“Besides having been a director about whom it will one day be necessary to study in greater detail, Amleto Palermi was also a great organiser. One might call him a forerunner in the field of cinema. It is known that during the twenties, when there were few who believed in the Italian cinema, he was one of the main supporters of continuing the national cinema tradition. Although he was requested to shoot films in Germany, Palermi preferred to shoot his films in Italy on contract for the Germans and Austrians. In this way he was able to make films like L’uomo più allegro di Vienna with Ruggero Ruggeri and Maria Corda, Enrico IV with Conrad Veidt and Florette e Patapon with Ossi Oswalda. He succeeded in finishing the shooting of Ultimi giorni di Pompei (1926), leaving Gallone to shoot the scenes in Rome while he bustled between Berlin and Vienna in order to bring fresh money to complete his version (one of many) of Bulwer Lytton’s book.
Much less known are the genial Sicilian cinematographer’s Italian-French coproductions (La Dame de Chez Maxim and Occupati di Amelia) and those with Great Britain (La seconda moglie and La donna e l’uomo). In all four films he used Pina Menichelli in the leading role.
(Vittorio Martinelli)