Alessandro Blasetti Movies

The life of the great Venezuelan liberator Simon Bolivar is given class-A treatment in this international produced historical epic. The film is set between 1817 and 1823, a time when Venezuelan rebels were waging a war of independence against the Spanish colonial government. Bolivar works tirelessly to unite the separate racial and religious Venezuelan factions to form a strong united front against the Spanish. But his personal vision goes beyond his homeland: Bolivar hopes to eventually liberate all of the Americas from the Spanish yoke. Francisco Rabal stars as Bolivar, while other roles are filled by the likes of Maximillian Schell and Rosanna Schiaffano. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Italian bedroom farce, a humble village peasant has managed to remain a bachelor despite the fact that he has fathered numerous illegitimate children. The trouble begins when he finds himself entangled in a fight over water rights. Though others attempt to blame him, the clever fellow manages to come out clean and solve the conflict by fathering two more children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Italian director Alessandro Blasetti originated the type of episodic entertainment found in Io Amo, Tu Ami almost a decade before this interesting film was put together, and the genre remained popular in Italy for another decade into the future. Using talent from around the globe, Blasetti looks at the nature of love from childhood through old age, from Italy to Russia and stops in-between, and from the sentimental to the erotic. Among the talent seen or heard in the film are Don Jada's Japanese Revue, Las Hermanas Benitez, the Moiseev Ballet, Edith Piaf, and even the Red Army Chorus. Somewhat a mixed salad, the juxtaposition of certain sequences may be a little jarring to some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Amore e Chiacchere (Love and Chatter) was cooked up by ubiquitious Italian scenarist Cesare Zavattini. Vittorio De Sica stars as the pompous windbag of a town mayor, whose efforts to keep his constinuents happy are designed primarily to keep him in office. De Sica finds himself in a pickle when his son (Geronimo Meynier) falls in love with Carla Gravina, daughter of the town streetcleaner. Though the mayor strongly disapproves of the marriage, he dare not make his objections public, lest he lose the votes of the "common people." At the same time, De Sica is obliged to curry favor with a wealthy industrialist who wants to build on the property currently occupied by an old-folk's home. A neat little satire of political chicanery, Amore e Chiacchere remains suprisingly timely even after four decades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Can a good man tame a woman on the wrong side of the law? Paolo (Marcello Mastroianni) is a slightly clumsy cab driver who, not long after being issued a new vehicle, picks up an interesting fare -- a strikingly beautiful young woman, Lina (Sophia Loren), who is going to the beach with two of her boyfriends. When they arrive at the seashore, Lina invites Paolo to join them, but he soon discovers Lina is simply working her charm on him so her friends can steal his cab. Paolo takes up the matter with the police, but Lina's profoundly silly explanation of the events makes him wonder if he simply misinterpreted the whole thing. However, after meeting Lina's dignified father Stroppiani (Vittorio De Sica), Paolo discovers that both father and daughter are thieves, as is the rest of the family. As Paolo unsuccessfully tries to bring the family to justice, he finds himself falling for the beauteous Lina, and decides to marry her, certain that matrimony will bring her to the straight and narrow. Peccato Che Sia una Canaglia (released in America as Too Bad She's Bad) marked the first time Sophia Loren (then only twenty years old) was co-starred with her frequent screen partner Marcello Mastroianni; they would eventually make thirteen pictures together. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Catastrophe results from a love triangle. ~ All Movie Guide

This early Luchno Visconti drama stars Anna Magnani as an overbearing stage mother. Magnani's daughter (Tina Apicella) has zero talent, but Magnani raises such a ruckus at the studio after the girl's abortive screen test that the producers eventually find work for the girl. By this point, Magnani has renounced show business and, with daughter in tow, returns to her patient husband, who has been waiting for his wife to get her dreams of vicarious stardom out of her system. Based on a story by famed Italian scenarist (and frequent Fellini collaborator) Cesar Zavattini, Bellissima seems too trivial a story to be given the tender loving care provided by Visconti. Originally released at 130 minutes, the film was honed down to 90 minutes for American consumption. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A father must find a communion dress for his daughter in this award- winning Italian comedy. As he looks throughout the city, he ends up suffering through a variety of mishaps. His is bothered by a cop, his car breaks down, and he can't seem to hail a cab. Eventually, he does find the perfect dress. As he starts home on the bus he gets into a fight and the dress is ruined. He then tries to buy the dress of a neighbor girl. In desperation, he then begins pleading to have the communion time rescheduled. The irony is that, unbeknownst to her devoted dad, the daughter already has a new dress. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set in 13th-century Italy, The Iron Crown is the story of the rise and fall of a corrupt monarch. By defying the crown, a symbol of justice, the monarch is plagued with a series of horrifying visions predicting dire consequences. Arminio (Massimo Girotti), better known for his physique than his acting prowess at the time Iron Crown was filmed), plays the muscular do-gooder who helps topple the wicked ruler, (King Sedemondo (Gino Cervi), from his throne. In the tradition of Italian historical epics, the film is a bit too loud and too long. Made nine years before its 1949 American release, The Iron Crown was a first-prize winner at the Venice Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this swashbuckling period-piece, Gino Cervi portrays the title character, a masked knight who helps both peasants and nobles escape the tyranny of wealthy aristocrats in the 1600s. In the process, he falls in love with a peasant girl (Luisa Ferida), saves gullible duchess Rina Morelli from a golddigging count (Osvaldo Valenti), and becomes a local legend. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Could the Mussolini regime have asked for any more stirring a film title than Patria, Amore e Dovere (Country, Love and Duty)? Set against a naval background, the plot focuses on a young officer who suspects that his wife is cheating on him. Out of respect to his father, an admiral, the officer doesn't make his suspicions public, leaving him to grumble and glower around the house. In truth, wifey is innocent, but the two aren't reconciled until after the officer becomes an accidental war hero. The prolific Alessandro Blassetti is credited with the direction, but Patria, Amore e Dovere doesn't show up in his official resume -- at least, not under that title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide