Abstract
Addressing a notable niche in the historiography of Fascism and Italian cultural history, Gundle’s book examines the establishment of the star system in Fascist Italy, focusing on the period from the rise of sound cinema in the 1920s to the demise of Mussolini’s rule in 1943. The first part of the book sets out the key traits of the Italian film industry under Fascism and traces the beginnings of the star system, acknowledging the ways in which it was shaped by the state while also noting the impact of commercial culture and market forces in the context of a developing mass culture in Italy. As a result of these varied and often conflicting pressures, the relationship between the Fascist regime and the industry was never clear-cut, but involved instances of both cooperation and resistance. The second part of the book comprises chapters dedicated to six stars of the Fascist era, ranging from Isa Miranda to Alida Valli. Career trajectories and key performances of each are examined from the point of view of their involvement in the embodiment and dissemination of the key values of Italian fascism. The seventh chapter in this part tells the story of a would-be star, Miria di San Servolo, whose attempt to rise to stardom failed despite being supported by Mussolini – an interesting example that elucidates the limits of top-down manufacturing of celebrities even in a totalitarian system. The last part of the book covers the period after the demise of Mussolini, investigating the fate of the start system during the civil war, liberation and post-war reconstruction and the selective processes of remembering and forgetting that shaped the post-war memories of Mussolini’s cinema. As Gundle shows, Fascist cinema stars disappeared from public screens and memory almost immediately after 1945 – a development that is contrasted with the continued popularity of Nazi film stars in post-war West Germany – but slowly regained prominence from the 1970s onwards. To investigate this, the final chapter examines three Italian film produced between the 1970s and the 2000s which thematize Fascist-era film industry and its celebrities.