''Lady Caliph'' () is a 1970 Italian-French drama film written and directed by

Alberto Bevilacqua Alberto Bevilacqua (27 June 1934 – 9 September 2013) was an Italian writer and filmmaker. Leonardo Sciascia, an Italian writer and politician, who read Bevilacqua's first collection of stories, ''The Dust on the Grass'' (1955), was impressed ...

. It was entered into the

1971 Cannes Film Festival The 24th Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 27 May 1971. French actress Michèle Morgan served as jury president for the main competition. The ''Grand Prix du Festival International du Film'', then the fetival's main prize, was awarded ...

Plot

In the Emilia province of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, out of solidarity with the workers fired from another failed company, the workers occupy the factory of self-made industrialist Annibale Doberdò. In dealing with the situation, he starts negotiations. An employee, the beautiful and fiery Irene,

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d '' Califfa'', whose worker-husband was killed during a demonstration, meets with Doberdò. He wants to induce the strikers back to work and they show uncertainty between the directives of their union and the incitements to violence by extremists. Irene becomes Doberdò's lover and asks the workers to listen to the industrialist's proposals for renewal of working terms and worker participation in the factory management. The riots, however, continue. The industrialist's stance is badly received by other employers. While he returns from yet another meeting with his lover, Doberdò is killed by assassins.

Cast

Ugo Tognazzi Ottavio "Ugo" Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the most important faces of Italian comedy together with Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi, Marcello Mastr ...

- Annibale Doberdò, industrialist *

Romy Schneider Rosemarie Magdalena Albach (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982), known professionally as Romy Schneider (), was a German and French actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time and became a cult figure due to ...

- Irene "La Califfa" Corsini, worker * Massimo Farinelli - Giampiero Doberdò, son of Annibale *

Marina Berti Elena Maureen Bertolino (29 September 1924 – 29 October 2002), known professionally as Marina Berti, was an Italian film actress. She was born in London from an Italian father and an English mother. Biography Her first screen appearance was ...

- Clementine Doberdò, wife of Annibale *

Guido Alberti Guido Alberti (20 April 1909 Birth name: Guido Renato Vittorio Alberti. – 3 August 1996) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1963 and 1993. Selected filmography * ''Wild Love'' (1956) – Sor Alberto (uncredited) ...

- Catholic priest *

Roberto Bisacco Roberto Bisacco (1 March 1939 – 10 October 2022)Gigi Ballista Gigi Ballista (1 December 1918 – 2 August 1980) was an Italian film and television actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1961 and 1980. Life and career Born in Florence, Ballista graduated in law, then he started working as a PR consulta ...

- major industrialist *

Massimo Serato Massimo Serato (born Giuseppe Segato; 31 May 1917 – 22 December 1989) was an Italian film actor with a career spanning over 40 years. Biography Serato was born in Oderzo, Veneto, Italy and started appearing in films in 1938. He played leading ...

- failed industrialist * Eva Brun - wife of failed industrialist * Luigi Casellato - police commissioner *

Gigi Reder Gigi Reder (born Luigi Schroeder; 25 March 1928 – 8 October 1998) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Naples in to a German father and a Neapolitan mother, Reder moved to Rome where started his career in radio as host an ...

- servant *

Ernesto Colli Ernesto Colli (16 May 1940 – 19 November 1982) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. Life and career Born in Biella, Colli graduated from liceo classico, then he started acting in some amateur dramatics and starred in two lost Su ...

- worker *

Enzo Fiermonte Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to D ...

- union activist

Music

The film's music was composed by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Caliph 1970 films 1970 drama films 1970s Italian-language films Films directed by Alberto Bevilacqua Films set in Emilia-Romagna Films about the labor movement Films scored by Ennio Morricone 1970 directorial debut films Italian drama films 1970s Italian films Italian-language drama films