4 reviews
This was one of the biggest surprises in my ongoing Epic Easter marathon so far, being among the most obscure titles I have watched: in fact, I had never heard of it before an American fanatic of such fare asked me about the film and which I was subsequently able to acquire for his sake! As it turned out, the result is even better than star Brett Halsey's more popular (and recently-viewed) THE MAGNIFICENT ADVENTURER (1963); it also happened to be the swan-song for both co-director Campogalliani and leading lady Gianna Maria Canale (her looks having begun to fade 10 years on from THEODORA, SLAVE EMPRESS and which I actually watched a day previously).
Anyway, this is a thoroughly engaging (and sumptuous-looking) MONTE CRISTO-ish costumer, with the expected frame-up/escape/revenge plot involving numerous high-ranking villains; still, the hero himself is the son of the Doge of Venice, accused of murder (a charge cemented by the testimony of blackmailed courtesan Canale) and imprisoned when his father determines to abolish piracy (an act which, having consistently filled the city's coffers, is condoned by a number of unscrupulous bureaucrats). One of these is the eventual suitor to Halsey's former fiancée' whom, unbeknownst to the latter, she was forced to oblige for his own sake (but which obviously incurs his hatred, ditto for ex-lover Canale's supposed betrayal – following threats to her teenage daughter).
With respect to the latter subplot, we get an unexpected whiff of paedophelia – but, to counter this, there is a welcome element of black comedy, as Halsey's strongman acolyte repeatedly roughs up vital witnesses that can restore the name of the hero's family (the Doge himself is rather cruelly blinded by a spiked iron mask, another nod to Alexandre Dumas but also to Mario Bava's BLACK Sunday {1960}!) who, invariably, end up dead! The latter is played by one Burt Nelson – whose life the protagonist had spared at the start after an ambush, ends up in his neighboring cell when digging towards freedom (ingeniously, Halsey contrives to have his tunneling unhindered by pretending to be crazy and, thus, ostensibly left to rot by the prison wardens!), eventually breaks jail with, and is cared for by him when feverish. Following several adventures, exchanged loyalties and re-instated officials, we are treated to a showdown between hero (displaying rather too much enthusiasm with a sword in hand for one who has lived through several hardships!) and chief villain – their earlier duel at a fencing class having been left solely to our imagination – set in an eerily-deserted Piazza San Marco.
For the record, rather than this (whose Italian title – translating to THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS – is a reference to nothing in particular!), I had originally intended watching Vittorio Cottafavi's MESSALINA, IMPERIAL VENUS (1960) but gave up on it due to a poor-quality and subtitled copy (I hope to acquire a superior edition in the near-future); however, I still ended up with a film co-scripted by future director Duccio Tessari and composed by A.F. Lavagnino (whose work here is quite impressive)! In complete contrast, though I have been unable to discover the source and in spite of some unnatural transitions between scenes, this was one incredibly good-looking print to exist for a movie this unknown!
Anyway, this is a thoroughly engaging (and sumptuous-looking) MONTE CRISTO-ish costumer, with the expected frame-up/escape/revenge plot involving numerous high-ranking villains; still, the hero himself is the son of the Doge of Venice, accused of murder (a charge cemented by the testimony of blackmailed courtesan Canale) and imprisoned when his father determines to abolish piracy (an act which, having consistently filled the city's coffers, is condoned by a number of unscrupulous bureaucrats). One of these is the eventual suitor to Halsey's former fiancée' whom, unbeknownst to the latter, she was forced to oblige for his own sake (but which obviously incurs his hatred, ditto for ex-lover Canale's supposed betrayal – following threats to her teenage daughter).
