Conspiracy of Hearts
| Conspiracy of Hearts | |
|---|---|
Original British cinema poster
|
|
| Directed by | Ralph Thomas |
| Produced by |
Betty E. Box executive Earl St. John |
| Written by | Robert Presnell Jr. |
| Based on | "original material" by "Dale Pit" (Adrian Scott) |
| Starring |
Lilli Palmer Sylvia Syms Yvonne Mitchell Ronald Lewis |
| Music by | Angelo Francesco Lavagnino |
| Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
| Edited by | Alfred Roome |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by |
Rank Film Distributors (UK) Paramount Pictures (USA) |
|
Release date
|
1960 |
|
Running time
|
113 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Conspiracy of Hearts is a 1960 British Second World War film, directed by Ralph Thomas, about nuns in Italy smuggling Jewish children out of an internment camp near their convent to save them from the Holocaust. It stars Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms, Yvonne Mitchell and Ronald Lewis, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Film Promoting International Understanding at the 18th Golden Globe Awards in 1961.
In 1943 Italy, some nuns protect Jewish children who have escaped from a concentration camp.
The film was originally a teleplay credited to Dale Pitt, a writer who was acting as a "front" for blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Adrian Scott. This teleplay was set in 1946 and concerned nuns helping Jewish children to get to Palestine. It aired in 1956 as an episode of Goodyear Playhouse directed by Robert Mulligan.
The film version was written by Robert Presnell Jnr, who set the story in 1943. Presnell was reportedly a front for Dalton Trumbo. The script was optioned by Albert C. Gannaway in 1958 who could not get finance.
Betty Box became enthusiastic about the movie and wanted to make it. She took it to the Rank Organisation. Box says Rank did not want them to make the movie but allowed her because of the success of the Doctor in the House series. "They said, 'It's religion, it's nuns, it's wartime, who wants to know? Tell you what, make us another Doctor and you can do it!" Box and Thomas made Doctor in Love (1960) as a pay off for Rank financing the movie.
The film was shot on location in Italy and at Pinewood Studios in London. Some filming took place at La Certosa di Galluso monastery near Florence.
...
Wikipedia