''The Walls of Malapaga'' (, ), 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films ''The Battle of the Rails'' (1946), ''Forbidden Games'' (1952), ''Gervaise (film), Gervaise'' (1956), ''Purple No ...

and starring

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé (born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé), known as Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976), was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films, including '' Pépé le ...

Isa Miranda Isa Miranda (born Ines Isabella Sampietro; 5 July 1905 – 8 July 1982) was an Italian actress with an international film career. Biography Miranda was born Ines Isabella Sampietro in Milan, the daughter of a street car conductor. When she was ...

and

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, he s ...

. It was a co-production made by Francinex and Italia Produzione, produced by Alfredo Guarini from a screenplay by

Cesare Zavattini Cesare Zavattini (20 September 1902 – 13 October 1989) was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema. Biography Born in Luzzara near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, o ...

Suso Cecchi d'Amico Giovanna Cecchi (21 July 1914 – 31 July 2010), known professionally as Suso Cecchi d'Amico, was an Italian screenwriter and actress. She was one of the first female Italian screenwriters and helped pioneer the Italian neorealist movement. Thoug ...

and Alfredo Guarini adapted by Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost. The music score was by

Roman Vlad Roman Vlad (29 December 1919 – 21 September 2013) was a Romanian-born Italian composer, pianist, and musicologist. Biography Born in Cernăuți, Kingdom of Romania (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine), he studied with Titus Tarnawski and Liviu Russu in R ...

and the cinematography by Louis Page. It was made at the Farnesina Studios of

Titanus Titanus (also called Titanus Distribuzione) is an Italian film production and distribution 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 Vi ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

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 Hat ...

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

French criminal on the run Pierre Arrignon finds himself in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

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

Cast

as Pierre Arrignon *

as Marta Manfredini *

Vera Talchi Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarra ...

as Cecchina, Marta's daughter *

as Giuseppe, Marta's husband *

Robert Dalban Robert Dalban (born Gaston Barré; 19 July 1903 – 3 April 1987) was a French actor. His work included stage acting, roles in TV shows and dubbing American stars. Moreover, he was a fixture in French cinema for many decades. Selected filmogra ...

as the mariner *

Ave Ninchi Ave Maria Ninchi (; 14 December 1914 – 10 November 1997) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage, television, and in over 98 feature films that included '' Tomorrow Is Too Late'' (1949) and Louis Malle's '' M ...

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 Rissone, Giuditta. He debuted on stage ...

as the forger *

Renato Malavasi Renato Malavasi (8 August 1904 – 7 October 1998) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 135 films between 1921 and 1985. Selected filmography * '' The Golden Vein'' (1928) * '' The Song of Love'' (1930) * '' Lowered Sails'' (1931) * ' ...

as the dentist *

Carlo Tamberlani Carlo Tamberlani (11 March 1899 – 5 August 1980) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1931 and 1976. His brother Nando Tamberlani was also an actor. Life and career Born in Salice Salentino, Tamberlani was born ...

as the inspector *

Vittorio Duse Vittorio Duse (21 March 1916 – 2 June 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. Biography One of Duse's first roles was in Luchino Visconti's debut feature '' Ossessione'' (1942). Outside Italy, Duse is known for his role ...

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 The 3rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 17 September 1949. The previous year, no festival had been held because of financial problems. Like in 1947, the entire jury for this festival was made up of French persons, with historian Georges H ...

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 scored by Roman Vlad 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