''Invisible Chains'' (Italian: ''Catene invisibili'') is a 1942 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

Mario Mattoli Mario Mattoli (; 30 November 1898 – 26 February 1980) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 86 films between 1934 and 1966. His 1939 film ''Defendant, Stand Up!'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy ...

and starring

Alida Valli Alida Maria Laura, ''Freiin'' Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli (or simply Valli), was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, s ...

Carlo Ninchi Carlo Ninchi (31 May 1896 – 27 April 1974) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1963. He was born in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, and died on 27 April 1974 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Selected filmogra ...

and Giuditta Rissone.Gundle p.236 It was shot at the

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios wer ...

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 ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Ottavio Scotti and Mario Rappini.

Plot

Following the death of her industrialist father, a young

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having tradit ...

inherits his business empire. Discovering that she has an illegitimate half-brother, she tries to assist him by finding him employment in the

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with t ...

, but his criminal behaviour lets her down. Finally, she finds love and companionship in the engineer who runs the factory on her behalf.

Cast

as Elena Silvagni *

as Carlo Danieli * Giuditta Rissone as La signora Matilde Silvagni * Andrea Checchi as Enrico Leni, il fratellastro * Jone Morino as La madre di Enrico *

Carlo Campanini Carlo Campanini (5 October 1906 – 20 November 1984), was an Italian actor, singer and comedian. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1939 and 1969. Life and career Born in Turin, Campanini attended a technical school and a course of ...

as Cesare Tani * Luigi Almirante as Un amico dei Silvagni *

Ada Dondini Ada Dondini (18 March 1883 – 3 January 1958) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 48 films between 1916 and 1954. She was born in Cosenza, Italy and died in Chieti, Italy. Selected filmography * '' The Charmer'' (1931) * '' Just ...

as La fioraia *

Armando Migliari Armando Migliari (29 April 1889 – 15 June 1976) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 103 films between 1914 and 1965. He was born in Latium, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * '' The Last of the Bergeracs'' (193 ...

as Il commissario * Augusto Marcacci as Il direttore dell'albergo * Arturo Bragaglia as Il cameriere di casa Tani * Cesare Fantoni as Il maggiordomo di casa Silvagni * Ciro Berardi as Giulio Berri * Paolo Bonecchi as L'avvocato della querela * Armida Bonocore as La segretaria di Danieli * Giovanni Cimara as Un industriale di Milano * Giorgio Costantini as Il mediatore * Giovanni Dolfini as Il direttore della prigione *

Oreste Fares Oreste Fares (1885–1950) was an Italian stage and film actor.Landy p.155 Selected filmography * ''Before the Jury'' (1931) * '' Venus'' (1932) * '' Villafranca'' (1934) * '' Red Passport'' (1935) * ''Cavalry'' (1936) * '' To Live'' (1937) * ' ...

as Il notaio * Adolfo Geri as Marini *

Virgilio Gottardi Virgilio, the Italian and Spanish form of Virgil may refer to: * Virgilio, Lombardy, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Borgo Virgilio in the Italian province of Mantua * Virgilio.it, a website People with the given name * Virgilio Barco Vargas ...

as Un amico tennista di Elena * Delia Lancelotti as Un'amica di Elena * Renato Malavasi as L'impiegato dell'albergo *

Nino Marchesini Nino Marchesini (1895 – 13 January 1961) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1931 to 1961. Filmography References External links * 1895 births 1961 deaths Italian male film actors {{Italy-film- ...

as Un membro del consiglio d'amministrazione * Carlo Mariotti as Il segretario del commissario *

Patrizia Muller Patrizia is a feminine Italian given name meaning "noble". Notable people with the name include: * Patrizia (singer), Italian-Canadian dramatic coloratura soprano who performs operatic rock * Patrizia von Brandenstein (born 1943), American prod ...

as Un' amica di Elena *

Giovanni Petrucci Giovanni Petrucci (said Gianni; born 19 July 1945, in Rome) is an Italian sports director. He is the current President of CONI for the fourth consecutive term, that will end after the Games of the XXX Olympiad of 2012. His career took place prim ...

as Gino, il barista * Aldo Pini as L'equivoco compagno di Enrico *

Mirella Scriatto Given name Mirella is a feminine given name which may refer to: *Mirella Amato, bilingual beer consultant, beer sommelier and author in Toronto, Ontario, Canada *Mirella Arnhold (born 1983), Brazilian alpine skier * Mirella Avalle (born 1922), ...

as Daniela, la commessa fioraia * Elide Spada as Claretta *

Umberto Spadaro Umberto Spadaro (8 November 1904 – 12 October 1981) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in around 95 films between 1940 and 1979. His brother Peppino Spadaro was also an actor. Selected filmography * ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (1939) – ...

as Un amico di Enrico al biliardo *

Gioconda Stari ''La Gioconda'' is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito (as Tobia Gorrio), based on ''Angelo, Tyrant of Padua'', a 1835 play in prose by Victor Hugo (the same source Gaetano Rossi had used for hi ...

as Una cameriera di casa Silvagni *

Guido Verdiani Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland ...

as Il dottore Moretti * Leonello Zanchi as Un impiegato di Danieli

References

Bibliography

* Gundle, Stephen. ''Mussolini's Dream Factory: Film Stardom in Fascist Italy''. Berghahn Books, 2013.

External links

* 1942 films 1940s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Mario Mattoli Italian drama films 1942 drama films Films shot at Cinecittà Studios 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-film-stub