All'ombra di un trono (1921)

One of the gems to be featured in the 40th edition of Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, the international silent-film festival of Pordenone, is a preview of the Ruritania retrospective in 2022 with All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (1921). This Italian melodrama was directed by Carmine Gallone and starring his wife, Polish diva Soava Gallone. The couple made All'ombra di un trono for their production company Films Gallone. Other actors in the cast were Umberto Casilini, Piero Schiavazzi and the child actress Marcella Sabbatini.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: publicity still for All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 94. Photo: publicity still for All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 112. Photo: Films Gallone. Soava Gallone in All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 224. Photo: publicity still for All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).

Ruritania-like story

All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne a.k.a. L'Ombra di un trono (Carmine Gallone, 1921) was based on 'Fleur d'ombre' (Shadow flower) a French novel by Charles Folly.

When the legitimate heir to a throne has mysteriously killed himself, his brother (Piero Schiavazzi) becomes king. The iron law obliges the young and inexpert prince to abandon his affair with a bourgeois girl (Soava Gallone), with whom he is in love.

The renouncement of (but then revocation) of real love, the court intrigues, and a final duel are the ingredients of this Ruritania-like story.

All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne was released in Italy only in 1923. While the press thought it was outdated, audiences flocked to see the film.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 115. Photo: publicity still for All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 117. Photo: publicity still for All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 172. Photo: publicity still for All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 217. Photo: Films Gallone. Soava Gallone in All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).
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Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Films Gallone. Soava Gallone and Marcella Sabbatini in All'ombra di un trono/In the Shadow of a Throne (Carmine Gallone, 1921).

Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano 1921-1922 - Italian) and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 17 October 2024.