Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1948)

A LIBERATED SCREEN FLOURISHES IN ITALY ITALIAN THANKS by MARTIN QUIGLEY, JR. DURING the three years since the Liberation of the Italians, their films have won more international acclaim than was dreamed of by the Mussolini Government in its twenty years of effort to make the motion picture an effective tool of Fascism. This achievement of Italian producers in the post-war period is the more remarkable because they have had so little with which to work. The results are a living repudiation of government direction of a film industry. In the early days of the feature film Italian productions were outstanding. "Quo Vadis?" (1912) and "Cabiria" (1913) were films that gained a high place for the Italian motion picture industry in the international market. In the hands of government favorites and in the interests of propaganda under Mussolini most of the Italian artistic traditions were lost to the screen. Propaganda Instrument Mussolini believed, as did Lenin, that the film was the most important instrument of propaganda for a totalitarian government. However, Fascist film making led merely to one failure after another, despite availability of adequate technical facilities and financial resources including Cinecitta, at the time the best-equipped studio on the Continent. In order to make comparison with the Fascist films less easy, Mussolini first restricted and then stopped the distribution of American pictures. Other dictators, before and after "II Duce," have the same formula. When the Allies reached Rome in 1944 the Italian industry was destroyed, tntto distrutto, as they put it. Much of the equipment had been carted away by the Germans and die-hard Fascists. Many of those connected with the industry who stayed behind feared for their freedom or even for their lives under the new rule. When it became clear that there was to be no real purge of the small, play-along Fascists, film makers of every political persuasion including also Communist, Christian Democrat, Liberal and Monarchist went to work. Some equipment was taken from hiding places; raw stock of dubious quality was purchased on the black market. Won Critical Applause The first important post-Fascist film, and in some ways the most remarkable to date, was "Open City" ("Citta Aperta"). It was made on a low budget and was not highly regarded by the producing company, Minerva, headed by Anthony Mosco, a Greek who had settled in Italy many years ago and who had been interned during the war by the Fascist Government. Making clear that "Open City" was not an isolated example, two fine Italian films reached the international market in 1947 — "To Live in Peace" ("Vivere in Pace") and "Shoeshine" ("Sciuscia"). "To Live in Peace" is the most entertaining picture of the three. While all foreign language pictures are handicapped in English-speaking areas, these three Italian films, plus the reports of others still to be released around the world, have thrust Italy to the top of the nonEnglish language producers. The critical attention given Italian films in this country is second only to English language pictures. It is not likely that Italian pictures will have much influence on Hollywood or London. The modern Italian pictures, the best of them, should be regarded as fine European films of prime appeal to Europeans. It is inevitable that the problems and pressures of the war and the current period should heighten the marked differences in mentality between Americans and Europeans. American films usually center attention on a small number of persons who triumph over surroundings or other persons to reach a happy conclusion. On the other hand the Italian films generally deal with a group of characters dominated by circumstances. Future Is Uncertain The future of the Italian film undoubtedly will be decided by the tide of political events. If the Communists take over, the world knows what to expect — a mirroring of Soviet film policy as practiced in Moscow and in the Balkans. If the extreme Right wins out, the results will be similar. If the Center or moderate parties — who certainly represent the majority — hold on to the government and economic conditions can be stabilized, succeeding years should be bright for a free native film industry which would avoid political domination of production, import restrictions on distribution and exhibition playing time quotas. All these, as the Mussolini record shows, tend towards failure and not success in a national film industry. A few Italian producers, (with few technical facilities and less money, without government assistance, have raised the prestige of the Italian industry to a point equal to or even greater than that enjoyed thirty-five years ago. The obvious lesson is that successful films are not made by government fiat. This is a lesson that might well be studied around the world. Tampa Theatre Reopens The Palace theatre in Tampa, Fla., has reopened following the completion of a $200,000 remodeling program, R. M. Daugherty, manager of Florida State Theatres, has announced. The interior of the theatre was completely rebuilt. merica * SO'TTOSCRIVETE PER LA R E A I IZ 2 A Z I O N E Dl UN F II M <D Of U M E NTAR I O 01 PRODUZIQNE INCOM DA 1NVLARE NF.GLI STATl'uNITI QUALE OMAGOIO D I . RI-CO N OSC E H Z A PER I L ," T R E H O DELL' AM I CIZIA „ E DA PROiEUARE IN .ITALIA A FAVORE DEL FOHDO SOCCORSI DISOCCUPATI IE SOTTOSCRIZIONI Si RICEVONO QUI \> To thank America for the food which the Friendship Trains brought to Italy, the Italian newsreel company, INCOM, will produce a documentary, "Thanks, America", as a gift for the U. S. Above is the first newspaper advertisement asking for contributions to finance the production which will review what the U. S. has done for Italy. Spain May Revise System Of Film Import Licenses Washington Bureau The Spanish Government is contemplating changes in its present system for granting film import licenses and may substitute a tax on imported films, according to a report from Nathan D. Golden, motion picture consultant to the Department of Commerce. Under the present system, import licenses necessary are granted only to Spanish film producers, the number they receive depending on the number and type of films they produce. The producer can use these licenses himself or sell them. Now the Government is considering two alternatives ; abolishing the system and substituting a tax on imported films, the money to be used to subsidize domestic producers, or awarding import licenses to anyone, but giving Spanish producers dubbing permits in proportion to their output. Currently films from several countries get preference over U. S. films, the report points out. Two British or European films may be imported on one import license, while only one U. S. film can be imported per license. To Build Drive-ln at Camden A. M. Ellis, Philadelphia and southern New Jersey circuit operator, will build a 1,000-car drive-in outside of Camden, N. J., he has announced. 22 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JANUARY 24, 1948