As an adjunct to my post on Anime Buie | Dark Souls, here is a brief filmography of Emilio Ghione’s Za La Mort series (1914-1924). The films are listed chronologically, with survival information/availability indicated.
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1. Nelly la gigolette | Nelly the Gigolette aka La danzatrice della taverna nera | The Black Inn’s Dancer. Rome: Caesar-Film, 1914. Censorship visa: 13 Dec 1914. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Francesca Bertini (a). Not extant.
![Emilio Ghione. Nelly, la gigolette (La danzatrice della Taverna Nera). 1914 sml]()
![1924e Nelly la gigolette, SML]()
Francesca Bertini in Nelly la gigolette
2. Za la mort. Rome: Tiber-Film, 1915. Censorship visa: 01 May 1915. Emilio Ghione (d/ a), Kally Sambucini (a). Not extant.
3. L’imboscata | The Ambush. Rome: Tiber-Film, 1916. Censorship visa: 01 March 1916. Emilio Ghione (d/ a), Kally Sambucini (a), Diana D’Amore (a). Not extant.
4. Anime buie | Dark Souls. Rome: Tiber-Film, 1916. Censorship visa: 18 April 1916. Première (Rome): 13 July 1916. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Hesperia (a). Extant. Survives under the Spanish title Triptico de dos almas | Triptych of Two Souls; available here on Vimeo. More here (IT).
![Anime Buie 1916 Hesperia head ornament - detail]()
Hesperia and Emilio Ghione in Anime buie
5. Il numero 121 | Number 121. Rome: Tiber-Film, 1917. Censorship visa: 03 December 1917. Emilio Ghione (d/ a), Kally Sambucini (a), Diana D’Amore (a). Not extant.
6. L’ultima impresa | The Last Venture. Rome: Tiber-Film, 1917. Censorship visa: 03 January 1917. Emilio Ghione (d/ a), Kally Sambucini (a). Not extant. More info here (IT).
![ultima_impresa_1917]()
L’ultima impresa
7. Il triangolo giallo | The Yellow Triangle. Rome: Tiber-Film, 1917. Censorship visas: September 1917. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Olga Virgili (a), Alfredo Martinelli (a). Mostly lost. Four episodes:
- Cavalieri del Triangolo | Cavalieri of the Triangle
- Acqua che parla | Water that Speaks (fragment survives in private collection)
- Il mattone insanguinato | The Bloodstained Brick
- La rivincita di Za | The Revenge of Za
![Emilio Ghione. Il triangolo Giallo. 1917]()
Emilio Ghione in Il triangolo giallo
8. Nel Gorgo | The Gorge aka In the Whirlpool. Rome: Tiber-Film, 1918. Censorship visa: 16 April 1918. Emilio Ghione (d/ a), Kally Sambucini (a), Alfredo Martinelli (a). Not extant.
![itopigrigi sml]()
Poster for I topi grigi
9. I topi grigi | The Grey Mice. Rome: Tiber-Film 1918. Censorship visas: February 1918. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Alfredo Martinelli (a), Albert-Francis Bertoni (a). Extant, although not all episodes are complete; several institutions hold material. Eight episodes:
- La busta nera | The Black Envelope. Available to watch here at Cineteca di Bologna’s Cinestore or here at the European Film Gateway.
- La Tortura | Torture
- Il Covo | The Cove
- La rete di corda | The Net of Ropes. Available to watch here at Cineteca di Bologna’s Cinestore or here at the European Film Gateway.
- La corsa al milione | The Race to the Million
- Aristocrazia Canaglia
- 6000 volts
- A mezza quaresima
![I topi grigi 1918 (3) Emilio Ghione Alfredo Martinelli]()
Emilio Ghione and Alfredo Martinelli in I topi grigi
10. Il Sua Eccellenza La Morte | His Excellency La Morte. Torino: Itala-Film, 1919. Censorship visa: 27 May 1919. Emilio Ghione (d/ a). Fragment survives at Gosfilmfond of Russia.
11. Dollari e Fracks | Dollars and Tailcoats | Dollars and Dinner Jackets. Torino: Itala-Film, 1919. Censorship visas: 20 August 1919. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a). Some material extant, EYE Filmmuseum & Museo Nazionale del Cinema Torino. 4 episodes:
- La X di un delitto | The X of a Crime
- La mano guantata | The Gloved Hand
- I quaranta pugnali | The Forty Daggers
- La sedia elettrica | The Electric Chair
12. Il castello di bronzo | The Bronze Castle. Napoli: Lombardo-Film, 1920. Censorship visa: 12 February 1920. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Leonie Laporte (a). Not extant. Divided into two parts:
- Tredici di notte
- Za le Frack
![Emilio Ghione. Il castello di bronzo. 1920]()
Il castello di bronzo
13. Quale dei due? | Which of the Two? aka Za La Mort contro Za La Mort | Za La Mort versus Za La Mort. Roma/Torino: Fert-Film, 1922. Censorship visa: 10 January 1922. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Leonie Laporte (a). Not extant.
14. Un frak e un apache | A Frak and an Apache aka Farina del diavolo, ovvero: Frake e un apache. Torino: De Giglio, 1923. Censorship visa: 26 January 1923. Emilio Ghione (d/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Rita D’Harcourt (a), Alberto Nepoti (a). Not extant.
15. Zalamort – Der Traum der Zalavie | Incubo di Za La Vie | Za La Mort – the Dream of Za La Vie. Berlin, DE: Fern Andra Film/National, 1924. Censorship visa: 03 Apr 1924 (DE); 20 October 1924 (IT). Emilio Ghione (d?/w/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Fern Andra (a), Magnus Stifter (a). Extant, Cineteca di Bologna & Cinémathèque Royale Belgique.
16. Ultimissime della notte | News of the Night aka Riabilitazione nella tomba, ovvero: Ultimissime di notte | Rehabilitation of the Grave, that is: News of the Night aka Il delitto di mezzanotte | The Crime of Midnight. Torino: Alba Film, 1924. Censorship visa: 01 March 1924. Emilio Ghione (d/a), Kally Sambucini (a), Rita D’Harcourt (a), Alberto Pasquali (a). Not extant.
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Sources: Italia Taglia; the Filmportal DE; the FIAF Treasures from the Film Archives database; Cineteca di Bologna Cinestore; Sempre in Penombra; Giuseppe Rausa: Cinema Monforte; Denis Lotti ~ Blog di storia e di cinema; Emilio Ghione and the Mask of Za La Mort (Joseph North, MA Thesis Durham University, 2011). Those who read Italian may be interested in Denis Lotti’s book Emilio Ghione l’ultimo apache: Vita e film di un divo italiano (Cineteca di Bologna, 2008).
