The Last Days of Pompeii (1950 film)

The Last Days of Pompeii (1950)

The Last Days of Pompeii (1950) (French: Les Derniers Jours de Pompéi) (Italian: Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei) was a black and white French-Italian historical drama. It was directed by Marcel L'Herbier "in collaboration with" Paolo Moffa, who was also the director of production. The movie was adapted from a novel called The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The film tells a dramatic story set in ancient times, inspired by real events in history.

Plot

In the year 79 AD in Pompeii, a rich young Greek man named Lysias meets a beautiful girl named Hélène. Arbax, the High Priest of Isis, wants revenge and tricks Lysias into drinking something that makes him act strangely. Nidia, a young slave girl, tries to warn everyone about Arbax’s plan, but Arbax harms her and blames Lysias. Lysias is saved from punishment when Mount Vesuvius starts to erupt, causing chaos. He helps keep Hélène safe during the eruption.

Cast

The film has many good actors. Micheline Presle plays Elena / Hélène, and Georges Marchal plays Lysia / Lysias. Other actors are Marcel Herrand as Arbace / Arbax, Jaque Catelain as Clodio / Claudius, and Adriana Benetti as Nidia. More actors include Laure Alex as Julie, Camillo Pilotto as Diomede / Diomède, Antonio Pierfederici as Olinto / Olinte, Guglielmo Barnabò as Panza, and Alain Quercy as Lepido / Lépide.

Production

The movie was filmed in the summer of 1948 at the Cinecittà studios in Rome. Some scenes were shot at the Arena di Verona. The filming was stopped for almost a year and finished at the GTC studios in 1949. The movie came out in France and Italy in 1950.

The story was made simpler and some character names were changed: Glaucus became Lysias, and Ione became Hélène. The movie’s sets and clothes were designed by Aldo Tommasini and Veniero Colasanti. Special effects were done by B. de Kerblay. Lucio Fulci helped direct some parts of the film.