La nave dei leoni
About La nave dei leoni
A brigantine carries lions from Africa to a zoo in Europe. The tamer Jeannette (Gigetta Morano) keeps them in hand. She loves Captain Jack (Mario Bonnard) and will not have the manager Johnson (Vitale De Stefano). Johnson turns the crew on Jack. Jack fires a revolver, and he and Jeannette shut themselves in the hold. He sets the ship on fire. They get off in a boat.
Cast & crew
More about La nave dei leoni
Luigi Maggi directed for the Società Anonima Ambrosio of Turin. Giovanni Vitrotti photographed it. Mario Bonnard had just been hired by Ambrosio. Alfred Schneider supplied the lions. Antonio Grisanti and Paolo Azzurri are also in the cast. The print at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema runs 595 meters, 29 minutes at 18 frames per second, with Dutch titles.
Themes
Reviews
G. F. Blaisdell, in Moving Picture World on 26 October 1912, wrote that no recent lion picture had more exciting situations, and he praised the photography and the sparing use of tint.
Look
Giovanni Vitrotti shot the deck, the hold, and the lions. One night setup, later singled out by G. F. Blaisdell, shows a sailor in the crow's nest signaling with a flag as the ship sights the Bay of San Biagio.
Preservation
The Museo Nazionale del Cinema holds a 35mm print of 595 meters, previously restored by the EYE Filmmuseum, in black and white with Dutch intertitles.
Notes
- English titles used at the time include The Ship of Lions and The Ship with the Lions.
- A production still shows Gigetta Morano outside the set with a lion cub.
- Moving Picture World reviewed the film on 26 October 1912.
Scenes
- Johnson sets the sailors on Jack, who fires his revolver and retreats to the hold with Jeannette.
- Jack burns the ship and the pair leave in a boat.
