Catene (1949 film)

Chains
Directed by	Raffaello Matarazzo
Produced by	Goffredo Lombardo Raffaello Matarazzo
Written by	Libero Bovio Gaspare Di Maio Nicola Manzari Aldo De Benedetti
Starring	Amedeo Nazzari Yvonne Sanson
Music by	Gino Campese
Cinematography	Carlo Montuori
Edited by	Mario Serandrei
Production company	Labor Film Titanus
Distributed by	Titanus Distribuzione
Release date	29 October 1949
Running time	90 min
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Catene (internationally released as Chains) is a 1949 Italian film in the melodrama genre directed by Raffaello Matarazzo . It had an impressive commercial success, being seen by 6 million people, one in eight Italians of the time, and was followed by a series of six other successful films directed by Matarazzo and featuring the couple Amedeo Nazzari and Yvonne Sanson. The film was remade in 1974.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Ottavio Scotti.

A husband kills his wife's ex-boyfriend, who was blackmailing her. He flees to America, but is sent back to Italy to stand trial. The only way he can be set free is if his wife confesses to adultery – so the murder can be considered a crime of passion – but this estranges her from her family. Starring Amedeo Nazzari and actress of Greek origin Yvonne Sanson. Maligned by critics because it did not conform to precepts of neorealism, this did not prevent its unexpected box office success.