''Ragazzo'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

for ) is a 1934 Italian

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

directed by

Ivo Perilli Ivo Perilli (10 April 1902 – 24 November 1994) was an Italian screenwriter. He wrote for more than 50 films between 1933 and 1977. Selected filmography * '' Figaro and His Great Day'' (1931) * '' Lowered Sails'' (1931) * ''La Wally'' (19 ...

. The film was

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

by the Italian government, and its only known copy was subsequently looted by German soldiers in 1944 and has not resurfaced.

Plot

The film follows Giovanni, a working-class orphan living in

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, ...

, who realizes that his criminal lifestyle is wrong and becomes a devout

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

Cast

The following is the cast of ''Ragazzo'': *Costantino Frasca as Giovanni *

Isa Pola Isa Pola (born Maria Luisa Betti di Montesano; 19 December 1909 – 17 December 1984) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 30 films during her career; an early screen role was the female lead in ''Steel (1933 film), S ...

as Principessita *

Giovanna Scotto Giovanna Scotto (born Giovanna Margherita Piana-Canova; 26 August 1895 – 23 December 1985) was an Italian actress and voice actress. Biography Scotto was born in Turin to a theatre company administrator and she made her on-stage debut as a te ...

as La madre del ragazzo *

Osvaldo Valenti Osvaldo Valenti (17 February 1906 – 30 April 1945) was an Italian film actor. Valenti starred in several successful Italian movies of the late 1930s and early 1940s, such as the famous ''The Iron Crown'' and '' The Jester's Supper''. He ap ...

as Malvivente di borgata *Anna Vinci as Antonietta *Marcello Martire as Dirigente fascista *

Aristide Garbini Aristide Garbini (1890–1950) was an Italian film actor.Verdone p.83 Selected filmography * '' The Crusaders'' (1918) * '' Messalina'' (1924) * '' Miryam'' (1929) * '' Five to Nil'' (1932) * '' Ragazzo'' (1934) * '' The Old Guard'' (1934) * ''A ...

as Pugile *Arnaldo Baldaccini as Proprietario della fabbrica

Production

The film was directed by

and the screenplay was done by Perilli and

Emilio Cecchi Emilio Cecchi (14 July 1884 – 5 September 1966) was an Italian Literary criticism, literary critic, Art criticism, art critic and screenwriter. One English language source describes him as "an 'official' - although radically anti-academic - in ...

. The story was written by and , the music was composed by , and the cinematography was done by Domenico Scala and Massimo Terzano. Filming by Cines-Pittaluga occurred in the "poorer sections" of Rome and the intended distributor was Società Anonima Stefano Pittaluga (SASP).

Censorship and destruction

''Ragazzo'' was the only completed Italian film, out of approximately 700, not to be released due to government censorship between 1930 and 1944. The Italian censorship commission, as well as

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

himself, objected to the film's portrayal of the poorer sections of Rome, which the government had claimed no longer existed, and that a "model fascist" could arise from a "criminal gang of hooligans". As such, the film was never released nor screened in any Italian theater.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* {{Authority control 1934 films Italian black-and-white films 1930s Italian-language films Lost Italian films 1934 lost films