The Lovers of Verona

The Lovers of Verona
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 (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

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

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

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

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]