Alessandro Blasetti

Originally released in 1942, Four Steps in the Clouds (Quattro Passi fra le Nuvole) was a major stepping stone in the starring career of Gino Cervi. The story begins as young unwed mother-to-be Maria (Adriana Benetti) desperately casts about for a means of avoiding disgrace. Making the acquaintance of good-natured Paolo Bianchi (Cervi), Maria persuades him to pose as her husband and meet her family.

Immediately ingratiating himself with Maria’s parents, Paolo plays his part so well that only a completely unforeseen disaster could spoil the charade. And when that disaster inevitably arrives, it is Paolo who comes to the rescue…Read More »

During 1817-1823 the people of Venezuela fought for independence against the Spanish colonial army. General Boliviar tries to unify the rebel parties, but it’s hard since they differ in descent and race. But in a risky fight against a numerical superior army convoy he can convince the other leaders. Further on he’s the “Libertator”. He starts to call all men into his new army. His vision is to free not only Venezuela, but all American countries.Read More »

Quote:
Made immediately following the end of the war, Blasetti’s Un giorno nella vita follows
the trend of many other Italian films from this moment in history, and investigates the
situation of Italian people locked in mortal conflicts on native soil. In this case, the setting is
a secluded Convent of Nuns, the inhabitants of which appear to have lived through the war
years relatively oblivious and unaffected by the events of the outside world. However, the
peace of the Convent is upset, when a group of Italian partisans led by Amedeo Nazzari
takes shelter on the grounds of the convent. The Germans are in close pursuit, and one of
the partisans is in dire need of medical attention. Elisa Cegani and Mariella Lotti are
featured in the cast of nuns, who decide to aid the wounded partisan, and slowly also come
to sympathize with the battle weary men.Read More »

Freely excerpted from Wikipedia:
In 1503, the French and the Spanish fight over the region surrounding the Sicilian castle of Morreale. Giovanna, the beautiful castellan, yearns to free herself from the foreign yoke and for this she wants to marry a brave knight. Graiano d’Asti deceives her by letting Ettore Fieramosca fight in his place and then bragging with Giovanna about the feat, thus managing to convince her to marry him.Read More »

The mood is set with the opening with excerpts from the Excelsior Ball, a famous ballet at the turn of the century that heralded the advances of the upcoming century, for a book-dealer to introduce the various stories in this compilation film. The first story chosen is (English titles) “Less Than a Day”, a comedy of would-be lovers meeting in a country-side rendezvous; “A Question of Property” is a story of two men who fight over the ownership of a load of manure; “The Idyll” is the story of a well-to-do young boy who has a crush on the girl next door, and he has been told by his mother that babies are born when two people kiss. Read More »

PLOT:
Maria and Paolo are in love, but they are very young, and most importantly Maria is the daughter of the municipal sweeper while Paolo is the son of lawyer Bonelli, deputy mayor and leader of the opposition.
To complicate matters there is the reconstruction of a hospice destroyed during the war. The reconstruction would obstruct the panorama enjoyable from the villa of Paseroni, big industrialist and political wheeler-dealer.
Bonelli, great speaker, becomes mayor for the death of his predecessor, and gets bribed by Paseroni, while refusing the love of Paolo and Maria for the social differences, and because Paolo should go after Paseroni’s daughter.
At this point, Paolo and Maria flee to kill themselves, just as Bonelli is about to give a speech on the radio for the inauguration of the villa of Paseroni…Read More »

IMDb:
An anticipation of Blasetti’s style. A great movie about the Siena Palio. Guido Celano (Zarre) is a very good actress and Leda Gloria too. The Tuscany environment is very well depicted. The performing style is influenced by the period, but it is quite good anyway. It is a very uncommon movie and the best representation of Palio, a religious and sporting event in Siena. Blasetti, then, after Il Palio and Terre Sole, start a wonderful career as director and will anticipates the “neorealism” with his 1942’s movie “Quattro passi fra le nuvole”. Very impressive the opening scene with Zarre riding a horse in the Siena countryside.Read More »

Quote:
Aldebaran is in some places erroneously reported as a “lost” film, but here it is! After
a couple of projects had either been postponed or fallen through for Blasetti, it was
suggested that he should make a film about the navy in peacetime. The result is this
strange film, which at the outset plays like a propaganda piece for the might of the Italian
navy, only to veer off into high melodrama, as it zeroes in on Commander Corrado Valeri
(Gino Cervi), and his conflict between duty and the jealousy of his wife. There are comedic
asides, a visit to a North African club, affording Blasetti to contribute the first scenes of
nudity in Italian film, and there are moments of heroics, including a mission to rescue the
doomed crew of a wrecked submarine. As if all of that was not more than enough, the film
features a star studded cast including Evi Maltagliati, Gianfranco Giachetti, Doris Duranti,
Elisa Cegani (in her debut), and even a brief cameo by Blasetti himself.Read More »

Review (amazon.com)
Un celebre baritono incontra sul piroscafo che lo conduce dall’America in Italia, una non meno celebre pianista. Costei è ricchissima e superba. Il baritono se ne innamora ma soffre per l’alterigia di lei. Poiché la ragazza ha beffato alcuni cantanti che si sono esibiti durante un concerto a bordo, il baritono si rifiuta di cantare, ed anzi, se la ragazza non promette di starsene rinchiusa nel camerino della Scala, egli è deciso a non partecipare alle recite liriche per cui è stato scritturato a Milano. Per quanto altezzosa la ragazza, che ricambia segretamente i sentimenti dell’uomo, si reca durante il suo debutto nel camerino di lui. Intanto un famoso critico nega qualunque valore al nuovo cantante, anche perché è geloso dell’interessamento che la ricca ereditiera dimostra per lui. Il cantante, d’accordo con la direzione del teatro, si presenta in una nuova opera sotto il nome di un suo collega polacco, di cui il critico è entusiasta. Durante l’intervallo egli, alla presenza di tutti, svela la propria identità al critico stesso che aveva tessuto pubblicamente le lodi dell’interprete straniero. Dopo questa vittoria egli ha modo di conoscere i veri sentimenti della ragazza di cui è innamorato. I due concluderanno l’avventura con il matrimonio.Read More »