''The Walls of Malapaga'' ( it, Le mura di Malapaga, french: Au-delà des grilles (''Beyond the Gates'')), is a 1949 French-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 ...

directed by

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Clément studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed hi ...

and starring Jean Gabin,

Isa Miranda Isa Miranda (born Ines Isabella Sampietro; 5 July 1909 – 8 July 1982) was an Italian actress with an international film career. Biography Miranda was born Ines Isabella Sampietro in Milan, the daughter of atreet car conductor in Mian. When ...

and Andrea Checchi. It was a co-production made by Francinex and Italia Produzione, produced by Alfredo Guarini from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini, Suso Cecchi d'Amico and Alfredo Guarini adapted by Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost. The music score was by Roman Vlad and the cinematography by

Louis Page Louis Antonio Page (27 March 1899 – 11 October 1959) was an England international football player and football manager. His brothers Tom, Jack and Willie were also professional footballers. He spent his youth with Everton and South Liver ...

. It was made at the Farnesina Studios of Titanus in

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 ...

with sets designed by the art director

Piero Filippone Piero Filippone (1911–1998) was an Italian art director who designed the sets for around two hundred films. He created the sets for Roberto Rossellini's 1954 film ''Journey to Italy''.Brunette p.416 Selected filmography * '' Three Cornered Ha ...

and

Luigi Gervasi Luigi Gervasi was an Italian set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''The Taming of the Shrew''. Selected filmography * ''The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' ...

Plot summary

Gabin is Pierre Arrignon, a French criminal, on the run who finds himself in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

, Italy, and falls in love with Marta Manfredini (Isa Miranda), a local woman. The film is set in Italy, and the dialogue is primarily in French.

Cast

* Jean Gabin as Pierre Arrignon *

as Marta Manfredini * Vera Talchi as Cecchina, Marta's daughter * Andrea Checchi as Giuseppe, Marta's husband * Robert Dalban as the mariner * Ave Ninchi as Maria, the neighbour *

Checco Rissone Francesco "Checco" Rissone (7 July 1909 – 26 September 1985) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Rissone was born in Turin, the younger brother of the more famous Giuditta. He debuted on stage at a young age and ...

as the forger * Renato Malavasi as the dentist * Carlo Tamberlani as the inspector * Vittorio Duse as the agent

Awards

''The Walls of Malapaga'' was highly regarded in its day: It won an honorary

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

and both Clément and Miranda won awards at the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.

References

External links

* * * 1949 films 1940s French-language films Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Films directed by René Clément Films set in Genoa Films with screenplays by Jean Aurenche Films with screenplays by Pierre Bost Films with screenplays by Suso Cecchi d'Amico Films with screenplays by Cesare Zavattini Films awarded an Academy Honorary Award French black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films 1949 drama films Italian drama films 1940s French films 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-film-stub