Dina Perbellini 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)
- 1952
An all-star cast graces this Italian "omnibus" feature. The film consists of eight short stories, each based on nostalgic literary efforts. Linking the various stories is bookseller Aldo Fabrizi, who passes the time by reading the works dramatized herein. In "The Excelsior Ball," dancer Alba Arnova arouses the libido of several observers. In "Less Than a Day," a three-hour train delay wreaks havoc on the romance between Arnova and Andrea Checchi. In "Sardinian Drummer Boy," the title character (Enzo Cerusico) becomes an unexpected hero on the battlefield. In "Matter of Interest," two farmers (Arnoldo Foa and Folco Lulli) quarrel over a compost pile. In "The Idyll," two very young people (Maurizio Di Nardo and Geraldina Pariniello) fall in love. "Potpourri of Songs" delivers on its title through the musical versatility of Barbara Florian and Elio Pandolfi. "The Trial of Frine" finds accused murderess Gina Lollobrigida being defended by colorful lawyer Vittorio De Sica. And in "The Trap," an accusatory husband (Amedeo Nazzari) drives his far-from-innocent wife (Elis Cegani) into an act of extreme desperation. Also known as In Olden Days, Altri Tempi was distributed worldwide by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aldo Fabrizi, Enzo Staiola, (more)
- 1951
Silvana Mangano portrays a fickle club chanteuse who must choose between the love of two men (Raf Vallone and Vittorio Gassman). She chooses neither, entering a convent for the sake of convenience. This overwrought drama was produced by Dino de Laurentiis, and reworked by five screenwriters including such respected names as Dino Risi and Franco Brusati, but comes up as a soggy soap-opera rather than an imposing star-vehicle. Nino Rota's fine score and the always watchable Mangano are its only saving graces. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, (more)
- 1950
Real-life beauty contest winner Gina Lollobrigida is appropriately cast in Miss Italia. The first half of the film is a dramatization of the events leading up to Italy's number-one beauty pageant. The final portion consists of footage from the actual event. Inevitably, the real thing is more fascinating than the soap-operalike plot, though Constance Dowling has some good moments as a prostitute who hopes to escape her sordid lifestyle by winning the Miss Italia crown. Filmed in 1949, Miss Italia made it to the U.S. in 1950, by which time Lollobrigida's star was on the ascent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Richard Ney, (more)
A very early Vittorio De Sica effort, The Children Are Watching Us was originally released in Italy as I Bambini Ci Guardano. Director De Sica collaborated with another neorealist pioneer, Cesare Zavattini, on the screenplay. The film, a real tearjerker, concerns a young mother (Isa Pola) who can't stand the pressures exerted on her by family responsibilities. She deserts her husband (Emilio Cigoli) and her brood, permanently ruining the life of her four-year-old son, Prico (Luciano de Ambrosis). Avoiding the rococo gestures and dramatic overstatement that might have attended this film had it been made in Hollywood, De Sica fashions a subtle tale about real people caught up in a real situation. De Sica's sensitivity toward the younger cast members of The Children Are Watching Us would manifest itself in many of his formative films, notably Sciuscià and The Bicycle Thief. Made in 1942, the film was not released in Italy until 1944. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Cigoli, Isa Pola, (more)
- 1936
Also known as Three-Cornered Hat, this Italian comedy is based on a Spanish folk tale, which had previously been adapted as a ballet by Manuel de Filla. Director Mario Camerini and his team of screenwriters have refashioned the material as a vehicle for the popular De Filipo brothers, Peppino and Eduardo. The story is a mistaken-identity affair, predicated on the fact that a pompous governor is the exact look-alike of a poor miller. Much of the fun is derived from the efforts to pass off the miller's homely wife as the governor's gorgeous spouse. Described by one Mario Camerini devotee as "pretty, noisy and accomplished," 'Il Cappell a Tre Punte= was filmed in 1934, and released in the U.S. two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leda Gloria, Peppino De Filippo, (more)
