''Before Him All Rome Trembled'' (Italian: ''Avanti a lui tremava tutta Roma'') is a 1946 Italian musical

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

melodrama film directed by

Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...

and starring Anna Magnani, Tito Gobbi and

Hans Hinrich Hans Hinrich (27 November 1903 – 20 October 1974) was a German film director and actor. He initially worked in Germany but later also worked in Italy where he was usually credited as ''Giovanni Hinrich''. Hinrich was a noted theatre director ...

. Ada and Marco are a pair of

opera singers Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

, who moonlight working for the

Italian resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

at the time of the German occupation of

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 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. They are sheltering a British soldier with whom they make contact with the advancing Allied forces. Sylistically the film is a hybrid between filmed performances of opera, and a neorealistic resistance melodrama.Bayman & Rigoletto p.42 The title refers to

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

'', which is performed during the film.

Cast

* Anna Magnani as Ada * Tito Gobbi as Marco *

as German Officer * Gino Sinimberghi as Frank, the British soldier *

Guido Notari Guido Notari (10 May 1893 - 21 January 1957) was an Italian actor and radio presenter. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1939 to 1956. Filmography References External links * 1893 births 1957 deaths Italian male film actors ...

as Doctor * Tino Scotti as Mechanic * Guglielmo Sinaz as Stagehand * Joop van Hulzen as Webb *

Giuseppe Varni Giuseppe Varni (born Józef Bruno Winawer) (1902-1965) was a Polish-born Italian stage and film actor.Anile p.135 Selected filmography * ''Oltre l'amore'' (1940) - Il commissario * ''Amami Alfredo'' (1940) - (uncredited) * ''Eternal Melodies' ...

as Stagehand * Carlo Duse as Police Officer * Edda Albertini as Lena * Heinrich Bode as German Soldier * Antonio Crast *

Giulio Neri Giulio Neri (21 May 1909, Torrita di Siena - 21 April 1958, Rome) was an Italian operatic bass (vocal range), bass, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Neri studied first in Florence with Ferraresi, and completed his studies in Ro ...

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* Bayman, Louis & Rigoletto, Sergio. ''Popular Italian Cinema''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

External links

* 1946 films 1946 musical films 1940s war films Italian musical films Italian war films 1940s Italian-language films Films directed by Carmine Gallone Italian black-and-white films Films based on operas Films about singers Films set in Rome Films set in 1944 Italian Campaign of World War II films Films about Italian resistance movement Minerva Film films Melodrama films Opera films Films scored by Renzo Rossellini Italian World War II films 1940s Italian films {{WWII-film-stub