Tormento (1950)

Living with her father and stepmother in Naples, Anna is very unhappy as her stepmother hinders her attempts to live her own life. While her parents are away, she goes out with Carlo, but ... See full summary »

Director:

Raffaello Matarazzo

Writers:

Aldo De Benedetti (screenplay), Libero Bovio (story),

Stars:

Amedeo Nazzari, Yvonne Sanson, Annibale Betrone

Cast

Cast overview:
Amedeo Nazzari	...	Carlo Guarnieri
Yvonne Sanson	...	Anna Ferrari
Annibale Betrone	...	Gaetano Ferrari
Mario Ferrari	...	L'avvocato Bianchi
Teresa Franchini	...	Rosina
Tina Lattanzi	...	Matilde Ferrari
Aldo Nicodemi	...	Ruffini
Giuditta Rissone	...	Madre Celeste
Vittorio Sanipoli	...	Rossi, un socio di Carlo
Roberto Murolo	...	Enzo Sandri
Rosalia Randazzo	...	Pinuccia

Storyline

Living with her father and stepmother in Naples, Anna is very unhappy as her stepmother hinders her attempts to live her own life. While her parents are away, she goes out with Carlo, but finds herself locked out when she comes home. This angers Carlo and he asks Anna to go away with him to Rome, where he plans to liquidate his business assets in order to have money for marriage. He quarrels with his partner and is implicated when his partner is found murdered. Although innocent, he is convicted and given a long sentence. Anna has a child and, finding it impossible to support her child , returns to Naples. The stepmother's conditions are that before she will agree to house the child, Anna must commit herself to a reformatory for unmarried mothers.

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Plot Keywords:

partner | reformatory | unmarried mother | father | 1950s | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

11 February 1950 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Opfergang einer Mutter

Filming Locations:

Titanus Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Titanus, Labor Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in La vita che vorrei (2004)

User Reviews

Tormento

Anna gets thrown out of her house by her wicked stepmother, her fiancé gets tossed in jail for a murder he didn't commit, she gets pregnant, and her father has a heart attack. And that's just the beginning. Matarazzo puts the "drama" in "melodrama" and at first it's too ridiculous to handle. But then it gets so ridiculous that it's hilarious. And then it gets even more ridiculous and becomes kind of awesome. Some have compared Matarazzo to Sirk, but I see little of that subversive quality here, just pandering (his films were wildly popular in Italy, far more so than neorealism). But it's effective pandering, and you can't help getting invested it, despite -- or perhaps because of -- the absurdity of it all. Yvonne Sanson plays the martyr to the hilt, crying and fainting with all her heart. While I can't say this movie is "good," it is entertaining. I'm cautiously looking forward to the next two in the set, which are supposed to be even more over-the-top.