With respect to the latter subplot, we get an unexpected whiff of paedophelia – but, to counter this, there is a welcome element of black comedy, as Halsey's strongman acolyte repeatedly roughs up vital witnesses that can restore the name of the hero's family (the Doge himself is rather cruelly blinded by a spiked iron mask, another nod to Alexandre Dumas but also to Mario Bava's BLACK Sunday {1960}!) who, invariably, end up dead! The latter is played by one Burt Nelson – whose life the protagonist had spared at the start after an ambush, ends up in his neighboring cell when digging towards freedom (ingeniously, Halsey contrives to have his tunneling unhindered by pretending to be crazy and, thus, ostensibly left to rot by the prison wardens!), eventually breaks jail with, and is cared for by him when feverish. Following several adventures, exchanged loyalties and re-instated officials, we are treated to a showdown between hero (displaying rather too much enthusiasm with a sword in hand for one who has lived through several hardships!) and chief villain – their earlier duel at a fencing class having been left solely to our imagination – set in an eerily-deserted Piazza San Marco.
For the record, rather than this (whose Italian title – translating to THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS – is a reference to nothing in particular!), I had originally intended watching Vittorio Cottafavi's MESSALINA, IMPERIAL VENUS (1960) but gave up on it due to a poor-quality and subtitled copy (I hope to acquire a superior edition in the near-future); however, I still ended up with a film co-scripted by future director Duccio Tessari and composed by A.F. Lavagnino (whose work here is quite impressive)! In complete contrast, though I have been unable to discover the source and in spite of some unnatural transitions between scenes, this was one incredibly good-looking print to exist for a movie this unknown!
- Bunuel1976
- Apr 15, 2011
- Permalink
Historical adventure , being fast moving , which benefits from its Venetian setting . Exciting story of love and adventure , the complete romance and the historical events about the Venetian council of Dux . It is packed with derring-do , intrigue , a love story , action , drama and moving swordplay . Great epic plenty of action and adventure with glamorous gowns and luxurious sets from Venice . It is a passable entertainment with nice Venetian settings , lots of court intrigue and duplicity , and it stars one of the finest American expatriate actors in 60s Eurocinema , Brett Hasley , who here is entangled in a web of treachery and intrigue , along with the always brilliant Conrado San Martin . Rolando Candiano (Brett Halsey) is close to marrying the golden-haired beauty daughter (Vira Silenti) of a powerful Venetian person called Dandolo (José Nieto) . As three evil grand enemies , the treacherous Capitano Altieri (Conrado San Martín) , Bembo Altieri (José Marco Davó) and Capitano Lorenzi (Paolo Gozlino) join forces and attempt to condemn his enemy , the main Doge of Venice , Candiano (Jean Murat) , and his son Rolando . As our hero attempts to marry his bride but Roland is condemned by conspiracy after a highly unfair judicial process and locked up in a Venice jail . Digging a tunnel with the aid of his cellmate Scalabrino (Burt Nelson) , Rolando succeeds to escape . The picture was partially based on historical ¨Dux¨ derived from Latin dūx, "military leader" , sometimes translated as Duke . Doges were the chief magistrates and leaders of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the man selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city. The doge was not a duke in the modern sense, nor was a doge the equivalent of a hereditary duke. The "doge" was the senior-most elected official of Venice and Genoa; both cities were republics and elected doges .
This is an entertaining swashbuckling , plenty of action , thrills , fights , romance , double-crosses and a lot of fencing . It is something quite diverse from the ordinary adventure scenery , it is set in the end of middle ages , next to the Italian Rennaisance period : Venice Canals , different boats , the Gondolieri , the spectacular palaces , bridges and "Il Donte Dei Sospiri" , of course . Decent production with elegant gowns , evocative sets , right cinematography and powerful score . Lots of court intrigue , treason , twists and turns ; if you do not like low-budget , early 60s dubbed Italian costumed historical adventures, you won't like this one either . The picture contains rousing scenarios , suspense , romantic adventure , mayhem and a fine cast doing a fine job . The climax and ending are quite satisfying , including a stirring duel between Brett Hasley and Conrado San Martin . This one belongs to an adventure sub-genre set in Venice and similar period , such as ¨The Lion of St. Mark" and ¨The executioner of Venice¨ and also ¨Mask of the musketeers¨ . Sympathetic performances by main star cast and enjoyable secondary