Carlo Romano Movies
- 1975
A thorough exposition of the history and physical qualities of Antarctica is provided by this Italian documentary, which includes information about the geology, biology, and seismology of the continent. The film also uses historic footage of Amundsen and Scott who raced to discover the South Pole. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnoldo Foa, Renzo Palmer, (more)
- 1967
This sweet coming-of-age film concerns a pair of Italian teenagers, Gabriele (Jacques Perrin) and Giovenella (Rosemarie Dexter), whose parents attempt to keep them apart. Gabriele's father (Folco Lulli) goes so far as to take his son to a prostitute, and when that fails, considers letting the youngster sleep with his own mistress. Gabriele finally rents an apartment, where he and Giovenella consummate their love. A surprisingly prim coda involves a warning by a policeman and the couple's vows to refrain from further physical intimacy until marriage. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosemarie Dexter, Jacques Perrin, (more)
- 1966
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
- Starring:
- Ugo Tognazzi, Giovanna Ralli, (more)
- 1962
Excellently directed by Elio Petri, this psychological and social drama illustrates the contrast between an older man's humanity and the reality of the world around him. When Cesare (Salvo Randone) sees a man die of a heart attack while on a streetcar, he is shocked into changing his own lifestyle before it is too late. So he quits his job and careers around the city, visiting museums, cultural centers, and old friendships or passions that passed him by earlier when he was too busy to notice. But as he runs into a former friend who seems to be corrupted, an old flame which has long since fizzled, and other people with obvious clay feet his attitude toward what he has missed begins to change. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Salvo Randone, Franco Sportelli, (more)
- 1954
La Pensionnaire was released in English-speaking countries as The Boarder. The title character is a good-hearted prostitute named Joy, played by Martine Carol. Unable to locate a cheap hotel room at a swank seaside resort, Joy settles for the only available space, which happens to be in a high-class hotel. Despite her sordid profession, the girl is befriended and protected by the hotel staff, who pay for her lodgings. Not so charitable is the local police chief, though he agrees to allow Joy to stick around if she promises to reform. This proves difficult when Joy innocently finds herself in the middle of several domestic brouhahas. La Pensionnaire might make an amusing double feature with the 1990 Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martine Carol, Raf Vallone, (more)
- 1954
Gabriele Ferzetti essays the amorous title character in Le Avventure di Giacomo Casanova. While incarcerated in a Spanish jail, the famed 18th-century lover remembers some of his more formidable conquests. Though many women have thrown themselves at Casanova's feet, the true love of his life was a Venetian lovely (Corinne Calvert) who steadfastly resisted his charms. Virtually plotless, the film is essentially an unending parade of feminine pulchritude, attractively garbed in revealing period costumes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriele Ferzetti
- 1954
Melody of Love was designed as a showcase for the splendid singing of Roman radio star Giacomo Rondinella. The star plays an impecunious young man whose romance with Maria Fiore is jeopardized by Maria's wealthy father Giovanni Grasso. Papa has selected handsome, apparently respectable Mirko Ellis as a potential son-in-law, but Maria is steadfast in her love for Rondinella. When it turns out that Ellis is actually a notorious drug smuggler, Grasso has an instantaneous change of heart. There's also a "funny" subplot involving an obscure Italian comedy team, of which the less said the better. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Fiore, Giovanni Grasso, Jr., (more)
Italian maestro Federico Fellini's first international success is a nakedly autobiographical film that bears many of the formal and thematic concerns that recur throughout his work. Set in the director's hometown of Rimini, I Vitelloni follows the lives of five young vitelloni, or layabouts, who while away their listless days in their small seaside village. Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), the leader of the pack, marries his sweetheart, but finds himself constantly distracted by other women. Meanwhile, would-be playwright Leopoldo (Leopoldo Trieste) continues work on his dreary plays, dreaming of staging them one day. Clownish Alberto (Alberto Sordi) still lives at home with his mother and sister, Olga (Claude Farell), while boasting of preserving the family honor by watching over her. While the movie seems to pay little attention to Riccardo (Riccardo Fellini) and Moraldo (Franco Interlenghi), the latter eventually emerges as its key character, plainly serving as Fellini's alter ego. Stuck in adolescence, the five friends stumble into various misadventures, as they seek to spice up their uneventful provincial lives. Ultimately, one of them breaks free from their self-imposed paralysis and moves on, leading to one of the most poignant farewell sequences in film history. A hit in Italy upon its release, I Vitelloni secured Fellini's reputation as an up-and-coming talent, while also introducing its title into Italian vernacular. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberto Sordi, Franco Interlenghi, (more)
