Attila (1954)

Attila, the leader of the barbarian Huns and called by the Romans "The Scourge of God", sweeps onto the Italian peninsula, defeating all of the armies of Rome, until he and his men reach the gates of the city itself.

Director:

Pietro Francisci

Writers:

Ennio De Concini (original story and screen play), Frank Gervasi (story and dialogue revision)

Stars:

Anthony Quinn, Sophia Loren, Henri Vidal

Cast

Credited cast:
Anthony Quinn	...	Attila (as Anthony Qvinn)
Sophia Loren	...	Honoria
Henri Vidal	...	Aetius
Claude Laydu	...	Valentiniano Caesar
Irene Papas	...	Grune
Colette Régis	...	Galla Placidia
Ettore Manni	...	Bleda, brother of Attila
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Onegesius, counsellor to Attila (as Eduardo Cianelli)
Georges Bréhat	...	Prisco
Christian Marquand	...	Hun Leader
Guido Celano	...	Capo della tribu / Tribe Chieftan
Aldo Pini	...	Dominicus
Marco Guglielmi	...	Kadis
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Antonio Amendola
Richard Bakalyan

Storyline

The king of the Huns, whose hordes from various tribes and allies have been sweeping the Asian steppes and both Roman empires, dies, leaving the throne to two sons. Bleda, tired of war and hungry, bloody campaigns, wants to settle as allies of Rome in peace, his brother Attila believes only in the power of the sword. Roman general Aethius, who knows the Huns well as a result of former hostage exchanges, fails to get a true peace but buys a shaky one promising doubled tribute. The court of weakling emperor Valentinianus, moved north from Rome to Ravenna, where the true ruler is empress-mother Galla Placidia, widow of a barbarian king, refuses the terms and imprisons Aethius, who still refuses to seize power with Valentinian's sister Honoria. The ambitious princess now offers her hand and the empire as dowry to Attila, just what Bleda hoped for. Scorning peace, Attila has popular Bleda murdered during a hunt, and persuades the hordes to march with him on the empire. While clueless, ...

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Plot Keywords:

hun | barbarian | conqueror | ancient rome | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

See the Hun Hordes Storm Out of Asia to Crash Head-On Into the Vaunted Roman Legions!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

17 May 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Attila

Filming Locations:

Italy

Box Office

Budget:

ITL450,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnie Cinématographique de France, Lux Film, Producciones Ponti-de Laurentiis

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min (video release) 77 min 80 min 77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anthony Quinn worked on La Strada (1954) simultaneously with this movie. He remarked that it had a much smaller budget than the Attila epic, but considered it a much better film.

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Connections

Referenced in Barnum of Baltimore: The Early Films of Joseph E. Levine (2015)

User Reviews

Worth seeing!

The acting schools are extremely expensive. And what they teach you is how to control your breathing, how to scratch your balls or jump up. Anthony Quinn is a real acting school only by himself, just watching any of his movies, you have a lot to learn. Even in this film, the one born in Chihuahua, Mexico, makes us a great demonstration of huge talent, embodying "The Scourge of God". He is the most credible Attila of all the movies. Sophia Loren, very young, is good as Honoria. Henri Vidal is convincing too as Aetius. Same Claude Laydu as the idiot Emperor Valentiniano Caesar. Irene Papas, also very young, is OK as Grune. Christian Marquand, who was to become the director of the "Candy" masterpiece, is a Hun leader.