The Gates of Italy
The Gates of Italy | |
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Directed by | Stuart Legg Tom Daly |
Written by | |
Produced by |
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Narrated by | Lorne Greene |
Edited by |
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Music by | Lucio Agostini |
Production company | |
Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 21 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
The Gates of Italy is a 21-minute 1943 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada as part of both the wartime Canada Carries On and The World in Action series. The film was written, directed and produced by Stuart Legg and Tom Daly.[1] The Gates of Italy describes the last days of Benito Mussolini's rule over Italy in 1943 during the Second World War.[2]
Synopsis
In 1943, Allied forces are being assembled for an assault on Axis-held Italy. This military expedition marks the end of a troubled era for Italy during the 20th Century. Despite its origins as an early civilization and nearly 3,000 years of advances in arts and culture, Italians have faced an uncertain future.
During the turn-of-the-century, impoverished Italians left their homeland to settle in the United States and Canada, making their mark in many ways, including as scientists, artists and sports figures. In Italy, after the First World War, chaotic economies led to the rise of fascism. The emergence of Benito Mussolini as the new political and military dictator thrust Italy into a series of foreign entanglements, in an attempt to reinvigorate the nation.
After invasion and conquest of
By 1943, Italian defeats in Africa with the resulting massive numbers of captured troops by Allied forces, have been characterized as the "African disease". Naval and aerial armadas massing for an attack on Italy, mean the end for Mussolini's deluded dreams of a new Italian empire.
Cast
- Benito Mussolini as himself (archival footage)
- Bruno Mussolini as himself (archival footage)
- Rachele Mussolini as herself (archival footage)
- Pope Pius XII as himself (archival footage)
- Victor Emmanuel IIIas himself (archival footage)
- Adolf Hitler as himself (archival footage)
- Joseph Goebbels as himself (archival footage)
- Galeazzo Ciano as himself (archival footage)
- General Pietro Badoglioas himself (archival footage)
- Joe DiMaggio as himself (archival footage)
- Tony Canzoneri as himself (archival footage)
- Arturo Toscanini as himself (archival footage)
- Joachim von Ribbentrop as himself (archival footage)
- Governor General arl of Athloneas himself (archival footage)
- Calvin Coolidge as himself (archival footage)
Production
The Gates of Italy was the part of the wartime Canada Carries On and The World in Action propaganda short film series, produced with financial backing from the Wartime Information Board for the Director of Public Information, Herbert Lash.[3][4]
Typical of the NFB's series of morale-boosting films, The Gates of Italy used the format of a
The deep baritone voice of stage actor Lorne Greene was featured in the narration of The Gates of Italy. Greene, known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at CBC as well as narrating many of the Canada Carries On series.[6] His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and to some observers, the "voice-of-God".[7] When reading grim battle statistics or narrating a particularly serious topic, he was known as "The Voice of Doom".[8]
Reception
In early 1942, National Film Board of Canada head John Grierson through his Hollywood contacts, found a new outlet for documentaries, especially the recently launched war-themed The World in Action series. After the success of selling Warclouds in the Pacific, the National Film Board of Canada was able to make a further arrangement with United Artists for additional titles to be distributed in the United States.[9][10] With distribution in Canada and Great Britain, he now added the United States market.[11]
The Gates of Italy was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film in both The World in Action and Canada Carries On series was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The National Film Board of Canada had an arrangement with
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ Lerner 1987, p. 75.
- ^ Khouri 2007, pp. 132–133.
- ^ "Recognize leadership of Winnipeg women."The Winnipeg Tribune, April 18, 1941. Retrieved: March 14, 2016.
- ^ Aitken 2013, p. 880.
- ^ a b Morris, Peter. "Film Reference Library: Canada Carries On."[permanent dead link] Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Retrieved: March 14, 2016.
- ^ Bennett 2004, p. 254.
- ^ Rist 2001, p. 84.
- ^ "Bonanza's Canadian Lorne Greene." Bite Size Canada. Retrieved: March 12, 2016.
- ^ a b Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122.
- ^ Cox, Kierwan. "The Grierson Files." Cinema Canada Number 56, June/July 1979. Retrieved: March 14, 2016.
- ^ a b Ohayon, Albert. "Propaganda Cinema at the NFB – The World in Action." National Film Board of Canada, September 30, 2009. Retrieved: March 14, 2016.
Bibliography
- Aitken, Iann. The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film. London: Routledge, 2013. ISBN 978-0-4155-9642-8.
- Bennett, Linda Greene. My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. ISBN 978-0-595-33283-0.
- Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. New History of Documentary Film. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. ISBN 0-8264-1750-7.
- Khouri, Malek. Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-55238-199-1.
- Lerner, Loren. Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-8020-2988-1.
- Rist, Peter. Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. ISBN 978-0-3132-9931-5.