The White Squadron
| Lo squadrone bianco | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Augusto Genina |
| Written by | Augusto Genina |
| Starring |
Fosco Giachetti Antonio Centa Fulvia Lanzi Guido Celano |
| Cinematography |
Anchise Brizzi Massimo Terzano |
| Distributed by | Roma Film |
|
Release date
|
1936 |
|
Running time
|
97 min |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
Lo squadrone bianco (Italian for "The White Squadron") is a 1936 Italian film directed by Augusto Genina. The plot features a cavalry lieutenant, unlucky in love, who redeems himself by battling the "rebels" of Tripolitania (modern Libya). The film won the Mussolini Cup at the Venice Film Festival, during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
Cristiana (Fulvia Lanzi) is seen enjoying herself, dancing and drinking with other men. Mario (Antonio Centa) races down a dark road and calls Cristiana from a payphone with a sense of urgency. When she does not answer, he proceeds to her apartment and angrily pounds on the door and rings the bell. He demands a traditional relationship, and leaves when she refuses but tries to seduce him.
Mario transfers to a desert fort in Tripolitania, where a heroic captain has recently perished in combat against the "rebels." Captain Santelia (Fosco Giachetti) distrusts Mario at first as a cowardly playboy. However, after the "rebels" steal some animals, the two pursue them with a squadron of camel-riding natives on a long and panoramic desert trek. Mario becomes ill, but eventually the two officers come to a mutual understanding and Mario disposes of a locket from Cristiana and stops reminiscing of their luxurious memories.
Having caught up to the "rebels" at an oasis, a battle ensues; the "rebels" are defeated but the captain is killed. Meanwhile, Cristiana and a group of other tourists have arrived at the fort. A reconnaissance plane brings news to the fort of the battle, without knowing which officer has perished. Mario returns and elects to remain in Tripolitania, breaking up with Cristiana.
The film is based on the novel L'Escadron blanc by French writer Joseph Peyré, who had a hand in the adaptation of the script to the screen.
Genina's noted shots of the Tripolitanian desert were all done on location. For its use of foreign technologies, it has been called the "first sample of the Americanised technical powers of Italy's huge new cinema city."
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