''Dora Nelson'' is a 1939 Italian

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Mario Soldati Mario Soldati (17 November 1906 – 19 June 1999) was an Italian writer and film director. In 1954, he won the Strega Prize for ''Lettere da Capri.'' He directed several works adapted from novels, and worked with leading Italian actresses, s ...

and starring

Assia Noris Anastasia Nikolaevna von Gerzfeld (, sometimes transliterated as Anastassia von Hertzfeld; 16 February 1912 – 27 January 1998), known professionally as Assia Noris, was a Russian-Italian film actress. Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Noris ...

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. Selected filmography * '' Before the Jury'' (1931) – Marcello Barra, il guardacaccia * '' Mother Earth'' ( ...

and

Luigi Cimara Luigi Cimara (19 July 1891 – 26 January 1962) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 46 films between 1914 and 1960. He was born and died in Rome, Italy. Partial filmography * ''L'esplosione del forte B.2'' (1914) * ''Cura di baci'' ( ...

. It is a remake of the 1935 French film of the same title, which was based on a play by

Louis Verneuil Louis Jacques Marie Collin du Bocage (14 May 1893 – 3 November 1952), better known by the pen name Louis Verneuil, was a French playwright, screenwriter, and actor. Biography Born in Paris, Verneuil wrote approximately sixty plays and was b ...

. The film was shot at

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City) 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 were constru ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, with several real employees of the studio appearing as themselves.Gundle p.63 It belongs to the movies of the

calligrafismo ''Calligrafismo'' (; ) is an Italian style of filmmaking relating to some films made in Italy in the first half of the 1940s and endowed with an expressive complexity that isolates them from the general context. ''Calligrafismo'' is in a sharp co ...

style.

Synopsis

A headstrong

diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

abandons the set of her latest film, and heads of to

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. A

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

girl who strongly resembles the star takes her place so that the film can be finished.

Partial cast

as Dora Nelson / Pierina Costa *

as Giovanni Ferrari *

as Alberto, il primo marito * Nino Crisman as Il falso principe *

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 Emilio, l'ottico * Miretta Mauri as Renata *

Federico Collino Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Arts and language * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ * Federico Aguil ...

as Blasco, il segretario *

Olinto Cristina Olinto Cristina (5 February 1888 – 17 June 1962) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Florence to stage actors Raffaello Cristina and Cesira Sabatini, Cristina began acting on stage as a child, within the company of Ti ...

as Il signor Gabardo *

Evelina Paoli Evelina Paoli (1878–1972) was an Italian stage and film actress.Goble p.363 Selected filmography * ''Venus'' (1932) * '' One Night with You'' (1932) * ''The Joker King'' (1935) * ''They've Kidnapped a Man'' (1938) * '' Dora Nelson'' (1939) * '' ...

as La signora Gabardo *

Adele Mosso Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

as La zia anziana di Gabardo *

Massimo Girotti Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades. Biography Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While ...

as Enrico

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1939 films Italian comedy films Italian black-and-white films 1939 comedy films 1930s Italian-language films Films directed by Mario Soldati Films set in Rome Films set in France Italian films based on plays Films based on works by Louis Verneuil Italian remakes of French films Films shot at Cinecittà Studios 1930s Italian films Italian-language comedy films {{1930s-Italy-comedy-film-stub