Elena Varzi Movies
- 1955
Despite their questionable behavior during WWII, the Italians were generally cast in a sympathetic light in war films of the 1950s. In Siluri Umani (Human Torpedoes), Raf Vallone stars as a member of an elite Italian navy unit. Their mission: to attack a British convoy in motorboats armed with explosive warheads. The only way by which these courageous guerillas can avoid being blown up themselves is to jump from their boats at the last minute. It goes without saying the some don't make it. Siluri Umani is based on an actually military maneuver which occurred in March of 1941. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raf Vallone, Franco Fabrizi, (more)
- 1950
Disciples of Italian filmmaker Pietro Germi have noted the stylistic influence of Hollywood's John Ford in Germi's neorealist Il Camino Della Speranza. The story concerns the plight of illegal immigration, as experienced by a pair of Sicilian miners. Unable to find work in their own country, the protagonists embark on a long and arduous journey to the French border, with immigration officials nipping at their heels every step of the way. Structurally, the film resembles Ford's Stagecoach, right down to the upbeat denouement, wherein one sympathetic authority figure decides "to heck with the rules." Heading the cast is Italian movie favorite Raf Vallone. Germi co-wrote the film with Federico Fellini and Tullio Pinelli. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raf Vallone, Elena Varzi, (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)
- 1947
Renato Castellani both directed and co-wrote the romantic comedy E' Primavera. The film was the second of Castellani's trilogy dealing with the less-than-smooth course of young love in postwar Italy (it was filmed just after Sotto il sole di Roma and just before Two Cents Worth of Hope). Leading man Mario Angelotti, loving not wisely but too well, quickly discovers that the penalty for bigamy is two wives. Between his tempestuous Sicilian bride, played by Elena Varzi and his sedate Milanese missus (Irene Gemma), the poor man barely has time to take a breath. Director Castellani does wonders with his largely non-professional cast, especially Angelotti, who is a "natural" for the screen. E' Primavera was released in England and the U.S. as It's Springtime and It's Forever Springtime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elena Varzi
