A Bell for Adano is a most unusual picture related to World War II. There is no fighting in it (that is between enemy combatants) and it is more a character study than a film that features a suspenseful narrative. The protagonist, Major Victor Joppolo (John Hodiak), a Bronx native of Italian descent, is tasked with administering the small Sicilian (fictional) town of Adano following the defeat of Mussolini's fascist government.
Joppolo arrives with his adjutant, Sgt. Borth (William Bendix) and they are immediately met by eager townspeople who offer their services to assist Joppolo as he attempts to win over a skeptical populace, weary after years of Fascist rule. Joppolo earns the trust of Father Pensovecchio after he appears at Mass with all the townspeople in attendance. It's made clear from the outset that the biggest morale booster would be the restoration (or replacement) of the town church bell which was confiscated by fascist government officials.
In a great scene, Joppolo rebuffs a town official who has gone to the head of a bread line by sending him to the back of the line, much to the great approbation of the people. Then Joppolo pays a visit in person to Tomasino, the head fisherman, and convinces him to go back to work to begin replenishing the town's dwindling food supply (the good Major reassures Tomasino that he'll be taking no kickbacks from any of the workers).
The central conflict of the film revolves around orders Jappolo receives from his commanding officer, barring the townspeople from using their mule carts and other modes of transportation to bring food and water over the only bridge in town which the general maintains has been interfering with military convoys. When Jappolo is moved by a mass demonstration by the people in the town square and countermands the orders, Sgt. Borth hides a report written by Captain Purvis (Henry Morgan), reporting Joppolo's insubordination to the commanding officer, at the bottom of a stack of papers.
Much has been written about Gene Tierney in the role of the fisherman's daughter, Tina, who sports an uncharacteristic head of dyed blonde hair and tells Jappolo (after he's invited to her family's house for dinner) that she dyed her hair to be "different." Various reviewers have complained about Tierney's non-Italian accent but it didn't bother me at all-in fact, I felt whatever low key accent she mustered seemed plausible enough (what would have it sounded like if Tierney had actually tried an Italian accent? Maybe it might not have worked and maybe that's why ultimately she or the director decided not to use it).
Another unusual thing about the film is that Joppolo's and Tina' s relationship is strictly platonic. There is a very nice conversation that the two principals have filling in a good deal of backstory-particularly Jappolo's story (his background is complicated including mention of still being married and running a business that ultimately failed back in the Bronx!). There is a hint that Jappolo might have been interested in Tina but she reminds him of his wife and it appears he's jolted back to reality.
Tierney's part is sadly underdeveloped and the major plot point regarding her backstory really fails to work. The scene in which recently released POW Nico (Richard Conte), Tina's missing boyfriend Giorgio's friend, reveals to her the sad fate of her sweetheart during the waning days of the war. It seems that Giorgio was really an anti-Fascist but his enthusiastic enlistment into the Mussolini's fascist army, was held against him by fellow soldiers, who killed him while they were intoxicated.
The report about the Major's insubordination is once again redirected to another jurisdiction by Sgt. Bortha, but eventually Joppolo's efforts to help the townspeople come back to bite him when headquarters finally gets wind of the countermanding of the Commanding General's orders. There are some bittersweet occurrences before Jappolo is given his "marching orders," and that includes Sgt. Bortha's emotional breakdown (while intoxicated) over Jappolo's forced departure, the townspeoples' presentation of a portrait of Jappolo in the town hall and thanks to some ingenuity on the part of some US Navy officers, the replacement of the church bell effected amidst much fanfare among the townspeople.
John Hodiak was quoted as saying that A Bell for Adano was his favorite film among the many roles he took on during his career. And indeed Hodiak is magnificent as the good guy major who represents all that is good about the American soldier. It's a very human portrait of a good but tough soul whose background is certainly not squeaky clean.
