Gualtiero Tumiati Movies
War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too "Yankeefied" as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, (more)
This very expensive Italian-made adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" stars Kirk Douglas as seafaring hero Ulysses. The story begins, as ever, with Ulysses leaving his faithful wife Penelope (Silvano Magnano) behind as he goes off to fight in the Trojan Wars. Having the poor taste to set himself above the gods after a stunning military victory, Ulysses is doomed to journey aimlessly across the sea until he can make amends. Along the way, our hero battles a cyclops, resists the fatal singing of the Sirens, and enjoys a brief interlude with pig-fancying enchantress Circe (also played by Silvano Magnano). Years and years later, Ulysses returns to Penelope, where he must meet and master a final challenge. Acceptable enough when first released in 1954, Ulysses pales in comparison to the high-tech, all-star 1997 TV miniseries version of The Odyssey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, (more)
- 1953
L'Edera is better known by its English-language title, Devotion. Based on a novel by Grazia Deledda, the film concentrates on a once-prominent family, recently fallen upon hard times. When the family is threatened with eviction from their ancestral home, their son (Roldano Lupi) seeks financial aid from a misanthropic miser (Juan de Landa). When the old man refuses to help, the son's lady love (Columba Dominguez) kills the miser. She escapes detection, but cannot escape her own conscience. The film's finale gives a whole new meaning to the term "dramatic irony." Completed in 1950, L'Edera did not attain an American release until 1953. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juan de Landa
- 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)
- 1951
Orson Welles provides the voice of God in this farce starring Fernandel as Don Camillo, a vicar who causes trouble for the town's communist-leaning mayor. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernandel, Gino Cervi, (more)
- 1950
Strange Deception combines a standard revenge tale with a postwar reenactment of the first four books of the New Testament. Freshly released from a Russian POW camp, Italian soldier Raf Vallone tries to discover who betrayed his brother to the Nazis. Alain Cuny is an enigmatic carpenter who has confessed to causing the brother's death. Cuny is slain by Vallone, whereupon it is revealed that the carpenter sacrificed himself on behalf of the real culprit, Phillipe Lemaire. Vallone catches up with Lemaire, but is unable to kill him, thanks to the Christlike example of Cuny. Originally titled Il Cristo Proibito (The Forbidden Christ, just so we don't miss the point), this film represented the movie directorial debut of novelist Curzio Malaparte, who also wrote the musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raf Vallone, Elena Varzi, (more)
- 1946
Adapted to the stage and screen several times since its inception in the 19th century, Honore de Balzac's romantic tragedy Eugenie Grandet was given another cinematic go-round by Italian filmmaker Mario Soldati in 1946. Alida Valli plays the title character, a naïve young woman who refuses to heed her father's advice in affairs of the heart. Eugenie believes that her beloved cousin Charles (Gualtiero Tumiati) is above reproach, insisting upon sending him money when his father commits suicide. Charles repays Eugenie's love and loyalty by betraying her at the first opportunity, leading to the story's doleful finale. Eugenie Grandet represented Alida Valli's final European production before her Hollywood debut in Hitchcock's The Paradine Case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alida Valli, Gualtiero Tumiati, (more)
