Titanus is an Italian

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the

Via Tiburtina Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur) and then, with the via Valeria, on to Pescara (Latin, Aternum). Historical road It was probably built by the Roman censor Marcus Valerius Maxi ...

, 13 km from the centre of Rome. Lombardo ran the studios until his death in 1951. His son,

Goffredo Lombardo Goffredo Lombardo (15 May 1920 – 2 February 2005) was an Italian film producer. He was the son of the producer Gustavo Lombardo and took over control of the company Titanus after his father's death in 1951. Selected filmography * ''Chain ...

(1920–2005) and later his grandson, Guido Lombardo have continued to run the company. Titanus sede Roma

The company has been responsible for hundreds of Italian productions. Titanus made many peplum films and comedies featuring

Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...

and

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

and Ciccio. The film ''

The Shortest Day ''The Shortest Day'' ( it, Il giorno più corto) is a 1963 Italian comedy film. It is a parody of the war movie '' The Longest Day'' and stars the popular duo Franco and Ciccio in the leading roles. Dozens of other well-known actors, from both Eu ...

'' was not only a parody of '' The Longest Day'' but featured a galaxy of stars who made the film to help the studio. The studio made numerous

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

s with American (''

Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...

'', ''

The Angel Wore Red ''The Angel Wore Red'', also known as ''La sposa bella'' in its Italian version, is a 1960 Italian-American MGM/Titanus coproduction war drama starring Ava Gardner and Dirk Bogarde. It was directed by Nunnally Johnson and produced by Goffredo Lomb ...

'') and French ('' Plein Soleil'') film studios. After the arrival of the

French new wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

films, Titanus launched a "youth operation", which gave young film artists a chance to create low-budget films with relative freedom. This had approximately 100 first and second productions for Titanus made between 1960 and 1965. This included films by new directors such as

Ermanno Olmi Ermanno Olmi (24 July 1931 – 7 May 2018)Lane, John Francis (May 7, 2018).Ermanno Olmi obituary. ''The Guardian''. theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018. was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Biography Olmi was born to a Catholic ...

, Elio Petri,

Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mereg ...

and

Lina Wertmuller Lina (pronounced "Leena") is a feminine given name. Languages of origin include: English, Italian, Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Persian, Kurdish, Arabic. It is also the short form of a variety of names ending in -lina including Catali ...

. Titanus closed down its production branch in 1964. After a hiatus of approximately ten years, Titanus reorganized and resumed film production on a smaller scale. Despite a few false starts, the company seemed to be back on its feet by the late 1980s, though, now, most of its work is being done for television.

Selected films

* ''L'avvenire in agguato'' directed by Giulio Antamoro (1916) * ''L'ombra'' directed by Mario Caserini (1917) * ''Il piacere'' directed by Amleto Palermi (1918) * ''Io ti uccido!'' directed by Giulio Antamoro (1919) * ''Friquet'' directed by Gero Zambuto (1919) * ''Vautrin'' directed by Alexandre des Varennes (1919) * ''Il castello di bronzo'' directed by Emilio Ghione (1920) * '' I figli di nessuno'' (1951) * ''

Il Cappotto ''The Overcoat'' ( it, Il Cappotto) is a 1952 Italian fantasy-drama film directed by Alberto Lattuada. It stars Renato Rascel and is a modern-day version, set in Italy, of the same-named 1842 short tale by Nikolai Gogol. The director's sister, Bi ...

'' (1952) * '' Rome 11:00'' (1952) * ''

Storms A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

'' (1953) * '' Pane, amore e fantasia'' (1953) * ''

Pane, amore e gelosia ''Bread, Love and Jealousy'' ( it, Pane, amore e gelosia), known as ''Frisky'' in the US, is a 1954 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Luigi Comencini. It is the second part of the Italian trilogy, preceded by ''Bread, Love and Dreams'' an ...

'' (1954) * ''

Siamo donne ''We, the Women'' (also known as ''Of Life and Love'' and in it, Siamo donne) is a 1953 Italian portmanteau film divided into five segments and directed by five different directors. Four of these segments focus upon alleged events in the privat ...

'' (1953) * ''

Il segno di Venere ''The Sign of Venus'' ( it, Il segno di Venere) is a 1955 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi and starring Sophia Loren. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The story revolves around an attractive woman named Agnese (Lo ...

'' (1955) * ''

Il bidone ''Il bidone'' (, "The Drum .html" ;"title="ontainer/nowiki>">ontainer/nowiki>"; also known as ''The Swindle'' or ''The Swindlers'') is a 1955 Italian film directed by Federico Fellini from his own screenplay co-written with Ennio Flaiano and T ...

'' (1955) * '' Pane, amore e...'' (1955) * '' Il Tetto'' (1956) * ''

Poveri ma belli ''Poveri ma belli'' (U.S. title: ''Poor, But Handsome''; U.K. title: ''A Girl in Bikini'') is a successful 1957 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. There have been two sequels, also directed by Risi and starring Marisa Allasio, Maurizio ...

