A Bell for Adano

This article is about the film. For the novel, see A Bell for Adano (novel).

A Bell for Adano
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Henry King
Screenplay by	Lamar Trotti Norman Reilly Raine
Based on	A Bell for Adano 1944 novel by John Hersey
Produced by	Louis D. Lighton Lamar Trotti
Starring	Gene Tierney John Hodiak William Bendix
Cinematography	Joseph LaShelle
Edited by	Barbara McLean
Music by	Alfred Newman
Production company	20th Century Fox
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	June 21, 1945 (1945-06-21) (U.S.) [1] ([1])
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2.5 million[2]

A Bell for Adano is a 1945 American war film directed by Henry King and starring John Hodiak and Gene Tierney. It was adapted from the 1944 novel of the same title by John Hersey, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1945.

The story had been staged as a Broadway play in 1944^[3] starring Fredric March.

Plot

The story concerns Italian-American U.S. Army major Joppolo, who is placed in charge of the town of Adano during the invasion of Sicily. The priest explains that the heart of the town's activities centered upon the ringing of a 700-year-old bell that was taken at the start of the war to be melted for weapons. Joppolo begins a long struggle to replace the bell. Through his actions, Joppolo also wins the trust and love of the people.

Short-tempered American commander General Marvin removes Joppolo from his position when Joppolo disobeys an order to prohibit mule-cart traffic in Adano. Although the carts have been disrupting Allied supply trucks, they are vital to the survival of the town.

Cast

• Gene Tierney as Tina Tomasino
• John Hodiak as Maj. Victor P. Joppolo
• William Bendix as Sgt. Borth
• Glenn Langan as Lt. Crofts Livingstone
• Richard Conte as Nico
• Stanley Prager as Sgt. Trampani
• Henry Morgan as Capt. N. Purvis
• Monty Banks as Giuseppe
• Reed Hadley as Cmdr. Robertson
• Roy Roberts as Col. W. W. Middleton
• Hugo Haas as Father Pensovecchio
• Marcel Dalio as Zito
• Fortunio Bonanova as Chief of Police Gargano
• Henry Armetta as Errante
• Roman Bohnen as Carl Erba
• Luis Alberni as Cacopardo
• Eduardo Ciannelli as Maj. Nasta

Production

The character of Joppolo is based on the real-life experiences of Frank Toscani, who was the military governor of the town of Licata, Sicily after the Allied invasion.^[4]

The film was in production from early November 1944 to mid-January 1945. Location filming occurred at Brent's Crags near Malibu, California.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther praised the script's fidelity to the original novel and wrote:

It is first a delightful chronicle of native character, of the naive and picturesque natures of most plain Italian folks. It is also a shrewd elucidation of contrasting men of ill will. But, more than that, it is a fine, inspiring picture of an "understanding man's" brave attempt to instrument true democracy in a community that barely knew the word. ... In short, "A Bell for Adano" is a human, heart-warming film—the sort of picture that should do more for "understanding" than ten million moralizing words."^[5]

Adaptations

In addition to the Broadway play, there have been several other versions of John Hersey's book. In a 1955 Lux Video Theatre adaptation, Edmond O'Brien played the lead, with a young Charles Bronson in the part that William Bendix played in the film.^[6] Barry Sullivan and Anna Maria Alberghetti appeared in a 1956 CBS telecast,^[7] and John Forsythe played the major in a 1967 Hallmark Hall of Fame broadcast.^[8][9]

References

1. "A Bell for Adano". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
2. Solomon, Aubrey (2002). Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810842441 – via Google Books.
3. The Broadway League. "A Bell for Adano – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
4. Martin, Douglass. The New York Times: F.E. Toscani 89, Dies; Model for Hero of 'Bell for Adano' 28 Jan 2001
5. Crowther, Bosley (July 6, 1945). "A Bell for Adano (1945) The Screen; in military role". The New York Times.
6. "The Lux Video Theatre – A Bell For Adano". www.theTVDB.com.
7. "Television: Program Preview, Jun. 4, 1956". Time. June 4, 1956 – via content.time.com.
8. "Hallmark Hall of Fame: Season 17 Episode 2 – A Bell for Adano". Archived from the original on 2018-08-01.
9. "A Bell for Adano (1945)". www.tcm.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

External links

• A Bell for Adano at IMDb
• A Bell for Adano at the TCM Movie Database}
• A Bell for Adano at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• 1952 Best Plays radio adaptation of novel at Internet Archive