The Dance of Death (1948 film)
| The Dance of Death | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Marcel Cravenne |
| Written by | Michel Arnaud Jacques-Laurent Bost Marcel Cravenne August Strindberg (play) Erich von Stroheim |
| Starring | Erich von Stroheim Denise Vernac Palau |
| Cinematography | Robert Lefebvre |
| Edited by | Madeleine Bagiau |
| Music by | Guy Bernard |
Production companies | Alcina Ardea Film |
| Distributed by | Atlantis Film Gaumont |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Countries | France Italy |
| Language | French |
The Dance of Death (French: La danse de mort, Italian: La prigioniera dell'isola), is a 1948 French-Italian drama film directed by Marcel Cravenne and starring Erich von Stroheim, Denise Vernac and Palau.[1] It is based on August Strindberg's The Dance of Death. It was shot at the Titanus Studios in Rome and the Icet Studios in Milan. The film's sets were designed by Georges Wakhévitch.
Plot
[edit]An egocentric artillery Captain and his venomous wife engage in savage unremitting battles in their isolated island fortress off the coast of Sweden at the turn of the century. Alice, a former actress who sacrificed her career for secluded military life with Edgar, reveals on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, the veritable hell their marriage has been. Edgar, an aging schizophrenic who refuses to acknowledge his severe illness, struggles to sustain his ferocity and arrogance with an animal disregard for other people. Sensing that Alice, together with her cousin and would-be lover, Kurt, may ally against him, retaliates with vicious force. Alice lures Kurt into the illusion of sharing a passionate assignation and recruits him in a plot to destroy Edgar.
Cast
[edit]- Erich von Stroheim, as Edgar[2]
- Denise Vernac, as Théa[2]
- María Denis, as Rita[2]
- Palau as Le sergent / Il sergente
- Massimo Serato as Stéphane / Stefano
- Paul Oettly as Le général / Il generale
- Marie Olivier
- Henri Pons as Le timonier / Il timoniere
- Roberto Villa
- Galeazzo Benti
- Margo Lion as Mathilde - la servante
- Jean Servais as Kurt
- Roberto Bertea
References
[edit]- ^ Lennig, Arthur (2003-04-18). Stroheim. University Press of Kentucky. p. 473. ISBN 978-0-8131-9044-0.
- ^ a b c Palacio, Manuel; Türschmann, Jörg (2013). Transnational Cinema in Europe. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 66. ISBN 978-3-643-90478-2.
External links
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- 1948 films
- French historical drama films
- Italian historical drama films
- 1940s historical drama films
- 1940s French-language films
- Films based on works by August Strindberg
- Films directed by Marcel Cravenne
- Films set in the 1900s
- Films set on islands
- Gaumont Film Company films
- French black-and-white films
- Italian black-and-white films
- 1948 drama films
- 1940s French films
- 1940s Italian films
- French-language Italian films
- 1940s French film stubs