''Black Feathers'' (Italian: ''Penne nere'') is a 1952 Italian

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Oreste Biancoli Oreste Biancoli (20 February 1897 – 25 November 1971) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 90 films between 1930 and 1986. He also directed nine films between 1938 and 1952. He was born in Bologna, Italy ...

and starring

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...

Marina Vlady Marina Vlady (born 10 May 1938) is a French actress. Biography Vlady was born in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine to White Russian immigrant parents. Her father was an opera singer and her mother was a dancer. Her sisters, now all deceased, were the act ...

and

Camillo Pilotto Camillo Pilotto (6 February 1888 Birth name: Camillo Raul Vittorio Pilotto. – 27 May 1963) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 101 films between 1916 and 1963. He was born and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''The Song ...

. It was shot at the

Titanus Studios Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome. Lomb ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Ottavio Scotti Ottavio Scotti (1904–1975) was an Italian art director. Scotti was born in Umago, which was then part of Italy but is today in Croatia. He worked on more than a hundred films during his career, including Orson Welles's ''Black Magic'' which wa ...

Plot

Two young people, Pieri Cossutti and Gemma Vianello, live their love in the town of Stella, an alpine village in Carnia located next to a large dam, not far from the border between Italy and Austria. The Second World War provokes the call to arms of Pieri and his brother Olinto, who must leave his wife and little son. Gemma's father dies during a bombing, and at that point she is welcomed into the Cossutti house. At the time of the armistice of 8 September, Pieri and Olinto are in Albania, from where - with other Italian soldiers who refuse to surrender to the Germans - they begin a long march to return to their homeland. Among the hardships, the group gradually shrinks and even Olinto dies. Pieri and a few others arrive in Stella and are able to courageously prevent the Germans from blowing up the great dam. Gemma is injured and Pieri decides to marry her on the verge of death. The woman, however, against all odds, recovers and the two will finally live their complete love story.

Cast

as Pietro 'Pieri' Cossutti *

as Gemma Vianello *

as Zef Cossutti - il nonno *

Vera Carmi Vera Carmi (23 November 1914 – 6 September 1969) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1940 and 1956. She was born in Turin, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Life and career Carmi was born Virginia Doglioli ...

as Catina Cossutti *

Guido Celano Guido Celano (19 April 1904 – 7 March 1988) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He appeared in 120 films between 1931 and 1988. He also directed two Spaghetti Westerns: '' Cold Killer'' and '' Gun Shy Piluk''. He was born ...

as Olinto Cossutti *

Enzo Staiola Enzo Staiola (born 15 November 1939) is an Italian actor best known for playing, at the age of nine, the role of Bruno Ricci in Vittorio De Sica's neorealist 1948 film ''Bicycle Thieves''. He appeared in several other films including, in 1954, ...

as Antonio 'Tonino' Cossutti * Hélène Vallier as Natalìa Cossutti * Liuba Soukhanowa as Giulia Cossutti * Giuseppe Chirarandini as Don Angelo - il prete

References

Bibliography

* Perra, Emiliano. ''Conflicts of Memory: The Reception of Holocaust Films and TV Programmes in Italy, 1945 to the Present''. Peter Lang, 2010.

External links

* 1952 films 1950s Italian-language films Italian World War II films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Oreste Biancoli Italian war drama films 1950s war drama films 1950s Italian films Films with screenplays by Giuseppe Berto {{WWII-film-stub