FRANCISCI, PIETRO

(1906-1977)

Director. Although a lawyer by training, Francisci embarked on a career in cinema in the mid-1930s withRapsodie di Roma(Roman Rhapsodies, 1934), the first of many quality documentaries that he would make on commission for the IstitutoLUCE. In the postwar period he chose to devote himself to fiction, beginning with the melodramaIo ti ho incontrato a Napoli(I Met You in Naples, 1945). There followedNatale al campo 119(Christmas in Camp 119, 1947), a sentimental musical comedy set in a prisoner-of-war camp in California where Italians, waiting to be repatriated, reminisce about life at home.After a fictional biography of Saint Anthony of Padua (Antonio di Padova, 1949), he began to specialize in historical adventure fantasies such asIl leone di Amalfi(The Lion of Amalfi, 1950) andOrlando e i paladini di Francia(Roland the Mighty, 1956). Then in 1957 he madeLe fatiche di Ercole(Hercules, 1957), the film by which he is generally credited with initiating thepeplumgenre and launching the film career of American bodybuilder Steve Reeves. The film was hugely successful, both in Italy and abroad. After making what are regarded by aficionados as several other classics of the genre, such asErcole e la regina di Lidia(Hercules Unchained, 1958) andErcole sfida Sansone(Hercules, Samson and Ulysses, 1963)—and with the genre itself now definitely on the wane—Francisci tried his hand at science fiction with the oddly titled and minibudgeted2+5:Missione Hydra(2+5:Mission Hydra, 1967), which, however, failed to stir much interest or acclaim. His last film was the Oriental adventureSimbad e il califfo di Bagdad(Sinbad and the Caliph of Bagdad, 1973).