The Phantom Gondola
The Phantom Gondola (Italian:La gondola delle chimere) is a 1936 French-Italian drama film directed by Augusto Genina and starring Marcelle Chantal, Henri Rollan and Paul Bernard.[1] The film was a co-production between the two countries shot at the Cines Studios in Rome and based on a 1926 novel by Maurice Dekobra.
| The Phantom Gondola | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Augusto Genina |
| Written by | Maurice Dekobra (novel) Gino Valori |
| Starring | Marcelle Chantal Henri Rollan Paul Bernard Roger Karl |
| Music by | Cesare A. Bixio Ezio Carabella Armando Fragna |
| Cinematography | Anchise Brizzi Léonce-Henri Burel |
| Edited by | Fernando Tropea |
Production company | Hélianthe-Film Tiberia Film |
| Distributed by | Grandi Film (Italy) |
Release date | March 1936 |
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | France Italy |
| Language | Italian |
Synopsis
A British aristocrat falls in love with a Venetian Count, without realising that he is a spy against the Turks. When she discovers that he has been captured by the notorious Sélim Pacha she does everything she can to save him.
Cast
- Marcelle Chantal as Lady Diana Wyndham
- Henri Rollan as Le comte Angelo Ruzzi / Il conte Angelo Ruzzi
- Paul Bernard as Jimmy
- Roger Karl as Sélim Pacha / Selim Pascia
- Betty Beckers as Belkis
- Serge Nadaud as Sir Reginald Duckling
- Edmond Van Daële as Le docteur Erich Krauss / Il dottor Erick Krauss
- Alexandre Mihalesco as Ibrahim
- Lucie Gueneau as Madame Sacchardi / Signora Saccardi
- Doris Duranti as Nelly
- Jean Del Val as Monsieur de Montignac
- Paul Clerget as Le diplomate / Il diplomato
- Hugues de Bagratide as Le prince Ahmed / Il principe Achmed
- Jean Clarens as Le capitaine / Il capitano
- Emilienne Davray as La téléphoniste
- Nino Eller
- Mario Falaschi
- Giovanni Ferrari
- Renato Gabrielli
- Carlo Maggio
- Lia Rosa
- Vanna Vanni
- Rosina Adrario
Reception
Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review, characterizing it as "a cheap, trivial and pretentious story by a popular writer of rather low reputation." While acknowledging that "it is one of the only two films this last year I have found myself unable to endure till the end," and that he had not therefore completed the entire film, Greene explained his action "for never has a melodrama proceeded so slowly, with such a saga-like tread".[2]
See also
- Change of Heart (1928), with Juliette Compton as Lady Winham
- Madonna of the Sleeping Cars (1928), with Claude France as Lady Diana Wynham
- Madonna of the Sleeping Cars (1955), with Gisèle Pascal as Lady Diana Wyndham
References
- Nowell-Smith p.60
- Greene, Graham (10 July 1936). "One Rainy Afternoon/Janosik/The Phantom Gondola". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. p. 87. ISBN 0192812866.)
Bibliography
- Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey & Hay, James & Volpi, Gianni. The Companion to Italian Cinema. Cassell, 1996.