Elio Marcuzzo (July 27, 1917, Treviso - July 28, 1945, Breda ), Italian actor.
He is best remembered for his role in Visconti's first film, the gritty Ossessione, 1943. The screenplay was based on The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain, but his character, lo Spagnolo - "the Spaniard" - was not in the original story. The film's main protagonist, the impoverished drifter Gino (Massimo Girotti), has fled a tortured, doomed relationship with the married Giovanna (Clara Calamai) and is befriended by lo Spagnolo. On the train to Ancona, lo Spagnolo, a street performer, buys Gino, a complete stranger, a train ticket. He rents a room for the both of them when they get to town, and they share a bed. He rolls cigarettes for Gino and buys him clothes and shoes, and gives him a job promoting the street performances. Their time spent together, before Gino and Giovanna meet again, is a lyrical, happy interlude in the otherwise bleakly tragic story. I don't know what audiences of the time thought about the sweet friendship between the two men, but to modern eyes it seems fairly clear that lo Spagnolo's generosity toward and care of Gino are expressive of feelings that are more of romantic love than friendship. Marcuzzo was apparently gay, and Visconti certainly was, so it seems reasonable to assume that this reading was what they actually - though discretely - intended.
Marcuzzo only appeared in fourteen films and died an early, terrible death. In the tumult surrounding the end of World War II, as various factions in Italy scrambled for power and retribution, he and his brother Armando were wrongly accused of being pro-fascist and abducted by former partisans. They were taken by truck to Breda, were hanged and, as the medical report later noted, buried alive. It isn't known if his sexuality was in any way a motivating factor in his murder. He died one day after his twenty-eighth birthday.
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| Marcuzzo and Visconti. |
thank you very much for this story. i wondered why he died so young and now i feel very sad ... horrible. i i liked his character and his storyline in the film the best, representing someone who actually was able to pursue his desire.
ReplyDeleteYes, his part of the story is so sweet, his character the only one - as you say - who seems able to live a happy life. But then, for the actor, such a horrible death....
DeleteThanks for the story!
ReplyDeleteI was very much impressed by Mario's act as the Spaniard in Ossessione and therefore wanted to know more about him and came to this site. It was very astonishing and shocking to know how he ended up in the lynch. I wonder whether Visconti was aware of his fate when filming the "Giorno di Gloria" which depicted the heroic activities of anti-fascist partisans.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much more I'd like to know about all of this....
DeleteI think beside sexuality, Visconti also imply that he is a communist. I remember Gino said, i can understand you, you have so many ideas, you say we should help each other, you buy ticket for a total stranger.
ReplyDeleteYes, Visconti was a very complicated fellow, identifying as a communist, while living his life as the very privileged aristocrat he was.
DeleteTowards the end of WW2 and right after there were terrible accusations and counteraccusations of
ReplyDeletecollaboration and treason. Many innocent people were falsely accused in a whirlwind of vengeance.
Some accusers did this out of spite for neighbors, even relatives, they did not like or held old grudges against.
For some, a cruel sport of depravity to harm others. Elio Marcuzzo was a case in point, a needless a death.
The film Ossessione had a homoerotic undercurrent, especially in the train ride scene. Gino and Giovanna were obsessed with each other, but the real obsession was that of il Spagnolo for Gino. - Rj