Guido Brignone
Zenobia, Queen of Palmira, revolts against Rome and defeats the Roman troops, but she makes a big mistake when she falls in love with enemy officer Marco Valerio.
Sold as slaves to a wealthy Roman, Lea and Esther, two Carthaginian sisters, are offered as gifts to the ambitious daughter of a proconsul and end up involved in spite of themselves in a dangerous game of power.
After she inherits a huge sum of money, a girl suddenly leaves a working-class man that she previously used to fancy.
During the first Napoleonic expedition into Italy, Thibaud is seriously injured before being caught up in a mystery involving his wife, her rightful inheritance and his own daughter's happiness.
Italy, 1848. Clara, daughter of a rich Milan trader, is in love with Enrico, a political dissident, but she is forced to marry Count Severi.
A biopic of soprano Maria Malibran (1808–1836). A beautiful singer, Maria Malibran, is forced to turn to the stage after her husband takes to gambling, and goes to Paris where she falls in love with a famous violinist. When her money-seeking husband reappears, the couple go to London, where they find happiness. A composer falls in love with Maria but when his affections are unrequited, he becomes broken, takes to drinking and dies.
1017 AD. The Republic of Pisa is organizing a fleet to drive out the Saracens who are infesting the Mediterranean. While the forces are away "The Gorgon," the young daughter of a Pisan nobleman who has been heroically killed, comes to be solemnly invested as the figurehead virgin who will maintain a lantern to celebrate the men's victorious return. In charge of the home guard is an ambitious young Florentine who feels deprived of the forthcoming honour and glory, and who seeks revenge by violating the sacred person of the virgin. He gains access to her well guarded quarters, but when the Gorgon falls helplessly in love with him, his desire for vengeance falls away. His plot exposed, he commits suicide rather than invoke the wrath of the Pisans. The Gorgon too takes her life by throwing herself from a high tower. Meanwhile, the victorious Pisan vessels return.
After his plane makes an emergency landing, a kidnapped millionaire assumes the identity of a poor man.
Italian historical drama portraying the story of the sixteenth century Italian noblewoman Beatrice Cenci.
A tenor falls in love with a stage actress then leaves her without knowing about her pregnancy.
Lorenzino de 'Medici manipulates Alessandro ruler of Florence to save his beloved Bianca.
Based on fact, Passaporto Rosso (Red Passport) details the plight of a group of poor Italian immigrants who are hired as railroad workers in turn-of-the-century South America. In addition to facing poverty, deprivation, and prejudice, the immigrants are also bedeviled by a raging fever epidemic. Finally achieving a measure of prosperity, the Italians are forced to confront tragedy once more when their grown children march off to WWI. Though Isa Miranda is top-billed, she has very little to do in comparison with male lead Filippo Scelso. Passaporto Rosso was released in the U.S. as Destiny Unknown.
Hot on the heels of Dinero ed Amore, Loyalty of Love was the second of two Guido Brignone-directed films released within same week. Like the earlier picture, Loyalty is a historical drama. During the period in which Italy was under Austrian rule, Count Federico (Nerio Bernardi) fights tirelessly to free his people from oppression. The Count's wife Teresa (Marta Alba) remains loyally by his side, even when he is unfaithful to her, which is often. Federico doesn't realize how important Teresa is to him, nor how much he loves her, until it's almost too late. At time of the release of Loyalty of Love, star Marta Alba had transferred her base of operations to New York, where she starred in Broadway production of Tovarich.
This film is included in the holdings of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée and Filmarchiv Austria.
Bartolomeo Pagano as Maciste in Maciste in the Lions' Den. A Italian silent from 1926.
The devil takes Maciste down to hell in an attempt to corrupt and ruin his morality.
Socrate, a weird parrot, one day flies away through an open window. The mistress of the parrot imposes on her boyfriend Ajax a terrible condition: if he doesn’t find Socrate, she will marry another man. Ajax immediately starts to look for Socrate, but soon he discovers that the parrot has been captured and sold to a young lady leaving for Havana. Finally Ajax manages to get to Cuba, but once there he finds out that Socrate has already flown away to return to his original owner; she telegraphs Ajax asking him to return to her – but she will wait in vain: Ajax has already fallen in love with the young lady who emigrated to Cuba.
Guido Brignone attempts, rather curiously, the traditionally English whodunit (the overall plot, deduced from the news reports of the period, further highlights this aspect: the guests that have been invited to the lunch at which the solution is to be revealed are all possible suspects). But, above all, the mystery formula as a guarantee to melodramatic functioning, otherwise close to being worn-out, seems to have been one of the marks of the Torino company (e.g. Il quadro di Osvaldo Mars). The result, at least in this final reel, is truely interesting. Flash-backs, subjective takes, alternate editing, all seems to be used without dispersion and beyond that practice of contemplative lingering on the framing that characterizes much of the Italian cinema up to 1920. (Paola Cristalli)
In respect to other FAI films, it contains quite an innovative scene, in which the loan shark is on a train, looking out the window, made with a sort of “track after” shot. The camera was fixed on the outside of the train, and when the train started going, the camera filmed the moving landscape. Much of the footage was shot in exteriors. There are numerous views of Rome, including one of Castel Sant’Angelo, while several scenes are set on the beach, probably on the coast of Lazio. The film was hailed by critics. “An exciting film: there are some beautiful scenes. The actors deserve heartfelt congratulations and praise.” (Lazzaro, “La Cine-Fono”, Naples, 4/4/1914)
A captain is passionate gambler, but loses and when he does not see another resort, he "borrows" from the regiment box. The money he plays up, but meets without his brother's knowledge with his sister who gives him his pearl necklace. He pawns it so he can put the money back into the regiment box.
He is a brave and gallant young lieutenant of the Italian army at a time when his country is on the eve of war with Turkey. He becomes infatuated with a country girl of intense love nature and splendid womanhood, one lacking knowledge of the world and experience in life. When her feeble insight into character and motive is pitted against his superior intelligence and that long practice in the craft of heartbreaking that enables a handsome gentleman in uniform to practice a form of enchantment with such women, the result is easily foreseen.
The making of patriotic films was not rare among FAI productions, and Il bacio della gloria is one example, together with Armi e amori (1913) and Per la Patria! (1915). “In the Speech from the Throne, which opened the 14th Legislature, the King of Italy stressed and underscored with his words the period recalling the story of the glorious conquering of Libya, sending warm greetings to the courageous men who fought, and to the heroes who fell, for the loftiness of their Country. In a response worthy of these august words, immediately thereafter Pathé released this patriotic film which tells one of the many stories of courage which bring glory to our flag.
