Shadows over Naples
Shadow over Naples is a gangster film drama set in Camorra circles that was made in 1950 on location in Italy in a German-Italian co-production. Maria Montez , Hans Söhnker and Massimo Serato play the leading roles .
action
Naples in the 19th century. The Camorra, which was once founded to promote the liberation and unity of Italy, has developed into a criminal organization. The police are planning nothing less than to smash this criminal secret society. One of the Camorra members, the young Peppuccio, whom everyone just calls Beppe, is currently in prison. He manages to escape from the dungeon, and Peppe plans to kill the man whose betrayal he was once arrested. The police prefect wants to use Beppe's hatred to put an end to the Camorra. In fact, Beppe can catch the traitor Paolo and kill him.
Because of this bloody act, Beppe is now caught between all stools. Now not only the police in Naples are chasing him, but also the Camorra under the leadership of the slippery Marco, who cannot allow one of his own to murder another Camorra member without his consent. The singer Dolores, who appears in a tavern around the crime organization, loves Beppe, who is also adored by the more well-behaved Nanella, the daughter of the boss of the crime ring. When Beppe turns away from Dolores and turns to Nanella, the jealous rejected southern Italian hatred of revenge boils up and she stabs him while the battle between the Mafia and the Neapolitan police begins to rage. In the end, the police (but only in this story) manage to smash the Camorra with the help of Nanella.
Production notes
Shadow over Naples was created in 1950 under the German working title Camorra and the Italian loan title Amore e sangue (Love and Blood) in the studios in two language versions - the Italian version was staged by Marino Girolami , the German version by the former Willi Forst employee Hans Wolff - in Munich -Schwanthalerhöh and in the makeshift studio Tegernsee (studio recordings) as well as with outdoor recordings in Naples, Rome and on Lake Como. The film premiered on April 5, 1951 in Italy, the German premiere took place on May 11, 1951 in Karlsruhe.
Herbert Sennewald took over the production management. Max Mellin and Rolf Zehetbauer designed the film buildings. The costumes are from Dario Cecchi. Heinz Terworth was responsible for the sound.
For the 41-year-old American Alan Curtis , who took on the role of the traitor Paolo, this was the last film role; then he retired from the profession.
useful information
For the two Comedia film producers Alf Teichs and Heinz Rühmann , this was the last production of their small company, which went bankrupt shortly afterwards. O-Ton Rühmann: "Let me be clear: we shot the wrong films at the wrong time".
Reviews
“This film seems unnecessary, not even for an illustration of the" Camorra "(...) Amore e sangue is approaching the tragic conclusion of a collective death with a certain speed. The film is one of the best of the current Südland productions. "
"A failing director and a poor script string together murder, crime and boredom."
Individual evidence
- ^ The Comedia films
- ^ Shadows over Naples in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed April 1, 2020
Web links
- Shadow over Naples in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Shadow over Naples at filmportal.de