''Odessa in Flames'' (, ) is a 1942 Italian-Romanian propaganda

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...

and starring Maria Cebotari,

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 Filippo Scelzo. The film is about the Battle of Odessa in 1941, where the city was taken in an operation that was primarily conducted by Romanian forces and elements of the German Army's 11th Army. It is an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

propaganda work focusing on a family trapped in Soviet-occupied Bessarabia and its eventual liberation by

Axis forces The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

during

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. It was screened at the 1942 Venice Film Festival.Reich & Garofalo p.298 It was made at the

Cinecittà Studios 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, ...

. The sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Guido Fiorini.

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. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place in Axis-occupied

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

as well as Romania.

Plot

Maria Cebotari played the role of Maria Teodorescu, an opera singer from Bessarabia, who is in Chișinău with her 8-year-old son at the time of the invasion. The boy is taken somewhere in Odessa. The mother is told that he will be maintained in a camp where he will be educated as a man and a Soviet. To get her son back she agrees to sing Russian songs in theaters and taverns. There, she shares pictures of her past. One such image is found by chance by her husband, who is in the Romanian army with the rank of captain. In the end, the family reunites. Because of the invasion of Bucharest by Soviet troops in 1944 the movie was banned and the actors were arrested. Many such movies were either destroyed or censored. Nothing was heard of this movie for more than 50 years. However, it was rediscovered in the

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 ...

archives in Rome and was shown for the first time in Romania in December 2006.

Cast

* Maria Cebotari as Maria Teodorescu *

as Il capitano Sergio Teodorescu * Filippo Scelzo as Michele Smirnoff * Olga Solbelli as Luba * Rubi D'Alma as Florica, l'amante di Michele * George Timica as Giovanni Alexis * Silvia Dumitrescu-Timica as Anna, la moglie di Giovanni * Mircea Axente as Pietro * Maurizio Romitelli as Nico * Paolo Ferrari as Paolo *

Gilda Marchiò Gilda Marchiò (1884–1954) was an Italian theatre actress.Bassnett & Lorch p.86 She also appeared in a number of films in the 1940s, her performances including a small role in the 1942 propaganda film '' Odessa in Flames''. Selected filmograph ...

as Ila *

Giuseppe Varni Giuseppe Varni (born Józef Bruno Winawer) (1902-1965) was a Polish-born Italian stage and film actor.Anile p.135 Selected filmography * ''Oltre l'amore'' (1940) - Il commissario * ''Amami Alfredo'' (1940) - (uncredited) * '' Eternal Melodies ...

as Lo scrivone *

Checco Rissone Francesco "Checco" Rissone (7 July 1909 – 26 September 1985) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Rissone was born in Turin, the younger brother of the more famous Giuditta Rissone, Giuditta. He debuted on stage ...

as Gruscenko * Adele Garavaglia as La nonna del bambino malato * Bella Starace Sainati as La vecchietta

References

Bibliography

* Michael Laffan & Max Weiss. ''Facing Fear: The History of an Emotion in Global Perspective''. Princeton University Press, 2012. * Reich, Jacqueline & Garofalo, Piero. ''Re-viewing Fascism: Italian Cinema, 1922-1943''. Indiana University Press, 2002.

External links

* * 1942 films 1940s Italian-language films World War II films made in wartime Films directed by Carmine Gallone Films shot at Cinecittà Studios Italian black-and-white films Italian war drama films Italian World War II films 1940s rediscovered films 1940s war drama films 1942 drama films Romanian black-and-white films Romanian war drama films Romanian World War II films 1940s Italian films Rediscovered Italian films {{Romania-film-stub