''In the Name of the Pope King'' or ''In nome del papa re'' is a 1977 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 ...

written, and directed by

Luigi Magni Luigi Magni (21 March 1928 – 27 October 2013) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. Life and career Born in Rome, Magni started his career as a screenwriter, in 1956, with ''Tempo di villeggiatura''. In 1968 he collaborated wi ...

. Starring

Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian a ...

, it was not released in USA until 1986. The score was composed by

Armando Trovajoli Armando Trovajoli (also Trovaioli, 2 September 1917 – 28 February 2013) was an Italian film composer and pianist with over 300 credits as composer and/or conductor, many of them jazz scores for exploitation films of the Commedia all'italiana ...

Plot

In October 1867, Papal

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 ...

, under the rule of

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

, is shaken by a bomb explosion in the sewers of the barracks of Palazzo Serristori, which kills twenty-three French

Papal Zouaves The Papal Zouaves ( it, Zuavi Pontifici) were an infantry battalion, later regiment, dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist ...

. A countess, the secret mother of revolutionary Cesare Costa, who is accused with friends Giuseppe Monti and Gaetano Tognetti of having organised this massacre, goes to a judge of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, Bishop of

Priverno Priverno is a town, ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy. It was called ''Piperno'' until 1927. It has a station of the Rome-Naples railway mainline. Nearby is the Monti Lepini chain. It was the birthplace of the canonist Regi ...

Colombo, asking him to help her. To overcome the resistance of the Prelate, she tells him that he is the father of the accused, born during their short affair in 1849. The prelate is able to release him, hiding him in his house along with his girlfriend, but he is not able to intervene in favor of the other two arrested and sentenced to death by the ecclesiastical court, despite an eloquent speech pronounced in front of the court. This speech causes a severe reprimand by the Pope and the General of the Jesuits, at that time called "the Black Pope" (''il Papa Nero'') due to the strong power exercised by this Order on the papacy. At the end, however, Cesare Costa is shot in an ambush by the husband of the countess who believed him to be his wife's lover. Finally, Colombo cites a letter full of bitterness and resentment that he would like to write to the Pope, but to no avail, because of his perpetual cry for sorrow. The movie ends when Colombo breaks with the general of the Society of Jesus, since during a holy Mass he is celebrating, Colombo refuses to administer the

Holy Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ot ...

(communion) to the Jesuit's General, who appears in Church to arrest Colombo. The film describes the advanced decrepitude of the temporal power and its laws in Papal Rome. As an example, after the above-mentioned speech of

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Colombo, one of the old cardinals is awakened from his deep sleep, just to vote in favour of the death penalty of Monti and Tognetti. This power will fall three years later with the

Breach of Porta Pia The Capture of Rome ( it, Presa di Roma) on 20 September 1870 was the final event of the unification of Italy (''Risorgimento''), marking both the final defeat of the Papal States under Pope Pius IX and the unification of the Italian Peninsula ...

Cast

: Don Colombo * Danilo Mattei: Cesare Costa *

Carmen Scarpitta Carmen Scarpitta (26 May 1933 – 26 April 2008) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in 30 films between 1960 and 2001. Scarpitta was born in Hollywood, California. She debuted on stage in 1960 in Alessandro Manzoni's ''Adel ...

: Countess Flaminia * Giovannella Grifeo: Teresa *

Carlo Bagno Carlo Bagno (21 March 1920 – 19 January 1990) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Lendinara, Rovigo, Bagno studied acting at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, graduating in 1941. Bagno was mainly active on ...

: Perpetuo *

Ettore Manni Ettore Manni (6 May 1927 – 27 July 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1952 and 1979. Life and career Born in Rome, Manni debuted as an actor in 1952, when in spite of his acting inexperience he wa ...

: Count Ottavio *

Gabriella Giacobbe Gabriella Giacobbe (1923–1979) was an Italian stage, film and television actress. Born in L'Aquila, Giacobbe graduated at the drama school of Giorgio Strehler and worked long with his company at the Piccolo Teatro, debuting in 1953 with the dr ...

: Maria Tognetti *

Camillo Milli Camillo Migliori, best known as Camillo Milli (1 August 1929 – 20 January 2022) was an Italian stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Milan, Milli formed under Giorgio Strehler at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, where he deb ...

: Don Marino *

Rosalino Cellamare Rosalino Cellamare (born 13 August 1953) better known as Ron, is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. Born in Dorno, province of Pavia, he debuted under his true name at the 1970 edition of the Sanremo Festival, together with Nada. In the ...

: Gaetano Tognetti *

Salvo Randone Salvatore "Salvo" Randone (25 September 1906 – 6 March 1991) was an Italian theatrical, television and film actor. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, Randone debuted on stage in mid-1920s and, after some years in which he played roles of little we ...

: Black Pope

Reception

The film was the highest-grossing Italian film in Italy between August 1977 and April 1978 with a gross of over 1.9 billion lire ($2.2 million) and was second highest-grossing film in the country that year behind ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

''.

Awards

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Carlo Bagno) and Best Production Design. *

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

: Best Film, Best Producer and Best Actor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:In the Name of the Pope King 1977 films 1970s Italian-language films 1970s historical drama films Commedia all'italiana Films directed by Luigi Magni Films scored by Armando Trovajoli Films set in 1867 Italian historical drama films Films about capital punishment Films critical of the Catholic Church Films set in Vatican City 1977 drama films 1970s Italian films