''The Gates of Heaven'' ( it, La porta del cielo) is a 1945 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-g ...

directed by

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

. The film was made during the German occupation of Rome, with support from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. This and another film ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' allowed a number of actors, under pressure to go north and work in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

for the film industry of

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 ...

's puppet

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

, to remain in Rome.Gundle p.262 The film's sets were designed by Salvo D'Angelo who also worked as co-producer. Vittorio de Sica hired approximately 300 extras, who were Jewish or simply being persecuted by the Nazi regime, because of their physical oddity. To avoid their deportation and later execution, he prolonged the shooting of the film as long as he could, awaiting the arrival of the allied armies. The film won the OCIC Special Award at the

53rd Venice International Film Festival The 53rd annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 28 August to 7 September 1996. Jury The following people comprised the 1996 jury: * Roman Polanski (head of jury) * Paul Auster * Souleymane Cissé * Mrinal Sen * Callisto ...

in 1996 for efforts to restore the film.

Plot

This is the story of a train full of sick and deformed pilgrims on their way to seek miracles at the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, near the city of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

in eastern Italy.

Cast

Marina Berti Elena Maureen Bertolino (29 September 1924 – 29 October 2002), known professionally as Marina Berti, was an Italian film actress. She was born in London from an Italian father and an English mother. Biography Her first screen appearance was ...

as La crocerossina * Elettra Druscovich as Filomena, la governante *

Massimo Girotti Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades. Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While studying eng ...

as Il giovane cieco *

Roldano Lupi Roldano Lupi (8 February 1909 – 13 August 1989) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1942 and 1967. He was born in Milan, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Jealousy'' (1942) * '' Yes, Madam'' ...

as Giovanni Brandacci, il pianista *

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'accompagnatore del cieco *

Elli Parvo Elli Parvo (17 October 1915 – 19 February 2010) was an Italian film actress, born in Milan as Elvira Gobbo. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1934 and 1960. Selected filmography * ''Loyalty of Love'' (1934) as La nobildonna al b ...

as La signora provocante *

María Mercader María de la Asunción Mercader Forcada (; 6 March 1918 – 26 January 2011) was a Spanish film actress who appeared in some forty films between 1923 and 1992. Julian Gorkin wrote that her cousin was born Montserrat in the family of Carida ...

as Maria (as Maria Mercader) * Cristiano Cristiani as Claudio Gorini, il bambino paralizzato *

Giovanni Grasso Giovanni Grasso (11 November 1888 – 30 April 1963) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1910 and 1955. He was born and died in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Born into a family of marionettists, he was ...

as Il commerciante paralitico * Giuseppe Forcina as L'ingegniere * Enrico Ribulsi as Uno dei nepoti del commerciante * Amelia Bissi as La signora Enrichetta *

Annibale Betrone Annibale Betrone (1883–1950) was an Italian stage and film actor.Goble p.34 Selected filmography * '' Black Shirt'' (1933) * ''Villafranca'' (1934) * ''Teresa Venerdì'' (1941) * '' Piccolo mondo antico'' (1941) * '' Fedora'' (1942) * '' Torren ...

as Il medico del treno bianco * as La contessa crocerossina *

Pina Piovani Pina Piovani (20 March 1897 – 2 January 1955) was an Italian stage and film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or i ...

as La zia del piccolo Claudio *

Giulio Alfieri Giulio Alfieri (10 July 1924 – 20 March 2002) was an Italian automobile engineer, affiliated with Maserati in Modena, Italy since 1953, where he was central to the development of racing and production cars in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Alfieri ...

as Un signore anziano *

Giulio Calì Giulio Calì (26 March 1895 – 20 January 1967) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1927 and 1966. Life and career Born in Rome, Calì started his career on stage, being mainly active in Roman dialect theat ...

as Il napoletano curioso * Teresa Mariani *

Vittorio Cottafavi Vittorio Cottafavi (30 January 1914 – 14 December 1998) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 70 films between 1943 and 1985. His film '' Il diavolo sulle colline'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at th ...

Gildo Bocci Gildo Bocci (1 September 1886 – 22 July 1964) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1913 and 1959. He was born and died in Rome, Italy. Partial filmography * ''Messalina'' (1924) - Apollonio * ''Quo Vadis'' (1924) - ...

References

Bibliography

* Gundle, Stephen. ''Mussolini's Dream Factory: Film Stardom in Fascist Italy''. Berghahn Books, 2013.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates Of Heaven, The 1945 films 1945 drama films Italian drama films 1940s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Vittorio De Sica Films set on trains Films with screenplays by Cesare Zavattini Lux Film films Films scored by Enzo Masetti 1940s Italian films