''La falena'' is a 1916 silent Italian

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 ...

directed by

Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...

. The film is considered to be lost, with only a fragment surviving in the film archive of the

Cineteca Italiana Cineteca Italiana is a private film archive located in Milan, Italy, established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996. History Established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996, the Cineteca Italiana houses over 20,000 films and more than 100,000 ...

Plot

Thea (Borelli) is a sculptor diagnosed with

phthisis Phthisis may refer to: Mythology * Phthisis (mythology), Classical/Greco-Roman personification of rot, decay and putrefaction Medical terms * Phthisis bulbi, shrunken, nonfunctional eye * Phthisis miliaris, miliary tuberculosis * Phthisis pulmo ...

before she marries Filippo (Habay). After abandoning him, her health begins to decline. She organises a final party, inviting her estranged husband. He fails to show, as he's now married to another woman. Thea appears naked in front of her guests before she kills herself.

Cast

Lyda Borelli Lyda Cini, Countess of Monselice (née Borelli, 22 March 1884 – 2 June 1959) was an Italian actress of cinema and theatre. Her career in theatre started when she was a child, acting on stage with Paola Pezzaglia in the French drama ''I d ...

as Thea di Marlievo *

Andrea Habay Andrea Habay (1883–1941) was a French film actor. Habay appeared in more forty films during the silent era, mostly in Italy. He also directed three films during the early 1920s. He played the role of Petronius in the 1924 epic '' Quo Vadis'',S ...

as Filippo * Francesco Cacace as Lignères * Giulia Cassini-Rizzotto as Principessa Maria * Nella Montagna as La madre di Thea * Lina Dax as Allegra * Alfonso Cassini as Il maestro di Thea

References

External links

* 1916 films 1916 drama films Italian silent feature films Italian black-and-white films Italian films based on plays Italian drama films Films directed by Carmine Gallone Lost Italian films Silent drama films {{1910s-drama-film-stub