The Italian

This is a fairly grim account of immigrant life in the early 1900s. George Beban, who made a living on stage and screen portraying ethnic types (especially Italians), plays a gondolier in "the old country" who needs to prove himself to the father of the woman he wants to marry. So he sails to New York without her, works as a bootblack, and earns enough money to send for her.

Tragedy strikes when their infant son becomes sick from the heat. Beban attempts to buy milk for him, but is robbed. When he spots his muggers, he attacks them and is arrested. In the climax, Beban almost commits an unspeakable crime to get revenge upon the man he feels is responsible for his son's death.

There is some interesting camera work, and a solid performance by the cast. San Francisco doubles as NYC. Some of my reference books claim that Francis Ford Coppola was influenced by this film in making "The Godfather." Indeed, there is one scene where Beban spots the Statue of Liberty as the ship pulls into NYC, which is somewhat reminiscent of a scene in "The Godfather: Part II."

In an interesting twist, Beban appears in the opening scene, relaxing in his home in a smoking jacket, reading a book entitled "The Italian." Then the story begins. At the end, he appears again, having finished the book.

There are only a few title cards in the film, but the story is easy to follow.

It's a classic story, all but ageless - a tale that surely could have played out countless times in real life. It's also rather simple overall, so 'The Italian' is certainly an instance in which the feature lives or dies on details and presentation. Though perhaps not wholly riveting, it's solidly entertaining, with turns of light comedy and drama of varying severity to keep us invested. Scenes as written are modestly compelling, and all do well to ably realize them with vivid imagery. Director Reginald Barker captures some fine shots, and I appreciate the care put into aspects like filming locations, set design and decoration, hair, makeup, and costume design. Above all, the cast is swell, capably defying the limits of the silent era with strong facial expressions and exaggerated body language. Star George Beban, above all, is great as protagonist Beppo, a hopeless romantic struggling through the trials of a pitiless and at times corrupt city. Beban offers wonderful nuance and physicality, depicting every shifting emotion of the beleaguered immigrant. And his co-stars are equally up to the task, including not least of all Clara Williams as Beppo's wife Annette.

The movie perhaps feels marginally disjointed on account of its structure - an unusual abundance of intertitles, and multiple jumps in time somewhat uncharacteristic of the era. On a more esoteric level, I just don't think 'The Italian' is perfectly successful in telling its story - it's not wholly engaging. While the plot takes a direction I wouldn't have anticipated, the final minutes left me a bit wanting, as there's no particular resolution to the story. In fairness, there's nothing wrong with that: life is messy, fictional lives can be messy, and the somewhat open-ended nature of the conclusion is a tack I generally rather appreciate in cinema - and one that I think is uncommon in the silent era. Still, in this instance, with this specific tale, I'm unsure that the uncertainty looming over the ending serves its best interests.

I've seen many silent films that I think hold up as essential cinematic experiences, and fewer that didn't quite capture my imagination. In my opinion 'The Italian' lands somewhere in the upper middle between those two ends of the spectrum. What flaws I perceive here are purely subjective, true, and mostly come down to being not fully satisfying as a viewer. Still, it's broadly well made and written, with able performances as an anchor. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a movie to go out of your way to see, but it's suitably enjoyable, and well worth your time if you have the opportunity to watch it.

THE Italian (1915) tells the story of Beppo Donnetti (George Beban), a gondolier in Italy who journeys to America so that he can marry and provide a home for his love Annette (Clara Williams). America is thought to be the land of promise, but things happen in their new home that change their lives forever. Directed by Reginald Barker.

SCRIPT: THE Italian is a very warm and touching movie in many ways, and has moments of sadness and anguish as well. There is humor and joy, as well as heartbreak. In spite of some of the broken English Italian stereotypes, the movie shows genuine empathy to its characters. You can see Beppo's hope for a better life in America turn to despair when things don't go his way. There are wonderful details here, such as how Annette and her father laugh when a wealthy would-be suitor is forced to concede to the poor Beppo; how Beppo notices his son's sleeping with his hand under his chin, and other things. To its credit, the film doesn't conclude with a pat happy ending. SCORE: 9/10

ACTING: The acting is pretty naturalistic for its period, stopping short of the hammy antics usually practiced at the time. The actors are portraying Italians, whom have been commonly stereotyped as dramatically expressive; however, the actors don't treat their characters with mockery, but with affection. The cast overall conveys a wonderful sense of humanity. George Beban runs the gamut of emotions in his portrayal of Beppo and makes everything believable – his joys, his sorrows, his anger and resignation. Clara Williams also is very believable and lifelike in her portrayal of Annette. SCORE: 9/10

CINEMATOGRAPHY/PRODUCTION: The camera-work in this film is quite superb. There are some very expressive close-ups and moments where the camera either comes closer to or draws away from the actor in order to magnify the emotional reaction to the moment. The scenes in old Italy are particularly beautiful, with some wonderfully composed shots against the sunset and beautiful views of rivers and bridges. The editing is fairly smooth (there are a couple of choppy moments but they are most likely due to lost footage). Cross cutting is used quite frequently and there aren't very many long takes. Tinting is used to designate day and night scenes, and lends additional warmth and beauty to the sunset scenes. Incidentally, this movie came out before BIRTH OF A NATION but uses many of the same devices. Great work overall. SCORE: 9/10

SUMMARY: THE Italian is another definitive early feature film. The story is moving in many ways, heartfelt and empathetic toward its protagonists. The acting is naturalistic and shows affection for the characters being portrayed. The cinematography is always professional and in many cases quite excellent and beautiful. THE Italian is definitely worth seeing as an example of the emotional power of silent cinema. SCORE: 9/10

To get a glimpse of the hardships that faced immigrants 100 years ago in the United States, June 1915's "The Italian" will give you one example of an aspiring and hardworking new arrival in New York City's Lower East Side. The movie follows a shoeshiner (played by actor George Beban) from Italy who soon is impoverished after leaving a gondolier job in his native country. Tragedy strikes when his sick infant son needs an expensive special milk to survive.

Thomas Ince produced this heart-tugging story, which he also co-wrote. Director Reginald Baker, whose studio was based on the West Coast, elected to shoot in the tenement quarter of San Francisco in lieu of the story's Manhattan Lower East Side setting. Baker is credited with giving "The Italian" a unique perspective for his audience by posting his camera in varying positions, combining wide, medium and tight shots (unusual for the time) which highlights the characters' progression throughout their ordeals. Embarking on this cinematic tact, Baker illustrates the actors' psychological reasoning for their actions rather than simply unfolding a straight line plot.

"The Italian" clearly was calling for social reform from the poverty so many deligent working immigrants were facing while attempting to making a living in their new country. The predatory politicians and criminals portrayed in the film make life impossible for those new arrivals. Actor Beban's portrayal of an Italian immigrant shows, as one critic wrote, "America is not a promised land paved with gold but a Darwinian jungle, where dreams meet dead ends."

This was Beban's film debut after spending years on vaudeville and in live theater. Typecast as Italian and French throughout his acting career, Beban was of Croatian/Irish mix. He also directed and wrote for film, but retired in the late 1920's upon his wife's death. He died at 54 in 1928 after being thrown off his horse vacationing at a California dude ranch.

Very well preserved and amazingly well done for a movie of this period. The story has a nice mix of drama and comedy, including a few scenes similar to those in slapstick comedies of the time.

Nice sets and even the "Venice" and the "Italian vineyard" scenes look good. Some interesting backlit shots. Still has some melodramatic touches and broad acting, but looks 10 years ahead of its time.