Fifty years of Italian cinema (1955)

67 are anything but commonplace (one deals with a girl who suffers a complex because she has been raped ; another with an impotent husband ; and the third tells of a young female victim of drugs). The stories of the three girls could thus have been told without the pretext of the connecting stories in the papers. The stories vary in their effectivenness, but the timing and clarity of the third one show us that Genina is still a keen observer of the contemporary scene. Mario Camerini worked on until the eve of the war in a gradual decline. The ironic and sentimental vein of his Men, What Rascals (1932) gave way to the satire of The Three-Cornered Hat (1934). In I'd Give A Million (1935) he showed agility, which decreased in Batticuore (Heartbeat) (1938), in Grandi magazzini (Big Stores) (1939) ; Centomila dollari (One Hundred Thousand Dollars) (1940) ; Una romantica avventnra (A Romantic Adventure) (1940) ; Love Story (1942) ; and I'll Always Love Yon (1943). He was limited to a series of static portraits in the 1941 adaptation of The Betrothed. Camerini's acute awareness, and the restlessness of his temperament, should have manifested themselves in the new climate of liberty — particularly after the years of conformity. Many things which had been subtly touched on in his films might now have been given free rein. His irony, previously restrained, might have reached the proportions of true satire. His gifts as an effective story-teller, a top-flight cameraman, and a clear thinker, might have led to greater development of his filmic powers. Instead, his last films, while confirming his ability as a director, are all carried out in a minor key. From Due Letter e Anonime (Two Anonymous Letters) (1945) to L'Angelo e il diavolo (The Angel and the Devil) (1946) ; from La figlia del Capitano (The Captain's Daughter) (1947) to Molti sogni per le strade (Many Wayside Dreams) (1948) ; from II brigante Musolino (Musolino the Brigand) (1950) to Gli eroi della domenica (Sunday Heroes) (1952) — there were no major works. Nevertheless, whatever else may come from this most interesting director will always be anxiously awaited. With Camerini, Blasetti and Genina, we take leave of the old guard, and turn to the young replacements. They form a rather large group, and their background differs greatly from the directors who preceded them. They had and still have living examples before them ; they work in a climate which gives no consideration to pre-established reputations ; they do not follow formulae or systems. Since his first film, Pietro Germi has been one of Italy's young hopefuls. // Testimone (The Witness) (1941) examines life in the suburbs with incisiveness. (The « witness » of the title is the secret voice of conscience, which in the end traps an assassin). His second film, Gioventu perditta (Lost Youth) (1947) was a rather superficial piece ; but in In nome della legge (In the Name of the Law) (1949) his talent was strongly shown. It was based on G. Lo Schiavo's novel Piccola Pretura (Little Magistrate). It tells the story of a young police magistrate who takes a post in a small village in Sicily. He believes in the power and sanctity of the law as a basic expression of human wisdom. He is determined to act as an instrument of justice, to act « in the name of the law ». But shattering his plans comes a force that operates « in the name of the Mafia », that secret society of outlaws. The film outlines the dissension between