'' (1957) * '' Arrivederci Roma'' (1958) * ''

The Naked Maja ''The Naked Maja'' is a 1958 Italian-American co-production made by S.G.C., Titanus, and United Artists. This historical film recounting of the romance between the painter Francisco Goya and the Duchess of Alba was directed by Henry Koster, an ...

'' (1958) * '' Il magistrato'' (1959) * '' The Law'' (1959) * ''

Estate violenta ''Estate violenta'' (U.S. title: ''Violent Summer'') is a 1961 Italian award-winning black-and-white drama film directed by Valerio Zurlini, depicting a love affair between a prominent Fascist's young draft-dodging son, portrayed by Jean-Louis Tr ...

'' (1959) * '' À double tour'' (1959) * '' Plein soleil'' (1960) * ''

'' (1960) * ''

Le Trou ''The Hole'' (french: Le Trou) is a 1960 French crime film directed by Jacques Becker. It is an adaptation of José Giovanni's 1957 book '' The Break''. It was called ''The Night Watch'' when first released in the United States, but is released u ...

'' (1960) * ''

A Breath of Scandal ''A Breath of Scandal'' (released as ''Olympia'' in Italy) is a 1960 American/Italian international co-production romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on the stage play ''Olympia'' by Ferenc Molnár. It stars Sophia Lore ...

'' (1960) * ''

Rocco e i suoi fratelli ''Rocco and His Brothers'' ( it, Rocco e i suoi fratelli) is a 1960 drama film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatori, Katina Paxinou, Roger Hanin, Paolo Stoppa, and Claudia Cardinale in one of h ...

'' (1960) * '' Audace colpo dei soliti ignoti'' (1960) * ''

Il Posto ''Il Posto'' is a 1961 Italian film directed by Ermanno Olmi. Often cited as Olmi's first major work, it is an example of Italian neorealism. Olmi won the David di Donatello for Best Director for his work on the film. Plot The film tells the stor ...

'' (1961) * ''

La viaccia ''The Lovemakers'' ( it, La viaccia) is a 1961 Italian drama film directed by Mauro Bolognini based on a novel by Mario Pratesi. The film which stars Claudia Cardinale and Jean-Paul Belmondo, was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. Plot ...

'' (1961) * ''

Girl with a Suitcase ''Girl with a Suitcase'' ( it, La ragazza con la valigia) is a 1961 Italian romantic drama film by Valerio Zurlini starring Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has st ...

'' (1961) * '' A cavallo della tigre'' (1961) * '' Les Sept péchés capitaux'' (1962) * '' Il giorno più corto'' (1962) * '' Le quattro giornate di Napoli'' (1962) * ''

Family Diary ''Family Diary'' ( it, Cronaca familiare) is a 1962 Italian film directed by Valerio Zurlini and based on the novel by Vasco Pratolini. It tells the story of two brothers (played by Marcello Mastroianni and Jacques Perrin) who are brought up apar ...

'' (1962) * '' I Sequestrati di Altona'' (''

The Condemned of Altona ''The Condemned of Altona'' (French: ''Les Séquestrés d'Altona'') is a play written by Jean-Paul Sartre, known in Great Britain as ''Loser Wins''. It was first produced in 1959 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. It was one of the last ...

'', 1962) * '' Il Gattopardo'' (1963) * ''

'' (1963) * ''

I Fidanzati ''The Fiancés'' ( it, I fidanzati) is a 1963 Italian film directed by Ermanno Olmi. It tells the story of a young man who moves to Sicily for a job, but pines for his fiancée back home. It was entered into the 1963 Cannes Film Festival. Plot G ...

'' (1963) * ''

The Tigers of Mompracem ''The Tigers of Mompracem'' (original title: ''Le Tigri di Mompracem'') is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1900. It features his most famous character, Sandokan. It was adapted into a 1970 film '' ...

'' (1970) * ''

La prima notte di quiete ''La prima notte di quiete'' is a 1972 romantic drama film directed by Valerio Zurlini. It stars Alain Delon, Sonia Petrovna, Renato Salvatori, Alida Valli, Adalberto Maria Merli, Salvo Randone and Lea Massari. The version released in France and ...

'' (1972) * ''

Sinbad and the Caliph of Baghdad ''Sinbad and the Caliph of Baghdad'' (Italian: ''Simbad e il califfo di Bagdad'') is a 1973 Italian adventure film directed by Pietro Francisci and starring Robert Malcolm, Sonia Wilson, Luigi Bonos and Arturo DominiciMoliterno p.136 Based on th ...

'' (1973) * ''

Help Me Dream ''Help Me Dream'' (Italian: ''Aiutami a sognare'') is a 1981 Italian romance film directed by Pupi Avati and starring Mariangela Melato, Anthony Franciosa and Orazio Orlando. For this film Mariangela Melato was awarded with a David di Donatello Da ...

'' (1981) * '' Dagger Eyes'' (1983)

References

Footnotes

* Film distributors of Italy Film production companies of Italy Italian film studios Italian companies established in 1904 Mass media in Rome {{IT-film-company-stub

Selected films

See also

References

Footnotes