''The Betrothed'' (Italian: ''I Promessi Sposi'') is a 1941 Italian

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

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

Mario Camerini Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...

and starring

Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952-1965), and police detective Jules M ...

Dina Sassoli Dina Sassoli (15 August 1920 – 24 March 2008) was an Italian film actress. She was born on 15 August 1920, in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was best known for her work with Italian director Mario Camerini. She died on 24 March 2008 in Ro ...

and

Ruggero Ruggeri Ruggero Ruggeri (14 November 1871 – 20 July 1953) was an Italian stage and film actor. Ruggeri was a celebrated theatre actor, appearing alongside Lyda Borelli on stage in 1909.Dalle Vacche p.260 From 1914 onward he sporadically made films in ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1827 novel '' The Betrothed'' by

Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel '' The Betrothed'' (orig. it, I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the maste ...

. The film's producers organised a competition to select the lead actress (eventually won by Sassoli) which was modelled on the hunt for

Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the m ...

by the American producer

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. E ...

for ''

Gone With the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

''.Forgacs & Gundle p.159-160 It belongs to the movies of the

calligrafismo Calligrafismo (, "caligraphism") is an Italian style of filmmaking relating to some films made in Italy in the first half of the 1940s and endowed with an expressive complexity that isolates them from the general context. Calligrafismo is in a sh ...

style. It was shot at the

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios wer ...

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 ...

and on location around

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

. The film's sets were created 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 ...

Gastone Medin Gastone Medin (1905–1973) was an Italian art director.Anile p.132 He worked on more than a hundred and fifty films during his career. Selected filmography * ''Figaro and His Great Day'' (1931) * '' Lowered Sails'' (1931) * ''The Table of the P ...

and

Gino Brosio Gino may refer to: * Gino (given name) * Gino (surname) * ''Gino'' (film), a 1993 Australian film * ''Gino the Chicken'', Italian TV series See also * *Geno (disambiguation) *Gino's (disambiguation), various restaurants and fast-food chains *Gi ...

while the costumes were designed by

Gino Sensani Gino Sensani (1888–1947) was an Italian costume designer who worked on over eighty films during his career.Reich & Garofalo p.330 Selected filmography * ''Loyalty of Love'' (1934) * '' Naples of Former Days'' (1938) * ''Kean'' (1940) * ''Beatri ...

. The novel was turned into a film again in 1964 and a television miniseries in 1989.

Plot

Part One

In a small town on

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

, the peasants Renzo (short for Lorenzo) and Lucia love each other, but are hampered by the squire Don Rodrigo, who himself has designs on Lucia. By intimidation, he prevents the parish priest Don Abbondio from celebrating the wedding. The good Friar Cristoforo visits Don Rodrigo, but is unable to dissuade him. Since Don Rodrigo's in love with Lucia, he subsequently tries to kidnap her, but Friar Cristoforo helps Renzo and Lucia to escape across a lake. Lucia goes to

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

, to a convent, while Renzo heads to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, where he becomes involved in a popular unrest (caused by lack of bread). He narrowly escapes the authorities by giving a false name, after unwittingly revealing it. Lucia is kidnapped by a rich man, a friend of Don Rodrigo, after a female nun (of noble descent) at the convent is coerced into helping.

Part Two

Lucia is brought to the castle of the Innominato (Nameless), a friend of Don Rodrigo, but he has second thoughts about his cruel action. In fact, the next day the Innominato visits Cardinal

Federigo Borromeo Federico Borromeo (18 August 1564 – 21 September 1631) was an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Milan, a prominent figure of Counter-Reformation Italy. Early life Federico Borromeo was born in Milan as the second son of Giulio Cesare Borro ...

and repents in his presence. He decides to set Lucia free, accompanied by the parish priest Don Abbondio, who is subsequently rebuked for his moral weakness. Meanwhile, a plague breaks out in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, and both Renzo and Lucia are involved in the scourge. Renzo finds Friar Cristoforo in a hospital at Milan, who preaches forgiveness, not revenge. The young man also sees Don Rodrigo, who was also hit by the plague, dying, and decides to forgive him. When Renzo finally finds and embraces Lucia, the two can at last get married (despite a vow she'd made to the contrary), because they are no longer oppressed. Friar Cristoforo is on hand to resolve the theological issues relating to the vow. As he prays, rain begins to fall.

Partial cast

as Renzo Tramagliano *

as Lucia Mondella *

as Il cardinale Federigo Borromeo *

Armando Falconi Armando Falconi (1871–1954) was an Italian stage and film actor who appeared in more than forty films during his career. He played the lead in the 1931 comedy '' The Charmer''.Landy p.63-65 Life and career Born in Rome, Falconi was the son ...

as Don Abbondio *

Enrico Glori Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri ( French), ...

as Don Rodrigo *

Carlo Ninchi Carlo Ninchi (31 May 1896 – 27 April 1974) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1963. He was born in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, and died on 27 April 1974 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Selected filmogra ...

as L'Innominato * Luis Hurtado as Padre Cristoforo *

Evi Maltagliati Evi Maltagliati (11 August 1908 – 27 April 1986) was an Italian stage, television and film actress. Life and career Born in Florence as Evelina Maltagliati, she started her career at debuted in the theater just 15 years old, in the Galli-Gua ...

as La monaca di Monza detta "La Signora" * as Perpetua *

Franco Scandurra Franco Scandurra (27 July 1911 – 15 April 2003) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1941 to 1984. Filmography References External links * 1911 births 2003 deaths Italian male film actors {{Italy- ...

as Il conte Attilio *

Gilda Marchiò Gilda Marchiò (1884–1954) was an Italian theatre actress.Bassnett & Lorch p.86 She also appeared in a number of films in the 1940s, her performances including a small role in the 1942 propaganda film ''Odessa in Flames''. Selected filmography ...

as Agnese Mondella, madre di Lucia *

Dino Di Luca Dino Di Luca (5 May 1903 - 11 May 1991), also billed as Dino Diluca, was a leading Italian actor of both stage, screen and television. He was active in both Italy and the United States of America from the 1930s through the 1960s. Biography Dino D ...

as Il Griso *

Enzo Biliotti Enzo Biliotti (28 June 1887 – 19 November 1976) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 80 films between 1916 and 1958. He was born in Livorno, Italy and died in Bologna, Italy. Selected filmography * '' The Betrothed'' (1923) * ''Villafra ...

as Antonio Ferrer *

Lauro Gazzolo Lauro Gazzolo (born Ilario Gazzolo; 15 October 1900 – 2 October 1970) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Nervi in Genoa, Gazzolo began his career on screen in 1938 starring in the comedy film ''The Document'' and beca ...

as Ambrogio Fusella *

Giacomo Moschini Giacomo Moschini (1896–1943) was an Italian film actor.Verdone p.67 Selected filmography * ''Rails'' (1929) * '' The Charmer'' (1931) * ''Resurrection'' (1931) * ''Paradise'' (1932) * ''Unjustified Absence'' (1939) * ''The Document'' (1939) * ' ...

as Il dottor Azzeccagarbugli

References

Bibliography

* Forgacs, David & Gundle, Stephen. ''Mass Culture and Italian Society from Fascism to the Cold War''. Indiana University Press, 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Betrothed, The (1941 film) 1941 films Italian historical drama films 1940s historical drama films 1940s Italian-language films Films directed by Mario Camerini Films based on Italian novels Films based on works by Alessandro Manzoni Films scored by Ildebrando Pizzetti Films set in the 1620s Films set in the 1630s Italian black-and-white films Films shot at Cinecittà Studios Lux Film films 1941 drama films 1940s Italian films