Raf Vallone
Encyclopedia
Raffaele "Raf" Vallone (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002) was an Italian
footballer, actor and an international film star.
Born in Tropea
, Calabria
, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour
in Turin
, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin
and entered his father's law firm. He played professional Football at a young age, playing in Serie A
for Torino
. He won the Coppa Italia
with his team in season 1935-1936. Subsequently, he became the editorial head of the culture section of L'Unità
, then the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party
, and also a film and drama critic for the Turin newspaper La Stampa
. During World War II
, Vallone served with the Communist resistance.
His first film appearance was as a sailor in We the Living
(1942), but Vallone was not interested in an acting career. Nevertheless, he was cast as a soldier competing with Vittorio Gassman
for the love of Silvana Mangano
in Riso amaro
(Bitter Rice) (1949). The film became a neo-realist
classic and Vallone was launched on an international career. In 2001 he published his autobiography, L'alfabeto della memoria, with Gremese (Rome).
Vallone was married to the actress Elena Varzi from 1952 until his death. They had three children, two of whom are actors, Eleonora Vallone and Saverio Vallone.
He died in Rome on 31 October 2002.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
footballer, actor and an international film star.
Born in Tropea
Tropea
Tropea is a municipality located within the province of Vibo Valentia, in Calabria .The town is a famous bathing place, situated on a reef, in the gulf of St...
, Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo Ginnasio statale "Camillo Benso di Cavour" is the oldest Liceo classico in Turin and one among the oldest and most prominent high schools in Italy, for boys aged 14 to 19. It was transferred to its present location in 1931.-History:...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
and entered his father's law firm. He played professional Football at a young age, playing in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
for Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
. He won the Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
with his team in season 1935-1936. Subsequently, he became the editorial head of the culture section of L'Unità
L'Unità
l'Unità is an Italian left-wing newspaper, originally founded as official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party.-History:L'Unità was founded by Antonio Gramsci on 12 February 1924, as the newspaper of workers and peasants, the official newspaper of Italian Communist Party : it was printed in...
, then the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
, and also a film and drama critic for the Turin newspaper La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Vallone served with the Communist resistance.
His first film appearance was as a sailor in We the Living
We the Living
We the Living is the first novel published by the Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand. It was also Rand's first statement against communism. First published in 1936, it is a story of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Rand observes in the foreword to this book that We the Living was the closest she...
(1942), but Vallone was not interested in an acting career. Nevertheless, he was cast as a soldier competing with Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman Knight Grand Cross OMRI , popularly known as Il Mattatore, was an Italian theatre and film actor and director...
for the love of Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano was an Italian actress.Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946...
in Riso amaro
Bitter Rice
Bitter Rice is a 1949 Italian film made by Lux Film, written and directed by Giuseppe De Santis. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassman, Bitter Rice was a commercial success in Europe and America. It was a product of the Italian...
(Bitter Rice) (1949). The film became a neo-realist
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
classic and Vallone was launched on an international career. In 2001 he published his autobiography, L'alfabeto della memoria, with Gremese (Rome).
Vallone was married to the actress Elena Varzi from 1952 until his death. They had three children, two of whom are actors, Eleonora Vallone and Saverio Vallone.
He died in Rome on 31 October 2002.
Filmography
- We the LivingWe the LivingWe the Living is the first novel published by the Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand. It was also Rand's first statement against communism. First published in 1936, it is a story of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Rand observes in the foreword to this book that We the Living was the closest she...
(1942) - Riso Amaro (1949)
- Cuori senza frontiereThe White LineThe White Line is a 1950 Italian drama film directed by Luigi Zampa and starring Gina Lollobrigida.-Cast:* Gina Lollobrigida - Donata Sebastian* Raf Vallone - Domenico* Erno Crisa - Stefano* Cesco Baseggio - Giovanni Sebastian...
(1949) - Non c'è pace tra gli ulivi (1950)
- Il Cristo proibito (1950)
- Path of HopePath of HopePath of Hope is a 1950 Italian language drama film directed by Pietro Germi that belongs to the Italian neorealism film movement. It is based on Nino Di Maria's novel Cuori negli abissi...
