Gino Cervi

Spain 1650.
A noble knight is involved, in spite of himself, in a conspiracy against King Philip IV, hatched by the French ambassador and by the treacherous prime minister.
Thanks to his courage and to the extreme skill as a swordsman, through a series of incredible adventures, the knight is able to get rid of all intrigue, to reveal the plot to the sovereign, to get the love of a beautiful woman, formerly his enemy, and, making himself believe dead after a mock execution, to take revenge of his enemies.Read More »

Jean Valjean, pursued through the years for a minor infraction by the implacable policeman Javert, attempts to create a life for himself and for his adopted daughter Cosette amid the revolutionary struggles of France.

The film, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, was released divided into two episodes: the first was titled Caccia all’uomo, the second, Tempesta su Parigi.Read More »

The beautiful Beatrice Cenci, daughter of the noble Francesco, falls in love with the intendant Olimpio. But she has to face the jealousy of her violent and morbid father, and the hostility of her stepmother Lucrezia.Read More »

Fourth film by Freda, “Aquila Nera” is a “cappa e spada” adventure set in 19th century Russia (Pushkin’s tale is the source material): Tzar’s Army Officer Dubrowskij becomes an outlaw to avenge his father’s death and leads a pesant’s revolt against a greedy nobleman.Read More »

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 »

Liana, a young architecture student from a wealthy family, is about to get married to an engineer. Everything in her life seems well until she is confronted with the idea she is sacrificing the rest of her life for a man she barely knows and a mediocre lifestyle. So begins a series of romantic encounters in which Liana tries to find her freedom and happiness, but which will ultimately lead her to a tragic fate.

Selected as one of the “100 Italian Films To Be Saved”Read More »

With both Don Camillo and his communist archenemy Peppone away in Rome, the little Italian village of Brescello is at last a haven of peace. But this happy state of affairs doesn’t last long… The news that the villagers plan to demolish an ancient chapel and build a House of the People in its place soon reaches the ears of Don Camillo, now comfortably ensconced in the Vatican. Appalled by this proposed act of desecration, the priest hurries back to his former village and is soon caught up in yet another blood-and-guts tussle with the troublesome Peppone.Read More »

Four prominent men take under their wing a young Parisian flower girl.
With the help of her Pygmalions she becomes a famous cabaret singer. She falls in love with a charming gambler, Henri, who becomes her first lover. Abandoned by him, and after years spent in Russia with Prince Vladimir, Frou-Frou returns to France, where she has to rebuild her own life by singing in second-order theaters.
She then meets and has a relationship with a painter, Michel, by whom she has a daughter. After Michel’s suicide she devotes herself to her.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 »