The Italian (1915)

Writers:

Thomas H. Ince (story) and
C. Gardner Sullivan (story)

Release Date:

January 1915 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION By Special Arrangement with the New York Motion Picture Company Presents GEORGE BEBAN in "THE ITALIAN" ( original poster)

Plot:

An immigrant leaves his sweetheart in Italy to find a better life across the sea in the grimy slums of New York...

Plot Keywords:

Milk | Jail | Immigrant | Pasteurized Milk | Slum

Awards:

1 win

Cast

George Beban	...	Beppo Donnetti
Clara Williams	...	Annette Ancello Donnetti
J. Frank Burke	...	Trudo Ancello - Annette's Father
Leo Willis	...	Corrigan - NYC Ward Boss
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fanny Midgley

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New York Motion Picture

Trivia:

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1991.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Godfather (1972)

Immigrant misery.

This short American silent feature is a knockout. Made in 1915, it was lost for several decades. It is the story of an Italian immigrant and his wife who see in the United States a land of opportunity and happiness. Everything, instead, works against them. The film makes a very strong impression and has credible performances. The location shooting in the ghettos of the time give it a distinctly neo-realist feeling. It is said that Francis Ford Coppola watched it closely before shooting the Little Italy sequences of "The Godfather, Part II"