''Tosca'' is a 1941 Italian historical drama film directed by Carl Koch and starring

Imperio Argentina María Magdalena Nile del Río (26 December 1906 – 22 August 2003) was an Argentine professional singer and movie actress, better known as Imperio Argentina; she became a citizen of Spain in 1999. María Magdalena Nile del Río was born ...

Michel Simon Michel Simon (; 9 April 1895 – 30 May 1975) was a Swiss-French actor. He appeared in many notable French films, including ''La Chienne'' (1931), ''Boudu Saved from Drowning'' (1932), ''L'Atalante'' (1934), ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), '' The He ...

and

Rossano Brazzi Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Brazzi was born in Bologna, Italy, the son of Maria Ghedini and Adelmo Brazzi, an employee of the Rizzoli shoe factory. He was named after Rossano Ve ...

. It is an adaptation of

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

's play ''

La Tosca ''La Tosca'' is a five- act drama by the 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou. It was first performed on 24 November 1887 at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris, with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role. Despite negative ...

'' and its subsequent opera version, ''

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 ...

'', composed by

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 ...

to a libretto by

Luigi Illica Luigi Illica (9 May 1857 – 16 December 1919) was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini (usually with Giuseppe Giacosa), Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian co ...

and

Giuseppe Giacosa Giuseppe Giacosa (21 October 1847 – 1 September 1906) was an Italian poet, playwright and librettist. Life He was born in Colleretto Parella, now Colleretto Giacosa, near Turin. His father was a magistrate. Giuseppe went to the University of ...

. It was released in the United States as ''The Story of Tosca''.Durgnat, Raymond (1974)
''Jean Renoir''
pp. 213–215. University of California Press. It was shot at the Scalera Studios in

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

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

also taking place around the city. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Gustav Abel Gustav Abel (1902–1963) was an Austrian art director.Fritsche p. 229 Selected filmography * ''The Silent Partner'' (1939) * '' Father For a Night'' (1939) * '' A Woman Has Fallen'' (1941) * '' The Hero of Venice'' (1941) * '' The Fourth Comma ...

. Jean Renoir was originally hired as the film's director, and was encouraged to make the film by the French government as part of an effort to encourage Italy to remain neutral in 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 ...

. However, he left Rome following Italy's entry into the war and the film was completed by the German director Carl Koch.Faulkner, Christopher (2014). ''The Social Cinema of Jean Renoir'', p. 122. Princeton University Press In 1943 it was released in Spain (where Imperio Argentina was a major star) by the film studio Cifesa.

Cast

as Floria Tosca *

as Il barone Scarpia *

as Mario Cavaradossi * Carla Candiani as La marchesa Attavanti *

Olga Vittoria Gentilli Olga Vittoria Gentilli (19 July 1888 – 29 May 1957) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in around forty films during the Fascist era and immediate post-war years. She generally played supporting roles in films such as ''Naples ...

as La regina di Napoli *

Adriano Rimoldi Adriano Rimoldi (1912–1965) was an Italian film actor. Career He appeared in more than sixty films during his career, which stretched from the late 1930s to his death in the mid 1960s. In 1940 he played the male lead in the melodrama '' Good ...

as Angelotti * Nicolás D. Perchicot as Sciarrone * Juan Calvo as Spoletta *

Nicola Maldacea Nicola Maldacea (29 October 1870 – 5 March 1945) was an Italian actor, comedian and singer.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 Paisiello * Enzo Musumeci Greco as L'ufficiale della regina

References

External links

* 1941 films Italian historical musical films 1940s historical musical films 1940s Italian-language films Films based on operas Films based on works by Giuseppe Giacosa Films based on La Tosca Films directed by Carl Koch Films set in the 19th century Films set in Rome Films shot in Rome Films shot at Scalera Studios Italian black-and-white films 1940s Italian films {{historic-musical-film-stub