'' The Former Mattia Pascal'' (Italian: ''Il fu Mattia Pascal'') is a 1937 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 ...

directed by

Pierre Chenal Pierre Chenal (; 5 December 1904 – 23 December 1990) was a French director and screenwriter who flourished in the 1930s. He was married to Czech-born French film actress Florence Marly from 1937 to 1955. Work Chenal was best known for film no ...

and starring Pierre Blanchar,

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

Irma Gramatica Irma Gramatica (pseudonym of Maria Francesca Gramatica; 25 November 1870 – 24 October 1962) was an Italian stage and film actress. Gramatica appeared in ten films during her career including ''The Materassi Sisters'' (1944).Landy p.285 Her siste ...

.Landy p.155 It is based on the 1904 novel '' Il fu Mattia Pascal'' by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

. The film was shot at the

Cines Studios The Cines Studios were film production studios located in the Italian capital Rome. They were established on Via Veio in 1930 by Stefano Pittaluga, head of the Cines film company, at the beginning of the sound era. It produced Italy's first sound ...

in Rome. A separate French-language version was also made, under the title '' The Man from Nowhere''. The film's art direction was by

Guido Fiorini Guido Fiorini (1897–1966) was an Italian engineer, architect and art director.Poretti p.128 He was associated with the futurist movement. Selected filmography * ''Loyalty of Love'' (1934) * '' Just Married'' (1934) * ''Red Passport'' (1935) * ' ...

Cast

* Pierre Blanchar as Mattia Pascal *

as Luisa Paleari *

as La vedova Pescatore *

Nella Maria Bonora Nella Maria Bonora (19 May 1904 – 3 August 1990) was an Italian actress of film, radio and stage.Landy p.155 She also worked as a prominent voice actress, dubbing foreign films for release in the Italian market. Selected filmography * '' The De ...

as Romilda Pescatore Pascal *

Olga Solbelli Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russ ...

as Silvia Caporale *

Enrico Glori Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri ( French), ...

as Il conte Papiano *

Adele Garavaglia Adele Garavaglia (1869–1944) was an Italian stage and film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media su ...

as Angelica Bonafede Pascal *

Silvio Bagolini Silvio Bagolini (4 August 1914 – 26 September 1976) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1936 and 1973. Life and career Born in Bologna, Bagolini studied architecture at the Bologna University, without g ...

as Il portiere dell'hotel Luxor *

Pina Gallini Pina Gallini (19 March 1888 – 31 January 1974) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 82 films between 1935 and 1963. Selected filmography * ''The Countess of Parma'' (1936) * ''The Ferocious Saladin'' (1937) * ''The Former Mattia ...

as Zia Scolastica * Luigi Pralavorio as Pomino *

Giuseppe Pierozzi Giuseppe Pierozzi (8 March 1883 – 22 April 1956) was an Italian stage and film actor.Goble p.349 Selected filmography * '' Maddalena Ferat'' (1920) * '' Through the Shadows'' (1923) * ''Samson'' (1923) * '' The Faces of Love'' (1924) * '' The ...

as Il bibliotecario anziano *

Luigi Zerbinati is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

as L'idiota della pensione * Cesare Zoppetti as Paleari * Alberto Angelini *

Guido Barbarisi Guido Barbarisi (1889–1960) was an Italian stage and film actor.Mancini p.234 Selected filmography * '' Golden Arrow'' (1935) * '' The Former Mattia Pascal'' (1937) * '' Who Are You?'' (1939) * '' Two Million for a Smile'' (1939) * '' Annabell ...

Ornella Da Vasto Ornella is an Italian feminine given name, probably derived from , " flowering ash tree" (''Fraxinus ornus''). It was coined by Gabriele D'Annunzio in his 1904 play '' The Daughter of Iorio'' and made popular also thanks to the fame of singer Or ...

* Fernando De Crucciati * Nino Eller *

Claudio Ermelli Claudio Ermelli (24 July 1892 – 29 October 1964) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1915 to 1962. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermelli, Claudio 1892 births 1964 death ...

as Il becchino *

Enzo Gainotti Enzo is an Italian given name derivative of the German name Heinz. It can be used also as the short form for Lorenzo, Vincenzo, Innocenzo, or Fiorenzo. It is most common in the Romance-speaking world, particularly in Italy and Latin America but ...

Mario Gallina Mario Gallina (23 March 1889 – 26 September 1950) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Gallina was born in Trieste, which was then a possession of Austria-Hungary (now Italy). He was the son of theatre actors Enrico Gallina and Elena ...

* Luisa Garella *

Fausto Guerzoni Fausto Guerzoni (1904–1967) was an Italian film actor.Freire-Medeiros p.193 A character actor, he appeared in Italian films in supporting roles from the mid-1930s. Selected filmography * ''Cavalry'' (1936) * ''The Former Mattia Pascal'' (1937) ...

as Un cameriere *

Rita Livesi Rita Livesi (born 1915) is an Italian stage and film actress. She is known for Amore amaro (1974), Il berretto a sonagli (1985) and La ragazza del vagone letto (1979). Selected filmography * '' Cavalry'' (1936) * '' Adam's Tree'' (1936) * '' ...

* Achille Majeroni *

Nicola Maldacea Nicola Maldacea (29 October 1870 – 5 March 1945) was an Italian actor, comedian and singer.Cesare Polacco Cesare Polacco (14 May 1900 – 2 March 1986) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Venice, Polacco started his career in 1920 in the stage company of Emilio Zago, with whom he played most of the Goldoni's repertoir ...

as Un ospite della pensione *

Giovanna Scotto Giovanna Scotto (born Giovanna Margherita Piana-Canova; August 26, 1895 – December 23, 1985) was an Italian stage and film actress.Verdone p.111 She also became a prominent voice actress, dubbing foreign films for release in the Italian market. ...

Edda Soligo Edda Soligo (1905–1984) was an Italian film and television actress.Verdone p.111 Selected filmography * '' Adam's Tree'' (1936) * '' The Man from Nowhere'' (1937) * '' The Former Mattia Pascal'' (1937) * ''Il signor Max'' (1937) * '' To Live'' ...

as Una signora al tavolo da giocco *

Gino Viotti Gino Viotti (1875–1951) was an Italian film actor who appeared in more than forty films, mostly in supporting roles. He played the part of Chilone Chilonides in the 1924 epic '' Quo Vadis''.Wyke p.214 Selected filmography * ''Nemesis'' (1920) ...

References

Bibliography

* Landy, Marcia. ''Fascism in Film: The Italian Commercial Cinema, 1931-1943''. Princeton University Press, 2014.

External links

* 1937 films 1937 drama films Italian drama films 1930s Italian-language films Films based on works by Luigi Pirandello Films based on Italian novels Films directed by Pierre Chenal Italian multilingual films Cines Studios films Italian black-and-white films 1937 multilingual films 1930s Italian films {{1930s-Italy-film-stub