Un'avventura di Salvator Rosa (1939) Online

Gino Cervi, Luisa Ferida, and Osvaldo Valenti star in this Italian swashbuckler which would have starred Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks had it been made in Hollywood. Salvatore Rosa was a versatile poet and painter of landscapes and battles. His romantic life is the inspiration for this fictional tale of the masked hero, "The Ant", Rosa's alter-ego, a friend and defender of the poor citizens of the Naples area who are oppressed by the evil viceroy. This is "Robin Hood, Neapolitan Style", and great fun.

The ADVENTURES OF SALVATOR ROSA covers almost the same ground as Fox's MARK OF ZORRO made suspiciously close after - masked avenger, shielded by his secret identity, duels with the oppressive governor on behalf of the poor and down trodden - not exactly a novel concept but there are further parallels.

In place of back lot California however, this one has real palaces and gardens with the set piece being our hero, "Il Formico"in his black outfit, interrupting the execution by firing squad, using his sword to fend off waves of uniformed guards round the fountains and sculptures where court painter Gino Cervi had been at work on his canvas only a moment before.

As with most of these Italian period movies, the costuming and decoration are the film's most striking elements but this one is unusually sure in its handling - offsetting the spectacle of the banners and richly dressed courtiers of the Viceroy's palace with unexpected black comedy - the bound executioner revealed, strung up by the waist on his mass hanging machine, the girl fanning herself with the signal flag. There is an underlying vein of sadism - the ingenue's shoulder already bared for the lash when our hero intervenes - which marks this off from the American product, making it recognizably the work of it's under exported director.

You've got to wonder who was asleep at the switch when this one missed acknowledgment. WW2 is a bad excuse.

A Stella Production, made at Cinecitta Studios, Rome. Italian release through E.N.I.C. in 1939. U.S release through Esperia Films. New York opening: 19 September 1940. 97 minutes.

Italian release title: un' Avventura di Salvator Rosa.

COMMENT: Made shortly before the Blasetti-Cervi-Ferida The Iron Crown, this Zorro-type adventure in 18th century Naples proves a real eye-opener. Produced on an astonishingly lavish budget, stylishly directed and nothing if not zestfully played, this fast-paced Adventure offers not only superlative entertainment but a political tilt at Italy's ruling Fascist regime which seems to have escaped attention, notice or scrutiny from contemporary censors. True, the hero's name has been shortened from Salvatore ("Savior") to Salvator, but I'd have thought that little stratagem would fool no-one, let alone Mussolini's vigilant censors. Contemporary politics aside, however, Rosa is inferior to Fox's The Mark of Zorro in several important respects. Plumpish Gino Cervi (obviously doubled when swordplay is required) proves no match for Tyrone Power, whilst Valenti's incredibly voluble, scratchy-voiced villain cannot hold a candle to Basil Rathbone. And whilst smooth-faced Luisa Ferida equals Linda Darnell in looks, her hectoring voice would be a bit off-putting to all but the most ardent, self-centered or supercilious suitors (like Signor Rosa himself). Of course in the self-assertive department, Signorina Ferida is a mouse indeed to the sharp-clawed Rina Morelli, who plays the shrewish, sharp-tongued and capricious duchess to the strident hilt.

Other interesting players are Ugo Cesare (this is one of his last films, he died in 1940), who does some wonderful clowning as Rosa's coachman, Enzo Biliotti as the aristocratic viceroy, and Paola Stoppa, here hardly recognizable under a heavy disguise as one of the peasant leaders.

Whilst the swordplay is tame compared to Power's Zorro, Rosa has the advantage of much bigger crowd scenes and far more extravagant locations and sets. Cicognini's typically rousing music score sets the right tone of period polish from the opening credits, whilst the superlative cinematography by Vaclav Vich (his first film - on which he collaborated with Otto Heller - was made way back in 1923 and he was still working on high-budget movies well into the 1960s) provides yet another major asset.

AN ADVENTURE OF SALVATOR ROSA is an early Italian swashbuckler in the same mould as the Zorro films as well as Robin Hood, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and all of those classic characters. As these kinds of film go it's not all bad, but it is a story which has dated badly since first release. The acting feels very mannered and artificial and the attempts at comedy don't really work very well for a modern viewer.

Salvator Rosa was a real life figure whose character was transferred to the screen for this action drama. He plays a masked avenger called 'The Ant' who works his way through the upper classes to seek revenge for the poor. There's not a great deal of action or indeed depth and the characters are drawn in the broadest strokes with clear-cut allies and villains. I do like the swashbuckling genre but this is one of the weaker efforts I've seen.