Tosca is a 1941 Italian historical drama film directed by Carl Koch and starring Imperio Argentina, Michel Simon and Rossano Brazzi. It is an adaptation of Victorien Sardou's play La Tosca and its subsequent opera version, Tosca, composed by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It was released in the United States as The Story of Tosca.[1]
| Tosca | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Carl Koch |
| Screenplay by | Alessandro De Stefani Carmine Gallone Carl Koch Luchino Visconti (uncredited) Jean Renoir (uncredited) |
| Story by | Victorien Sardou (play) Giuseppe Giacosa (libretto) Luigi Illica (libretto) |
| Produced by | Giuseppe Barattolo |
| Starring | Imperio Argentina Michel Simon Rossano Brazzi |
| Cinematography | Ubaldo Arata |
| Edited by | Gino Betrone |
| Music by | Umberto Mancini |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Scalera Film |
Release date | 27 January 1941 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
It was shot at the Scalera Studios in Rome with location shooting also taking place around the city. The film's sets were designed by the art director Gustav Abel.[1]
Jean Renoir was originally hired as the film's director, and was encouraged to make the film by the French government as part of an effort to encourage Italy to remain neutral in the Second World War. However, he left Rome following Italy's entry into the war and the film was completed by the German director Carl Koch.[2]
In 1943 it was released in Spain (where Imperio Argentina was a major star) by the film studio Cifesa.
Cast edit
- Imperio Argentina as Floria Tosca
- Michel Simon as Il barone Scarpia
- Rossano Brazzi as Mario Cavaradossi
- Carla Candiani as La marchesa Attavanti
- Olga Vittoria Gentilli as La regina di Napoli
- Adriano Rimoldi as Angelotti
- Nicolás D. Perchicot as Sciarrone
- Juan Calvo as Spoletta
- Nicola Maldacea as Il pittore di corte
- Claudio Ermelli as Paisiello
- Enzo Musumeci Greco as L'ufficiale della regina
References edit
- ^ a b Durgnat, Raymond (1974). Jean Renoir, pp. 213–215. University of California Press. ISBN 0520022831
- ^ Faulkner, Christopher (2014). The Social Cinema of Jean Renoir, p. 122. Princeton University Press
External links edit
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