We the Living (film)

We the Living (originally released in 1942 as two films, Noi vivi and Addio Kira) is a film adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel We the Living. It was directed by Goffredo Alessandrini and stars Alida Valli, Rossano Brazzi, and Fosco Giachetti. It was made and released in Italy during World War II, then subsequently banned by the Fascist government and pulled from theaters. The film was lost and forgotten for decades, then found and restored with Rand's involvement. The film was released for the first time in the United States in 1986.

Director Goffredo Alessandrini was a very successful director during Benito Mussolini's regime. His films are noted for their extreme realism, and have been lauded as anticipating the Neo-Realist movement that was to follow the end of the war. Although, initially, his films were influenced by his brief stay in Hollywood in the early 1930s for MGM Studios, he successfully made the transition from musical comedies to historical dramas and ideological propaganda films when the tide of war changed the focus of filmmaking.

The film version of Ayn Rand's novel We the Living was made in Italy by Scalera Films in 1942. Rand's novel was considered a political hot potato by Fascist authorities in Rome, but was approved for filming due to the intervention of dictator Benito Mussolini’s son. Goffredo Alessandrini, one of Italy's leading directors, and his young associate director, Anton Majano, knew that We the Living touched on volatile political issues, but they hoped they would be safe from repercussions because of the story's negative portrayal of the Soviet Union, Italy's wartime enemy.

The studio never secured the movie rights from Ayn Rand, who at the time lived in the United States. Europe was at war, and the Fascist Ministry of Culture set up special laws with regards to negotiations for rights and copyrights with enemy countries, making it impossible to buy the rights. The film was made without the novelist's consent or knowledge, and no attempt was later made to compensate her.

...
Wikipedia