CASERINI, MARIO

(1874-1920)

Director. Having joined the Alberini & Santoni company as an actor in 1905, Camerini graduated to directing when it was transformed into theCinesthe following year.

Demonstrating a marked predilection for literary and historical subjects, he directed a host of historical dramas and adaptations, among themGaribaldi(1908),Romeo e Giulietta(Romeo and Juliet, 1909),Giovanna d'Arco(Joan of Arc, 1909), andBeatrice Cenci(1909), the last of which he filmed at the Castel Sant'Angelo in order to increase its historical authenticity.He was both prolific and popular; hisCatilina(1910) was sufficiently in demand to be screened in 14 different cinemas in Rome at the same time.

After a brief period withAmbrosio Filmwhere he directed, among others,Dante e Beatrice(Dante and Beatrice, 1912) and the first long version ofGli ultimi giorni di Pompei(The Last Days of Pompeii, 1912), he joined the newborn Gloria Film, for which he directed an enormously popular version ofFlorette e Patapon(1913) and the even more acclaimedMa I'amor mio non muore(But My Love Will Not Die, 1913), the first film to starLyda Borelliand the one that launched her as a diva. In the wake of the film's enormous success, Camerini left Gloria in order to establish his own production company, with which he produced and directed a number of elegant upper-class melodramas starringMario Bonnardand one of the other reigning divas, Leda Gys. However, when these two stars left, the company folded and Camerini returned to Rome to direct for the Cines until his untimely death in 1920. Among the films of this last period wereResurrezione(Resurrection, 1917),Il filo della vita(The Thread of Life, 1918),Tragedia senza lagrime(Tragedy without Tears, 1919), andLa voce del cuore(The Voice of the Heart, 1920).