''The Walls of Malapaga'' ( it, Le mura di Malapaga, french: Au-delà des grilles (''Beyond the Gates'')), is a 1949 French-Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Clément studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed hi ...

and starring

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), ''La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ( ...

Isa Miranda Isa Miranda (born Ines Isabella Sampietro; 5 July 1909 – 8 July 1982) was an Italian actress with an international film career. Biography Miranda was born Ines Isabella Sampietro in Milan, the daughter of atreet car conductor in Mian. When s ...

and

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, ...

. It was a co-production made by

Francinex Francinex was a French film production and distribution company active from the 1930s to the 1960s. It had its roots in Italian production interests before the Second World War, who were able to continue during the conflict due to film agreements ...

and Italia Produzione, produced by Alfredo Guarini from a screenplay by

Cesare Zavattini Cesare Zavattini (20 September 1902 – 13 October 1989) was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema. Biography Born in Luzzara near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, o ...

Suso Cecchi d'Amico Suso Cecchi D'Amico (21 July 1914 – 31 July 2010) was an Italian screenwriter and actress. She won the 1980 David di Donatello Award for lifetime career. She worked with virtually all of the most celebrated post-war Italian film directors, and w ...

and Alfredo Guarini adapted by Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost. The music score was by

Roman Vlad Roman Vlad (29 December 1919 – 21 September 2013) was a Romanian-born Italian composer, pianist, and musicologist. Biography Born in Cernăuți, Bukovina (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine), he studied with Titus Tarnawski and Liviu Russu in Romania ear ...

and the cinematography by Louis Page. It was made at the

Farnesina Studios Farnesina may refer to: Architecture * Casa della Farnesina, an historic building of the ancient Rome, in the neighborhood of Trastevere, Rome * Palazzo della Farnesina, the headquarters of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government of the ...

Titanus Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome. Lomb ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Piero Filippone Piero Filippone (1911–1998) was an Italian art director who designed the sets for around two hundred films. He created the sets for Roberto Rossellini's 1954 film '' Journey to Italy''.Brunette p.416 Selected filmography * '' Three Cornered H ...

and

Luigi Gervasi Luigi Gervasi was an Italian set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''The Taming of the Shrew''. Selected filmography * ''The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' ...

Plot summary

Gabin is Pierre Arrignon, a French criminal, on the run who finds himself in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, Italy, and falls in love with Marta Manfredini (Isa Miranda), a local woman. The film is set in Italy, and the dialogue is primarily in French.

Cast

as Pierre Arrignon *

as Marta Manfredini *

Vera Talchi Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarrag ...

as Cecchina, Marta's daughter *

as Giuseppe, Marta's husband *

Robert Dalban Robert Dalban (born Gaston Barré; 19 July 1903, in Celles-sur-Belle, Deux-Sèvres – 3 April 1987, in Paris) was a French actor. His work included stage acting, roles in TV shows and dubbing American stars. Moreover, he was a fixture in Frenc ...

as the mariner *

Ave Ninchi Ave Maria Ninchi (14 December 1914 – 10 November 1997) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage, television, and in over 98 feature films that included ''Tomorrow Is Too Late'' (1949) and Louis Malle's ''Murmur ...

as Maria, the neighbour *

Checco Rissone Francesco "Checco" Rissone (7 July 1909 – 26 September 1985) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Rissone was born in Turin, the younger brother of the more famous Giuditta. He debuted on stage at a young age and ...

as the forger *

Renato Malavasi Renato Malavasi (8 August 1904 – 7 October 1998) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 135 films between 1921 and 1985. Selected filmography * ''The Golden Vein'' (1928) * ''The Song of Love'' (1930) * ''Lowered Sails'' (1931) * ''Th ...

as the dentist *

Carlo Tamberlani Carlo Tamberlani (11 March 1899 – 5 August 1980) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1931 and 1976. He was born in Salice Salentino, Italy and died in Subiaco, Italy. His brother Nando Tamberlani was also an actor. ...

as the inspector *

Vittorio Duse Vittorio Duse (21 March 1916 – 2 June 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. Biography One of Duse's first roles was in Luchino Visconti's debut feature ''Ossessione'' (1942). Outside Italy, Duse is known for his role ...

as the agent

Awards

''The Walls of Malapaga'' was highly regarded in its day: It won an honorary

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

and both Clément and Miranda won awards at the

1949 Cannes Film Festival The 3rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 17 September 1949 in film, 1949. The previous year, no festival had been held because of financial problems. Like in 1947, the entire jury for this festival was made up of French persons, with histo ...

References

External links

* * * 1949 films 1940s French-language films Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Films directed by René Clément Films set in Genoa Films with screenplays by Jean Aurenche Films with screenplays by Pierre Bost Films with screenplays by Suso Cecchi d'Amico Films with screenplays by Cesare Zavattini Films awarded an Academy Honorary Award French black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films 1949 drama films Italian drama films 1940s French films 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-film-stub