Bengasi (film)
Bengasi is a 1942 Italian war film directed by Augusto Genina and starring Fosco Giachetti, Maria von Tasnady and Amedeo Nazzari.[1] The film was shot at Cinecittà in Rome. The film was a propaganda work,[2] designed to support the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. It portrays Allied atrocities in "Bengasi Italiana",[3] such as the murder of a peasant by a group of drunken Australian soldiers.[4]
Bengasi | |
---|---|
Directed by | Augusto Genina |
Produced by | Carlo Bassoli Renato Bassoli |
Written by | Edoardo Anton Ugo Betti Alessandro De Stefani Augusto Genina |
Starring | Fosco Giachetti Maria von Tasnady Amedeo Nazzari Vivi Gioi |
Music by | Antonio Veretti |
Cinematography | Aldo Tonti |
Edited by | Fernando Tropea |
Production company | Film Bassoli |
Distributed by | Cine Tirrenia |
Release date | 5 September 1942 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian |
It was presented at the Venice Film Festival and won the Mussolini Cup as the best Italian film while Fosco Giachetti won the best actor award. It proved popular with audiences, and was re-released in 1955 with some new scenes added.[5]
Synopsis
The film is set in 1941 during the Second World War, when the city of Benghazi in Italian-ruled Libya was occupied by British forces. Italian inhabitants of Benghazi work to resist the British and discover their military plans. One man, Captain Enrico Berti, appears to be collaborating with the British but is in fact working undercover for Italian intelligence. The film ends with the city being recaptured by Italian troops and their Nazi German allies.
Main cast
- Fosco Giachetti as Il capitano Enrico Berti
- Maria De Tasnady as Carla Berti
- Amedeo Nazzari as Filippo Colleoni
- Vivi Gioi as Giuliana
- Guido Notari as Il podestà italiano a Bengasi
- Carlo Tamberlani as Giovanni Galassi
- Leo Garavaglia as Il dottor Malpini
- Laura Redi as Maria detta 'Fanny'
- Fedele Gentile as Antonio
- Amelia Bissi as La madre di Giovanni
- Giorgio Costantini as Il generale Robertson
- Guglielmo Sinaz as Tropeoli
- Carlo Duse as Il capitano Marchi
- Pier Giorgio Heliczer as Sandrino Berti
References
- "Gabriele Ferzetti". Mymovies.it. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- Gundle p.196
- Bengasi Italiana
- Andall & Duncan p.94
- Andall & Duncan p.94-95
Bibliography
- Andall, Jacqueline, Dunca, Derek. Italian Colonialism: Legacy and Memory. Peter Lang, 2005.
- Gundle, Stephen. Mussolini's Dream Factory: Film Stardom in Fascist Italy. Berghahn Books, 2013.