It Happened in '43 (1960)
"La lunga notte del '43" (original title)

In the midst of World War II, the story of the affair of a young woman, married to a man bound to a wheelchair, with a desertor from the Italian army, intertwines with that of the grab of ... See full summary »

Director:

Florestano Vancini

Writers:

Giorgio Bassani (novel), Pier Paolo Pasolini,

Stars:

Belinda Lee, Gabriele Ferzetti, Enrico Maria Salerno

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Belinda Lee	...	Anna Barilari
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Mario Villani
Enrico Maria Salerno	...	Pino Barilari
Gino Cervi	...	Carlo Aretusi
Nerio Bernardi	...	Avvocato Attilio Villani
Raffaella Carrà	...	Ines - sorella di Mario (as Raffaella Pelloni)
Andrea Checchi	...	Il farmacista
Isa Querio	...	Signora Villani
Loris Bazzocchi	...	Vincent
Carlo Di Maggio	...	Conosole Bolognesi
Alice Clements	...	Blanche Villani - moglie di Mario
Romano Ghini
Mario Bellini
Gabriele Toth
Franco Cobianchi

Storyline

In the midst of World War II, the story of the affair of a young woman, married to a man bound to a wheelchair, with a desertor from the Italian army, intertwines with that of the grab of power of a very fanatical local fascist leader, who gets the hold with a massacre of Pacific opposers, among them, the father of the young desertor. Oppresive fog covers both dramas, as a reminder of how values such as courage, love and truth are fading.

---

Plot Keywords:

fascist | armistice | italian wars | civil war | world war two in italy | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

---

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian French

Release Date:

13 September 1960 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Long Night in 1943

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 881,784 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ajace Produzioni Cinematografiche, Euro International Film (EIA), Films Metzger et Woog

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

"It Happened in '43" (1960) - directed by F. Vancini.

A remarkable film: emotional and austere, dark and shattering, quick, packed with absolute silence along with peoples' busy chatter. Ordinary, beautiful, & awful. It is profoundly atmospheric & deliciously gets under the viewer's skin: the dark winter, fog, cold, hiding, people in corners, against walls, stuck in rooms, against windows, under shadowy arcades, a night that seems like day and a day that's never fully lit. And yet the story is straightforward, not forced,nor intellectually pretentious. "A" goes to "b" goes to "c" with knife-edge clarity. At the center of the plot is a kind of Romeo-Juliet love story. Beautifully complemented by the film's last few minutes -- a shot to the present of 1960 -- which makes that past of 1943 all the more fascinating and horrible. Simultaneously remote and intimate; inescapable. A work of genuine cinematic substance & recognized as such in Europe: where it won "Lion d'or" and for which a young Pier Paolo Pasolini worked on the script. Plus it's profoundly Italian: aware of the crimes, the sins of the recent war, the inescapable pressures and violence of politics and class. And aware that people can only do so much. There is no escape. Everyone is at the mercy of larger forces. Why do people need to see zombie films when there is story, there is history, like this of such exquisite and unforgettable, unforgivable cruelty? This is a film to preserve, remember, study, and, perhaps, even learn from.