- 1953
Le Infedeli is graced by two internationally popular leading ladies: Italy's Gina Lollobrigida and Sweden's Mai Britt. The two actresses are but small portions of a larger plot mosaic, all about keeping up appearances no matter what the provocation. A group of "respectable" people are all partly responsible for the suicide of a servant girl. They are pounced upon by a wily blackmailer (Pierre Cressoy), who knows that these people will pay dearly rather than inform on themselves or others. The villain's comeuppance may seem a bit extreme, but it's undeniably satisfying. This Carlo Ponti-Dino DeLaurentiis production also features Irene Papas and Marina Vlady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, May Britt, (more)
Federico Fellini's directorial debut (co-directed with veteran Alberto Lattuada), Luci del Varietà is a bittersweet drama about a bunch of misfits in a traveling vaudeville troupe. The group of actors, dancers, and performers struggle to make it from town to town, playing to minimal crowds. Their comedic leader, Checco Dal Monte (Peppino De Filippo) just wants his act to be a success. His longtime sweetheart, Melina Amour (Fellini's wife Giulietta Masina), keeps the business end of things together and saves up money with plans of buying a business. Stumbling into one small town for another show, Checco meets beauty queen Lily (Carla Del Poggio) and puts her in the show as a dancer. When it appears that her sex appeal is drawing in large crowds of enthusiastic spectators, she quickly becomes the star of the show. Checco soon becomes infatuated with her, casting aside Melina and breaking up the troupe in order to put on a showcase for Lily instead. The loyal group of outcast performers are left without a leader, while star-eyed Lily proves to be relentless in her quest for fame. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Gina Lollobridgida was a virtual unknown in the U.S. when Campagne a Martello was released to English-speaking countries in 1950. Critics said then what they'd say later: as an actress, Gina was very pretty. The story concerns an Italian prostitute named Agostina (Lollobridgida) who is left without a steady source of income when the American GIs go home. Returning to her own island village, Agostina is secure in the knowledge that she has a sizeable financial nest egg waiting for her. Alas, the money has been rerouted to a home for orphaned and illegitimate children. Incurring the wrath of the locals by demanding that her money be returned, Agostina eventually sees the error of her ways. Director Luigi Zampa shot this film at the same time as an English version with different actors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Eduardo de Filippo, (more)
- 1948
Popular Italian singing star Gino Bechi tops the cast of When Love Calls. Bechi plays Claudio Tancredi, an effusive operatic baritone who can't keep his hands off the ladies. This gets him into plenty of hot water with his wife Anna (Silvana Pampanini), who could never be accused of being the patient or the demure type. The best scenes take place in a bandit camp where Tancredi briefly hides out; American viewers were quite astonished at the amount of feminine pulchritude on display in this extended sequence. The box-office appeal of When Love Calls assured the film an excellent response upon its first release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gino Bechi, Silvana Pampanini, (more)
- 1948
In this operatic film, a traveling clown, convicted of killing his wife and lover, serves his 20-year sentence and then begins searching for his daughter. He finds her living in a wealthy woman's home. To ensure that the girl will not reject him, the clown hires a composer to write an opera about his sad story. Upon hearing it, the sympathetic girl and her father at successfully reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alida Valli, Paul Hoerbiger, (more)
- 1941
Donizetti's fanciful comic opera Elixir of Love is vividly realized in this Italian production. It's the story of Dr. Dulcamara (Armando Falconi), a travelling charlatan who turns a provincial village topsy-turvy. Dulcamara convinces young swain Belcori (Carlo Romano) to purchase a love potion, the better to win the heart of the winsome Adina (Margherita Carosio). One wacky situation leads to another, culminating in a joyous ensemble number. In an attempt to make the material more "cinematic", Elixir of Love is framed in the form of a flashback, related by the offspring of the hero and heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
