A guardia di Sua Maestà (1916)

Hesperia (1885-1959), was one of the greatest divas of the Italian silent screen. She often worked with director Baldassarre Negroni, who later became her husband. An example is the Italian silent drama A guardia di Sua Maestà/On His Majesty's Guard (Baldassarre Negroni, 1916), produced by Milano Films. Ivo Blom found a series of six Spanish vintage collectors cards of the film. The Spanish film title was A la guardia de su majestad.


Spanish collectors card by Edics. y Publics. de Arte L. Planas, Barcelona, no. 3 of 6 cards. Caption: With compliments by Palace Cine, Barcelona. Photo: Milano Films. Hesperia in A guardia di Sua Maestà (Baldassarre Negroni, 1916).


Spanish collectors card by Edics. y Publics. de Arte L. Planas, Barcelona, no. 2 of 6 cards. Caption: With compliments by Palace Cine, Barcelona. Photo: Milano Films. Hesperia in A guardia di Sua Maestà (Baldassarre Negroni, 1916).


Spanish collectors card by Edics. y Publics. de Arte L. Planas, Barcelona, no. 3 of 6 cards. Caption: With compliments by Palace Cine, Barcelona. Photo: Milano Films. Hesperia and Attilio de Virgiliis in A guardia di Sua Maestà (Baldassarre Negroni, 1916).

Ruritania-like kingdoms where spies are galore

Young Prince Carlo of Vesnia (Attilio De Virgiliis) is hopelessly in love with an attractive courtesan, named 'Hesperia', but in fact, she is a spy recruited by the Lord Chancellor of Birmania in order to steal precious documents. The woman succeeds but her soul doesn't remain insensible to the ardent passion and thus repentance is created and eventually expiation.

The film was already produced in 1914/15 but for censorship reasons, its release was delayed. Indeed, the censor ordered to cut the whole scene called 'the Last Battle', which showed dead and wounded on the battlefield.

A guardia di Sua Maestà was one of the many dramas set in Ruritania-like kingdoms, where spies are galore and the loss of delicate documents causes awkward situations. Think of Ma l'amor mio non muore (1913) with Lyda Borelli, or L'amazzone mascherata (1914) with Francesca Bertini.

The Italian press, therefore, thought the script average but praised the acting of young De Virgiliis. The film premiered in Rome on 3 April 1916. In addition to De Virgiliis and Hesperia also Ignazio Lupi played in the film, but he isn't visible on the cards.


Spanish collectors card by Edics. y Publics. de Arte L. Planas, Barcelona, no. 4 of 6 cards. Caption: With compliments by Palace Cine, Barcelona. Photo: Milano Films. Hesperia and Attilio de Virgiliis in A guardia di Sua Maestà (Baldassarre Negroni, 1916).


Spanish collectors card by Edics. y Publics. de Arte L. Planas, Barcelona, no. 5 of 6 cards. Caption: With compliments by Palace Cine, Barcelona. Photo: Milano Films. Hesperia and Attilio de Virgiliis in A guardia di Sua Maestà (Baldassarre Negroni, 1916).


Spanish collectors card by Edics. y Publics. de Arte L. Planas, Barcelona, no. 6 of 6 cards. Caption: With compliments by Palace Cine, Barcelona. Photo: Milano Films. Hesperia, and in bed Attilio de Virgiliis, in A guardia di Sua Maestà (Baldassarre Negroni, 1916).

Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano, 1916, I), Wikipedia (Italian), and IMDb.