Peter Trent Movies

In the last stages of his career, veteran American director Robert Z. Leonard dabbled in international productions. One of the best-distributed of these was the Gina Lollobrigida vehicle Beautiful But Dangerous. Lollobrigida is cast as Lina Cavaliari, an earthy Italian peasant who becomes a world-renowned opera singer. She also matriculates into something of a mantrap, making up for all the years that she was spurned and ignored by her "betters." One of Lina's many swains is played by none other than Robert Alda. Originally titled La Donna piu bella del mondo, Beautiful But Dangerous benefits immeasurably from Mario Bava's sumptuous cinematography. And as a bonus, La Lollo does her own singing! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Few Italian filmmakers turned out lavish costume dramas with as much panache as Riccardo Freda. In Il Figlio D'Artagnan, Piero Palmermini stars as Raul, the son of swashbuckler D'Artagnan of Three Musketeers fame. Unlike his famous father, Raul has no deep abiding love for swordplay, but before long he's fighting side-by-side with his dad against the foes of Cardinal Richelieu (a good guy this time out). D'Artagnan Junior also finds time for romance with several buxom wenches. The screenplay for Il Figlio D'Artagnan is credited to one "Dick Jordan," which sounds suspiciously like one of director Freda's many aliases. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There's a dash of patriotism in the morbidly titled Italian costume drama Il Bacio di Una Morta (Kiss of a Dead Woman). The story is set in the mid-19th century, when Italy finally managed to purge itself of its Austrian tormentors. The historical events dovetail nicely into the fictional plotline, involving an arranged marriage between a young aristocrat (Peter Trent) and an industrialist's daughter (Virginia Belmont). Both husband and wife are in love with others, but they're forced to go through with the wedding. The climactic routing of the Austrian army serves to solve practically everyone's problems--with one unfortunate exception. Filmed on location in Milan, Il Bacio di Una Morta boasted some of the biggest battles scenes ever staged in a late-1940s Italian picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gregory Ratoff is listed as sole director of the 1949 Orson Welles starrer Black Magic, but it is now common knowledge that Welles directed most of this lavish costumer himself. Told in flashback, the film recounts the life and times of notorious 18th-century hypnotist/magician/scam artist Cagliostro (played, but of course, by Welles). Learning the secrets of hypnosis from Dr. Mesmer (Charles Goldner), Cagliostro exploits this skill to gain wealth, prestige and, on occasion, romance. His downward slide begins when Cagliostro enters into an Anastasia-like scheme to substitute a young lass named Lorenza (Nancy Guild) for French queen Marie Antoinette. The charlatan's partners in crime are gypsies Gilbert (Akim Tamiroff, who manages to out-ham Welles in some scenes) and Zoraida (Valentina Cortese). Longer on style than substance, Black Magic is a wickedly delightful cinematic exercise, with Welles at his overbaked best. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi