The betrothed of death

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Movie
German title The betrothed of death
Original title I fidanzati della morte
Country of production Italy , Germany
original language Italian , German
Publishing year 1957
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Romolo Marcellini
script Gino De Sanctis
Nicola Ferrari
Jacques Rémy
Franco Solinas
production Giuseppe Driussi
music Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
camera Aldo Giordani
cut Eraldo da Roma
occupation

The fiancee of death (original title: I fidanzati della morte ) is an Italian- German fictional film from the world of motorcycle racing made in 1956 . At the side of Rik Battaglia , Gustavo Rojo , Sylva Koscina and the German Margit Nünke , who has just been named Miss Europe 1956 , Hans Albers played a major supporting role as a motorcycle designer.

Aerial view of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza racetrack, where numerous scenes from the film were made

action

The successful motorcycle racer Carlo Benni, who has already won several races, leaves his previous employer after a dispute with the technical director of the motorcycle company Zetavu, Signore Angelini, and then joins the company of his father-in-law Lorenzo. This includes the manufacturer Fulgor, which is not particularly big, but promising in its appearance. Despite his professional reorientation, Carlo begins an affair with Lucia, the daughter of his previous employer. Lucia turns his head so much that he almost succumbs to her whispering to turn his back on his wife Giovanna, which would get him into a serious conflict with his new employer, father-in-law Lorenzo. Shortly before the famous Milano-Taranto race is due, there is a big row between Carlo and Lucia, whereupon he drives unfocused and there is a terrible accident on the racetrack just before the finish line. Carlo not only loses this prestigious motorcycle race, he is even disqualified by the race management.

Carlo returns ruefully to his wife. In Germany, Benni has to start from scratch and takes part in cinder track races for motorcycles with sidecars. Wife Giovanna is his co-pilot in the attached sidecar. Thanks to his success, Carlo can now redeem the lightning-fast motorcycle with injection engine "Freccia", which his designer, father-in-law Lorenzo, had developed and had to pledge. Benni wants to take part in the Monza race and definitely take home victory. On site, he meets his old rival and former boss Angelini, who is not only a designer, but also has a lot of experience as a former race participant and has developed his own, but not yet fully developed prototype. There is a life and death duel between the two men on the racetrack when both of them drive through the parabolic curve at high speed . Carlo wins and finally decides to return to his wife.

Production notes

The Fiancee of Death was filmed in several outdoor locations and passed the Italian film censorship on December 31, 1956. The premiere took place in Italy on February 6, 1957, the German premiere was on July 26, 1957.

The film structures were designed by Carlo Egidi , the costumes by Marisa Crimi. Motorcycle racing specialist Bruno Francisci , three-time winner of the Milano – Taranto race , acted as technical advisor for this film. Numerous racing scenes were created on the Mandello race track.

useful information

In addition to the professional actors, you can also see a lot of contemporary Italian racetracks on which real racing greats of those years romped in front of the camera for this film, including Reg Armstrong , Geoff Duke , Libero Liberati , Bill Lomas , Enrico Lorenzetti , Ken Kavanagh , Stanley Woods , Dickie Dale , Pierre Monneret , Albino Milani and Walter Zeller .

For six decades since its premiere, the film disappeared in the archives. Thanks to a project by Rodaggio Film, which found the film in two Italian film archives, and a crowdfunding campaign with donors from 22 different countries, the film was restored in August 2017 and in a box with DVD with English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German Subtitles republished. In the same year, a restored version of Death's Fiancee was re-presented to the public at the Bologna Film Festival.

Reviews

Der Spiegel stated in 1957: “In this racing film, the four Italian scriptwriters followed the tried and tested recipe, according to which love conflicts always break out immediately before the race. In the otherwise template-like triangular plot, Hans Albers plays the father of the loving, betrayed and ultimately victorious matador woman. The catwalk queen Margit Nünke (" Miss Germany 1956") was used in a variety of ways with little success: dancing, suffering, artistic and even singing. She alone is able to drown out the infernal noise of the motorcycle racing scenes, which constantly breaks out of the wide-screen loudspeakers on the pitiful viewer. "

The film service says: “The film , which was photographed well, and even superbly photographed in the racing scenes, wants to criticize the commercialization of the sport, but does so all too fleetingly. He also suffers from his poor cast and the clichés of the script. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This company invented name is the legendary Italian motorcycle manufacturer Moto Guzzi ajar
  2. ↑ movie review in Der Spiegel 33/1957
  3. ↑ The betrothed of death. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 26, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used