'Salvo d'Angelo', an architecture graduate, was initially active in
motion pictures as a decorator in the late thirties, and eventually
became a film producer, starting with documentaries, most of them on
behalf of the Vatican, which were awarded important prizes at the
Venice and Cannes International Film Festivals. This encouraged him to
set up his own company, _Universalia_. He was one of the very first to
recognize the genius of Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, producing their
early films (Die Erde bebt (1948) for Visconti, _Germania anno zero (1947)_, for Rossellini, and _Porta del cielo, La (1946)_
for De Sica). Visconti's 'Terra Trema' screenplay was refused by all
producers at the time, as they felt it would hardly be a box-office
hit. Salvo d'Angelo was the only one who believed that Visconti (who
had made at that point just one film) would make it a great movie that
would eventually repay its cost. That proved to be true: the film was
awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and
has been presented consistently in many countries in the past 54 years
of its life (it was made in 1947). 'Terra trema' has been hailed one of
the greatest art films of all time. D'Angelo was the first Italian
producer starting co-productions with the French motion picture
industry, and the result was Fabiola (1949) directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring
'Michèle Morgan', 'Henri Vidal' and 'Michel Simon', with a strong
social and historical message. Next came Der Pakt mit dem Teufel (1950) directed by the
celebrated René Clair and starring Gérard Philipeand Michel Simon. The première of
this film took place at the Paris Opera House and was attended by the
President of the Republic of France, Vincent Auriol.
In 1951 D'Angelo' proposed to Luchino Visconti to make a movie (Bellissima (1951)) with
the greatest Italian star of the time, 'Anna Magnani', it was the story
of a mother who wants at all costs her little daughter to win a
competition for a role in a movie. Her illusions, even when her
daughter is finally selected by the director (Alessandro Blasetti
playing himself), will collapse when she discovers the harsh reality
behind the glamor of motion pictures. Salvo d'Angelo was the first to
believe in and help Franco Zeffirelli, Francesco Rosi (both were hired to be Visconti's
assistants for 'Terra Trema' and 'Bellissima') and other directors and
actors, like Vittorio Gassman, who later became world famous. He never produced
his films by looking first and foremost at the box office, for his
prime considerations were always quality and contents.
His mark as a producer of Italian motion pictures has been publicly
recognized, among others, by Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica, Alessandro Blasetti, Roberto Rosselliniand
Giorgio Strehler as well as by the press. His films are still part of the
collections kept in many cine clubs both in Italy and abroad.