(1950) - Il bivio (1950)
- Le avventure di Mandrin (1951)
- Anna (1951 film)Anna (1951 film)Anna is a 1951 Italian drama film directed by Alberto Lattuada and starring by the same trio as Bitter Rice: Silvana Mangano as Anna, the sinner who becomes a nun; Raf Vallone as Andrea, the rich man who loves her; and Vittorio Gassman as Vittorio, the wicked waiter who sets Anna on a dangerous...
(1951) - Rome 11 o'clock (1952)
- Perdonami (1952)
- Carne inquieta (1952)
- Camicie rosse (1952)
- Los ojos dejan huellaLos ojos dejan huellaLos ojos dejan huellas is a 1952 Spanish thriller film directed by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia. It stars Italian actor Raf Vallone and his wife Elena Varzi...
(1952) - La spiaggia (1953)
- The Sign of VenusThe Sign of VenusThe Sign of Venus is a 1955 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi and starring Sophia Loren. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Franca Valeri - Cesira* Sophia Loren - Agnese Tirabassi* Vittorio De Sica - Alessio Spano...
(1953) - Gli eroi della domenicaSunday HeroesSunday Heroes is a 1953 Italian drama film directed by Mario Camerini.-Cast:* Raf Vallone - Gino Bardi* Cosetta Greco - Mara* Marcello Mastroianni - Carlo Vagnetti* Paolo Stoppa - Piero* Franco Interlenghi - Marini...
(1953) - Destini di donne (Destinées) (1953)
- Delirio (1953)
- Teresa Raquin (1953)
- Orage (1954)
- Domanda di Grazia (ObsessionObsession (1954 film)Obsession is a 1954 French language motion picture crime drama directed by Jean Delannoy who co-wrote screenplay with Antoine Blondin, Roland Laudenbach and Gian Luigi Rondi, based on story "Silent as the Grave" by Cornell Woolrich...
) (1954) - Siluri umani (1954)
- Il segreto di Suor Angela (Le Secret de soeur Angèle) (1955)
- L'isola delle capre (Les Possédées) (1955)
- Andrea Chenier (1955)
- Rose BerndRose Bernd (film)Rose Bernd is a 1957 German drama film directed by Wolfgang Staudte. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Maria Schell - Rose Bernd* Raf Vallone - Arthur Streckmann* Käthe Gold - Henriette Flamm* Leopold Biberti - Christoph Flamm...
(1957) - GuendalinaGuendalinaGuendalina is a 1957 Italian comedy film directed by Alberto Lattuada. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Jacqueline Sassard - Guendalina* Raffaele Mattioli - Oberdan* Sylva Koscina - Francesca, Guendalina's mother...
(1957) - Uragano sul Po (Liebe) (1956
- La venganza (1957)
- La Violetera (1958)
- La trappola si chiude (Le Piège) (1958)
- La Garçonniere (1960)
- Tra due donne (Recours en grâce) (1960)
- Uno sguardo dal ponte (Vu du pont) (1961)
- Two WomenTwo WomenTwo Women is a 1960 Italian film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her young daughter from the horrors of war. The film stars Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Carlo Ninchi and Andrea Checchi...
(1961) - El CidEl Cid (film)El Cid is a historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" who in the 11th century fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain.Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in...
(1961) - A View from the BridgeA View from the BridgeA View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this...
(1962) - PhaedraPhaedraPhaedra can refer to:*Phaedra *Various artistic works based on the legend:**Hippolytus by Euripides**Phaedra by Seneca the Younger**Phèdre by Jean Racine...
(1962) - The CardinalThe CardinalThe Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
(1963) - The Secret InvasionThe Secret InvasionThe Secret Invasion is a 1964 Eastmancolor war film directed by Roger Corman that was filmed in Yugoslavia. In World War II, convicts are recruited by the Allies for an extremely hazardous mission...
(1964) - Una voglia da morire (1965)
- HarlowHarlowHarlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
(1965) - Nevada SmithNevada SmithNevada Smith is a 1966 American Western film starring Steve McQueen and made by Embassy Pictures and Solar Productions, in association with and released by Paramount Pictures. The movie was produced and directed by Henry Hathaway with Joseph E...
