances of an amorous neighbor. For revenge she begins blaming the current malaria epidemic upon him. As a result he is tried and sentenced to four years in prison for using unorthodox methods. His medical license is also revoked. In jail, he is promoted to orderly. He promptly inoculates himself against the dread disease using his own treatment. He soon proves his innocence and is acquitted of all crimes. He then returns to Rome to marry his true love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 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
