Let’s put aside for a moment names such as Catherine Deneuve, Robert De Niro, Marlene Dietrich, Harvey Keitel, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Charles Aznavour, Gian Maria Volonté, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and so forth; famous faces who adorn the festival’s ‘Restored and Restored’ section, films that are dusted off and brought back into the limelight.
Instead Il Cinema Ritrovato invites you to get to know the sections devoted to two authors, Anatole Litvak and Gustaf Molander; lesser known to the general public but whose expansive film portfolios hold several surprises, especially for their choice of protagonists.
Discover the programmes of these two sections which are overflowing with actors and actresses of high calibre, whether during their first time in front of the camera, in secondary roles accompanying other stars, or at a time in their career when they are yet to reach their peak.

An unjustly overlooked master with an international career spanning six decades, Anatole Litvak made some of the most riveting and innovative films in the history of cinema that, save for a few titles, are hardly seen or discussed today. The Kyiv-born director of masterpieces such as L’Équipage and City for Conquest made films in Germany, France, UK and eventually Hollywood. This first-time overview of his dazzling career that will be presented during the festival features films from all these bases of production, works that are ripe for rediscovery with their sweeping camera movements, long takes, ironic cutting, and splendid use of décor.

Many splendid young faces of actors on the cusp of stardom. Cœur de lilas (France, 1932) portrays an early-career Jean Gabin in the role of a mauvais garçon. An experienced Humphrey Bogart (but still far from his iconic role in Casablanca) is instead the protagonist of The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (USA, 1938), disguised as a gangster (his performance is nevertheless judged ‘topflight’ by Variety). James Cagney (according to the American Film Institute, ranked eighth among the greatest stars of all time) throws a punch in City for Conquest (USA, 1940); the cast also includes Anthony Quinn and Elia Kazan. In The Long Night (USA, 1947) Vincent Price and Henry Fonda are linked by a grim victim, while in Sorry, Wrong Number (USA, 1948) Barbara Stanwyck pines for her untraceable husband Burt Lancaster… between them a busy landline and a murder. In Deep Blue Sea (UK, 1955) a mature Vivien Leigh plays the role of the unfaithful wife in her third-to-last film. In Anastasia (USA, 1956), an Ingrid Bergman, who has lost her memory, (Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role) under the guidance of Yul Brynner pretends to be the daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in order to put her hands on the Romanov inheritance.

Read the full programme of the section “Journeys into Night: The World of Anatole Litvak”

In a career lasting half a century, director Gustaf Molander made more than 70 films in a variety of genres and styles and left a lasting imprint on Swedish film history. Not just a versatile director excelling in different genres, Molander also had an extraordinary ability to bring forth the true potential in actors – in particular actresses. His films with the young Ingrid Bergman  (protagonist A Woman’s Face at the festival) in the 1930s launched her to international stardom, but the tribute also provides a rare opportunity to see Harriet Andersson, Eva Dahlbeck, Inga Landgré (actresses we come across again in the films of Ingmar Bergman) and Gunn Wållgren (famous for her last role in a film, the grandmother in Fanny and Alexander) in the early stages of their respective careers.
Fun fact: Molander’s actresses also include Viveca Serlachius, the famous star of the Swedish TV series Pippi Longstocking.

Get to know the full programme of “Gustaf Molander, the actresses’ director”