(1966) - Se tutte le donne del mondoSe Tutte le Donne del MondoSe Tutte le Donne del Mondo is a James Bond spoof movie released in 1966. Originally filmed under the title Operation Paradise from January to March 1966 in most of the world, the English title was If All the Women in the World. It was released in the U.S...
(1966) - Volver a vivir (1967)
- Flash 03 (1967)
- La Esclava del paraíso (1968)
- The Desperate Ones (1968)
- The Italian JobThe Italian JobThe Italian Job is a 1969 British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. Subsequent television showings and releases on video have established it as an institution in the United Kingdom....
(1969) - La Morte risale a ieri sera (1970)
- The Kremlin LetterThe Kremlin LetterThe Kremlin Letter is an American noir film directed by John Huston, starring Richard Boone, Orson Welles, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Patrick O'Neal and George Sanders. It was released in February 1970 by 20th Century-Fox...
(1970) - Cannon for CordobaCannon for CordobaCannon for Cordoba was a western film that was released in 1970. Filmed in Spain, the large part of the movie takes place in Mexico in 1912...
(1970) - A GunfightA GunfightA Gunfight is a Western movie from 1971 directed by Lamont Johnson, starring Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash.The film was financed by the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, although there are no leading Native American characters in the story.-Plot:...
(1971) - Ricatto alla mala (Un Verano para matar) (1972)
- Un Tipo con una faccia strana ti cerca per ucciderti (1973)
- La Casa della paura (1973)
- Honor Thy FatherHonor Thy FatherFor the song by Dream Theater, see Train of Thought Honor Thy Father was a 1971 book by Gay Talese, about the travails of the Bonanno crime family in the 1960s, especially Salvatore Bonanno and his father Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno.- Background :In 1965, Gay Talese left his job as a reporter at...
(1973) (TV) - Catholics (1973) (TV)
- Small Miracle (1975) (TV)
- Simona (1975)
- The Human Factor (1975)
- Decadenza (1975)
- RosebudRosebud (film)Rosebud is a 1975 motion picture directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Peter O'Toole, Richard Attenborough, and Peter Lawford. Originally the film was set to star Robert Mitchum, but he left after disagreements with Preminger...
(1975) - That Lucky TouchThat Lucky TouchThat Lucky Touch is a 1975 British-German comedy film directed by Christopher Miles and starring Roger Moore, Susannah York and Shelley Winters...
(1975) - The Other Side of MidnightThe Other Side of Midnight (film)The Other Side of Midnight is a 1977 American film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Marie-France Pisier, John Beck and Susan Sarandon...
(1977) - Des Teufels Advokat (1978)
- The Greek TycoonThe Greek TycoonThe Greek Tycoon is a 1978 American drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by Morton S. Fine is based on a story by Fine, Nico Mastorakis, and Win Wells loosely based on Aristotle Onassis and his relationship with Jacqueline Kennedy.-Plot:...
(1978) - An Almost Perfect AffairAn Almost Perfect AffairAn Almost Perfect Affair is a 1979 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie about the Cannes Film Festival and an affair between a filmmaker and a film producer's wife, set during the film festival...
(1979) - Retour à Marseille (1980)
- Lion of the DesertLion of the DesertLion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical action film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar. It was...
(1981) - Sezona mira u Parizu (1981)
- A Time to Die (1982)
- Scarlatto e nero (The Scarlet and the BlackThe Scarlet and the BlackThe Scarlet and the Black is a 1983 made for TV movie starring Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer. This production should not be confused with the 1993 British television mini series Scarlet and Black, which starred Ewan McGregor and Rachel Weisz....
) (1983) (TV) - Paradigma (1985)
- Christopher Columbus (1985) (TV)
- Der Bierkönig (1990) (TV)
- The Godfather: Part III (1990)
- Julianus barát III (1991)
- Julianus barát II (1991)
- The First Circle (1991) (TV)
- A Season of Giants (1991) (TV)
- Julianus barát I (1991)
- Mit dem Herzen einer Mutter (1992) (TV)
- Toni (1999)
- Vino santo (2000) (TV)