''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 ...

directed by René Clément 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 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, ...

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 ...

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 of

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. Lom ...

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 Piero Filippone and Luigi Gervasi.

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 sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, 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 * Isa Miranda as Marta Manfredini * Vera Talchi as Cecchina, Marta's daughter *

as Giuseppe, Marta's husband * Robert Dalban 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 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) * ' ...

as the dentist * Carlo Tamberlani as the inspector * Vittorio Duse 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 and both Clément and Miranda won awards at the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.

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