''Nerone'' (1930) is an Italian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, directed by

Alessandro Blasetti Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced Italian neorealism with the film ''Quattro passi fra le nuvole''. Blasetti was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during ...

. It stars

Ettore Petrolini Ettore Petrolini (13 January 1884 – 29 June 1936) was an Italian stage and film actor, playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is considered one of the most important figures of avanspettacolo, vaudeville and revue. He was noted for his numerou ...

as the main actor. It has been described as a "Roman farce", a genre which was popular in Italy at the time. It is a parody of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

and of the notorious Roman emperor,

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. It was shot at the

Cines Studios The Cines Studios were film production studios located in the Italian capital Rome. They were established on Via Veio in 1930 by Stefano Pittaluga, head of the Cines film company, at the beginning of the sound era. It produced Italy's first sound ...

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 ...

. According to some critics, this parody was actually a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

against the

fascist dictatorship A right-wing dictatorship, sometimes also referred to as a rightist dictatorship or right-wing authoritarianism, is an authoritarian or sometimes totalitarian regime following right-wing policies. Right-wing dictatorships are typically character ...

and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

. A full copy of the film no longer exists; there are only several excerpts that were included in the documentary ''Antologia Petrolini'' that was edited by the National Film Library and was shown at the 1952

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

Synopsis

The film features some unforgettable characters (more precisely in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: '' macchiette'') created by Ettore Petrolini: '' Gastone'', '' Fortunello'' and Nero. Nero, who rides a bicycle, which burns Rome with a match, then calls the fire department by phone from the imperial palace. There is also Petrolini in his

dressing room A changing-room, locker-room, (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context) or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...

surrounded by admirers, including a young girl who returns to the theater the next day, between the two was born a flirt, but the actor will not leave the theater to go out with her.

Cast

: Gastone/Nerone/Fortunello/Pulcinella/himself * Grazia del Rio: l'ammiratrice (the fan) *

Mercedes Brignone Mercedes Brignone (18 May 1885 – 24 June 1967) was a Spanish-born Italian stage, film and television actress. She was the daughter of the actor Giuseppe Brignone. She often played divas, and appeared in numerous silent films for Milano Films ...

: Atte (

Claudia Acte Claudia Acte was a freedwoman of ancient Rome who became a mistress of the emperor Nero. She came from Asia Minor and might have become a slave of the Emperor Claudius, following his expansion of the Roman Empire into Lycia and Pamphylia; or she mi ...

) *

Alfredo Martinelli Alfredo Martinelli (7 March 1899 – 11 November 1968) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 103 films between 1916 and 1967. He was born and died in Siena, Tuscany. Selected filmography * ''I Topi Grigi'' (1918) * ''Tortured Soul'' (1 ...

: Petronio (

Publius Petronius Turpilianus Publius Petronius Turpilianus was a Roman senator who held a number of offices in the middle of the 1st century AD, most notably governor of Britain. He was an ordinary consul in the year 61 with Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus as his colleague.Pau ...

) *

Elma Krimer Elma or ELMA may refer to: Places United States * Elma, Iowa, a city in the US * Elma, New York, a town in the US ** Elma Center, New York * Elma, Washington, a city in the US * Elma Township, Richland County, North Dakota, in Richland Coun ...

: Poppea, (

Poppaea Sabina Poppaea Sabina (AD 30 – 65), also known as Ollia, was a Roman empress as the second wife of the Emperor Nero. She had also been wife to the future emperor Otho. The historians of antiquity describe her as a beautiful woman who used intrigues ...

)

Production

It is the first of three sound films interpreted by Ettore Petrolini who, flanked by some members of his theater company, performs here in some of the characters that had made him famous:

Pulcinella Pulcinella (; nap, Pulecenella) is a classical character that originated in of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept t ...

, Gastone, Fortunello,

. In Italy it grossed nearly 5 million lire, an impressive success for the time, compared to €35,000,000 today. Blasetti, despite self-defining his role as just a "technical coordinator", without any directorial role, he left his mark, starting from the idea of the "spoken" opening titles. He was particularly critically appreciated for the choice of shots and camera movements, including the initial use of

camera dolly A camera dolly is a wheeled cart or similar device used in filmmaking and television production to create smooth horizontal camera movements. The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and focus puller or camera assistant usual ...

, that was technically very challenging for the time.Gianfranco Gori, Alessandro Blasetti. Firenze, La nuova Italia, 1984. pp. 22-23

References

External links

* 1930 films 1930 lost films 1930s historical comedy films Films directed by Alessandro Blasetti Italian historical comedy films 1930s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Cines Studios films Depictions of Nero on film 1930 comedy films Lost Italian films 1930s Italian films {{historic-film-stub