Unione Cinematografica Italiana - UCI

In 1919, the producers Barattolo and Fassini of Caesar Film and Cines realised a fusion of most of the existing Italian film companies. The two wanted to secure the Italians a better international position. The main pre-war companies like Ambrosio, Itala and Gloria merged in the UCI - Unione Cinematografica Italiana. The Roman initiative to counter the Americans and Germans failed by a lack of funding, production facilities and artistic renewal. The bankruptcy of the Banca di Sconto in 1921 didn't help for sure. UCI was mainly a distribution company, not a production company. In 1926 it went into bankruptcy. UCI's malfortune and final demise also marginalised Italian silent film production. The remains of the Unione Cinematografica Italiana were taken over by producer Stefano Pittaluga.

10 Stars

Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 5. Amleto Novelli.


Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 11. Francesca Bertini.


Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 44. Francesca Bertini.


Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 64. Bartolomeo Pagano a.k.a. Maciste.


Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 71. Mario Bonnard.


Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 80. Camillo De Riso.


Italian postcard by Fotocelere, no. 89. Photo: Unione Cinematografia Italiana, Roma. Carlo Gualandri.


Italian postcard by Fotocelere, no. 127. Photo: Unione Cinematografia Italiana, Roma / Ambrosio Film. Febo Mari.


Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 137. Ferdinand Guillaume a.k.a. Tontolini and Polidor.


Italian postcard by Unione Cinematografica Italiana, Roma, no. 164. Collection: Marlene Pilaete. Lucy di San Germano a.k.a. Lucy Sangermano.

10 Films

Italian postcard by G. Vettori, Bologna. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Amleto Novelli and Pina Menichelli in Il padrone delle ferriere/The Master of the Ironworks (Eugenio Perego, 1919), based on 'Le maitre des forges' by Georges Ohnet.


Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinemagrafica Italiana / Medusa Film. Carlo Gualandri in Saracinesca (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on the novel by Frances Marion Crawford. Caption: The day he hears that the young Prince Saracinesca wants to marry Donna Tullia Mayer, the cardinal doesn't hide his disapproval.


Italian postcard by Unione Cinematografica Italiana, series Teodora, no. 6. Photo: Ambrosio Film. Rita Jolivet in Teodora/Theodora (Leopoldo Carlucci, 1921). Caption: Searching for her lovers, Teodora descends to the lowest quarters of the city.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Maria Carmi and Ettore Piergiovanni as Isabella Inghirami and Paolo Tarsis in the Italian silent film Forse che sí, forse che no (Gaston Ravel, 1921), based on Gabriele d'Annunzio's eponymous novel (1910). The maddened Isabella does not understand Paolo's pleas anymore.


Italian postcard. Photo: Pasquali / Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Antonietta Calderari as Imperia in Il ponte dei sospiri/The Bridge of Sighs (Domenico Gaido, 1921). Caption: The most beautiful Imperia, empress of the courtesans.


Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana / Ambrosio-Zanotta. Ida Rubinstein in La nave/The Ship (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Mario Roncoroni, 1921), based on the play by Gabriele D'Annunzio.


Italian postcard. Photo: Medusa Film / Unione Cinematografia Italiana (UCI). Helena (Elena) Makowska and Guido Trento in Idillio tragico (Gaston Ravel, 1922), based on a novel by Paul Bourget. Caption: Ely rejects Oliviero, as she has now fallen in love with Pietro di Hautefeuille.


Italian postcard by G. Vettori, Bologna, no. 181. Photo: Unione Cinematografia Italiana (UCI). Emilia Vidali as Lucia in I promessi sposi/The Bethrothed (Mario Bonnard, 1922), based on the novel by Alessandro Manzoni.

Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinematografia Italiana (UCI). Pierre Magnier as Cyrano de Bergerac and Angelo Ferrari as Christian de Neuvillette in the Franco-Italian historical film Cirano di Bergerac (Augusto Genina, 1923), based on Edmond Rostand's famous play 'Cyrano de Bergerac'. Caption: Cyrano addresses to Roxane his most ardent words of love by the lips of Christian, who, incapable to invent such words, memorizes them thanks to Cyrano.


Italian postcard by Ed. L'Argentografica, Turin, no. 3055. Photo: Unione Cinematografia Italiana (UCI). Alfons Fryland as Vinicius and Lilian Hall-Davis as Licia / Lygia at Nero's banquet in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924), based on the classic novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz.


Sources: Giorgio Bertellini (Italian Silent Cinema: A Reader), Wikipedia (English and Italian) and IMDb.