''The Divine Spark'' is a 1935 British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

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

Marta Eggerth Marta Eggerth (17 April 1912 – 26 December 2013) was a Hungarian actress and singer from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar ...

Phillips Holmes Phillips Raymond Holmes (July 22, 1907 – August 12, 1942) was an American actor. For his contributions to the film industry, he was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life, education and career Born in ...

Benita Hume Benita Hume (14 October 1907 – 1 November 1967) was an English theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films from 1925 to 1955. Life and career She was married to film actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958; t ...

and

Donald Calthrop Donald Esme Clayton Calthrop (11 April 1888 – 15 July 1940) was an English stage and film actor. Born in London, Calthrop was educated at St Paul's School and made his first stage appearance at eighteen years of age at the Comedy Theat ...

. An

Italian-language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

version '' Casta Diva'' was shot simultaneously. Both films were made at the

Tirrenia Studios The Tirrenia Studios (also known at one point as the Pisorno Studios) are a film studio complex located in the Italian coastal town of Tirrenia in Tuscany. The studios were constructed between 1933-1934 and intended, along with the Fert Studios i ...

in Italy.

Plot

Cast

as Maddalena Fumaroli *

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; ; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an Italian opera composer famed for his long, graceful melodies and evocative musical settings. A central figure of the era, he was admired not only ...

Giuditta Pasta Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (; 26 October 1797 – 1 April 1865) was an Italian opera singer. A soprano, she has been compared to the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas. Career Early career Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanz ...

as Judge Fumaroli *

Arthur Margetson Arthur Margetson (27 April 1887 – 13 August 1951) was a British stage and film actor and radio broadcaster. He was also a composer of music and lyrics, and an impersonator of performers such as G P Huntley, Alfred Lester, and Harry Weldon. ...

as Ernesto Tosi *

Edmund Breon Edmund Breon (born Iver Edmund de Breon MacLaverty; 12 December 1882 – 24 June 1953) was a Scottish film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1907 and 1952. Life and career Born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Br ...

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

Basil Gill Basil Gill (10 March 1877 – 23 April 1955) was a British stage actor and film actor. His stage career included many roles in plays of Shakespeare. Life He was a son of the Rev. John Gill, of Cambridge.Obituary, ''The Glasgow Herald'', page 9, ...

as Romanie *

Hugh Miller Hugh Miller (10 October 1802 – 23/24 December 1856) was a Scottish geologist, writer and folklorist. Life and work Miller was born in Cromarty, the first of three children of Harriet Wright (''bap''. 1780, ''d''. 1863) and Hugh Miller ...

as Niccolo Paganini * Edward Chapman as

Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti or Gioa ...

* John Clements as Fiorino *

John Deverell John Deverell (30 May 1880 in London, England – 2 March 1965 in Haywards Heath, Sussex, England) was a British actor. Selected filmography * ''John Forrest Finds Himself'' (1920) – The Hon. Vere Blair * '' Children of Chance'' (1930) – Haro ...

as King *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life ...

as Butler *

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-up ...

Felice Romani Giuseppe Felice Romani (31 January 178828 January 1865) was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist betw ...

References

External links

* 1935 films 1930s biographical films 1930s historical musical films British historical musical films British biographical films Films directed by Carmine Gallone Films set in Italy Films set in 1831 Films about composers Films about classical music and musicians Films about opera Films produced by Arnold Pressburger British multilingual films Films shot at Tirrenia Studios British black-and-white films Cultural depictions of Niccolò Paganini 1935 multilingual films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Films scored by Willy Schmidt-Gentner English-language musical films English-language historical films English-language biographical films {{historic-musical-film-stub