Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were two Italian-American anarchists who were tried and convicted in 1921 for a crime they didn’t commit, and then executed by electric chair in 1927. It’s one of the best known politically-motivated miscarriages of justice. Peter Millers made a very good documentary about it in 2006. It’s available to watch on YouTube for free.
Naturally, what I want to talk about is the film versions of the Sacco & Vanzetti story.
The most famous one by far is "Sacco & Vanzetti" based on the Italian play written by Mino Roli and Luciano Vincenzoni in 1960. The movie was directed by Giuliano Montaldo in 1971 and stars Gian Maria Volonte as Vanzetti. The score by Ennio Morricone is fondly remembered and includes a three-part ballad sung by Joan Baez. There are thousands of articles and reviews about this one; there’s nothing for me to add.
What I’d rather discuss is a much more obscure version that exists. A version with pedigree. It’s "Sacco-Vanzetti Story" a two-part teleplay, also from 1960, that was directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Reginald Rose who had previously worked together on Twelve Angry Men. The teleplay stars Martin Balsam as Sacco. Unfortunately it is considered lost media as no recordings of it were ever made.
Sidney Lumet reminisces about The Sacco-Vanzetti Story from NBC Sunday Showcase (1960)
Most of the plays, TV movies, and films based on the Sacco & Vanzetti story that were made after the Italian movie came out used the script of the Italian play. On the other hand, Reginald Rose’s critically acclaimed script fell into obscurity. A very rare copy of the screenplay was sold at auction a few years ago.
A quick Google search shows that other copies of the script exist at the Boston Public Library, the library of the University of Michigan, and at the Duquesne University in Pennsylvania. So if you’re in those areas you might want to pop in for a quick read.
Comments
Post a Comment