The Lovers of Verona

1949 film by André Cayatte

The Lovers of Verona

Theatrical release poster

French| Les amants de Vérone
Directed by| André Cayatte
Written by|

* André Cayatte
* Jacques Prévert

Produced by| Raymond Borderie
Starring|

* Pierre Brasseur
* Marcel Dalio
* Serge Reggiani
* Louis Salou

Cinematography| Henri Alekan
Edited by| Christian Gaudin
Music by| Joseph Kosma

Production
company

CICC

Distributed by| Les Films Corona

Release date

* 7 March 1949 (1949-03-07) (France)

Running time

| 105 minutes
Country| France
Language| French

The Lovers of Verona (French: Les amants de Vérone) is a 1949 French romantic drama mystery film co-written and directed by André Cayatte, loosely based on the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. The film was a joint project of screenwriter Jacques Prevert and director Cayatte and enjoyed great international success. It was released in Italy in 1949, then internationally in 1951.[1]

## Plot

[edit]

Shortly after World War II, Angelo, a glassblower from Murano, and Georgia Maglia, the daughter of a fascist magistrate, are cast as stand-ins for the stars of a film version of Romeo and Juliet being shot on location in Venice. Inevitably they fall in love and their affair parallels the Shakespeare tragedy. The principal difficulty is the scheming of Rafaële, the Magia family's ruthless consigliere. In the end, Angelo is killed and Georgia dies at his side.

## Cast

[edit]

* Serge Reggiani as Angelo (Romeo)
* Anouk Aimée as Georgia (Juliet)
* Martine Carol as Bettina Verdi, the star of the film
* Pierre Brasseur as Rafaële
* Marcel Dalio as Amedeo Maglia
* Marianne Oswald as Laetitia
* René Génin as the guardian of the tomb
* Yves Deniaud as Ricardo, an actor
* Charles Blavette as the head of the glassworks
* Marcel Pérès as Domini, a glassblower

## Production

[edit]

The film was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris and on location in Venice. The sets were designed by art director René Moulaert.

In his memoirs, cinematographer Henri Alekan recalled when 16-year-old Anouk Aimée was forced to dive completely naked into the cold waters of the Adige river, without anyone managing to keep away the onlookers obviously interested in the scene.[2]

## Critical reception

[edit]

TV Guide called the film "[a]n intriguing romance",[3] while Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it "a story set within a weird and grotesque frame of contemporary morbidness in Venice and gaudy film-making in Italy."[4] Pauline Kael wrote, "The film's sensuous poetic elegance contrasts with the seamy elements it encompasses... You may feel you've been made too aware of the film's artistic intentions, and the romanticism can drive you a little nuts."[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Les Amants de Vérone (1949) – André Cayatte". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
2. ^ Roussel, Vincent (26 October 2019). "Henri Alekan – "Le Vécu et l'imaginaire"". Culturopoing (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2022.
3. ^ "The Lovers of Verona". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012.
4. ^ Crowther, Bosley (12 March 1951). "THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; 'The Lovers of Verona,' Modern Paraphrase of Romeo and Juliet, at Cinema 48". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016.
5. ^ Kael, Pauline (1991). 5001 Nights at the Movies. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 441\. ISBN 978-0-8050-1367-2.

## External links

[edit]

* The Lovers of Verona at IMDb
* The Lovers of Verona at AllMovie
* The Lovers of Verona at Fandango

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by André Cayatte

* Twisted Mistress (1942)
* Pierre and Jean (1943)
* Shop Girls of Paris (1943)
* Song of the Clouds (1946)
* The Last Penny (1946)
* Roger la Honte (1946)
* The Revenge of Roger (1946)
* The Unknown Singer (1947)
* Under the Cards (1948)
* The Lovers of Verona (1949)
* Return to Life (1949)
* Justice Is Done (1950)
* We Are All Murderers (1952)
* Before the Deluge (1954)
* Black Dossier (1955)
* An Eye for an Eye (1957)
* Le Miroir à deux faces (1958)
* Tomorrow Is My Turn (1960)
* Le glaive et la balance (1963)
* Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise (1964)
* Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc (1964)
* Trap for Cinderella (1965)
* Les risques du métier (1967)
* The Pleasure Pit (1969)
* Mourir d'aimer (1971)
* There's No Smoke Without Fire (1973)
* Verdict (1974)
* State Reasons (1978)

* v
* t
* e

Romeo and Juliet film adaptations

English|

* Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)
* Romanoff and Juliet (1961)
* Gonks Go Beat (1965)
* Lonesome Cowboys (1968)
* Romeo and Juliet (1968)
* Romie-0 and Julie-8 (TV; 1979)
* The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1982)
* Valley Girl (1983)
* Bullies (1986)
* China Girl (1987)
* Romeo.Juliet (1990)
* Tromeo and Juliet (1996)
* Love Is All There Is (1996)
* Romeo + Juliet (1996)
* Rose by Any Other Name... (1997)
* The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)
* Shakespeare in Love (1998)
* The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns (1999)
* Romeo Must Die (2000)
* Brooklyn Babylon (2001)
* Pizza My Heart (TV; 2005)
* Life and Lyrics (2006)
* Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss (2006)
* Rome & Jewel (2006)
* David & Fatima (2008)
* The Cross Road (2008)
* Vicious Circle (2008)
* Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
* Sherlock Gnomes (2018 sequel)
* Private Romeo (2011)
* Warm Bodies (2013)
* Make Your Move (2013)
* Romeo & Juliet (2013)
* Valley Girl (2020)
* R#J (2021)
* Die in a Gunfight (2021)
* Rosaline (2022)

| West Side Story|

* West Side Story (1961)
* West Bank Story (2005)
* West Side Story (2021)

|

Hindi|

* Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981)
* Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988)
* Saudagar (1991)
* Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein (2002)
* Bollywood Queen (2002)
* Ishaqzaade (2012)
* Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013)
* Issaq (2013)

Telugu|

* Maro Charitra (1978)
* Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi (1996)
* Kalisundam Raa (2000)
* Maro Charitra (2010)

Spanish|

* Romeo and Juliet (1940)
* Los Tarantos (1963)
* 30:e november (Swedish/Spanish, 1995)
* Amar te duele (2002)

Italian|

* Fury of Johnny Kid (1967)
* Ma che musica maestro (1971)

Portuguese|

* Mônica e Cebolinha: No Mundo de Romeu e Julieta (1979)
* O Casamento de Romeu e Julieta (2005)

Other|

* Ambikapathy (Tamil, 1937)
* The Lovers of Verona (French, 1949)
* Ambikapathy (Tamil, 1957)
* Romeo, Juliet and Darkness (Czech, 1960)
* Keyamat Theke Keyamat (Bengali, 1993)
* The Phantom Lover (Mandarin, 1995)
* Chicken Rice War (Cantonese/English, 2000)
* Ondagona Baa (Kannada, 2003)
* Mamay (Ukrainian, 2003)
* The District! (Hungarian, 2004)
* In Fair Palestine: A Story of Romeo and Juliet (2006)
* The Bubble (Hebrew/Arabic, 2006)
* Priyatama (Marathi, 2014)
* Arshinagar (Bengali, 2015)
* Eeda (Malayalam, 2017)
* The Sea Prince and the Fire Child (Japanese, 1981)

*[CICC]: Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique
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