Emilio Ghione
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Emilio Luigi Carlo Giuseppe Maria Ghione (July 30, 1879 – January 7, 1930), known as Emilio Ghione, was an Italian silent film actor, director and screenwriter. Ghione was best known for writing, directing and starring in the Za La Mort series of adventure films, in which Ghione played a likeable French apache and 'honest outlaw.' Ghione directed, wrote and acted in every genre of film, and directed some of the most famous stars of the time, including Francesca Bertini, Lina Cavalieri, Alberto Collo and Hesperia. After his final film role in 1926, Ghione briefly performed on a theatrical tour of Italy. Ghione wrote three novels based around his Za La Mort character, an autobiography, and an essay on Italian Silent Cinema, before his death from tuberculosis in 1930.
In 1979, a retrospective of Ghione's films was held at the Venice Film Festival. In 2008, a retrospective of his films was held at the Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna, and a temporary exhibition of photographs and film stills documenting Ghione's career was opened at the Cineteca of Bologna.
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Selected filmography
Films as actor and director
- Il Circolo Nero (1913)
- Don Pietro Caruso (1914)
- Nelly La Gigolette (1914)
- Za La Mort (1915)
- Oberdan (1915)
- Anime Buie (1916)
- Il Triangolo Giallo (1917)
- I Topi Grigi (1918)
- Sua Eccellenza La Morte (1919)
- Dollari e Fracks (1919)
- Il castello di bronzo (1920)
- Senza pietà (1921)
- Quale dei due (1922), also known as Za La Mort contro Za La Mort
- La maga e il grifo (1922)
- Zalamort-der traum der zalavie (1924), known in Italy as L'incubo di Zalavie
- Senza Padre (1926)
Films as actor
- Come fu che l'ingordigia rovinò il Natale a Cretinetti (1910)
- La Gerusalemme Liberata (1911)
- Idolo Infranto (1913)
- Histoire d'un Pierrot (1913)
- Il Potere Sovrano (1916)
- La Cavalcata Ardente (1925)
- Gli Ultimi Giorni di Pompei (1926)
Films as director
- Sposa nella morte! (1915) starring Lina Cavalieri
- La rosa di granata (1916), starring Lina Cavalieri
Za La Mort and height of fame
In 1914, Ghione created the first film featuring his character Za La Mort, Nelly La Gigolette, which was a great success. Following this success and his move to Tiber film, Ghione created a sequel called Za La Mort (1915), which developed the character and introduced a companion, Za La Vie, played by Kally Sambucini. Ghione created a total of thirteen Za La Mort feature films and three serial films between 1914 and 1924, many of which were very successful commercially. The character of Za La Mort, a Parisian apache, was unstable throughout the series. In some films, Za La Mort was a cruel-hearted, murderous, seductive criminal, while in others he was a romantic, faithful, underworld avenger, similar to Louis Feuillade's Judex. The Za La Mort series was mostly set in an imaginary Paris, with some episodes set in America and exotic tropical locations. Despite inconsistencies of plot and character and mostly negative critical reviews, Za La Morts exotic, exciting adventures captured the public imagination and Ghione became one of the most recognisable stars of the Italian silent cinema. During the production of the Za La Mort series, Ghione continued to star in and direct a variety of films, including melodramas, adventure films and a biopic of Italian patriot Guglielmo Oberdan.