A Bell for Adano is not what you would call a "high stakes" picture. There is very little suspense here and it should be better thought of as a film featuring a "slice of life" verisimilitude. The film does well in representing the John Hersey book on which it is based. Jappolo's bittersweet departure is representative of the many moments of life in occupied post-war Italy depicted in this film that ring decidedly true.
Joppolo arrives with his adjutant, Sgt. Borth (William Bendix) and they are immediately met by eager townspeople who offer their services to assist Joppolo as he attempts to win over a skeptical populace, weary after years of Fascist rule. Joppolo earns the trust of Father Pensovecchio after he appears at Mass with all the townspeople in attendance. It's made clear from the outset that the biggest morale booster would be the restoration (or replacement) of the town church bell which was confiscated by fascist government officials.
In a great scene, Joppolo rebuffs a town official who has gone to the head of a bread line by sending him to the back of the line, much to the great approbation of the people. Then Joppolo pays a visit in person to Tomasino, the head fisherman, and convinces him to go back to work to begin replenishing the town's dwindling food supply (the good Major reassures Tomasino that he'll be taking no kickbacks from any of the workers).
The central conflict of the film revolves around orders Jappolo receives from his commanding officer, barring the townspeople from using their mule carts and other modes of transportation to bring food and water over the only bridge in town which the general maintains has been interfering with military convoys. When Jappolo is moved by a mass demonstration by the people in the town square and countermands the orders, Sgt. Borth hides a report written by Captain Purvis (Henry Morgan), reporting Joppolo's insubordination to the commanding officer, at the bottom of a stack of papers.
Much has been written about Gene Tierney in the role of the fisherman's daughter, Tina, who sports an uncharacteristic head of dyed blonde hair and tells Jappolo (after he's invited to her family's house for dinner) that she dyed her hair to be "different." Various reviewers have complained about Tierney's non-Italian accent but it didn't bother me at all-in fact, I felt whatever low key accent she mustered seemed plausible enough (what would have it sounded like if Tierney had actually tried an Italian accent? Maybe it might not have worked and maybe that's why ultimately she or the director decided not to use it).
Another unusual thing about the film is that Joppolo's and Tina' s relationship is strictly platonic. There is a very nice conversation that the two principals have filling in a good deal of backstory-particularly Jappolo's story (his background is complicated including mention of still being married and running a business that ultimately failed back in the Bronx!). There is a hint that Jappolo might have been interested in Tina but she reminds him of his wife and it appears he's jolted back to reality.
Tierney's part is sadly underdeveloped and the major plot point regarding her backstory really fails to work. The scene in which recently released POW Nico (Richard Conte), Tina's missing boyfriend Giorgio's friend, reveals to her the sad fate of her sweetheart during the waning days of the war. It seems that Giorgio was really an anti-Fascist but his enthusiastic enlistment into the Mussolini's fascist army, was held against him by fellow soldiers, who killed him while they were intoxicated.
The report about the Major's insubordination is once again redirected to another jurisdiction by Sgt. Bortha, but eventually Joppolo's efforts to help the townspeople come back to bite him when headquarters finally gets wind of the countermanding of the Commanding General's orders. There are some bittersweet occurrences before Jappolo is given his "marching orders," and that includes Sgt. Bortha's emotional breakdown (while intoxicated) over Jappolo's forced departure, the townspeoples' presentation of a portrait of Jappolo in the town hall and thanks to some ingenuity on the part of some US Navy officers, the replacement of the church bell effected amidst much fanfare among the townspeople.
John Hodiak was quoted as saying that A Bell for Adano was his favorite film among the many roles he took on during his career. And indeed Hodiak is magnificent as the good guy major who represents all that is good about the American soldier. It's a very human portrait of a good but tough soul whose background is certainly not squeaky clean.
A Bell for Adano is not what you would call a "high stakes" picture. There is very little suspense here and it should be better thought of as a film featuring a "slice of life" verisimilitude. The film does well in representing the John Hersey book on which it is based. Jappolo's bittersweet departure is representative of the many moments of life in occupied post-war Italy depicted in this film that ring decidedly true.