''Never Take No for an Answer'' is a 1951 British–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 Maurice Cloche and Ralph Smart and featuring

Denis O'Dea Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor. He was born in Dublin and attended Synge Street CBS. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from County Kerry) moved in with her sister, who kept a boardin ...

Vittorio Manunta Vittorio is an Italian male given name which has roots from the Byzantine-Bulgarian name Victor. People with the given name Vittorio include: * Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, pretender to the former Kingdom of Italy * Vittorio Adorni, pro ...

, Guido Celano and Nerio Bernardi. It is based on Paul Gallico's 1951 story ''The Small Miracle'', about an Italian orphan boy who goes to visit the Pope.Crowther, Bosley. ''Never Take No for an Answer'', ''New York Times'', 29 April 1952
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Plot

Nine-year-old war orphan Peppino Arrigo lives in the Italian town of

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...

with his donkey, Violetta. The two are devoted to each other and make a living transporting goods for the locals. One night, Violetta falls seriously ill and Peppino runs for the vet, who, on examining her, tells Peppino that he can do nothing to save her and that she may live for only another week or two. Very worried, Peppino takes Violetta to the church of St Francis, hoping that the priests will let him take her down into the crypt to be blessed and cured at the shrine of St Francis, but the priests will not allow it. Only the Holy Father himself could give such permission. So Peppino decides to take the matter to the very top and, leaving Violetta in the loving care of a friend, he sets off alone on an eighty-mile journey to see the Pope in Rome and get that permission. But, when he finally reaches Rome, he finds to his dismay that getting inside the Vatican to see the Pope will be no mean feat. However, Peppino will not take no for an answer...

Production

The screenplay is by Paul and Pauline Gallico, adapted from his 1951 story. Produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan's Constellation Films, it was directed by Maurice Cloche and Ralph Smart, who both also received screenwriter credit. Assisting with production was Prince Alessandro Tasca di Cutò, a Sicilian aristocrat who was cousin of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, author of '' The Leopard''. Nino Rota composed the musical score. The film's actors were mostly dubbed in post-production at the Gate Studios in

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

. In Italy a separate version was released known as ''Peppino and Violetta''. The film was made with financial backing from the NFFC.

Reception

The film was made by the British entirely in Italy, where special permission was granted for filming to take place inside the Vatican itself. Bosley Crowther, in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', observed that the film is "particularly adroit in the way in which it works in a stunning panorama of religious buildings in Assisi and Rome". The unusual and beautiful backgrounds of Assisi and Rome were also noted by John Fitzgerald of the BBC film program ''Current Release''. The film was BAFTA nominated for Best British Film of 1951. A remake was produced in 1974 for the

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television series.

Cast

*Vittorio Manunta as Peppino"Revolt of an Angel", ''Life'', June 2, 1952
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as Father Damico * Guido Celano as Strotti * Nerio Bernardi as Father Superior * Clelia Matania as Mrs. Strotti *

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as Monk * Frank Coulson as Dr. Bartolo * Eliso della Vedova as Sergente dei Carabinieri * Carlo Borelli as Chemist * Giorgio Riganti as Giuseppe * Edward Hitchcock as Old Workman * Roberto Adamina as Gianni * Riccardo Foti as Monsignor Magana * John Murphy as Father O'Brien * Enzo Fiermonte as Sergeant of Swiss Guards * Dino Nardi as 1st Monsignor

References

Bibliography

* Harper, Sue & Porter, Vincent. ''British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference''. Oxford University Press, 2007.

External links

* {{Maurice Cloche Films directed by Ralph Smart British drama films 1951 drama films 1951 films Films produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan British multilingual films Films directed by Maurice Cloche 1950s multilingual films British black-and-white films Films shot at Elstree Studios Films shot in Rome Films set in Rome 1950s English-language films 1950s British films