cast , as the acceptable main actors are completed by stellar support cast , full of classical and veteran players . Starred by Brett Halsey who was a beefcake who emigrated Italy and played a lot of B films , often billed as "Montgomery Ford" . Brett starred as several sword-and-sandal type heroes in including the spectacles ¨The Seventh Sword¨ and ¨The Magnificent Adventurer¨ . He also settled comfortably into the fashionable international spy , "spaghetti" western and Giallo genres with a slew of work including ¨Berlín , Spy in Your Eye¨ , ¨Espionage in Lisbon¨ , ¨The Hour of Truth¨, and ¨Kill Johnny Ringo¨ . And it's great to see Conrado San Martin as a pure manipulative villain with no redeeming values or tragic backstory . Conrado began playing small roles until his character in "Apartado Correos 1001" was an immediate success , he subsequently starred all kinds of genres , including Spaghetti : "Long Days of Vengeance" , ¨Winchester Bill¨ and Terror : "The Awful Dr. Orlof" , ¨Vampyres¨ .Being an Italian/Spanish co-production , here appears a lot of Spanish players as José Marco Davó , José Nieto , Perla Cristal and Italian ones as Gian Maria Cannale , Paolo Gozlino , Andrea Bosic and Nello Pazzafini . Atmospheric cinematography by Rafael Pacheco , though a perfect remastering being extremely necessary . Imaginative as well as thrilling soundtrack by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino . Lush production design is well showed on the luxurious interiors and exteriors filmed on location in Venice . And other interiors filmed in Ballesteros studios , Madrid and De Paolis studios , Rome .
This colorful adventure picture was professionally directed by two craftsmen Carlo Campogalliani and Piero Pierotti . They were professional filmmakers who directed all kind of genres , and especially adventure and Peplum movie . As Carlo directed ¨Rosmunda e Alboino¨ , ¨Ursus¨ , ¨Maciste in valley of kings¨, ¨Capitan Fuoco¨ , "The Hero of Venice" . Pierotti wrote/directed : ¨Zorro¨, ¨Hércules against Rome¨ , "Giant of the Evil Island" , ¨Rome against Rome¨, ¨Sansone Contro Il Corsaro Nero¨, ¨Erik the conqueror¨, ¨Pedro El Cruel¨, ¨Golia e Il Cavaliere Mascherato¨ , ¨Marco Polo¨ and many others .
This is an entertaining swashbuckling , plenty of action , thrills , fights , romance , double-crosses and a lot of fencing . It is something quite diverse from the ordinary adventure scenery , it is set in the end of middle ages , next to the Italian Rennaisance period : Venice Canals , different boats , the Gondolieri , the spectacular palaces , bridges and "Il Donte Dei Sospiri" , of course . Decent production with elegant gowns , evocative sets , right cinematography and powerful score . Lots of court intrigue , treason , twists and turns ; if you do not like low-budget , early 60s dubbed Italian costumed historical adventures, you won't like this one either . The picture contains rousing scenarios , suspense , romantic adventure , mayhem and a fine cast doing a fine job . The climax and ending are quite satisfying , including a stirring duel between Brett Hasley and Conrado San Martin . This one belongs to an adventure sub-genre set in Venice and similar period , such as ¨The Lion of St. Mark" and ¨The executioner of Venice¨ and also ¨Mask of the musketeers¨ . Sympathetic performances by main star cast and enjoyable secondary cast , as the acceptable main actors are completed by stellar support cast , full of classical and veteran players . Starred by Brett Halsey who was a beefcake who emigrated Italy and played a lot of B films , often billed as "Montgomery Ford" . Brett starred as several sword-and-sandal type heroes in including the spectacles ¨The Seventh Sword¨ and ¨The Magnificent Adventurer¨ . He also settled comfortably into the fashionable international spy , "spaghetti" western and Giallo genres with a slew of work including ¨Berlín , Spy in Your Eye¨ , ¨Espionage in Lisbon¨ , ¨The Hour of Truth¨, and ¨Kill Johnny Ringo¨ . And it's great to see Conrado San Martin as a pure manipulative villain with no redeeming values or tragic backstory . Conrado began playing small roles until his character in "Apartado Correos 1001" was an immediate success , he subsequently starred all kinds of genres , including Spaghetti : "Long Days of Vengeance" , ¨Winchester Bill¨ and Terror : "The Awful Dr. Orlof" , ¨Vampyres¨ .Being an Italian/Spanish co-production , here appears a lot of Spanish players as José Marco Davó , José Nieto , Perla Cristal and Italian ones as Gian Maria Cannale , Paolo Gozlino , Andrea Bosic and Nello Pazzafini . Atmospheric cinematography by Rafael Pacheco , though a perfect remastering being extremely necessary . Imaginative as well as thrilling soundtrack by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino . Lush production design is well showed on the luxurious interiors and exteriors filmed on location in Venice . And other interiors filmed in Ballesteros studios , Madrid and De Paolis studios , Rome .
