''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 Maurice Cloche (17 June 1907, Commercy, Meuse – 23 March 1990, Bordeaux, France) was a French film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. Best known for his Oscar-winning film ''Monsieur Vincent'' (1947) he won a 1948 Special Ac ...

and

Ralph Smart Ralph Foster Smart (27 August 1908 – 12 February 2001) was a film and television producer, director, and writer, born in England to Australian parents. Biography Smart found work in Britain with Anthony Asquith and later alongside the film dir ...

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,

Guido Celano Guido Celano (19 April 1904 – 7 March 1988) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He appeared in 120 films between 1931 and 1988. He also directed two Spaghetti Westerns: '' Cold Killer'' and '' Gun Shy Piluk''. He was born ...

and

Nerio Bernardi Nerio Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Nero'' (1922) * ''The Sheph ...

. It is based on

Paul Gallico Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictu ...

'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
/ref>

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 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 ...

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 ''The Leopard'' ( it, Il Gattopardo ) is a novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa that chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the ''Risorgimento''. Published posthumously in 1958 by Feltrinelli, after two rejections by the ...

''.

Nino Rota Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...

composed the musical score. The film's actors were mostly dubbed in post-production at the

Gate Studios Gate Studios was one of the many studios known collectively as Elstree Studios in the town of Borehamwood, England. Opened in 1928, the studios were in use until the early 1950s. The studios had previously been known as Whitehall Studios, Consoli ...

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 Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Trent ...

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 Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, 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

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...

television series.

Cast

*Vittorio Manunta as Peppino"Revolt of an Angel", ''Life'', June 2, 1952
/ref> *

as Father Damico *

as Strotti *

as Father Superior *

Clelia Matania Clelia Matania (28 March 1918 – 14 October 1981) was an Italian film and voice actress. Life and career Born in London, the daughter of the Capri-born naturalized Briton painter Fortunino Matania (best known as Saturnino), Matania attended t ...

as Mrs. Strotti *

Henri Vidon Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

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 Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to D ...

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