The Last Days of Pompeii (1950 film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Days of Pompeii (1950
) is a French
-Italian
drama film, directed by Marcel L'Herbier
"in collaboration with" Paolo Moffa
, who was also the director of production. It was adapted from Edward Bulwer-Lytton
's novel The Last Days of Pompeii
. The film has also been known as Sins of Pompeii.
. The production was then interrupted however for nearly a year, and was completed at the GTC studios at Joinville/Saint-Maurice in 1949. The film was released in France and Italy in 1950.
The film considerably simplified the plot of Lytton's novel, and there was some alteration of the names of the principal characters: Glaucus became Lysias, and Ione became Hélène; Nidia was made the victim of Arbax rather than an agent of his defeat.
The photography was black & white. There were impressive set designs and costumes (Aldo Tommasini and Veniero Colasanti), and special effects by B. de Kerblay.
Marcel L'Herbier approached the project as one of the "chroniques filmées" ("filmed histories") which his film work had favoured during the past decade, giving some emphasis to the documentary aspects of the everyday life that had been preserved at Pompeii. He initially approached Albert Camus
to write the dialogue (having in mind the latter's play Caligula), but in the event the task was undertaken by Alexandre Arnoux. L'Herbier admitted some reservation about the resulting film in spite of its strong cast and opulent settings.
1950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) is a French
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
-Italian
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
drama film, directed by Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...
"in collaboration with" Paolo Moffa
Paolo Moffa
Paolo Moffa was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed seven films between 1943 and 1982.-Selected filmography:* The Last Days of Pompeii * The Island Princess...
, who was also the director of production. It was adapted from Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC , was an English politician, poet, playwright, and novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling dime-novels which earned him a considerable fortune...
's novel The Last Days of Pompeii
The Last Days of Pompeii
The Last Days of Pompeii is a novel written by the baron Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. Once a very widely read book and now relatively neglected, it culminates in the cataclysmic destruction of the city of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.The novel uses its characters to contrast...
. The film has also been known as Sins of Pompeii.
Plot
In Pompeii, in the year 79AD, Lysias, a wealthy young Greek, abducts the beautiful Hélène, who is a pupil of Arbax, the sinister High Priest of Isis. For revenge, Arbax causes Lysias to drink a magic potion to make him fall in love with his ally Julie, but Lysias becomes mad from the drink. Nidia, a young slave girl rescued by Lycias, has overheard the plot and accuses Arbax of trying to kill her master. Arbax kills the girl and has Lysias accused of the murder. Condemned to the lions in the arena, Lysias only escapes the punishment when the eruption of Vesuvius brings panic to the town, and he leads Hélène to safety.Cast
- Micheline PresleMicheline PresleMicheline Presle is a French actress also known in English language films as Micheline Prelle.Born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne in Paris, she wanted to be an actress from an early age. She took acting classes in her early teens and made her film debut at the age of fifteen in the...
... Elena / Hélène - Georges MarchalGeorges MarchalGeorges Marchal was a French actor, one of the most beautiful. He was married to Dany Robin, forming a famous and popular couple , they play together in movies La Passagère , La Voyageuse inattendue, Le plus joli péché du monde, Jupiter directed by Gilles Grangier , Quand sonnera midi written by...
... Lysia / Lysias - Marcel HerrandMarcel HerrandMarcel Herrand was a French stage and film actor best remembered for his roles in swashbuckling or historical films.He appeared in over 25 films between 1932 and 1952....
... Arbace / Arbax - Jaque CatelainJaque CatelainJaque Catelain was a French actor who came to prominence in silent films of the 1920s, and who continued acting in films and on stage until the 1950s. He also wrote and directed two silent films himself, and he was a capable artist and musician. He had a close association with the director Marcel...
... Clodio / Claudius - Adriana BenettiAdriana Benetti-Biography:Born in Quacchio, an east-area of Ferrara, Adriana graduated at Istituto Magistrale of her city, to landfall then in Rome, where she was accepted at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia...
... Nidia - Laure Alex ... Julie
- Camillo PilottoCamillo PilottoCamillo Pilotto was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 101 films between 1916 and 1963. He was born and died in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* The Old Lady * La segretaria per tutti...
... Diomede / Diomède - Antonio Pierfederici ... Olinto / Olinte
- Guglielmo BarnabòGuglielmo BarnabòGuglielmo Barnabò was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 99 films between 1926 and 1954.He was born and died in Ancona, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Beauty of the World * Bad Subject...
... Panza - Alain Quercy ... Lepido / Lépide
Production
Principal filming took place in the summer of 1948 at the Cinecittà studios in Rome. The amphitheatre scenes were filmed at the Arena di VeronaVerona Arena
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind....
. The production was then interrupted however for nearly a year, and was completed at the GTC studios at Joinville/Saint-Maurice in 1949. The film was released in France and Italy in 1950.
The film considerably simplified the plot of Lytton's novel, and there was some alteration of the names of the principal characters: Glaucus became Lysias, and Ione became Hélène; Nidia was made the victim of Arbax rather than an agent of his defeat.
The photography was black & white. There were impressive set designs and costumes (Aldo Tommasini and Veniero Colasanti), and special effects by B. de Kerblay.
Marcel L'Herbier approached the project as one of the "chroniques filmées" ("filmed histories") which his film work had favoured during the past decade, giving some emphasis to the documentary aspects of the everyday life that had been preserved at Pompeii. He initially approached Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
to write the dialogue (having in mind the latter's play Caligula), but in the event the task was undertaken by Alexandre Arnoux. L'Herbier admitted some reservation about the resulting film in spite of its strong cast and opulent settings.