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Celebrate Halloween with Creepy Italian Vintage Films

While recently browsing public domain movie databases, I stumbled upon a few old, in some cases, really old Italian horror films. These movies take "creepy" to a whole new level. Some seem ridiculous in our contemporary world but in their day, they were productions with cutting edge technology.

Whether you have these films looped at your Halloween party or you actually sit down and watch them, you will be entertained, most likely having never seen anything like them before.

All of these movies are in the public domain, so you are free to download them.

Directed by Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan, and Giuseppe De Liguoro in 1911, "L'inferno" was loosely adapted from the first part of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" and was Italy's first completed feature film. The project took over three years to make.

The gruesome story, which in the original poem, begins on the night before Good Friday in 1300, is set in the depths of Hell as Dante is guided through the "Nine Circles" by the poet Virgil. During their journey, they come in contact with a whole host of characters from the three-headed Cerberus to the flying serpent Geryon. They witness the devil savaging eating people, harpies eating the bodies of those who committed suicide, a man forced to carry his own severed head and people covered in lava. As limited as the special effects crews of that time may have been, the visuals are quite stunning and give testament to their ingenuity. 

The film premiered in Naples at the Teatro Mercadante on March 10, 1911. It was deemed an international success, grossing more than $2 million in the United States. 


Watch "Dante's Inferno"... 



This 1922 silent film, "Foolish Wives," is an American production but this version has Italian title charts. The costumes are magnificent, so for this reason, I consider it a great Halloween find. 

Distributed by Universal Pictures and both written and directed by Erich von Stroheim, this 1922 drama was the most expensive film ever made at that time. Universal Studios promoted it as the "first million-dollar movie" to come out of Hollywood. Von Stroheim originally envisioned the film lasting 6 to 10 hours and being shown over two evenings, but Universal executives opposed this concept. The studio drastically cut the film before its release date.

Watch "Foolish wives" (Femmine folli)...
http://publicdomainmovie.net/movie/femmine-folli-foolish-wives-1921-0

Another great film for costumes and just plain intrigue is the 1921 Italian science fiction film, "The Mechanical Man" (Italian: L'uomo meccanico), directed by André Deed, is among the earliest science fiction films made in Italy and is notable for featuring the first on-screen battle between two robots. The film originally ran for approximately 80 minutes, but only about 26 minutes of footage have survived.
The story opens with a scientist inventing a man-shaped device that can be remotely controlled. This mechanical man possesses superhuman speed and strength. However, the scientist is killed by a gang of criminals led by a woman named Mado, who is determined to obtain the instructions for building the mechanical man. The gang is captured and brought to trial before they can acquire the plans, but Mado escapes. She kidnaps the scientist's niece and forces her to surrender the instructions, which Mado then uses to construct her own mechanical man.

Under Mado's control, the mechanical man is used to carry out a series of crimes. Meanwhile, the scientist's brother successfully builds a second mechanical man to confront the original. The two robots engage in a climactic battle in an opera house, leading to a dramatic conclusion.

Watch "The Mechanical Man"..



Another great one for the costumes, "Cobra" is a 1925 American film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Rudolph Valentino and Nita Naldi. 

The story follows Count Rodrigo Torriani (Valentino), an Italian nobleman and charmer. He is  drawn to women who mesmerize and fascinate him, much like the way cobras are believed to hypnotize their prey. When he accepts an invitation from his friend Jack Dorning to move to New York City and work as an antiques expert, he struggles with the temptations posed by the women around him, including Jack's secretary, Mary Drake, and his wife, Elise. While Jack is away, Elise confesses her love to him. They embrace and arrange to meet at a hotel. Shortly after meeting, however, Rodrigo realizes he cannot betray his friend and leaves. The hotel burns down that night, killing Elise. Rodrigo longs for a relationship with Mary, but after Elise's death, he encourages Mary to turn her affections toward Jack and chooses to leave New York. 

Watch "Cobra"..



Buona visione and Happy Halloween!!
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