''Decameron Nights'' is a 1953 anthology

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

film based on three tales from ''

The Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label= Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Da ...

'' by

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was som ...

, specifically the ninth and tenth tales of the second day and the ninth tale of the third. It stars

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

and, as Boccaccio,

Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Lette ...

Plot

In the mid-fourteenth century, Boccaccio seeks his true love, the recently widowed Fiametta (

), and finds that she has fled

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, plague-ridden and being sacked by an invading army, for a villa in the countryside with several female companions. When he shows up, Fiametta does not want to invite him to stay, but her friends, bored and lacking male companionship, override her. To entertain the ladies (and further his courtship of Fiametta), Boccaccio tells stories of the pursuit of love. Bartolomea (Fontaine) is frustrated by her marriage to the wealthy, much older Ricciardo (

Godfrey Tearle Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle (12 October 1884 – 9 June 1953) was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential British gentleman on stage and in both British and US films. Biography Born in New York City and brought up in Britain, he was t ...

). The latter's strong belief in

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

dictates how they live. One day, the stars are favorable for fishing, but pirates capture the ladies. Their captain, Paganino (Jourdan), releases all but Bartolomea. He demand a 50,000 gold florin ransom to be paid at

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

. By the time Ricciardo shows up, however, Bartolomea has fallen in love with the pirate. She denies knowing Ricciardo and, when he is unable to answer a simple question about her, Paganino's friend, the Governor of Majorca (

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 1 ...

), orders Ricciardo to pay a fine for his lies: 50,000 florins. Paganino and Bartolomea get married, and he promises to give up piracy. Fiametta is not amused by the "moral" of the story, but the others beg Boccaccio for another. Instead, Fiametta decides to recount a more uplifting tale, to her friends' disappointment. Giulio (Jourdan) goads Bernabo (Tearle) into betting on the virtue of his wife Ginevra (Fontaine). Giulio wagers that he can seduce Ginevra within a month. However, Giulio merely bribes the woman's maid Nerina (

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. Early life Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...

) into letting him hide in her mistress's bedchamber. Later, while Ginevra sleeps, he steals her locket and cuts off a lock of her hair, noticing as he does so a birthmark on her shoulder. When Giulio provides all three as "proof", Bernabo pays up. He then recruits two assassins to do away with his wife. The killers are discomfited by Ginevra's lack of fear and let her go. She disguises herself as a man and becomes a sailor on a merchant ship. A potential customer, the Sultan ( Meinhart Maur), becomes fascinated by Ginevra's pet talking parrot and agrees to buy the merchant's wares if he can also have the bird. Since the parrot will only speak for Ginevra, she agrees to enter the Sultan's service. Then one day, she spots her locket in a marketplace stall manned by Giulio. Still in disguise, she coaxes the story out of him and finally learns why her husband wanted her dead. She has the Sultan invite both Giulio and Bernabo to dinner. Later, with Bernabo within earshot but out of sight, she appears dressed as a woman and asks Giulio if he knows her. When he repeatedly denies it, she is vindicated, and reunited with her husband. Boccaccio does not like the tale, and starts another. Spanish Don Bertrando (Jourdan) is sent to fetch a female doctor, Isabella (Fontaine), for his master, the seriously ill King ( Hugh Morton). On the trip, he defends her from two highwaymen. When she cures the King, he offers her anything. She asks for a husband: Bertrando. Dismayed, Bertrando agrees, but immediately after their wedding, he leaves her - having fulfilled his promise - and resumes his playboy ways. Before departing, he tells her that he will only live with her if she obtains the ring on his finger and bears him a child. Learning that Bertrando is trying to seduce an innkeeper's daughter, Maria (

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

), Isabella has the innkeeper send Bertrando a message supposedly from Maria agreeing to spend the night with him. Instead, Isabella keeps the rendezvous in the dark, unlit bedroom. She later steals Bertrando's ring while he is sleeping and leaves before her deception is revealed. Months later, she gives birth to a son. Bertrando shows up, having heard that she claims the child is his. After she tells her story, Bertrando embraces her. When Fiametta is again critical of Boccaccio's story, he gives up and leaves. However, he returns, takes Fiametta in his arms, and kisses her. She resists at first, then gives in.

Cast

as Fiametta / Bartolomea / Ginevra / Isabella *

/ Paganino / Giulio / Don Bertrando *

as Ricciardo / Bernabo *

as Pampinea / Maria *

as Contessa de Firenze / The Countess / Nerina the Chambermaid / The Old Witch * Meinhart Maur as Sultan * Gordon Whiting *

Gordon Bell Chester Gordon Bell (born August 19, 1934) is an American electrical engineer and manager. An early employee of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) 1960–1966, Bell designed several of their PDP machines and later became Vice President of Engi ...

as Merchant *

Melissa Stribling Melissa Stribling (7 November 1926 – 22 March 1992) was a Scottish film and television actress, who began her acting career as part of a professional group who presented a different stage play each week at the Croydon 'Grand' theatre. She is ...

as Girl in Villa *

Stella Riley Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Comedy * Stella (comedy group), a comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain Characters * Stella (given name), including a list of characters with ...

as Girl in Villa *

Mara Lane Mara Lane (born Dorothy Bolton; 1 August 1930) is a British-Austrian actress. She appeared in more than 30 films from 1951 to 1965. Early life Lane was born in Vienna, Austria. She is the eldest daughter of Russian-born pianist mother Olga Mirono ...

as Girl in Villa *

Van Boolen A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across t ...

as Captain * Gérard Tichy * Diaz de Mendoza *

Carlos Villarías Carlos Villarías (7 July 1892 – 27 April 1976) was a Spanish actor who was born in Córdoba, Spain, and died in California, United States. His most famous role is in the title role of the Spanish-language version of ''Dracula'' (1931), w ...

(as Carolos Villarias) *

as Governor of Majorca * Marjorie Rhodes as Signora Bucca * Noel Purcell as Father Francisco * Hugh Morton as King * George Bernard as Messenger *

Bert Bernard George and Bert Bernard, sometimes credited as The Bernard Brothers, were a duo of American comedy dancers and mime artists, who were popular in variety shows from the 1930s to the 1960s. They were in fact unrelated: Bernard Franklin George (July ...

as Messenger

External links

* * * * {{Hugo Fregonese 1953 films American anthology films British romance films British anthology films The Decameron Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Giovanni Boccaccio 1950s romance films RKO Pictures films Films scored by Antony Hopkins Films set in the 14th century Films about writers Films set in Italy American romance films Films set in Monaco Films set in Tunisia Cross-dressing in film 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s British films