The Gold of Naples
The Gold of Naples (Italian: L'oro di Napoli [ˈlɔːro di ˈnaːpoli]) is a 1954 Italian anthology film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
| L'Oro di Napoli | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Vittorio De Sica |
| Written by | Giuseppe Marotta (novel) Vittorio De Sica Cesare Zavattini |
| Produced by | Dino De Laurentiis Marcello Girosi Carlo Ponti |
| Starring | Silvana Mangano Sophia Loren Paolo Stoppa Totò |
| Cinematography | Carlo Montuori |
| Edited by | Eraldo Da Roma |
| Music by | Alessandro Cicognini |
| Distributed by | Ponti-De Laurentiis Cinematografica, Paramount Pictures, Distributors Corporation of America (US)[1] |
Release date | 11 February 1957 (USA) |
Running time | 131 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Box office | $72,000 (US rental)[1] |
Plot
The film is a tribute to Naples, where director De Sica spent his first years, this is a collection of 6 Neapolitan episodes: a clown exploited by a hoodlum; an unfaithful pizza seller (Loren) losing her wedding ring; the funeral of a child; the impoverished inveterate gambler Count Prospero B. being reduced to force his doorman's preteen kid to play cards with him (and losing regularly); the unexpected and unusual wedding of Teresa, a prostitute; the exploits of "professor" Ersilio Miccio, a "wisdom seller" who "solves problems".
Cast
Segment Teresa
- Silvana Mangano – Teresa
- Erno Crisa – Don Nicola
Segment Pizze a credito
- Sophia Loren – Sofia
- Paolo Stoppa – Don Peppino, the widower
- Giacomo Furia – Rosario, Sofia's husband
- Alberto Farnese – Alfredo, Sofia's lover
- Tecla Scarano – Don Peppino's friend
Segment Il professore
- Eduardo De Filippo – Don Ersilio Miccio
- Tina Pica – the elderly lady
Segment Il guappo
- Totò – Don Saverio Petrillo
- Lianella Carell – Carolina, Don Saverio's wife
Release
Paramount did not take up its option to release the film in the United States and it wasn't until February 1957 that the film was finally distributed there, being shown at the Paris Theater in New York for 18 weeks, earning the distributor, Distributors Corporation of America, $72,000.[1]
The film consists of segments including "The Racketeer", "Pizza on Credit", "The Gambler" and "Theresa".[3] The segment "A Child is Dead" was not initially released.[4]
The film was voted one of the Ten Best Foreign Language Films of 1957 by The New York Times.[3]
References
- "'Gold of Naples' Pays Off". Variety. June 12, 1957. p. 4. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- "Festival de Cannes: The Gold of Naples". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- "The Gold of Naples: Miscellaneous Notes". TCM. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- Weinberg, Herman G. (Winter 1962–1963). "The Legion of Lost Films". Sight & Sound. Vol. 32, no. 1. British Film Institute. pp. 42–45. Retrieved 3 December 2022 – via Archive.org.