An authentic monster of Italian theater, Ermete Zacconi was invited by Giovanni Pastrone to appear onscreen. And, attracted by the generous contract offered by the Turin production company, he agreed to act in two films, Padre and Lo scomparso. The artistic direction of Padre alternated between Gino Zaccaria and Dante Testa, under the vigil eye of Pastrone. The film is a classic vehicle for a great stage hog like Zacconi, who put all the force of his theatrical performances into the unlucky protagonist of this pathetic story, without holding back any of the tics, tremors, calculated pauses and subsequent outbursts typical of his domineering artistic personality. At times it truly seems as though he is begging to feel the pain of the character he plays. The film was a great success in Italy and abroad. The volume Il cinema muto italiano. 1912, seconda parte, by Bernardini and Martinelli, cites passages from Italian, French, Spanish, English and American reviews, all of which extol the virtues of the actor: «spontaneo» («La Vita Cinematografica»), «Assolutamente naturale» («La Cinematografia Italiana ed Estera»), «sublime» («Le cinéma et l’écho du cinéma réunis»), «Masterly» («The Bioscope»), «Identificatiòn del sentimeinto artistico con la realidad» («Arte y Cinematografia), «His acting gives dignity to the whole presentation» («The Moving Picture World»).

Vittorio Martinelli