Luciano Serra, Pilot (1938)

Successful WWI pilot Luciano Serra has problems adjusting to an ordinary life in peace, so he leaves his family and becomes a pilot in America. In the 30s, his son in Italy wants also to ... See full summary »

Director:

Goffredo Alessandrini

Writers:

Goffredo Alessandrini (screenplay), Goffredo Alessandrini (story)

Stars:

Amedeo Nazzari, Germana Paolieri, Roberto Villa

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Amedeo Nazzari	...	Luciano Serra
Germana Paolieri	...	Sandra Serra
Roberto Villa	...	Aldo Serra
Mario Ferrari	...	Il colonnello Franco Morelli
Guglielmo Sinaz	...	Jose Ribera
Egisto Olivieri	...	Nardini, il suocero di Luciano
Andrea Checchi	...	Ten. Binelli
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oscar Andriani	...	Il cappellano militare
Olivia Fried	...	Dorothy Thompson
Nicola Maldacea	...	Un socio del circolo
Beatrice Mancini	...	La fidanzata di Aldo (as Bice Mancinotti)
Gino Mori	...	Aldo Serra da bambino

Storyline

Successful WWI pilot Luciano Serra has problems adjusting to an ordinary life in peace, so he leaves his family and becomes a pilot in America. In the 30s, his son in Italy wants also to become a pilot, and Luciano accepts an offer of a double dealing agent for a flight from Rio to Rome, but his plane crashes in the Atlantic. For the world Luciano Serra is missing, but he has entered the Italian army under a new name to fight in Ethiopia. The train in which his unit travels is attacked by Ethiopian soldiers, his son flying a reconasaince mission is shot down and wounded by the same attacking enemies. Will Luciano be able to fly the plane back, to get close air support for the outnumbered Italian troups ?

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Plot Keywords:

aviation | italian army | post world war one | warplane | italo ethiopian war | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

1 March 1940 (Germany)

Also Known As:

De una misma sangre

Filming Locations:

Ethiopia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aquila Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa #30284 delivered on 03 September 1938.

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Alternate Versions

According to contemporary reports, some scenes of Benito Mussolini had been added to the completed film (probably speeches). Since were deleted after the war, no copies of this version are known to exist.

User Reviews

Above average aviation film

A film funded by the Fascist Italy, yet it isn't really about Italy's armed forces or the might of the Fascist movement. It's more of a character study about a man pulled in two directions. On one hand, he's a family man with a beautiful wife, rich father-in-law and a handsome son. On the other hand, he has a need to fly, fly above all the rest. The movie walks us through his decision-making progress and allows us to feel the conflict within him. Though one could say that he never seriously considered his family and that his need to fly had consumed him at a relatively early age, but there are certain scenes where you can see the struggle that is raging within him.

So, as a character study how does the movie hold up? Well, the flying scenes are actually pretty decent for their time. There's a certain feeling of speed and movement that I've rarely encountered in any film, yet alone in a movie this old. The actors are also talented, the basic story is a classic and some of the battle scenes are rather intense. Unfortunately those said battle scenes are also way too long, which ruins the final third of the film. It just a battle scene after a battle scene. I would have liked to see more of those character interactions that the movie did so brilliantly in the first half of the film. Alas, it's just men shooting at each other with very limited dialogue. Though I must admit that the ending was done with style.

All in all, it's not a bad film, but it's not a masterpiece either. It has some good moments, but the lackluster final third ruins the whole experience.