Il Generale Della Rovere (1959)

Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Sergio Amidei (screenplay), Diego Fabbri (screenplay)

Stars:

Vittorio De Sica, Hannes Messemer, Sandra Milo

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vittorio De Sica	...	Bardone AKA 'Grimaldi'
Hannes Messemer	...	S.S. Colonel Mueller
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Aristide Banchelli
Nando Angelini	...	Paolo
Herbert Fischer	...	Sergeant Walter Hageman
Mary Greco	...	Vera (the madam)
Bernardo Menicacci	...	Prison guard (as Bernardino Menicacci)
Lucia Modugno	...	Partisan girl
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Prisoner
Kurt Polter	...	German officer
Giuseppe Rosetti	...	Pietro Valeri
Kurt Selge	...	Marshall Schrantz
Linda Veras	...	German attendant
Sandra Milo	...	Olga
Giovanna Ralli	...	Valeria

Storyline

Genoa, 1943. Grimaldi is a swindler, pretending to be a colonel in the Italian army to get money from the family of people put into jail by the Nazis. Once caught, the Gestapo makes a deal with him : he will stay alive if he impersonates the General Della Rovere, a leader of the Resistance who has just been shot by the Nazis, to be put into a political jail where he is supposed to identify another Resistance leader.

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Plot Keywords:

resistance | nazi | gestapo | swindler | con man | 

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Taglines:

The fantastic wartime adventures and intrigues of the mountebank who held the fate of the fighting underground in his hands!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #463.

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Goofs

Throughout the film, S.S. Colonel Mueller is addressed as ' Herr Obersturmbannführer' (Lieutenant Colonel) but his rank, as indicated by the collar patches on his uniform, is that of a 'Standartenführer' (Colonel).

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Quotes

Victorio Emanuele Bardone: My friends, I am General Della Rovere. Calm, dignity, control. Be men! Show those scoundrels that you're not afraid of dying! They're the ones that must tremble! Each one of those bombs announces his ending and our freedom!
[Taking cover in his cell]
Victorio Emanuele Bardone: Our father, who is in Heaven...

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Connections

Referenced in Ingrid Bergman Remembered (1996)

User Reviews

Superb acting, but...

Like mice on a wheel-all talk, no action. Talking is like breathing, what is exhaled is useless hot air.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian German French Hebrew English

Release Date:

11 November 1959 (France)

Also Known As:

General Della Rovere

Filming Locations:

495 Via Flaminia, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zebra Films, Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (SNEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min 138 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Fonolux)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1