Salvatore Baccaloni Movies
Before becoming an Italian movie actor, Salvatore Baccaloni was a famous operatic bass famed for his comic roles. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1950s where he played in light films through the early 1960s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1962
A little bird tells on the U.S. Army during WWII in this farcical comedy. In 1944, during the last stages of the war in Europe, American officers Capt. Paul MacDougall (Charlton Heston) and Sgt. Joseph Contini (Harry Guardino) are sent to Italy to act as spies for the Allies, even though they have no experience in espionage. Working with Partisan resistance solider Ciccio Massimo (Salvatore Baccaloni), MacDougall and Contini send regular reports to their superiors by carrier pigeon. Contini also finds himself falling in love with Massimo's pregnant daughter Rosalba (Gabriella Pallotta), while her sister Antonella (Elsa Martinelli) has her eye on MacDougall. Contini proposes to Rosalba, and Ciccio prepares a feast to celebrate his daughter's upcoming wedding. However, Ciccio prepares squab for the occasion, killing all but one of the carrier pigeons. Ciccio scrambles to replace them, but the new pigeons he finds are German, and they deliver MacDougall and Contini's messages directly into enemy hands. The Pigeon That Took Rome's art direction earned the film an Academy Award nomination. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Elsa Martinelli, (more)
Fanny was adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the final chapter of Marcel Pagnol's "Marseilles Trilogy". Pagnol's original, titled Cesar, ends with protagonist Marius returning to the sea, leaving behind his lover Fanny and their son. Expanding upon the original, Fanny picks up the narrative nine years later. Marius (Horst Buchholtz) finally meets his son and is reunited with Fanny (Leslie Caron). She tells him that Panisse (Maurice Chevalier), the elderly suitor who married Fanny to save her from disgrace, is dying. On the verge of shuffling off his mortal coil, Panisse gives Fanny and Marius his blessings, hoping that they'll marry at long last. Charles Boyer co-stars as Cesar, the philosophical gent portrayed in the 1930s film versions of the Pagnol trilogy by the great Raimu. Fanny goes its merry way without any of the songs in the original Broadway score, despite the proven musical talents of Caron and Chevalier. Producer/director Joshua Logan saved himself plenty of embarrassment when he agreed not to release this film as Joshua Logan's Fanny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, (more)
- 1961
In this WW II drama, a unit of paratroopers attempt to a colleague after he is captured by the Japanese during a mission in Burma. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this comedy, an awkward TV repairman finds himself falling for an actress who doesn't even know he exists and instead marries a dashing Mexican bullfighter. Unfortunately, he dies the day after their wedding; fortunately, he managed to impregnate her. Unfortunately, she is soon supposed to be starring in a religious epic called The White Virgin on the Nile. To help her, the repairman offers to watch her baby after it is born. Unfortunately, she gives birth to triplets. Later he marries the sister of the actress who bears him quintuplets. Some guys have all the luck. Songs include: "In the Land of La La La", "Dormi, Dormi, Dormi", "The White Virgin of the Nile", "Love is a Lonely Thing" and ""Why Can't He Care for Me?"" ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Marilyn Maxwell, (more)
- 1958
Though Merry Andrew is more subdued than earlier Danny Kaye efforts, it's still a lot of fun. Kaye is cast as Andrew Larabee, a mild-mannered but highly unorthodox archeology professor at a British boy's school. While on an expedition in Italy, Andrew allows a traveling circus to pitch camp on his archeological site. Falling in love with Selena (Pier Angeli), the acrobat daughter of carnival owner Antonio Gallini (Salvatore Baccaloni), Professor Larabee soon finds himself participating in their show as a clown, ringmaster, and (accidental) lion-tamer. When time comes for Andrew to return to his stuffy academic existence -- not to mention his equally stuffy fiancée (Patricia Cutts) -- he chooses instead to hit the sawdust trail in the company of the fair Selena. The five Saul Chaplin-Johnny Mercer songs are enjoyable, but the engaging "patter numbers" written by Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, are sorely missed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1956
When Emily Rocco (Judy Holliday) waddles into view at the beginning of Full of Life, her appearance marked a cinematic breakthrough; seldom had so pregnant a leading lady ever appeared on an American movie screen. With her baby's birthdate only a month away, Emily and her husband Nick (Richard Conte) prepare for first-time parenthood. What they aren't prepared for is Nick's Italian-bricklayer father (Salvatore Baccaloni) who descends upon their humble household with the intention of ruling the roost. Most of all, Papa wants Nick and Emily to go through a proper Catholic wedding, since he doesn't consider their civil ceremony valid. This situation is good for a few laughs, but far funnier is the all-too-typical erratic behavior of expectant mother Emily. Adapted by John Fante from his own novel, Full of Life effortlessly runs the gamut from warm family comedy to outrageous slapstick and back again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Holliday, Richard Conte, (more)
