Germano Longo Movies

The first Italian feature film shot in Moscow was directed by the renowned Vittorio De Sica and produced by Carlo Ponti. Sophia Loren stars as Giovanna, an Italian woman who marries Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni) 12 days before the outbreak of WWII. Antonio has no desire to fight in the conflict, and he fakes insanity to try to avoid the draft, but officials see through the charade. Antonio is sent to the Russian front, where the soldiers are plagued by freezing temperatures and short supplies of rations. He is found half-dead in the cold by a Russian peasant girl, Mascia (Lyudmila Savelyeva). She takes him in, and eventually, they marry. Giovanna waits in vain for word on the fate of her husband, who is officially declared missing in action. She goes to Russia to try to find him, searching records and cemeteries. Finally, she discovers first his new wife, then him, and reluctantly decides not to fight the situation. Returning home to Italy, she marries an older factory worker, Ettore (Germano Longo), and they have a son (who is played by the real-life son of Ponti and Loren). But Antonio still longs for Giovanna, and he returns to Italy to discuss a reconciliation with her. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

In this sword and sandal spectacle, a Roman journeys to Asia to oversee the building of an aqueduct. His main job is to replace the former slavemaster. Unlike him, the new overseer tries a gentler approach with the slaves. When he proves that his methods are more effective, the former supervisor gets angry and decides to get his revenge by inciting a revolt amongst the captives. He almost succeeds in that all the Romans but the new overseer are slaughtered. One slave helps the gentle Roman to hide. Meanwhile the chief rebels are captured and killed. This leads the kindly supervisor to be blamed, so he and his newfound friend steal out of the city and team up with another rebel. They all dress up as masked gladiators and then take on the Romans. Eventually, the three avengers successfully foil the plans of the Roman troublemaker just before he makes an attempt to take over the local government. As a reward for their courage, the slaves are freed, and the reputation of the soft-hearted supervisor remains unblemished. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Roger Browne was the latest entry in the Steve Reeves/Gordon Scott beefsteaks--er, sweepstakes--in 1962's Revenge of the Gladiators. Utilizing standing Cinecitta sets and well-worn costumes, the film has the husky Browne rescuing a princess from marauding barbarians. The damsel in distress is played by sword 'n' sandal "regular" Scilla Gabel. The director is Michel Lupo, he of the "Shout 'action', close your eyes and hope for the best" school of filmmaking. If you don't like the action highlights, you'll get a thrill out of watching the actors flap their mouths in a Babel of foreign languages while the English soundtrack tries to keep pace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this high-seas adventure, a dashing pirate and his loyal crew take on a wicked king forced his way onto the throne with his own bad pirates. The newly empowered villain kidnaps the daughter of the deposed Duke and forces her into marriage. Fortunately, the good pirates attack on her wedding day. A long, bloody battle takes place while the palace women, including the bride take refuge in the dungeon. The conniving leader ruthlessly orders the dungeon flooded, but fortunately, the good pirate manages to save all the women, while the bad one finds himself impaled by his own booby-trap. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Nights of Lucretia Borgia and not her days in history are the openly seductive draw in this standard Italian costume drama with a rather weak storyline. Lucretia of the poisonous vial (Belinda Lee) lusts after the handsome swordsman (Jacques Sernas) who works for her nefarious brother Cesare. Lucretia's main problem, after her murderous inclinations, is how to snare the swordsman away from a gorgeous rival (Michele Mercier). This challenge is something that could promote a little sibling cooperation, since Cesare wants Lucretia's bewitching rival for himself. One of the more impressive aspects of this film is the music of Alexander Derevitsky played by the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide