Rigoletto (film)
| Rigoletto | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Leo D. Paur |
| Produced by |
Forrest S. Baker III Don A. Judd Scott Swofford |
| Starring |
Joseph Paur Ivey Lloyd |
| Narrated by | Ivey Lloyd |
| Music by | Kurt Bestor |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Rigoletto is a 1993 musical fantasy/drama produced for Feature Films for Families.
Rigoletto stars Joseph Paur as Ari Ribaldi and Ivey Lloyd as Bonnie Nelson, a singer.
Bonnie reads a part of Rigoletto each night to her younger brother.
The film time shifts to the 1930s, during America's Great Depression. The following scene shows an old house which newcomer Mr. Ribaldi purchases.
The next day, Bonnie performs in a singing contest. While Bonnie does not win, she manages to attract the attention of a mysterious man. He says nothing to her and only nods and leaves.
That night as the children walk home, they spot the old house which has been renovated. The townspeople also spot the house and think it is unusual for a house to be renovated so fast.
The same moment, the town banker sells the mortgage on one of his houses and the Nelson family are evicted. Bonnie's mother immediately leaves to locate the person who bought their house. She knocks on the door only to find the same man who was watching Bonnie's contest: Hans the Butler. He is tense, but welcomes Mrs. Nelson inside and shows her to The Master of the home (Mr. Ribaldi), when she is sternly instructed to stop at the rug. The man remains seated in the darkness.
He answers to Mrs. Nelson's demands by returning their home directly to them in exchange for an agreement in which Bonnie would "work" for him. Mrs. Nelson asks why she can't do the job instead of her daughter. He evades the question which alarms Mrs. Nelson. She refuses, which enrages Ribaldi and he has her thrown out of the mansion, but not before she catches a glimpse of Ribaldi's scarred face.
Later, she tells Bonnie the bad news but Bonnie asks her permission to accept the job. Mrs. Nelson reluctantly agrees and sends Bonnie to the mansion. For the moment, her only chores are to assist Hans.
He informs Bonnie that she is free to go into any room in the house, except for the master suite, though he has to resort to bribery to keep from explaining why. However, she walks into the forbidden area once she hears a woman taking singing lessons from Mr. Ribaldi. He angrily grabs Bonnie but the woman (Gabriella) sends him away "to pout".
Meanwhile, many in the town are risking foreclosure as a result of the Depression and suspect the mysterious Ribaldi, who initially did the very same thing to The Nelsons.
The people in town also begin receiving unknown sources of financial assistance. Some receive checks to pay for expensive medical procedures to heal crippling illnesses and others find employment. The townspeople suspect nothing of any of this.
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Wikipedia