Quartieri alti

Perilous little Italian film from pre-1945 circulates abroad so I was keen to see an A feature made by established director Mario Soldati begun in 1943 and finished in 1944 after the fall of Rome.

This one turns out to be an accomplished piece - strong leads and polished and imaginative production. Massimo Serato, the youngest I've seen him, is the conman gigolo who supports family and friends by his affair with a cheese heiress but aspires to romance with student Adriana Benetti. He sets up an elaborate false identity to appeal to her but things aren't going to plan on the night of their scheduled meeting.

The film is derived from the Jean Anouilh play "Le Rendez-Vous de Senlis" produced in the theatre by Andre Barsaq in 1941. This is both a strength and a weakness. The story shows considerable ingenuity and works up some tension over whether Serato's schemes will come unraveled but the development, dialogue and relationships distractingly echo the stage. Soldati has attempted to deal with this - giving an extra tension by showing what we see as being observed by characters hidden in cupboards or outside windows and accounting for the theatricality of some of the older player performances by having the characters being former actors hired to boost the deception.

He has added cinematic flourishes - cut to a spinning car wheel to account for a journey, the introductory furtive removal of the photo while the woman takes a bath in the next room and showing both sides of the frequent 'phone calls. The film remains quite modern in playing, pacing and setting but the stage form does distract and the simple ending is unsatisfactory after such a complex build up.

Among the cast Jucci Kellerman, who did not have a great career, is particularly effective.

The You Tube copy is better than most and has clear English sub titles but the constant advt. breaks are irritating.