This colorful adventure picture was professionally directed by two craftsmen Carlo Campogalliani and Piero Pierotti . They were professional filmmakers who directed all kind of genres , and especially adventure and Peplum movie . As Carlo directed ¨Rosmunda e Alboino¨ , ¨Ursus¨ , ¨Maciste in valley of kings¨, ¨Capitan Fuoco¨ , "The Hero of Venice" . Pierotti wrote/directed : ¨Zorro¨, ¨Hércules against Rome¨ , "Giant of the Evil Island" , ¨Rome against Rome¨, ¨Sansone Contro Il Corsaro Nero¨, ¨Erik the conqueror¨, ¨Pedro El Cruel¨, ¨Golia e Il Cavaliere Mascherato¨ , ¨Marco Polo¨ and many others .
Probably made to capitalize on the success of " I boia di Venezia" (1963) ,in which Lex Barker was also the son of the doge ,falsely accused and thrown into jail :the visite to the Piombi is de rigueur: They were the prisons of the Venice Republic, located inside the Doge's Palace. The name, 'lead' in Italian, refers to the lead covering the roof. In the winter season, this caused the cold to filter through; in the summer time, it attracted the heat. Not a nice place to be!"Il ponte dei sospiri" (bridge of sighs) borrows some elements from Alexandre Dumas and his "comte de Monte Cristo" : the tunnel which ends up to another cell ,the revenge .This must be the third version of this story,including a silent one .
Although Gianna Maria Canale is at the top of the bill , her screen presence does not exceed thirty minutes ;it's her last movie and it's for her you would watch this hackneyed swashbuckler ; she was only 37 when she gave up the movies ,probably sick and tired of the never-ending parts of a treacherous beauty ,though ,in this film,she has extenuating circumstances,being several times subject to blackmail ; nicknamed the Italian Ava Gardner ,she wouldn't arguably get old on the screen.
The cast is almost entirely Italian ,with the exception of American Brett Halsey ( less dashing than Lex Barker) and French earnest thespian Jean Murat cast as his doomed father .The cast and credits ,with ancient pictures ,promise more than the film delivers ,but the music is tuneful and the duels are successfully directed ;and apart from Canale, there are three other gorgeous ladies.
Although Gianna Maria Canale is at the top of the bill , her screen presence does not exceed thirty minutes ;it's her last movie and it's for her you would watch this hackneyed swashbuckler ; she was only 37 when she gave up the movies ,probably sick and tired of the never-ending parts of a treacherous beauty ,though ,in this film,she has extenuating circumstances,being several times subject to blackmail ; nicknamed the Italian Ava Gardner ,she wouldn't arguably get old on the screen.
The cast is almost entirely Italian ,with the exception of American Brett Halsey ( less dashing than Lex Barker) and French earnest thespian Jean Murat cast as his doomed father .The cast and credits ,with ancient pictures ,promise more than the film delivers ,but the music is tuneful and the duels are successfully directed ;and apart from Canale, there are three other gorgeous ladies.
- ulicknormanowen
- Apr 27, 2022
- Permalink
THE AVENGER OF VENICE is a film from the dying days of the Italian swashbuckling costume adventure, with Brett Halsey the square-jawed hero set up by corrupt politicians and imprisoned before planning his escape. It's a standard entry in this overworked genre, with a modicom of duels, a glamorous lead actress in the form of Giana Maria Canale (her last film, in fact) and a random interlude with a spiked mask that favourably recalls BLACK SUNDAY.
- Leofwine_draca
- Mar 31, 2022
- Permalink