''The Phantom Gondola'' (Italian: ''La gondola delle chimere'') is a 1936 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
Augusto Genina and starring
Marcelle Chantal
Marcelle Chantal (1901–1960) was a French stage and film actress. Chantal appeared in a number of leading roles in films such as Maurice Tourneur's '' In the Name of the Law'' (1932). Early in her career she married British banker Jefferson ...
,
Henri Rollan
Henri Rollan (23 March 1888 – 23 June 1967) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1910 and 1962.
Selected filmography
* '' De afwezige'' (1913)
* '' Les Trois Mousquetaires'' (1921)
* '' The Three Masks'' (19 ...
and
Paul Bernard. The film was a
co-production between the two countries shot at the
Cines Studios 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 ...
and based on a 1926 novel by
Maurice Dekobra
Maurice Dekobra (26 May 1885, Paris – 1 June 1973, Paris) was a French writer. His real name was Ernest-Maurice Tessier. .
Synopsis
A British aristocrat falls in love with a
Venetian Count, without realising that he is a spy against the Turks. When she discovers that he has been captured by the notorious Sélim Pacha she does everything she can to save him.
Cast
Reception
Writing for ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' in 1936,
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
gave the film a poor review, characterizing it as "a cheap, trivial and pretentious story by a popular writer of rather low reputation." While acknowledging that "it is one of the only two films this last year I have found myself unable to endure till the end," and that he had not therefore completed the entire film, Greene explained his action "for never has a melodrama proceeded so slowly, with such a saga-like tread".
[ (reprinted in: )]
See also
* ''
Change of Heart'' (1928), with
Juliette Compton
Juliette Compton (May 3, 1899 – March 19, 1989) was an American actress whose career began in the silent film era and concluded with ''That Hamilton Woman'' in 1941.
Career
Compton was born in Columbus, Georgia, on May 3, 1899. She was a ...
as Lady Winham
* ''
Madonna of the Sleeping Cars'' (1928), with
Claude France
Claude France (March 9, 1893 – January 3, 1928) born in Emden, Germany; was a German-born French actress. She was born Jane Joséphine Anna Françoise Wittig. She was discovered by Leon Gaumont who was impressed with her beauty. She had worked ...
as Lady Diana Wynham
* ''
Madonna of the Sleeping Cars'' (1955), with
Gisèle Pascal
Gisèle Pascal (17 September 1921 – 2 February 2007) was a French actress and a former lover of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.
She was born Gisèle Marie Madeleine Tallone at Cannes, France. Her first movie role was in 1942's '' L'Arl� ...
as Lady Diana Wyndham
References
Bibliography
* Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey & Hay, James & Volpi, Gianni. ''The Companion to Italian Cinema''. Cassell, 1996.
External links
*
1936 films
Italian drama films
French drama films
1936 drama films
1930s Italian-language films
Films directed by Augusto Genina
Films set in Venice
Italian black-and-white films
Films based on French novels
Cines Studios films
French black-and-white films
1930s Italian films
1930s French films
{{1930s-Italy-film-stub