The Merchant of Venice (French: Le marchand de Venise, Italian: Il mercante di Venezia) is a 1953 French-Italian drama film directed by Pierre Billon and starring Michel Simon, Andrée Debar and Massimo Serato. It is loosely based on William Shakespeare's Elizabethan play of the same name.[1][2]
| The Merchant of Venice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Pierre Billon |
| Written by | Pierre Billon Louis Ducreux Cesare Lodovici Giuseppe Mangione Corrado Sofia Federico Zardi |
| Based on | The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare |
| Produced by | Giorgio Venturini Eugène Tucherer |
| Starring | Michel Simon Andrée Debar Massimo Serato |
| Cinematography | Arturo Gallea |
| Edited by | Loris Bellero |
| Music by | Giovanni Fusco |
Production companies | Élysée Films Venturini Film |
| Distributed by | DisCina Venturini Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Countries | France Italy |
| Language | French |
The film's sets were designed by the art director Giancarlo Bartolini Salimbeni.
Plot
editIn order to come to the aid of his friend Bassanio, the wealthy merchant Antonio, while awaiting the imminent arrival of his ships, is obliged to ask the usurer Shylock to advance him a sum of money. The latter accepts, on the condition that, if the loan is not returned on time, he will pay himself by taking a pound of flesh from his creditor.
Cast
edit- Michel Simon as Shylock
- Andrée Debar as Portia
- Massimo Serato as Antonio
- Armando Francioli as Bassanio
- Giorgio Albertazzi as Lorenzo
- Liliana Tellini as Jessica
- Olga Solbelli as Bianca
- Clara Auteri as Nerissa
- Franco Balducci as Antonio's friend
- Nerio Bernardi as Doge
- Gualtiero Tumiati as Dr. Bellario
References
edit- ^ Roberto Chiti; Roberto Poppi; Enrico Lancia. Dizionario del cinema italiano: I film. Gremese, 1991. ISBN 8876055487.
- ^ Jesús Angulo, José Enrique Monterde (1997). Cine francés 1945-1959: de la posguerra a la Nouvelle Vague. Donostia Kultura, 2005. ISBN 1557284539.
Bibliography
edit- Burt, Richard. Shakespeares After Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture, Volume 1. Greenwood Press, 2007.
External links
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