Struggling, and married composer gets shot down in Italy during World War 2, and falls in love with his rescuer. He is inspired to write an opera based on a tale of two doomed lovers who once lived in the Italian village. Life imitates art after the premiere of the opera at La Fenice opera house.
Having seen this billed for ages as a film for opera lovers because of the appearance of Gobbi I finally watched it, and it is dire. Denison is at his most wooden - no glimpse of why Dulcie Grey and Valentina Cortese find him so wonderful. The plot goes at a fair lick which doesn't help the poor characterisation. Gobbi is hardly in it, and does not justify the star billing he gets to sell the thing. He sings a couple of songs, and then appears in very brief extracts from Denison's opera at the end. A real turkey. If you want to see the thing done properly, watch Powell and Pressburger's "The Red Shoes."
Having seen this billed for ages as a film for opera lovers because of the appearance of Gobbi I finally watched it, and it is dire. Denison is at his most wooden - no glimpse of why Dulcie Grey and Valentina Cortese find him so wonderful. The plot goes at a fair lick which doesn't help the poor characterisation. Gobbi is hardly in it, and does not justify the star billing he gets to sell the thing. He sings a couple of songs, and then appears in very brief extracts from Denison's opera at the end. A real turkey. If you want to see the thing done properly, watch Powell and Pressburger's "The Red Shoes."