''Tragic Night'' () is a 1942 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

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

Doris Duranti Doris Duranti (25 April 1917 – 10 March 1995) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 43 films between 1935 and 1975. She had a years-long affair with Alessandro Pavolini, a Fascist politician who in 1945 was executed by Italian par ...

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

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, he s ...

.Brunetta p.99 It is based on a 1928 novel ''La trappola'' by Delfino Cinelli. After being released from

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

, a

poacher Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunti ...

seeks revenge on the

gamekeeper In the United Kingdom, a gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper) is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g., areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure that there is enough Game (hunting), game for hunting, or fish ...

who put him there. It was made at the

Scalera Studios Scalera is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Frederick Scalera, American politician * Giuseppe Scalera, Italian football player * Maria Antonia Scalera Stellini, Italian poet * Ralph Francis Scalera , American judge ...

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, ...

. 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

One day in the countryside the

Stefano is ambushed and beaten by a group of

vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

led by Nanni, who take revenge on him for enforcing the

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

laws on the young

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

's land and sending him to prison in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Stefano turns up soon afterwards at the shop owned by Nanni and although he is aware who attacked him he pretends it had been accident. However he nurses a secret grudge. Two years later, much time has passed and Stefano pretends to be friendly towards Nanni. He notices that he is particularly sensitive about his wife, Armida, a woman from

who he had married just before he had been sent to prison. His chance comes when the count returns to his estate after two years in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Stefano hints to Nanni about a secret relationship between the Count and his wife, based on a brief attempt by the count to flirt with Armida two years earlier, before he realised she was married. Despite the fact that they had been childhood friends, Stefano manages to persuade Nanni that the Count is betraying him. Stoking his jealousy, he lures him out one night to a hunt for

badger Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by the ...

s, promising that the count has invited him. Instead Sefano tries to ambush him in revenge for his humiliation two years before, but Nanni is too quick and shoots him dead. The Count, at last realising what is happening, arrives on the scene. Nanni aims his gun at him, but the Count reminds him of their childhood bond. It is clear to Nanni that he had no ulterior motives towards his wife and he lowers his gun. When the other villagers arrives, the Count takes the blame for the shooting, claiming it was an accident on his part.

Main cast

as Armida *

as Stefano *

as Nanni *

Juan de Landa Juan de Landa (1894–1968) was a Spanish film actor, who was born in the Basque Country. De Landa entered the film industry in 1930 following the arrival of sound film. He initially acted in Spanish-language versions of Hollywood films, but lat ...

as Faille *

Amelia Chellini Amelia Chellini (16 June 1880 – 31 May 1944), was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 38 films between 1912 and 1944. Selected filmography * '' Everybody's Secretary'' (1933) * '' Bad Subject'' (1933) * '' Full Speed'' (1934) * '' L ...

as Zelinda, la madre di Armida *

Adriano Rimoldi Adriano Rimoldi (1912–1965) was an Italian film actor. Career Born in La Spezia, Rimoldi started acting on stage while being a student of medicine at the University of Florence. After playing minor film roles, he had his breakout in 1940 as ...

as Il conte Paolo Martorelli *

Giulio Battiferri Giulio Battiferri (15 July 1893 – 22 January 1973) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1939 to 1972. He was married to the actress Pina Piovani. Life and career Born in Rome, Battiferri started his caree ...

as Gino

References

Bibliography

* Brunetta, Gian Piero. ''The History of Italian Cinema: A Guide to Italian Film from Its Origins to the Twenty-first Century''. Princeton University Press, 2009.

External links

* 1942 films Italian drama films 1942 drama films 1940s Italian-language films Films directed by Mario Soldati Films based on Italian novels Films shot at Scalera Studios Italian black-and-white films Films set in Florence 1940s Italian films Italian-language drama films {{1940s-Italy-film-stub